MLB Closers & Saves: NL Central - 2014 Fantasy Baseball

We've looked at all the other closers across baseball so far.  Now let's take a look at some NL Central closer situations.   National League Central Bullpens   St. Louis Cardinals If I had to choose one young slinger to become an elite closer in 2014, my choice would be Trevor Rosenthal.  The hard, snowball-throwing […]

MLB Closers & Saves: NL West - 2014 Fantasy Baseball

Let's take a look at some NL West closer situations. National League West Bullpens and Closers   Los Angeles Dodgers This bullpen has a blizzard of closer options.  Kenley Jansen sits at the top as an elite closer with ice running through his veins.  Take a look at these numbers, they are nailz:  1.88 ERA, […]

Chris Withrow: Sleeper for Holds in 2014 Fantasy Baseball

  Relief Pitchers Poised to Leap Forward: Chris Withrow While the Los Angeles Dodgers have personalities and brand names like Yasiel Puig and Clayton Kershaw, some players go under the radar. Though Brian Wilson's entrancing beard may help to make him one of the better setup men in the game, Chris Withrow is also a name […]

Top 5 Relief Pitcher (RP) Keepers: 2014 Dynasty Leagues

There's no position in baseball subject to more volatility from year to year than the closer role. It's rare for players not named Mariano Rivera to remain dominant in that position for more than a year or two. In fact, it's not uncommon at all for a top closer to lose his job just a […]

MLB Closers & Saves: NL East - 2014 Fantasy Baseball

Snow City “Baby, it's cold outside!”  “Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful.  And since we’ve got no place to go, let it snow!”  UGH, someone please shoot me, this weather sucks!  This shout-out goes to everyone that lives in the better part of the world or country where it […]

Dispatches from the Cactus League 2/10: Addison Reed vs. J.J.Putz

Dispatches from the Cactus League: Addison Reed vs. J.J. Putz Because of their trip to Australia to play the Dodgers later this month, the Arizona Diamondbacks were the first team to report to Spring Training this year. The team held its annual Fan Fest at Chase Field Saturday where more than 20,000 fans showed up […]

Five Under the Radar Relief Pitchers: Sleeper Keepers for 2014

  Five Under the Radar Keeper Relief Pitchers in 2014 Other than the gold standard of closers (Kimbrel, Chapman, Mariano Rivera-retired), relief pitchers can break your heart.  They turn it loose for an inning or two, blowing gas or off speed pitches that are nearly unhittable.  Running it up there at 98 mph is all well […]

Nate Jones: Setup Man Poised to Leap Forward in 2014 Fantasy Baseball

  Setup Men Poised to Leap Forward: Nate Jones With closer Addison Reed closing for the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Chicago White Sox will be searching for a new closer among the relievers they possess. Of the names on the White Sox roster, the player that could be considered first for the closer role is veteran Matt […]

Trevor Rosenthal: Fantasy Baseball Sleeper for 2014

  2014 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper: Trevor Rosenthal Trevor Rosenthal will finish the season as a top 3 closer in the league.  This is a bold prediction for a pitcher who prefers to be a starter and who may be one day.  Rosenthal ended 2013 as the Cardinals closer and had a tremendous postseason, posting an […]

MLB Closers & Saves: AL West - 2014 Fantasy Baseball

Today let’s take a look at the possible closers in the American League West.  As of right now I do not see any sleepers or dark horse sleepers in these pens.  This can change over the course of the season and it will most likely happen but for now it’s just a waiting game.  Stay […]

Fantasy Baseball Draft Prep: 5 Breakout Pitchers That May Regress in 2014

MLB organizations continue to pump out quality arms, and 2013 was another banner crop of young pitchers. Some of these pitchers made a significant impact on starting rotations and fantasy baseball leagues, or were key contributors for playoffs runs. Take a look at the Cards or A’s pitching staffs, loaded with fresh arms and prepared […]

2014 Fantasy Baseball: MLB Closers & Saves (AL Central)

KaepSupernicking Hey Yo - how bout dem Niners! I will be Kaepernicking the whole way to a Super Bowl Victory ya’ll. I know, I know, I am supposed to be writing about fantasy baseball and closers or some shizz but I just can’t help myself, this is very exciting! As a Niners fan, the chance […]

2014 Fantasy Baseball: 5 Free Agent Pitchers With the Most to Lose

Fantasy baseball owners all over are starting to prepare for the 2014 MLB season, and trying to figure out which pitchers they should take and at what point. There were many pitchers that changed teams this winter - some made decisions that fantasy owners are happy about, while others will be making owners miserable all […]

MLB News: Yankees Finally Sign Matt Thornton

Thornton Officially a Yankee The Yankees officially signed former White Sox reliever Matt Thornton to a 2-year, $7 million on Friday. The deal, which was agreed to earlier in the offseason, resulted in the Yankees designating Vernon Wells for assignment due to a lack of space on the 40-man roster. The 35-year-old Wells will not […]

