Fantasy
Baseball Player Rankings & Projections
2010 Closer Preseason Preview
Joe Nathan
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The most consistent closer
over the last five years is also the best closer coming
into 2010. His team wins, but plays close, which means many
save opportunities and when you mix that with a dominating
pitcher saves-o-plenty will come. |
1. Joe Nathan - Twins - 2010 Preview:
He has simply been the most consistent, best overall closer
in baseball since he won the job in 2004. He has averaged 41 saves
per season while never posting an ERA above 2.70 as a closer and
three times he posted an ERA below 2.00. So if you like 40 save
closers with ERA's below 2.00, then take a look at Joe Nathan.
2009 Statistics:
47 SV - 2-2 - 2.10 ERA - 89 K's - 68.2 IP
2010 Projection: 42
SV - 3-2 - 1.92 ERA - 86 K's - 69 IP
2. Jonathan Papelbon - Red Sox - 2010 Preview:
Not to far behind Nathan lies another consistently dominate closer,
Jonathan Papelbon. He has averaged almost 38 saves over each of
the last four seasons with an ERA of 1.84. Like Nathan, he plays
for a winning team, but the Red Sox don't always play close games
like the Twins, so Nathan actually has a slight edge in likely save
chances.
2009 Statistics:
38 SV - 1-1 - 1.85 ERA - 76 K's - 68 IP
2010 Projection: 40
SV - 2-2 - 1.93 ERA - 79 K's - 70 IP
3. Mariano Rivera - Yankees - 2010 Preview:
The veteran-stud just continues to perform at a top level. The Cadillac
could break down at any time, but it seems to be riding on all eight
cylinders right now. His K/9-ratio is still a solid 9.80 and he
has averaged over 40 saves for the last 13 years.
2009 Statistics:
44 SV's - 3-3 - 1.76 ERA - 72 K's - 66.1 IP
2010 Projection:
41 SV's - 3-4 - 2.12 ERA - 70 K's - 65 IP
4. Jonathan Broxton - Dodgers - 2010 Preview:
The 25-year-old flame-thrower posted an out-of-this-world 13.50
K/9-ratio with a 2.61 ERA and nailed 36 out of 42 saves in his first
full year as a closer for the Dodgers. He even won seven games.
He should be good for at least 40 saves if he remains healthy and
with his K/9-ratio, he has a legitimate chance at finishing number
one.
2009 Statistics:
36 SV - 7-2 - 2.61 ERA - 114 K's - 76 IP
2010 Projection: 42
SV - 4-3 - 2.58 ERA - 105 K's - 75 IP
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5. Francisco Rodriguez - Mets - 2010 Preview:
What happened to Rodriguez in 2009? After posting a Major League
record 62 saves in 2008 he was no better than average in 2009. His
ERA ballooned to 3.71 from 2.24 in '08 and only recorded 37 of 44
saves. Nothing better than a free agent pick up with those stats.
But that was 2009, this is 2010. First, keep in mind he has averaged
a league-high 46 saves a season over the last five seasons. Second,
the 2009 Mets' season was a disaster across the board, not that
it should have affected Rodriguez's game, but it is a fact. Rodriguez
and the Mets should rebound in 2010 and he should once again be
one of the best closers in fantasy baseball.
2009 Statistics:
37 SV - 3-6 - 3.71 ERA - 73 K's - 68 IP
2010 Projection: 43
SV - 3-3 - 2.74 ERA - 80 K's - 70 IP
6. Joakim Soria - Royals - 2010 Preview:
He was on his way to another excellent season when he went down
with a shoulder injury and missed about a month of the season. He
still managed 30 out of 33 saves and had a very nice 2.21 ERA. The
good news was he improved his K/9-ratio from 8.85 in 2008 season
to dominating 11.72 in 2009. He gets a surprising amount of opportunities
playing for such a bad team, but they do when games and when they
do it is usually not by more than 3 runs and thus plenty of save
chances.
2009 Statistics:
30 SV - 3-2 - 2.21 ERA - 69 K's - 53 IP
2010 Projection: 42
SV - 2-3 - 2.18 ERA - 78 K's - 69 IP
7. Heath Bell - Padres - 2010 Preview:
The Padres didn't miss a beat with Bell when longtime great Trevor
Hoffman moved on to Milwaukee. He saved 42 out of 48 games while
posting a very solid 2.71 ERA. The Padres don't win a lot, but win
they do it is usually a low-scoring-affair and thus fantasy success
for Heath Bell.
2009 Statistics:
42 SV - 6-4 - 2.71 ERA - 79 K's - 69.2 IP
2010 Projection: 40
SV - 4-3 - 2.65 ERA - 82 K's - 72 IP
