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I just couldn’t contain all this closer goodness to the top 10 anymore. So, now the list is comprised of 15 closers. The top two are the same as in my last top fantasy closers list, and seven of the ten from the first fantasy baseball closer list are still around.

1. Mariano Rivera | New York Yankees - Rivera is still the stud of this group. I guess he’s not getting older, he’s getting better. Or maybe he just hasn’t faced the Red Sox enough to get banged around yet. Rivera has ten saves and a 12:0 strikeout to walk ratio in 15.0 innings pitched. His ERA is perfect at 0.00 and his WHIP is pretty darned close at 0.40.
2. Joe Nathan | Minnesota Twins - Nathan has 12 saves this season in 14.0 innings of work. He’s sporting a 14:3 strikeout to walk ratio and has a 1.93 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. He gave up two earned runs and three hits in his last outing (while still recording the save) or his ERA and WHIP would be even better.
3. Brad Lidge | Philadelphia Phillies - Lidge is nine for nine in save opportunities and hasn’t allowed an earned run in 17 innings, hence his 0.00 ERA. He also has a 0.82 WHIP and more than a strikeout per inning, with 18 strikeouts and 6 walks.
4. Jonathan Papelbon | Boston Red Sox - Papelbon has blown two saves in his last three attempts and hasn’t looked sharp for about a week now (although Julio Lugo should be given the blown save on May 7th, not Paps). He’s got 2 wins, 2 losses and 11 saves this season and Papelbon’s ERA has risen almost a whole point in the last week to 2.41. His WHIP is still below one at 0.91 and he still has a great strikeout to walk ratio of 11.50 (23:2).
5. Francisco Rodriguez | Los Angeles Angels - Rodriguez leads the majors in saves with 15 in 2008. But, that’s where his dominance stops. He’s got a weak 1.22 strikeout to walk ratio (11:9), and nowhere close to the 1.30 strikeouts per inning we’re used to seeing from him (2008 total is 0.72 K’s per inning). His ERA is 2.93 and his WHIP is 1.30.
6. Brandon Lyon | Arizona Diamondbacks - Lyon has seemingly forgotten about his two blown saves in early April. He’s been a perfect nine for nine in save opportunities since April 9th, and has a total of 10 saves for the year. In 16 innings of work he’s struck out 12 and only walked 2. His ERA is 2.25 and his WHIP is 1.00.
7. Joakim Soria | Kansas City Royals - Soria is certainly pitching well as he hasn’t given up an earned run all season. Heck, he’s only given up four hits in his 14.1 innings of work. Soria has eight saves and 16 strikeouts to only one walk so far. To go along with his perfect 0.00 ERA he has a 0.35 WHIP. Soria would be much higher on this list if the Royals played well enough to allow him more saves.
8. Billy Wagner | New York Mets - Wagner is in the same boat as Soria. His numbers are dominant, but he isn’t getting a great number of saves. He only has seven saves, but he’s sporting a 0.00 ERA and a 0.61 WHIP. He also has struck out 16 batters in 14.2 innings and only walked three.
9. Troy Percival | Tampa Bay Rays - Percival has been pretty solid this season going nine for ten in save opportunities. His only blown save is also the only appearance in which he’s given up any runs (he also gave up 4 of his 6 hits for the season in that one bad outing). In 14 innings of work, Percival has 13 strikeouts and only one walk. His ERA is 1.93 and he has a very nice 0.50 WHIP.
10. Matt Capps | Pittsburgh Pirates - Capps is a perfect nine for nine in save opportunities and has a 2.70 ERA with a 1.02 WHIP. While he doesn’t strike out a lot of hitters (only 10 in 16.2 innings), Capps has been the model of consistency, only blowing two saves since taking over the closers role in June of last season.
11. Jon Rauch | Washington Nationals - Rauch has recorded four saves since being promoted to the closers position when Chad Cordero went to the DL. Rauch has seven total saves for the year and 16 strikeouts in 18.1 innings of work. His ERA is 2.95 and his WHIP is 1.04.
12. Brian Wilson | San Francisco Giants - Wilson is tied for 4th in the majors with 11 saves. He’s also striking out more than one batter per inning (17 K’s in 16.0 innings) but his 3.38 ERA and 1.44 WHIP drop him down to 12th on this list.
13. Huston Street | Oakland A’s - Street is nine for eleven in save opportunities this season, and a good portion of his 3.86 ERA came from one bad outing to start the season against the Red Sox. He’s got a 3.60 strikeout to walk ratio (18:5) and more strikeouts (18) than innings pitched (16.1).
14. George Sherrill | Baltimore Orioles - It’s tough for me to place a guy who’s 2nd in MLB in saves down at #14 on the closers list, but Sherrill has some problems to go along with his 13 saves. He’s striking out less than a batter per inning (13 K’s in 16.1 innings), but more importantly he’s walked 10 batters in 16.1 innings of work. His ERA is also high at 4.41 and his WHIP is 1.29.
15. Kevin Gregg | Florida Marlins - Gregg has seven saves this season to go along with three wins and two losses. While his 2.89 ERA and 1.29 WHIP aren’t terrible, he’s got some problems with 12 strikeouts and 10 walks in 18.2 innings. And it’s not like Gregg had one bad game and that’s why his numbers are high. He has given up, at least, one run in six of the eighteen times he’s taken the mound this season.

