Preseason Baseball Coverage: Draft Kit Central | New Faces in New Places | Top 250 Rankings

By Steve Kwan
Fantasy Sports 101 Baseball

This article will focus on the closing situations of every team in the National League. Picking up from the previous look at American League closers, we now examine the more pitcher-friendly NL and do our best to mash out fantasy predictions for baseball’s most volatile position.

NL East

Atlanta Braves

The Contenders: Rafael Soriano, Peter Moylan
Soriano is the Atlanta closer and will remain to be, so long as he performs. He posted outstanding numbers toward the back end of last season, and if he pitches lights out again, lefty Mike Gonzalez - set to return in June - will not be a threat to the position. Should Soriano fail, Australian pitcher Moylan would hold down the fort until Gonzalez recovers. Soriano has gone undrafted in some leagues, so make it a late-round priority to throw a pick his way.

Florida Marlins

The Contenders: Kevin Gregg
Lost among all the doom and gloom related to the Marlins was the fact that Gregg emerged as a solid closer last season. On a team lacking anything resembling even an average offense, it’s hard to see Gregg improving on his 32 saves from last term. The Marlins have a collection of good relievers in their bullpen, so if Gregg struggles, it's a toss-up who could step up to replace him. 

New York Mets

The Contenders: Billy Wagner
As long as Wagner is healthy and still effective to any degree, he’ll be the closer. If not, turn your attention to Aaron Heilman and Pedro Feliciano. Wagner's stats seem to be slowly declining with age, but is still a tier-one closer for this season. J.J. Putz and (in some cases) Takashi Saito have overtaken Wagner on the draft boards, so there’s enough room for you to wait until Francisco Rodriguez and Jonathan Papelbon are taken before you can have Wagner for a good price.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Contenders: Brad Lidge
Cruel practical jokes on their young starters aside, the Phillies don’t have much to laugh about when it comes to the bullpen. Lidge is one of the most erratic closers in baseball, alternating between dominant outings and multiple implosions. Tom Gordon, who was a popular sleeper pick at closer last season, ended up limping out of the season so quickly that Brett Myers had to become the stopgap closer. Lidge showed some positive signs near the end of last season, and since Gordon is still not completely healed, Lidge will be the closer for better or worse. You might want to skip over this closing situation for your fantasy team, as Lidge is currently going in the middle rounds.

Washington Nationals

The Contenders: Chad Cordero
One of the few bright spots on this Washington team, Cordero had a slightly down year in 2007 yet still managed to pick up 37 saves. Cordero is one of the few closers worthy of a reach by smart owners, he can hold his own for Washington. But, if a contending team swings a trade for him, his value could skyrocket or plummet - he could be a setup man for a new team. Should Cordero escape from Washington, Jon Rauch would get first consideration to be the new closer. Luis Ayala, who the last time we checked had blown out his elbow at the World Baseball Classic, is also healthy and in the mix.

NL Central

Chicago Cubs

The Contenders: Bobby Howry, Carlos Marmol, Kerry Wood
With Ryan Dempster moving up to the rotation, the Cubs have a decision to make; should they let the reliable set-up man Howry take a stab at closing? Or should they let the young flamethrower Marmol do his thing in the ninth inning? And what about Wood? Despite early signs suggesting Howry is the favorite, Marmol is the only one of the three who is being drafted, and at a pretty high spot at that. Smart fantasy owners are advised to observe the situation for a while longer instead of jumping for Marmol.

Cincinnati Reds

The Contenders: Francisco Cordero
Cordero scored the big contract and now heads to Cincinnati, which had one of the worst bullpens in baseball last season. David Weathers did a respectable job last year at closer but will now yield to Cordero, who is one of the first tier-two closers being taken in live drafts. Cordero was a popular sleeper pick last year with Milwaukee, but the chance of him repeating those stats for Cincy are very low. Pass on Cordero unless he tumbles to where he really should be, which is around the 10th round.

