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Closers, Closers in waiting, and Middle relief...... (1 Viewer)

Wrigley

Footballguy
Who to target as some late game closers in waiting/middle relievers?

I usually carry a middle reliever or two to help out with my ratios.........who should I be looking at?

apple pie

 
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In a draft last night I waited in a league where RP's went way too early for my liking (league starts 5 SP, 3 RP, 2 P and holds and saves are both categories).

I ended up with:

195 overall - Axford

206 overall - Nate Jones

275 overall - Danny Farquhar

326 overall - Hector Santiago (RP Eligible)

366 overall - Pedro Strop

I like Strop and Farquhar as guys who should be solid for ratios and holds early in the year and IMO both end up getting saves at some point as well.

 
Now that I'm about done with my drafts, I can divulge some goodies.

I hate most of this year's closer crop. After the top 5, it's brutally ugly and nothing is assured.

RPs I've been targeting (who can contribute even if they don't get the closer role): Farquhar, O'Day, Ramos, Allen, Clippard, Brothers, Siegrist, Crain

 
I went the handcuff route in my dynasty. I have Kenley and Reed, drafted Wilson, Putz, and Hernandez. I have Soriano too but Clippard went too early and my plan to draft Storen round 40 was thwarted in round 38 too. I have Hawkins too, but Beothers was kept. Going to try to trade for brothers and Clippard in a few weeks. I think Wilson is closing elsewhere next year and Putz may be too.

 
It is still early, and as a human being and as a Reds fan, I am hoping for the best for Aroldis Chapman. He was hit above the left eye on a line drive come backer last night and has a reported fracture. I don't know how long it takes to recover, but I hope he is healthy and recovers completely. I don't care about his baseball career going forward, as long as he recovers.

That being said, baseball will go on, as will fantasy baseball. Broxton looked good his last outing of the spring as he comes back from injury, and has been a closer before. I would expect him to fill in for AC until he comes back. You may want to take a look at him as a fill in early until the closer roles really start to solidify.

 
In years past, I have always filled in the back end of my pitching staff with middle relieves/possible closers.

For some reason, this year it seems that A LOT of other owners are doing this, not just 1 or 2. I generally do 4-7 leagues per year and this is the first year I recall a ton of middle relievers flying off the board. Due to this fact, a lot of viable starters are falling or going undrafted. So, rather than chasing some guys before the season starts, I've been filling in my rotation with starters that pitch is good pitcher parks and have good k ratios - guys like Dan Straily, Scott Kazmir, hell I've taken chances with Lincecum, Beckett and Tajuan Walker, just as these guys I feel probably should be drafted before a middle reliever that may only get 1-2 saves, 4-5 wins, 60-70 k's and so-so ratios.

There are always guys that come out of nowhere after the season starts and put up good numbers (Delabar immediately comes to mind) that you can plunk off the waiver wire.

I realize this doesn't answer your original question, but just my thoughts on the matter. I like a lot of the St Louis relievers - Siegrist, Carlos Martinez - Hell Jason Motte may even be worth a flier as they all have great k ratios - and that is primarily what I look at.

Arizona bullpen also has some good arms - David Hernandez and JJ Putz have both been very good in years past.

Obviously Benoit in SD is a great get, but I think he is getting picked up WAYYYYYY too early, as are a lot of other middle relievers I've seen.

 
It is still early, and as a human being and as a Reds fan, I am hoping for the best for Aroldis Chapman. He was hit above the left eye on a line drive come backer last night and has a reported fracture. I don't know how long it takes to recover, but I hope he is healthy and recovers completely. I don't care about his baseball career going forward, as long as he recovers.

That being said, baseball will go on, as will fantasy baseball. Broxton looked good his last outing of the spring as he comes back from injury, and has been a closer before. I would expect him to fill in for AC until he comes back. You may want to take a look at him as a fill in early until the closer roles really start to solidify.
JJ Hoover, imo

 
It is still early, and as a human being and as a Reds fan, I am hoping for the best for Aroldis Chapman. He was hit above the left eye on a line drive come backer last night and has a reported fracture. I don't know how long it takes to recover, but I hope he is healthy and recovers completely. I don't care about his baseball career going forward, as long as he recovers.

That being said, baseball will go on, as will fantasy baseball. Broxton looked good his last outing of the spring as he comes back from injury, and has been a closer before. I would expect him to fill in for AC until he comes back. You may want to take a look at him as a fill in early until the closer roles really start to solidify.
JJ Hoover, imo
This is certainly another way they could go with it. it is certainly a situation to monitor, and hopefully not one to stay away from altogether (committee)

I will personally be targeting Broxton, but I can see it going either way. The cloudiness of the situation means you might be able to steal one in the later rounds that wouldn't hurt to bad if it didn't pan out.

 
It is still early, and as a human being and as a Reds fan, I am hoping for the best for Aroldis Chapman. He was hit above the left eye on a line drive come backer last night and has a reported fracture. I don't know how long it takes to recover, but I hope he is healthy and recovers completely. I don't care about his baseball career going forward, as long as he recovers.

