Posts Tagged ‘Chad Qualls’

The Closer Report – Week 13

Posted by Todd Lammi on July 1st, 2010

Here is a look at the fantasy baseball closer report for week 13. It contains all of the most recent closer news, plus the current closers and the current handcuffs.

At the end of this week it will be officially the halfway point of the season, or roughly 81 games. If you are looking for saves the second half of the season, now is the time to start targeting some players that might have more value based on trades or players losing their job.

American League:

1. Kerry Wood (CLE) – Wood was much better in June with a 3.48 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. With Cleveland out of contention, Wood becomes an ideal candidate for teams looking for bullpen help. Chris Perez would take over as closer if Wood is moved.

2. David Aardsma (SEA) – If the Mariners decide to blow up the team, Aardsma becomes a likely candidate to be moved. He has already blown as many saves as he did all of last season and Brandon League has shown he can be a more than capable replacement for this season and next.

3. Jonathan Papelbon (BOS) – perhaps a long shot to be moved, but with all of the recent injuries the Boston Red Sox have suffered, it is not beyond the realm of possibility, depending on how the team fares over the next few weeks as it currently holds a slim lead in the wild card race. A spike in home runs allowed has boosted his ERA to 3.82 and closer-in-waiting Daniel Bard is ready to step in.

National League:

1. Matt Capps (WAS)  – with the Washington Nationals falling slowly out of the race, it becomes more likely that Capps will be dealt with closer of the future Drew Storen or even Tyler Clippard taking over. His batting average against of .297 makes it more than likely he ends up as a set up man on a new team than as a team’s main closer.

2. Chad Qualls / Aaron Heilman (AZ) – Arizona would be happy to move one or both of these players as neither figures in the teams long term plans. Recent addition Sam Demel from Oakland could see saves the second half and has acquitted himself well in 5 1/3 major league innings so far.

3. Octavio Dotel (PIT) – like Capps above, Dotel will likely see new work as a set up man if he is traded. He has picked up four straight saves since his last blown save on June 13th. Evan Meek is ready to take over as closer and is a good option going forward in keeper / dynasty leagues.

Team Closer Handcuff
BAL Alfredo Simon David Hernandez, Mike Gonzalez (DL)
BOS Jonathan Papelbon Daniel Bard
CHW Bobby Jenks Matt Thornton, J.J. Putz
CLE Kerry Wood Chris Perez
DET Jose Valverde Eddie Bonine
KC Joakim Soria Kyle Farnsworth
LAA Brian Fuentes Fernando Rodney
MIN Jon Rauch Matt Guerrier
NYY Mariano Rivera Joba Chamberlain
OAK Andrew Bailey Brad Ziegler
SEA David Aardsma Brandon League
TB Rafael Soriano Grant Balfour
TEX Neftali Feliz Frank Francisco
TOR Kevin Gregg Jason Frasor
AZ Aaron Heilman Chad Qualls
ATL Billy Wagner Takashi Saito
CHI Carlos Marmol Andrew Cashner
CIN Francisco Cordero Arthur Rhodes
COL Huston Street Manny Corpas
FLA Leo Nunez Clay Hensley
HOU Matt Lindstrom Brandon Lyon
LAD Jonathan Broxton Ramon Tronosco
MIL John Axford Trevor Hoffman
NYM Francisco Rodriguez Pedro Feliciano
PHI Brad Lidge Jose Contreras
PIT Octavio Dotel Evan Meek
STL Ryan Franklin Jason Motte
SD Heath Bell Luke Gregerson
SF Brian Wilson Sergio Romo
WAS Matt Capps Tyler Clippard, Drew Storen
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The Closer Report – Week 11

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 15th, 2010

Here is a look at the fantasy baseball closer report for week 11. It contains all of the most recent closer news, plus the current closers and the current handcuffs.

Alfredo Simon returned from the disabled list yesterday and will eventually move back into the closer role according to interim manager Juan Samuel.  I am not sure that is an automatic given has Simon had skirted trouble in several outings despite a 1.54 WHIP ratio and his walk total will eventually lead to some blown saves. Combine that with David Hernandez now in a relief role which his stuff seems more suited too, plus the starting pitchers that Baltimore has coming up in the system that are better than him and I don’t think Simon is guaranteed to hold the job for the rest of the season.

