You don't always need to have the best fastball, you don't always need to be able to paint the black, you don't always need to have Mariano like stuff to become a successful fantasy closer. The secret is being at the right place, at the right time. Here is Part III (
Part I|
Part II) of my Top 40 Closer Rankings going forward.
26. Kevin Gregg, BAL; 7 SV, 3.52 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 7.04 K/9: Another guy who is the definition of average. Gregg has experience closing, which many of the other arms in the Orioles bullpen lack. Don't be surprised if at some point the O's turn to Koji Uehara as he has a 2.64 ERA and 0.94 WHIP.
27. Matt Capps, MIN; 6 SV, 3.72 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 5.59 K/9: A $7 million insurance policy tells the story of how the Twins felt about Joe Nathan before the season began. Nathan, coming off surgery was ineffective in the early going of 2011 and the Twins were not shy to put their insurance policy to work. Capps has been average at best but has lengthy experience closing games and did great as a fill in for Nathan last season. If Capps struggles do not be surprised if the two flip flop 8th and 9th inning work.
28. Brian Fuentes, OAK; 9 SV, 4.19 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 6.98 K/9: I only put him this high because of the uncertainty with Andrew Bailey. Fuentes seems to be the guy that the A's will stick with if Bailey has any issues returning from the DL this month.
29. John Rauch, TOR; 5 SV, 2.70 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 4.86 K/9: Despite the low strikeout rate, Rauch did nothing wrong to lose the closers job to Frank Fransisco. It was just Frank's job. Expect no hesitation to bring Rauch back into the closer mix in the course of any injuries or ineffectiveness from big Frank.
30.^ Jonathan Broxton, LAD; 7 SV, 5.68 ERA, 1.89 WHIP, 7.11 K/9: Despite how terrible he has been this season, one has to believe that with the slim pickings to pitch the 9th in the Dodger bullpen Brox is gonna get another shot. We all know the pitcher he can be, but the questions lie in the pitcher he will be.
31. Jose Contreras, PHI; 5 SV, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 10.13 K/9: Jose made no mistakes while closing for Philly this year. If he didn't get hurt there's a good chance he'd still have the role, but with Madsen thriving and Lidge on the back burner Jose is going to need to catch a few breaks to get back in to action in the 9th.
32. Mark Melancon, HOU; 3 SV, 2.18 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 6.10 K/9: Melancon took over when Brandon Lyon went down with the old "I suck" injury and has been decent as a replacement. No word on how long Lyon will be out, so for the time being Melancon seems to be safe, although its not like Houston wins many games anyway. Then again, they were second in the majors in save opportunities last year.
33. Daniel Bard, BOS; 0 SV, 3.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 8.57 K/9: He has got to be the obvious choice to close in Boston if anything were to happen to Papelbon. If Papelbum were to go down with injury or poor play, Bard would skyrocket up this list. He has all the tools to be a great closer, but as we know talent is only half the battle when it comes to saves. Opportunity also factors in.
34. Brandon League, SEA; 9 SV, 7.01 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 6.88 K/9: Ahh, a perfect example of how opportunity is the other half of the battle. With Aardsma sidelined for longer than expected, League seems to be the only option out of the M's bullpen. It is no secret though, that he sucks. Look for Jamey Wright to get a crack if Eric Wedge can't stomach anymore losses because of League's massive shittiness.
35. Koji Uehara, BAL; 0 SV, 2.70 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 10.68 K/9: Koji! Koji! Koji! This guy could be a sleeper on the list since Gregg is known to struggle at times. I think there is a legit possibility that Koji ends up with 10 Saves on the year, just be sure you're around to ride the wave.
36. Vicente Padilla, LAD; 3 SV, 4.15 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 9.35 K/9: Not the type of arm you see every night closing games, but to everyone's surprise seems to be the most effective arm for the 9th right now for LA. Padilla is on the DL, but should be back soon and it doesn't look like anyone is blowing Mattingly away as a potential replacement. After all, his other options include Matt Guerrier and Kenley Janson. Yikes.
37. Jonny Venters, ATL; 1 SV, 0.64 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, 8.26 K/9: Jonny lost out to Craig Kimbrel for the closing role in Atlanta, but there is more to be said here. Both pitchers are young. Extremely young. If Kimbrel starts to get shaky and the 9th seems to be overwhelming do not think that Atlanta won't close by committee, or give Venters the primary duty.
38. Brad Lidge, PHI; *DL (Has yet to take the field): After an electric 2008 with the Phillies, Lidge has been bothered by injures and hasn't even taken the mound in 2011. He says he will be ready in 3 weeks, but with how well Madsen and Contreras have been pitching, it is going to be interesting to see how this one plays out.
39. Matt Thorton, CWS; 2 SV, 5.97 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 10.13 K/9: Oh Matt Lefty. Such promise going into the season as the teams primary closer. He struggled early, and even that's an understatement. I have to imagine if Sergio Santos, who is pitching well at the moment, were to falter Thorton would be the next in line. Matt has had a tremendously better May than April and he is starting to look like the guy we saw all last season.
40. Brandon Lyon, HOU; 4 SV, 7.15 ERA, 2.15 WHIP, 3.97 K/9: The numbers that you have just read are not a joke. Lyon has been absolutely AWFUL this season. He has blown more saves then he has converted and is currently on the DL dealing with the above mentioned "I Suck" DL stint. Honestly though, this guy was pretty good down the stretch last season. With all the question marks surrounding Mark Melancon and the rest of the Stros pen, it will be no surprise to me if Lyon does get another shot and ends up with 15-20 saves on the year.
