Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Rankings: The Top Closers

Fantasy baseball seems to be all about big-time sluggers like Alex Rodriguez and lights-out starting pitchers like Jake Peavy. Guys like that may carry you far, but you can never take your closers for granted. Sometimes, a single save (or blown save) can be the difference between moving into the next round of the playoffs . . . or thinking about "next year." For your guidance, here is a ranking of the top 10 closers for the 2009 season.

1- Jonathan Papelbon (Boston Red Sox

Papelbon is one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball and he plays for one of the winningest teams in baseball. You can't go wrong with this guy. Last year, some people did not give Papelbon the #1 ranking for closers because he played on an explosive offensive team with the likes of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, thus, he would lose many save chances because the offense would score too many runs. Well, times have changed. Manny is no longer in Boston and Big Papi's bat seems to have lost its fire. With that being said, you shouldn't have to worry nearly as much about the Red Sox scoring too many runs!

2- Joe Nathan (Minnesota Twins)

Nathan never gets the publicity like Papelbon, but he has proven to be just as steady. Year in and year out, Nathan puts up extremely solid numbers, which is evident by the number of saves he has recorded during the last three seasons (36, 37, and 39 respectively).

3- Brian Fuentes (Los Angeles Angels)

Fuentes has great stuff, which is proven by his high number of strikeouts, as he had 82 strikeouts in only 62 innings last year. Sure, he probably won't be as successful as K-Rod was last year, but you have to love having a closer on the Angels squad. The Angels always find a way to win games, and they always find a way to make the score close while doing so. They don't have enough offensive firepower to win many games by 4 or 5 runs. Last season, K-Rod had over 60 save chances last season . . . with that many chances, even a mediocre closer could have easily gotten 45 to 50 saves for that team last season!

4- Mariano Rivera (New York Yankees)

Some people were afraid to pick this guy early last season because they thought he was getting too old and was losing his mojo. Really? Did you see this guy's stats last year? If you didn't, then have a look . . . 39 saves and a W.H.I.P. of 0.67, and batters had a miserable 0.165 batting average against him. And you said he was getting too old? Think again!

5- Francisco Rodriguez (New York Mets)

The chances of him getting 62 saves again are very slim, but he could very easily get at least 40 or 45. The Mets still have one of the best teams in the National League and K-Rod will still see plenty of save opportunities.

6- Brad Lidge (Philadelphia Phillies)

Lidge had one of his best seasons of his career last season. More importantly, he regained his confidence. Major league closers are just like NFL kickers . . . all the talent in the world is not going to help you if you are not right in the head! When a closer goes a whole season without blowing a season and wins a World Series ring, it is probably safe to say that he is now RIGHT in the head. Confidence is a scary thing to go against, and Lidge has plenty of it right now.

7- Carlos Marmol (Chicago Cubs)

Cubs fans lost Kerry Wood, but not many are sad because they know the guy taking his place will probably be even more impressive. Marmol had over 100 strikeouts last season, with a nice W.H.I.P. of 0.93. Oh, and one more thing . . . he gets to pitch behind one of the best pitching staffs in baseball (Harden, Zambrano, Dempster & Lilly).

8- Jonathan Broxton (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Broxton now has some closer experience under his belt and he also no longer has to worry about battling for the closer spot versus Takashi Saito, who now plays for the Boston Red Sox. These facts alone should make you move him up in your rankings. With or without Manny Ramirez, Broxton will get his share of save chances.

9- Brian Wilson (San Francisco Giants)

Wilson was one of the most consistent relievers last season. Unfortunately, he plays for one of the weakest teams in baseball and there is no telling how many save chances he will get. If Wilson played for a contender, he could easily be a top 5 closer, but until that happens, keep him in your 6-10 range.

10- Joakim Soria (Kansas City Royals)

Same story as Brian Wilson. If he played on a better team, you could easily move him up a couple of spots.

Top 3 Closers to Stay Away From

1- Bobby Jenks (Chicago White Sox)

Jenks has steadily been racking up the saves and seems to be a decent pick; HOWEVER, you might want to think twice about taking him. One alarming stat from last year is that he only had 38 strikeouts in 61 innings. That is clearly one of the worst strikeout-per-inning ratios among all closers. If you don't have a closer that can get himself out of jams with timely strikeouts, then you will be sweating out a lot of 9^th innings!

2- Trevor Hoffman (Milwaukee Brewers)

Hoffman's days are numbered. Last season, his E.R.A. was nearly 4.00, which is unacceptable for a closer . . . especially for a closer that had the luxury of pitching in San Diego's pitcher friendly park. The Brewers have a far less friendly park than San Diego. And don't forget that Hoffman is around 42 years old! He was known in San Diego for running onto the field with Metallica blaring over the speakers . . . after this season is done, he may have to switch to Kenny G. Hoffman is soft in his older age and should not be relied on.

3- Any Closer for the St. Louis Cardinals

This team does not seem to have a solid closer for this season. Last season, they used a closer by committee process, hoping that one person would stick out from the rest. Unfortunately, all of their closers had their fair share of blown saves. Ryan Franklin appears to be the favorite so far, but one would have to be very surprised if Franklin makes it the whole season without losing that role.

*all statistics obtained from Yahoo Sports