Houston Astros

The Contenders: Jose Valverde
Houston enters this season with a lot of new pieces at various positions, and the bullpen is no exception. Valverde is in a contract year, so it might not be far-fetched to think that he could have a dominant year for Houston. Valverde is lagging behind Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito on draft boards, but don’t be afraid to take him; he’s definitely a better value than Saito.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Contenders: Eric Gagne
Gagne takes over from Francisco Cordero after undoing all the good work he did in Texas by collapsing while pitching for Boston. Still, he’s pretty good value in the lower rounds of live drafts, and if playing for the Brewers saved Cordero’s career, maybe it could save Gagne’s as well. Gagne shouldn't rest easy though; fellow new boy David Riske pitched well for Cleveland last season.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Contenders: Matt Capps
Capps has been falling lower than his draft rank so far in live drafts, which probably means that owners are looking more at the sorry state of the Pirates in general and less at the fact PNC Park is a fantastic pitcher’s stadium. Capps took over in midseason last year and was solid, and a full, healthy season could provide big rewards. Definitely a safer pick than Francisco Cordero and with more upside than other mid-level closers like Bobby Jenks, don’t sleep on Capps in your draft.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Contenders: Jason Ishringhausen
When Braden Looper is your second starter, you’ve got some issues. But thankfully, Ishringhausen held up well enough last season so that the bullpen didn’t become a problem for the Cardinals. Adam Wainwright isn’t coming back to the bullpen, so the Cards will lean heavily on Ishringhausen again this year. He’s ranked quite low on draft boards, so if you choose to leave closers until later for your team, Ishringhausen is a good pick; however, be warned that health is a perennial issue for St. Louis pitching.

NL West

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Contenders: Brandon Lyon, Tony Pena
Right now Lyon seems to be in the driver’s seat to claim the closing job, but don’t count out Pena if Lyon struggles or goes down with an injury. Both are quite capable, so if you can pick them both in the later rounds of your draft, that would be a win-win strategy; in many live drafts so far they’ve ended up on different teams while being selected very close to each other. Chad Qualls, who Arizona acquired in the Valverde trade, is the third option.

Colorado Rockies

The Contenders: Manny Corpas, Brian Fuentes
Despite getting his act together near the end of the season, Fuentes finds himself out of the closers role while Corpas gets his chance to solidify his grip. Fuentes is a three-time All-Star closer who is currently going undrafted in most leagues, so anybody who owns Corpas should really lock up Fuentes. Corpas, who also pitched well in the playoffs, is ranked pretty high, but like Arizona, if you can get both Fuentes and Corpas it’s a no-lose situation.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Contenders: Takashi Saito, Jonathan Broxton
Saito has been a revelation for the Dodgers (as well as a financial mega-bargain), but Broxton is clearly the closer-in-waiting for the Dodgers. The question is, will this season be the season that Saito falters and Broxton takes over?In any case, Saito is ranked ridiculously high in draft boards this year, and with options like Joe Nathan and Billy Wagner hanging around behind him, there’s really no reason to take him that high. 

San Diego Padres

The Contenders: Trevor Hoffman, Heath Bell
Was Hoffman’s collapse at the end of last season the beginning of the end of one of baseball’s most prolific closers? One would definitely hope that Hoffman has one more year left in him, but the emergence of Heath Bell means that the Padres can rest easy knowing that their closer-in-waiting is ready to go. Hoffman’s draft rank hasn’t changed much over the years, but Bell is available on waivers in most leagues right now. Be prepared to race to the waiver wire if Hoffman shows any prolonged signs of slowing down.

San Francisco Giants

The contenders: Brian Wilson
Much like Texas in the AL, the closer situation in San Francisco falls to a young gun named Wilson. Wilson pitched well last term in limited appearances and he’ll be given every chance to hold down the job this season. Brad Hennessey had a chance to be closer last year and didn’t get the job done, but if Wilson falters then he’ll probably get a second shot. So far Wilson’s not getting drafted much, so make him one of your late-round, low-risk flip picks.

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