Closers...

Let me start off by saying that I hate Closers. I hate having to draft them. I hate having to rank them. I hate having to keep up with them throughout the year. They are an enigma. They always get hurt. They always get replaced. They are, for the most part, interchangeable. So, I hate them.

Except I love them, too. Having a couple of good, reliable closers is a huge fantasy asset. They can really help your team. But, like I said before, they always get replaced. For every Mariano Rivera, there are four Derreck Turnbow’s. For every Trevor Hoffman, there are twelve Eric Gagne’s (steroids anybody?).

So, for the most part, these rankings are an exercise in futility. I have David Aardsma ranked as if he is going to be Seattle’s closer this year, but you wanna know something about baseball? Hips are important. I’m sure you’re thinking, “Wow, Bill, thanks for the awesome insight. You really know your stuff. Also, the team that scores the most runs wins the game.” Well, the reason I say this is because Aardsma has a bad hip. He had surgery on his hip labrum this offseason and will likely not start the year as the M’s closer. It will likely be Brandon League. So, my rankings are already skewed. Dammit. Sorry.

Also, aside from Carlos Marmol, closers usually don’t rack enough strikeouts to really count on them in that category. But, every K counts and they need to be valued. So, I have tried. I have ranked each closer based on WHIP, ERA, Saves (obviously), and relief pitcher K’s (RPK). RPK’s is essentially just a ranking of the top 40 closers projected K total, because, yes, every K counts.

I have ranked the top 45 closers for purposes of your draft. But, like I’ve said, you’ll need to keep an eye on injuries and performance. Many teams change out closers as often as Charlie Sheen changes out “goddesses,” yet few are truly possessed with Tiger’s Blood, Adonis DNA or over a million followers on Twitter (in about 20 minutes).

Alas, here they are. Do with them what you will. Oh, and so you know, Andrew Bailey may or may not have torn up his elbow. He’s going to visit with Dr. James Andrews to see about it. If he’s out, draft Brian Fuentes instead. See what I’m saying about Closers?

Rank	Last Name	First Name	Team	W	K	ERA	WHIP	S	RPK	Total
1	Marmol	Carlos	CHI-N	0	0	5	5	6	7	23
2	Bell	Heath	SD	0	0	6	5	6	5	22
3	Feliz	Neftali	TEX	0	0	6	7	5	4	22
4	Soria	Joakim	KC	0	0	7	6	5	3	21
5	Hanrahan	Joel	PIT	0	0	5	5	3	6	19
6	Putz	J.J.	AZ	0	0	5	6	4	4	19
7	Street	Huston	COL	0	0	4	6	5	4	19
8	Wilson	Brian	SF	0	0	3	4	7	5	19
9	Axford	John	MIL	0	0	5	4	4	5	18
10	Broxton	Jonathan	LA	0	0	4	4	5	5	18
11	Lidge	Brad	PHI	0	0	5	6	5	2	18
12	Papelbon	Jonathan	BOS	0	0	4	5	5	4	18
13	Perez	Rafael	CLE	0	0	6	6	5	1	18
14	Rivera	Mariano	NY-A	0	0	6	6	5	1	18
15	Kimbrel	Craig	ATL	0	0	6	4	2	5	17
16	Nathan	Joe	MIN	0	0	5	6	4	2	17
17	Thornton	Matt	CHI-A	0	0	5	6	2	4	17
18	Venters	Jonny	ATL	0	0	6	4	2	5	17
19	Bailey	Andrew	OAK	0	0	6	6	3	1	16
20	Rodriguez	Francisco	NY-N	0	0	4	4	4	4	16
21	Sale	Chris	CHI-A	0	0	6	4	2	4	16
22	Bailey	Andrew	CIN	0	0	6	6	3	1	16
23	Benoit	Joaquin	DET	0	0	5	6	1	3	15
24	Clippard	Tyler	WAS	0	0	4	4	1	6	15
25	Franklin	Ryan	STL	0	0	5	5	4	1	15
26	Lyon	Brandon	HOU	0	0	5	4	4	2	15
27	McGee	Jacob	TB	0	0	5	5	2	3	15
28	Meek	Evan	PIT	0	0	6	5	1	3	15
29	Nunez	Leo	FLA	0	0	4	5	3	3	15
30	Storen	Drew	WAS	0	0	5	5	2	3	15
31	Valverde	Jose	DET	0	0	5	5	3	2	15
32	Balfour	Grant	OAK	0	0	5	5	1	3	14
33	Breslow	Craig	OAK	0	0	5	6	1	2	14
34	Francisco	Frank	TOR	0	0	4	5	3	2	14
35	Chapman	Aroldis	CIN	0	0	5	4	1	3	13
36	Hensley	Clay	FLA	0	0	4	4	1	4	13
37	League	Brandon	SEA	0	0	4	5	2	2	13
38	Capps	Matt	MIN	0	0	5	4	1	1	11
39	Gregg	Kevin	BAL	0	0	3	4	3	1	11
40	Fuentes	Brian	OAK	0	0	4	4	1	1	10
41	Aardsma	David	SEA	0	0	3	2	3	1	9
42	Cordero	Francisco	CIN	0	0	3	2	3	1	9
43	Jenks	Bobby	BOS	0	0	4	2	1	1	8
44	Rodney	Fernando	ANA	0	0	2	1	3	1	7
45	Dotel	Octavio	TOR	0	0	2	1	1	2	6