It looks like Chad Qualls of the Arizona Diamondbacks has finally wore out manager A.J. Hinch with his inability to close out games. With a 8.46 ERA and a 2.19 WHIP, including allowing two or more runs in four of his last eight outings, Hinch will most likely turn to Aaron Heilman for saves. Heilman has a 2.83 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP ratio so far this season. His past history though does not bode well in terms of filling the closer role full-time with a career save percentage of just 29%. Recently acquired Triple-A closer Sam Demel from Oakland is a sleeper at some point to close. Demel currently has six saves in 28 2/3 innings with 28 strikeouts, to go along with a 1.26 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP.

With the Pittsburgh Pirates making a flurry of transactions over the past few weeks, it would not be a surprise to see a change soon at closer where Octavio Dotel has allowed runs in three straight appearances. Dotel has a 5.70 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP in 23 2/3 innings with 33 strikeouts. Evan Meek is ready to assume the role as soon as Dotel is moved. Meek has greatly improved the one flaw in his game from the previous years, that being his lack of control. With a 0.74 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in 36 2/3 innings this year, Meek has been one of the more dominant non-closers in baseball this year.

Team Closer Handcuff
BAL David Hernandez Alfredo Simon, Mike Gonzalez (DL)
BOS Jonathan Papelbon Daniel Bard
CHW Bobby Jenks Matt Thornton, J.J. Putz
CLE Kerry Wood Chris Perez
DET Jose Valverde Ryan Perry
KC Joakim Soria Kyle Farnsworth
LAA Brian Fuentes Fernando Rodney
MIN Jon Rauch Matt Guerrier
NYY Mariano Rivera Joba Chamberlain
OAK Andrew Bailey Brad Ziegler
SEA David Aardsma Brandon League
TB Rafael Soriano Grant Balfour
TEX Neftali Feliz Frank Francisco
TOR Kevin Gregg Jason Frasor
AZ Aaron Heilman Chad Qualls
ATL Billy Wagner Takashi Saito
CHI Carlos Marmol Andrew Cashner
CIN Francisco Cordero Arthur Rhodes
COL Manny Corpas Rafael Betancourt, Huston Street (DL)
FLA Leo Nunez Clay Hensley
HOU Matt Lindstrom Brandon Lyon
LAD Jonathan Broxton Ramon Tronosco
MIL John Axford Carlos Villanueva
NYM Francisco Rodriguez Pedro Feliciano
PHI Brad Lidge Jose Contreras
PIT Octavio Dotel Evan Meek
STL Ryan Franklin Jason Motte
SD Heath Bell Luke Gregerson
SF Brian Wilson Sergio Romo
WAS Matt Capps Tyler Clippard, Drew Storen
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The Closer Report – week 4

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 26th, 2010

Here is a look at the closer report for week 4. It contains all of the most recent closer news, plus the current closers and the current handcuffs.

Fantasy baseball owners have to be happy with Arizona Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch that he is a patient man. Also it helps that everyone has in the D-Bakcs bullpen has been getting bombed as well so Chad Qualls was able to keep his job as closer for the time being. He responded by picking up two clean saves in his last two outings so it keeps him in the role for another week at least.

While walks by a starting pitcher can be a killer, if they allow a big inning, it can usually be smoothed out over the course of a five or six inning start. As a closer however, walks are going to lead to big innings and an eventual loss of job. Here is a look at some of the current closers with high walk rates just a few weeks into the fantasy baseball season.

Matt Capps was walked six in 12 innings, leaving him with a WHIP of 1.50. Jonathan Papelbon has struggled with his control in Boston, walking eight against seven strikeouts in 10 innings, giving him a 1.50 WHIP as well. Chris Perez may find it difficult to keep Kerry Wood from taking back the closer role unless he improves his control, with six walks allowed in 6 2/3 innings. Bobby Jenks, whom it seems is always on the verge of losing his job every season, has given six free passes in eight innings and has a WHIP of 1.75.