Fantasy Baseball 2014 Preview: MLB Closer City, American League East Edition

Closer City Hey, yo!  I’m back and hopefully better than ever!  Any of you guys remember back in the day when WWF didn't have a monopoly on terrible acting?  Well, unfortunately (and I really hate to admit this), I used to be an avid WCW fan until they were banished from this so-called sport forever. […]

Closer Carousels: MLB Closers & Saves Update (Week 22)

The football season is upon us.  Do you know what time it is?  Yup, that’s right, it’s Madden time.  I purchased a copy of Madden 25 on the first day it was available, just like every year.  I am not a huge video game guyer but I do play Madden and The Show.  I was […]

Closer Carousels: MLB Closers & Saves Update (Week 21)

Yeoman’s Work Jim Johnson:  Johnson has allowed four runs, 11 hits and two walks over his last 4.2 innings of work.  He continues to struggle and news out of Baltimore indicates it might be time for change in the “Charm City,” at least until Johnson gets back on track.  He will probably finish out the […]

Closer Carousels: MLB Closers & Saves Update (Week 20)

Na Mean Okay so last week my article was sort of based around a Hip-Hop type theme, and I am going to expand on that just a little bit more in this week’s closers article.  In last week’s article I used the term na mean, which actually stands for: do you know what I mean.  I […]

Closer Carousels: MLB Closers & Saves Update (Week 19)

Ridin' Dirty I would like to first start off by apologizing for my last column, I am sorry if I offended anybody.  After days of hearing about nothing but the Alex Rodriguez saga, I just want PEDs banished forever - but unfortunately that is impossible.  There will always be a few players that will try and beat […]

MLB Closers and Saves Update (Week 18)

Raged on Roids I want to start off by saying that what Ryan Braun did is wrong, especially the fact that he lied about using steroids, HGH or any PED.  The point of all of this is that I am completely exhausted with the media's constant obsession with the the latest PED news. Do we […]

Fantasy Baseball Advice: Week 16 Closer Update - All-Star Break Edition

All-Star Rants and Raves First rant: last week I mentioned that I enjoy watching the Home Run Derby, and in a way I still do, but Chris Berman is tired.  Am I in the minority on this topic?  I can’t stand this dude-- he sounds like he smokes two packs a day, and ESPN needs […]

MLB Closers and Saves Update (Week 15)

Mid-Summer Homerun Derby Before I get into my normal column about the soap opera of closers, I wanted to take a few moments to at least acknowledge the Classic Homerun Derby.  And I might be in the minority on the homerun derby, but I happen to enjoy watching this event. Every year we hear the […]

Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Closers (July Update)

The first three months of the 2013 fantasy baseball season are in the books, and now we’re really starting to get a feel for the fantasy baseball landscape. RotoBaller will be updating our positional rankings over the next week. Today, we’re revisiting the relief pitcher rankings we initially published in April. All the ranks below are compared to the FantasyPros […]

J.J. Putz (RP, SEA)

Putz was activated from the disabled list. He's been fine in rehab, and ARZ will be glad to get him back as Heath Bell was falling apart recently. Putz should resume closing nearly immediately so if you need saves, he's a great add.

Bruce Rondon (RP, DET)

He's baaack! The Tigers bullpen has been a mess all year. Rondon, the 'closer of the future' has been called up once and demoted a few days later. He is definitely a work in progress and Leyland went on record Friday and said Rondon will not be used to close games. Not yet. There is […]

Koji Uehara (RP, BOS)

Uehara has taken the reigns in Boston's bullpen and righted the sinking ship that Andrew Bailey left behind. In the past 3 days, he's thrown 3 perfect IP with 6 Ks, racking up 3 saves. He's only 52% owned in Yahoo! leagues which just crazy. Pick him up immediately if you need saves or pitching […]

Fantasy Baseball Advice: Week 13 Closer Update - Nailz

Yeoman’s Work Before I get into my normal article about the wonderful world of closers, I wanted to take a few moments to write about a pitcher that I am completely enamored with and that is the one and only Jose Fernandez.  I am in a 16-team, roto, auction-style keeper league and I was very […]

Jaoquin Benoit, RP, DET

Benoit closed out the Rays on Friday night with a 2K inning, locking down his 5th save of the year. Benoit is settling into the DET closer role nicely and should be owned in all leagues if you're in need of saves. Add him immediately.

Fantasy Baseball Advice: Three up for Week Thirteen

With twelve full weeks of the 2013 season in the books, today RotoBaller casts a critical eye on three players who are on the rise midway through Week 13: 1) Jay Bruce (OF, CIN): It’s was only a matter of time before Bruce ended up in the Three Up list. He is a prolific power […]

Fantasy Baseball Advice: Week 12 Closer Update - Mark it Zero

Yeoman’s Work There are some fantasy draft experts that believe a good strategy for drafting closers is to pay very little on draft day, or even to completely abandon the idea of drafting closers altogether, in the hopes of picking a few up via free agency during the first weeks and months of the season. […]