One of the first statistics that I look for when deciding on a trade or a free agent acquisition that involves a relief pitcher is strikeout to walk ratio (K:BB). The ratio is easy to calculate as it’s just K/BB, but it goes a long way in showing how dominant a pitcher is over the batters he faces. When considering a relief pitcher, you’d like to see more strikeouts than innings pitched, and a pretty high K:BB ratio (hopefully above 10). I’m going to share three relief pitchers with you who meet both said criteria (one might even be available in your fantasy league) and then also the other two remaining relievers who have a K:BB above 10.

Relievers with 10.00+ K:BB and More K’s than IP.

• Jonathan Papelbon | Boston Red Sox -  He has 21 strikeouts with only 1 walk. His K:BB ratio of 21.00 is the highest of any reliever in baseball with at least 10 innings pitched. He’s pitched 15.1 innings of relief.
• Joakim Soria | Kansas City Royals - He has 15 strikeouts with only 1 walk. His K:BB ratio of 15.00 ranks #2 and he’s pitched in 13.0 innings.
• Santiago Casilla | Oakland Athletics - Casilla is the one relief pitcher in this list of three that may be available in your fantasy league. He has 20 strikeouts and only two walks in 16.1 innings of work. His K:B ratio is 10.00.

Relievers with 10.00+ K:BB but fewer K’s than IP.

• Aquilino Lopez | Detroit Tigers - Lopez is an all-purpose reliever in the Tigers bullpen, but not their closer. He has 14 strikeouts and one walk in 18.2 innings. He has a K:BB ratio of 14.00.
• Mariano Rivera | New York Yankees - Rivera, mathematically speaking, has a K:BB ratio of infinity since he hasn’t walked anyone all year. But, fo our purposes, lets give him a 12.00 K:BB ratio since he has 12 strikeouts and zero walks in 13 innings of work.

Here’s the second installment of my fantasy baseball top 10 closers list.  There are a few new faces as only five closers from our first top 10 closers list made it to the second.

1. Mariano Rivera | New York Yankees - Rivera has eight saves in eight save opportunities. His ERA is a perfect 0.00 and his WHIP is 0.36. In his 11.0 innings of work he has 11 strikeouts and zero walks. These numbers are more dominant than any other closer in the game right now.
2. Joe Nathan | Minnesota Twins - Nathan also has eight saves in eight opportunities. His ERA and WHIP are identical at 0.90 and he’s worked 10.0 innings of relief. He has 10 strikeouts and only one walk.
3. Joakim Soria | Kansas City Royals - You may be asking what a guy with only six saves is doing at #3 on this list. Well, this list is for fantasy value, not just save totals, and Soria is pretty valuable. He has a 13:1 strikeout to walk ratio in 11 innings of work. And he also has a 0.00 ERA and a 0.36 WHIP.
4. Jonathan Papelbon | Boston Red Sox - Paps is the first closer with an ERA above 1.00. His is 2.25, but that was mostly a result of one bad outing against the Yankees. He has eight saves, but what is really impressive (and the reason he’s 4th on this list and not 7th or 8th) is his 20:1 strikeout to walk ratio in 12.0 innings pitched.
5. Billy Wagner | New York Mets - Wagner has six saves and a 0.00 ERA with a 0.42 WHIP. He did just blow a save last night but his ERA didn’t suffer due to a Jose Reyes throwing error. He has a 12:2 strikeout to walk ratio in 12.0 innings of work.
6. Troy Percival | Tampa Bay Rays - Percival has pitched in 9.0 innings and has recorded 5 saves. His ERA is a perfect 0.00 and his WHIP is 0.33. He has a 9:1 strikeout to walk ratio.
7. Brad Lidge | Philadelphia Phillies - Lidge has six saves in 11.0 innings of work. He also has a 0.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. His strikeout to walk ratio is a little rough at 12:6, but none of those walks have hurt him yet. Don’t expect that to remain true if he keep up this K:BB pace.
8. Brandon Lyon | Arizona Diamondbacks - Lyon hasn’t been the epitome of stability as he’s already blown two saves. But, his eight saves has him tied for third in MLB. His 2.77 ERA is a bit high, but his 0.85 WHIP and his 10:1 strikeout to walk ratio are keeping him grounded (and on this list).
9. Matt Capps | Pittsburgh Pirates - Capps has pitched in 11.2 innings in 2008 and has recorded 6 saves with a 8:2 strikeout to walk ratio. He has a 2.31 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP.
10. Francisco Rodriguez | Los Angeles Angels - Rodriguez’s ERA is ballooned at 3.86 due to his only blown save against Cleveland. He also has a high WHIP (1.54) as he’s given up nine hits and nine walks in 11.2 innings. He is leading MLB with 11 saves, so it’s not all bad here. He typically strikes out a lot more batters than innings pitched, but that hasn’t been the case so far in 2008 with only 9 strikeouts. The only solid aspect of his game right now is his league leading save total. Most of his other stats are currently suspect.