What do Cla Meredith, Darren Oliver, Tim Wood, Jeremy Affeldt, Ryan Perry, Burke Badenhop all have in common with Billy Wagner and Jonathan Broxton? Each of them have one save through the first three weeks of the season. If you are looking for someone to target in trade in the closer role, Wagner and Broxton should be at the top of your list. Saves can run in streaks and each of them could easily rack up three or four in a week. Any other owner that discounts their value because they only have one save so far this year is someone you should be talking to.

Team Closer Handcuff
BAL Jim Johnson Cla Meredith, Mike Gonzalez (DL)
BOS Jonathan Papelbon Daniel Bard
CHW Bobby Jenks Matt Thornton
CLE Chris Perez Jensen Lewis, Kerry Wood (DL)
DET Jose Valverde Ryan Perry
KC Joakim Soria Josh Rupe
LAA Brian Fuentes Fernando Rodney
MIN Jon Rauch Matt Guerrier
NYY Mariano Rivera Joba Chamberlain
OAK Andrew Bailey Brad Ziegler
SEA David Aardsma Brandon League
TB Rafael Soriano Grant Balfour
TEX Neftali Feliz Frank Francisco
TOR Kevin Gregg Jason Frasor
AZ Chad Qualls Juan Gutierrez
ATL Billy Wagner Takashi Saito
CHI Carlos Marmol John Grabow
CIN Francisco Cordero Arthur Rhodes
COL Franklin Morales Rafael Betancourt, Huston Street (DL)
FLA Leo Nunez Burke Badenhop
HOU Matt Lindstrom Brandon Lyon
LAD Jonathan Broxton Ramon Tronosco
MIL Trevor Hoffman LaTroy Hawkins
NYM Francisco Rodriguez Pedro Feliciano
PHI Ryan Madson Danys Baez, Brad Lidge (DL)
PIT Octavio Dotel Brendan Donnelly
STL Ryan Franklin Jason Motte
SD Heath Bell Luke Gregerson
SF Brian Wilson Sergio Romo
WAS Matt Capps Tyler Clippard
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The Daily Dirt from Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 22nd, 2010

Manager Lou Piniella has officially gone of the deep end with today’s announcement that the Chicago Cubs were moving their opening day starter  Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen with Ted Lilly coming back from the disabled list. The Cubs are paying him $17.875 million dollars to go from a top of the rotation starter to getting three to six outs in the bullpen a few days out of the week. Carlos Silva has three good starts and all of a sudden everybody forgets about his 8.60 ERA and 1.71 WHIP ration from last season. It is decisions like that why the Chicago Cubs have not been to the World Series since 1908. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday…

Hitters:

Jose Guillen hit his 6th home run of the season and drove in three runs giving him 13 RBI on the season. I think there is something to be said for players that hit better when they feel more natural in the field, or in Guillen’s  case as the designated hitter, more comfortable not in the field. Similar story in San Diego with Chase Headley moving back to third base.

Not sure if Guillen’s start is that surprising as he has 25 home run power when healthy, but the hot start of Alex Gonzalez in Toronto continues to amaze as he hit his fifth home run of the season and knocked in two runs giving 11 RBI for the year.

Ryan Braun went 3-for-4 with his fourth home run of the season and he also stole his third base. Braun is hitting .393 with 15 RBI on the season.

Mike Lowell got the start as designated hitter over David Ortiz with a left-hander on the mound and went 2-for-4 with two RBI and his first home run of the season. With the Red Sox below .500 and Ortiz struggling, I think it is much easier to sit him against southpaws and get Lowell some extra at bats.

Looks like the move of Elvis Andrus to the top of the Texas Rangers batting order and sliding Julio Borbon to the ninth spot is benefiting both players. Andrus will see additional runs scored and some extra steals maybe while Borbon can relax more at the plate at the end of the batting order. Andrus stole his 5th base of the season and scored two runs while Borbon went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two stolen bases.

Rafael Furcal is looking like the Furcal of old, going 3-for-5 with four RBI as well as stealing his seventh base of the year.

Sean Rodriguez finally rewarded owners that blew a good portion of their FAAB budget in him in week one, going 3-for-5 with four RBI and his first home run of the season.