That being said, baseball will go on, as will fantasy baseball. Broxton looked good his last outing of the spring as he comes back from injury, and has been a closer before. I would expect him to fill in for AC until he comes back. You may want to take a look at him as a fill in early until the closer roles really start to solidify.
Just reported he's out 2 months

 
Soria will close in Texas. Ogando and Feliz in bullpen roles. Scheppers to the rotation.
I am surprised, but these are the right decisions. Ogando is excellent in relief, he isn't a starter though. Doubted Felix could handle the rigors of starting, his arm should be great out of the pen though. Need to figure out Scheppers place and will only find out throwing him to the fire. If he can't do it cut a deal and move him to the pen. Soria closing was only a matter of time, just figured it'd be midseason. Oops.
 
Soria will close in Texas. Ogando and Feliz in bullpen roles. Scheppers to the rotation.
I am surprised, but these are the right decisions. Ogando is excellent in relief, he isn't a starter though. Doubted Felix could handle the rigors of starting, his arm should be great out of the pen though. Need to figure out Scheppers place and will only find out throwing him to the fire. If he can't do it cut a deal and move him to the pen. Soria closing was only a matter of time, just figured it'd be midseason. Oops.
I'm curious about how stretched out Scheppers will be. He's been primarily a reliever as a professional and only pitched 150 total innings in the past two years. A short pitch count starter can tax an entire staff. This won't be a problem in the early season off-days but could be a factor in the heat of summer.

 
Soria will close in Texas. Ogando and Feliz in bullpen roles. Scheppers to the rotation.
I am surprised, but these are the right decisions. Ogando is excellent in relief, he isn't a starter though. Doubted Felix could handle the rigors of starting, his arm should be great out of the pen though. Need to figure out Scheppers place and will only find out throwing him to the fire. If he can't do it cut a deal and move him to the pen. Soria closing was only a matter of time, just figured it'd be midseason. Oops.
I'm curious about how stretched out Scheppers will be. He's been primarily a reliever as a professional and only pitched 150 total innings in the past two years. A short pitch count starter can tax an entire staff. This won't be a problem in the early season off-days but could be a factor in the heat of summer.
a mid season dl stint does seem inevitable
 
Soria will close in Texas. Ogando and Feliz in bullpen roles. Scheppers to the rotation.
I am surprised, but these are the right decisions. Ogando is excellent in relief, he isn't a starter though. Doubted Felix could handle the rigors of starting, his arm should be great out of the pen though. Need to figure out Scheppers place and will only find out throwing him to the fire. If he can't do it cut a deal and move him to the pen. Soria closing was only a matter of time, just figured it'd be midseason. Oops.
I'm curious about how stretched out Scheppers will be. He's been primarily a reliever as a professional and only pitched 150 total innings in the past two years. A short pitch count starter can tax an entire staff. This won't be a problem in the early season off-days but could be a factor in the heat of summer.
a mid season dl stint does seem inevitable
Seems like they are just trying to bridge the gap until Holland returns.

 
Soria will close in Texas. Ogando and Feliz in bullpen roles. Scheppers to the rotation.
I am surprised, but these are the right decisions. Ogando is excellent in relief, he isn't a starter though. Doubted Felix could handle the rigors of starting, his arm should be great out of the pen though. Need to figure out Scheppers place and will only find out throwing him to the fire. If he can't do it cut a deal and move him to the pen. Soria closing was only a matter of time, just figured it'd be midseason. Oops.
I'm curious about how stretched out Scheppers will be. He's been primarily a reliever as a professional and only pitched 150 total innings in the past two years. A short pitch count starter can tax an entire staff. This won't be a problem in the early season off-days but could be a factor in the heat of summer.
a mid season dl stint does seem inevitable
Seems like they are just trying to bridge the gap until Holland returns.
Holland, Harrison and Colby Lewis are all possibilities down the line but the Rangers' opening rotation including Scheppers, Tommy Hanson and Joe Saunders looks distinctly meh.

 
Soriano looks way too shaky for my taste. Jumping on the Clippard bandwagon
I agree with that. Tobias posted in the Nats thread roughly a week ago about how bad Soriano has looked this spring.

I picked up Clippard in a draft last night, but it's a holds league, so I had that fallback.

 
Soriano looks way too shaky for my taste. Jumping on the Clippard bandwagon
I agree with that. Tobias posted in the Nats thread roughly a week ago about how bad Soriano has looked this spring.

I picked up Clippard in a draft last night, but it's a holds league, so I had that fallback.
Clippard wasn't exactly lights out in that spot two years ago, and his fastball has struggled and he had BABIP numbers and LOB% numbers in the outlier area. His flyball percentage and his falling K/9 numbers make him more fitting for the 7th or 8th. Storen is probably their best option, but he's just lost it. Storen has the better stuff, better ground ball rate, and a great out pitch if his slider is looking like a fastball.

Soriano's K rates were down last year because he went from throwing 40% sliders to throwing 15% sliders and throwing the cutter 40% of the time. Not sure why that is but the cutter is not a pitch he relied on heavily before, now it seems to be his primary pitch. Odd for a guy known for his slider.