Colby Rasmus went 3-for-4 with three RBI and hit two home runs giving him a total of five for the season.

Pitchers:

Zach Greinke allowed two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts but was handed a no decision when the bullpen lost the lead in the 8th inning.

Yovani Gallardo tossed five scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts to get his first victory of the season. Still is a step below the top tier pitchers until he can get his control in order. Racked up 103 pitches, with only 61 strikes in his five innings of work.

Ho-hum, another complete game for Roy Halladay, hurling a shutout with seven strikeouts. Instead of talking about him winning 20 games, it is quite possible that he picks up 30 wins this year.

Carlos Silva allowed one run in six innings with four strikeouts to up his mark to 2-0 . Silva has a .95 ERA and .63 WHIP through three starts.

Wade Davis worked six shutout innings and struck out six to gain his first win of the season. He had much better control this start, getting nine ground ball outs to two fly outs.

Francisco Liriano spun eight scoreless innings and struck out six to notch his second win of the year. Liriano lowered his ERA to 1.29 and his WHIP to 1.10.

Phil Hughes allowed one hit and one run in 7 1/3 innings and struck out 10 to get his second win of the season.

Felix Hernandez tossed a complete game with six strikeouts, while allowing one unearned run. King Felix improved to 2-0 on the season.

Closers:

Your major league leader in saves…Matt Capps with seven!! Despite that he has a 1.68 WHIP ratio, he has allowed only one earned run in 8 1/3 innings so far. The Washington Nationals have to be happy as it only helps to boost his trade value.

Chad Qualls allowed three runs in 1/3 of an inning in a tie ballgame to take the loss. With an ERA of 10.80 and a WHIP of 2.40, there has to be something wrong with him. If you did not pick up Juan Gutierrez already, now may be the time.

First game back from the disabled list and thrust right back into the closer role, Brian Fuentes took the loss, surrendering a two-run home run to Miguel Cabrera. Fuentes allowed two hits and two runs and had to be pulled from the game. If you own Fernando Rodney, I would hold on to him for awhile.

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The Daily Dirt from Thursday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 16th, 2010

It was a night for the lesser name pitchers as David Huff (Cleveland), Matt Harrison (Texas) and Dana Eveland (Toronto) all threw well with Huff and Eveland picking up wins. If you have all three as free agents in your league and are considering picking one up, I would rank them Harrison, Eveland, Huff. Harrison throws the hardest, has the best chance to pick up strikeouts and has a solid offense behind him. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Thursday…

Hitters:

Shin-Soo Choo seems like he is carrying the offense for the Cleveland Indians, but then I check his RBI count and it is only five. Choo went 2-for-4  with a home run and drove in all three runs for the Indians Thursday.

Ryan Braun went 4-for-5 with three RBI, including his third home run of the season. It could be this season that we see him break the 40 home run barrier.

Chase Utley homered for the third straight game, giving him five home runs on the season and 11 RBI.Teammate Shane Victorino is enjoying his new spot atop the line up with Jimmy Rollins out as he homered for the second straight day.

Robinson Cano hit two home runs and drove in three to lead the New York Yankees to a 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Matt Kemp homered for the third time in four games and drove in two runs giving him 13 RBI on the season. Hitting second in the batting order looks like a good fit so far as he is hitting .341 on the season.

Pitchers:

Francisco Liriano tossed seven shutout innings with eight strike outs to pick up the win. His control was much better in his second start, throwing 64 strikes versus 32 balls.

Bud Norris was much better in his second start, although he could only get through five innings because of a high pitch count. Norris earned his first win of the year without allowing an earned run and striking out nine. Still tough to play him every week with his up and down tendencies although it was nice to see this outing against the St. Louis Cardinals instead of someone like the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Mike Pelfrey hurled seven shutout innings with six strikeouts to move to 2-0 on the year. Pelfrey got ahead in counts by throwing first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 25 hitters he faced and cruised through the Colorado Rockies line up with little problem.

Phil Hughes was successful in his first start of the season, allowing two runs in five innings with six strikeouts to get the win. The downside to owning him as a 5th starter is the chance that he will get skipped in the rotation on some weeks.

Josh Johnson claimed his first win of the season, allowing one run in six innings while fanning 10. He is averaging 3.3 more pitches per inning in 2010, thanks to an increase in his walks per nine innings.

Ben Sheets picked up his first win with the Oakland A’s, working six scoreless innings with four strikeouts. The lack of strikeouts is a concern if you own him going forward with eight strikeouts and 10 walks in 17 innings.

Hiroki Kuroda allowed two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision. He had upped his strikeout rate the second half of last season and looks to be carrying it over so far in 2010 through his first two starts.

Closers:

Chad Qualls picked up a blown save on back-to-back nights, allowing two runs in the ninth inning and five base runners. The inability to throw strikes did him in, missing the strike zone on 13 of his 25 pitches. With the way closers have been going down this season, if you own Qualls, you might want to grab Juan Gutierrez as insurance just in case.

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2010 Fantasy Baseball ADP – Closers

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 19th, 2010

This is the eighth article in the series looking at the current 2010 fantasy baseball ADP (average draft position) for closers. The data uses ADP numbers from Mock Draft Central using the NFBC scoring system.

The chart below lists players arranged by my 2010 fantasy baseball rankings with the current ADP broken down by where that player would fall in a 12 or 15 team league by round and pick. The one caveat being that the 12 team numbers may be skewed slightly as some players may go later than others due to the larger player pool to pick from.

Undervalued:

Chad Qualls looks undervalued to me as he is going in the last tier of closers. The dislocated kneecap that ended his season last August is supposed to be fully healed by spring training. He has always had good numbers with a career ERA of 3.32 and a 1.20 WHIP so I don’t see him imploding like some other closers will this season. If he had finished out the season, he would have been around 30 saves which would have tied him for 16th.

Overvalued:

It is not too often that 36-year-old relief pitchers suddenly morph into closers like Ryan Franklin did last season. His overall numbers look solid on the surface, but looking closer at the stats he had some woeful splits. His minuscule .79 ERA and .79 WHIP the first half turned into a 3.33 ERA and 1.70 after the All-Star break. Of more concern was his walk to strikeout ratio which was 1:1 during that time frame.

Brian Fuentes racked up 48 saves last season, but struggled in the second half with his control. ERA after the All-Star break was 4.81 with a 1.68 WHIP and he also recorded more walks that strikeouts. Batting average against jumped by 45 points and as an extreme fly ball pitcher, that makes him more susceptible to home runs in 2010 which would negatively impact his ERA.

12 Teams 15 Teams
Rank Name ADP Round Pick Round Pick
1 Jonathan Broxton 70 6 10 5 10
2 Joe Nathan 76 7 4 6 1
3 Jonathan Papelbon 71 6 11 5 11
4 Mariano Rivera 73 7 1 5 13
5 Joakim Soria 102 9 6 7 12
6 Francisco Rodriguez 87 8 3 6 12
7 Andrew Bailey 127 11 7 9 7
8 Heath Bell 103 9 7 7 13
9 Jose Valverde 137 12 5 10 2
10 Huston Street 149 13 5 10 14
11 Brian Wilson 143 12 11 10 8
12 Francisco Cordero 108 9 12 8 3
13 Billy Wagner 150 13 6 10 15
14 Rafael Soriano 157 14 1 11 7
15 Brian Fuentes 117 10 9 8 12
16 Trevor Hoffman 170 15 2 12 5
17 Frank Francisco 204 17 12 14 9
18 Mike Gonzalez 206 18 2 14 11
19 Chad Qualls 228 19 12 16 3
20 David Aardsma 156 13 12 11 6
21 Carlos Marmol 143 12 11 10 8
22 Bobby Jenks 163 14 7 11 13
23 Ryan Franklin 153 13 9 11 3
24 Kerry Wood 227 19 11 16 2
25 Brad Lidge 229 20 1 16 4
26 Matt Capps 234 20 6 16 9
27 Leo Nunez 242 21 2 17 2
28 Jason Frasor 264 22 12 18 9
29 Octavio Dotel 271 23 7 19 1
30 Brandon Lyon 261 22 9 18 6

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

  • Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
  • Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
  • Expanded player rankings for all positions
  • Ages for all players as of opening day
  • Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
  • The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
  • You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
  • Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Read More »

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Closers (Part II)

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 8th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the second part of the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the  group of closers ranked 16-30.