 
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Soriano looks way too shaky for my taste. Jumping on the Clippard bandwagon
I agree with that. Tobias posted in the Nats thread roughly a week ago about how bad Soriano has looked this spring.

I picked up Clippard in a draft last night, but it's a holds league, so I had that fallback.
Clippard wasn't exactly lights out in that spot two years ago, and his fastball has struggled and he had BABIP numbers and LOB% numbers in the outlier area. His flyball percentage and his falling K/9 numbers make him more fitting for the 7th or 8th. Storen is probably their best option, but he's just lost it. Storen has the better stuff, better ground ball rate, and a great out pitch if his slider is looking like a fastball.

Soriano's K rates were down last year because he went from throwing 40% sliders to throwing 15% sliders and throwing the cutter 40% of the time. Not sure why that is but the cutter is not a pitch he relied on heavily before, now it seems to be his primary pitch. Odd for a guy known for his slider.
I think Clippard is better in the 7th/8th as well, but if Soriano's struggles continue into the season (his ERA is around 17.00 in the spring, though I realize small sample size), I still think Clippard would get the first shot to replace as closer. Storen is an option, but he's been looking rough too.

Given the lack of good options behind him, hopefully Soriano gets things straightened out fast.

 
The best scenario is rostering a guy like Sergio Santos when you already have Janssen as a closer. Handcuff plus a guy that will help your ratios and give you a K an inning. I have Kenley Jansen in my home league, so I got Brian Wilson for $1 as a handcuff/stat-bumper. Benoit is a good guy to have because Street has to get hurt, and I like the Oakland relievers because I have a low opinion of Jim Johnson. Farquhar fits nicely, having Rodney might actually be secondary there.

I chase saves, it's fun. :thumbup:

 
I'm in a for-fun 10 team points league where the commissioner screwed up and didn't give pitchers a point per inning. It's led to a scenario where a guy like Nate Jones is likely to outscore Clayton Kershaw. :lol: I ended up drafting all closers plus Cody Allen (will have to replace Chapman once he's DLed). Should be interesting.

 
Northern Voice said:
Doubt Santos is available in many leagues unfortunately... I know he was taken in all of mine (and not all by me).
Thankfully he was available in mine. I have Janssen, wasn't expecting a trip to the DL.

 
Smack Tripper said:
Northern Voice said:
Doubt Santos is available in many leagues unfortunately... I know he was taken in all of mine (and not all by me).
Any chance he keeps the job?
Really hard to say. The Jays have been loyal to Janssen. At the same time, Janssen is a free agent after the season and Santos is with the team for a few more years, so he is the long term guy.

 
Smack Tripper said:
Northern Voice said:
Doubt Santos is available in many leagues unfortunately... I know he was taken in all of mine (and not all by me).
Any chance he keeps the job?
Really hard to say. The Jays have been loyal to Janssen. At the same time, Janssen is a free agent after the season and Santos is with the team for a few more years, so he is the long term guy.
good stuff... :thumbup: one to watch for sure... maybe they flip Janssen at the deadline then

 
Smack Tripper said:
Northern Voice said:
Doubt Santos is available in many leagues unfortunately... I know he was taken in all of mine (and not all by me).
Any chance he keeps the job?
Really hard to say. The Jays have been loyal to Janssen. At the same time, Janssen is a free agent after the season and Santos is with the team for a few more years, so he is the long term guy.
good stuff... :thumbup: one to watch for sure... maybe they flip Janssen at the deadline then
Yeah, there was a lot of thought they would move him in the offseason, with Santos there as closer in waiting and 2013 all-stars ( :lmao: ) Cecil and Delabar as well.

 
so Parnell might not actually be back. A GB mentioned that he's only topping out at 90 when he used to reach 3 digits.

Valverde :oldunsure:

 
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so Parnell might not actually be back. A GB mentioned that he's only topping out at 90 when he used to reach 3 digits.

Valverde :oldunsure:
maybe it's because I've paid so little attention to Parnell during his career, but I never had him pegged as a flame thrower. In any event, I stashed the gas can Papa Potato in one league a week ago. Guess I'm starting him tomorrow...
 
Brewers manager Ron Roenicke announced after Monday's game that he will not use Jim Henderson as closer because he didn't like the way he was throwing the ball at the end of camp.

Specifically, Roenicke wasn't happy with the velocity, command, and life of his pitches. Francisco Rodriguez closed out Monday's win over the Braves and will continue to get save chances for the time being. We'd imagine Henderson will get another shot eventually, but he's going to have to earn it.
 
Brewers manager Ron Roenicke announced after Monday's game that he will not use Jim Henderson as closer because he didn't like the way he was throwing the ball at the end of camp.

Specifically, Roenicke wasn't happy with the velocity, command, and life of his pitches. Francisco Rodriguez closed out Monday's win over the Braves and will continue to get save chances for the time being. We'd imagine Henderson will get another shot eventually, but he's going to have to earn it.
Only took me 6 hours to f'n hate closers

 

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