16) Trevor Hoffman – had his lowest ERA since 1998 so you know there is some regression coming. ERA and WHIP ratio aided by his improvement against left-handed hitters, holding them to a .222 average compared to .291 in 2008.

17) Frank Francisco – first season as full-time closer was a success outside of two trips to the disabled list which seemed to impact his second half numbers. Had a 2.28 ERA and .94 WHIP ratio the first half of the season. After the All-Star break, the ERA was 5.82 and the WHIP was 1.34.

18) Mike Gonzalez – had career high in innings pitched last season after coming back from Tommy John surgery in 2008. No doubt he can get the job done with a career ERA of 2.57 and 1.22 WHIP ratio. Question will always be how many innings does he get in before he gets hurt, with time on the disabled list four of the past five seasons.

19) Chad Qualls – good value based on his current fantasy baseball ADP. Knee ligament tear that ended his season in ‘09 should not affect him in 2010. High ground ball rate plus good control means he should be solid as closer going forward.

20) David Aardsma – solid season on paper but I have some concerns going forward. High fly ball rate of 54% last season yet cut his home run per fly ball rate in half. If that regresses to the mean in 2010, his ERA jumps into the high three’s. Still has issues with command, walking 4.3 hitters per nine innings last year. Career WHIP ratio in the major leagues is 1.49.

21) Carlos Marmol – extremely hard to hit, but his inability to throw strikes makes his job as a closer far from safe. Walk rate jumped to 7.9 per nine innings last season, up from 4.2 in 2008. Like Aarsdma, Marmol is a fly ball pitcher and faces regression in his ERA after allowing only two home runs in 74 innings last year.

22) Bobby Jenks – ERA spiked due to nine home runs allowed after giving up 10 the last three seasons combined. Has been easier to hit the last two years with batting average against of .198 in 2007 rising to .230 in ‘08 and to .250 last year. Questions about him are always going to revolve around his ablity to stay in shape.

23) Ryan Franklin – helped his ERA by allowing only two home runs after giving up 10 in 2008. Luck ran out after the All-Star break when his ERA was 3.33 and WHIP ratio was 1.70. Blew three of six saves in September.

24) Kerry Wood – first season in the American League did not go well for Wood as his home runs allowed more than doubled from the previous season and his control reverted back to 2007 level. Was much better the second half of the season with a 2.96 ERA and 1.32 WHIP ratio.

25) Brad Lidge – two seasons of extremes when looking at 2008 and 2009. Blew 11 saves last season after going a perfect 41 for 41 in 2008. Allowed 11 home runs and batting average against jumped to .301. Had surgery on his elbow in November and on his knee in January so it is questionable whether he will be ready for the start of the season. Possible that his knee injruy that bothered him in April and landed him on the disabled list in June was responsible for some of his issues last season.

26) Matt Capps – another closer who saw his home run total jump in 2010. After allowing five home runs in ‘08, Capps gave up 10 in 2009. Walk rate also increased, allowing 2.8 walks per nine innings after walking only five batters in 53 2/3 innings in 2008. With only a one year contract with the Washington Nationals, there is a good chance that he gets moved at the trade deadline.

27) Leo Nunez – took the closer job away from Matt Lindstrom, but encountered some problems with the long ball, surrendering 13 home runs in 68 2/3 innings. Walk rate increased for the second straight season which offset his improvement in batting average allowed.

The following teams have multiple players in a battle for the closer position. The closer will most likely be determined at some point during spring training.

28) Toronto Blue Jays – Jason Frasor, Scott Downs, Kevin Gregg

29) Houston Astros – Brandon Lyon, Matt Lindstrom

30) Pittsburgh Pirates – Octavio Dotel, Joel Hanrahan, Evan Meek

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

  • Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
  • Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
  • Expanded player rankings for all positions
  • Ages for all players as of opening day
  • Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
  • The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
  • You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
  • Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Read More »
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