If you think drafting closers is easy… think again. There are more strategies around drafting closers than just about any other position on the diamond. And here’s why…

I’m going to share with you, what I feel are, the top 10 closers through the first 2 and a half weeks of fantasy baseball. You’d expect the top of this list to be filled with tier one type closers. But that just isn’t the case. In fact, more closers in the top 10 are found in what many considered as the bottom tier of closers (pre-season rankings) the the top tier. Very interesting!

1. Joakim Soria | Kansas City Royals - Soria has 5 saves, a 10 strikeout to zero walks ratio in seven innings and has only given up 2 hits. He also has a perfect 0.00 ERA and a 0.29 WHIP.
2. Jonathan Papelbon | Boston Red Sox - Paps is 5 for 5 in save opportunities and has a dominating 14 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio. His ERA is 1.29 and his WHIP is 0.86.
3. Bobby Jenks | Chicago White Sox - Jenks has one more save than Paps and Soria, but his lack of strikeouts (he only has two K’s in 7.0 innings) kept me from placing him any higher than 3rd on this list. He has a 0.00 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP.
4. Mariano Rivera | New York Yankees - Rivera is a perfect 5 for 5 in save opportunities this season with a perfect 0.00 ERA, as well. He also sports a 7:0 strikeout to walk ratio and a very tiny 0.47 WHIP. Studly!
5. Joe Nathan | Minnesota Twins - Nathan hasn’t given up an earned run yet, and his WHIP is 1.00 to go along with the 0.00 ERA. He’s 5 for 5 in save opportunities and has 5 strikeouts and zero walks in six innings of work.
6. C.J. Wilson | Texas Rangers - Wilson has four saves and has only given up two hits in 7.0 innings of relief work. He only has one strikeout (that number could use improvement) and one walk. His ERA is 0.00 and his WHIP 0.43.
7. George Sherrill | Baltimore Orioles - Sherrill leads MLB with 6 saves, which is why he’s on this list even though his ERA is 3.18. He has a 4:2 strikeout to walk ratio in 5.2 innings of work. His WHIP is 0.71.
8. Todd Jones | Detroit Tigers - Jones is 3 for 3 in save opportunities when the Tigers give him a chance to close out games (I never thought that would be a problem in 2008). He has a 1.50 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP to go along with four strikeouts and two walks.
9. Jason Isringhausen | St. Louis Cardinals - Isringhausen is tied for the MLB lead with Jenks and Sherrill with six saves, but only landed at #8 on this list due to his 4.50 ERA. He has an 8:2 strikeout to walk ratio, which doesn’t suck, but he’s given up 9 hits in 8 innings on the mound and sports a WHIP of 1.37.
10. Matt Capps | Pittsburgh Pirates - Capps is 4 for 4 in save opportunities and has a 3.52 ERA with a 1.04 WHIP. In 7.2 innings of relief work, Capps has given up six hits and has a 6:2 strikeout to walk ratio.

Diamondback’s closer Brandon Lyon has one win, one loss and one save with a 12.00 ERA in three innings of work. That’s not exactly the way he wanted to start the season, and calling his performance so far mediocre, is being rather nice.

However, manager Bob Melvin isn’t ready to pull the plug on Lyon’s closer days yet.

A day after his closer registered his second blown save in two chances, manager Bob Melvin stuck up for Brandon Lyon, saying that he’s not going to give up on his closer this early in the season.

“We have confidence in him,” Melvin said. “A couple of outings isn’t going to take away from the fact that this is a guy we expect to pitch the ninth inning for us. That’s the way it remains right now.”

Next in line to close games if and when Lyon does fall from grace is Chad Qualls, who has performed well to date. Qualls has pitched 5.1 innings in relief and has five strikeouts with four walks and a save. He hasn’t given up an earned run.

If you have Lyon on your fantasy baseball team and Qualls is available, you might want to run and grab him as insurance.

Unless Lyon turns things around, his closing days are numbered.

Kerry Wood returned to Chicago from Spring Training victorius in landing the closer’s job for the Cubs. But, how long will his leash be if Wood doesn’t recover from his terrible start to the season?

“I felt good. I actually was surprised that I was able to keep the adrenaline in check,” said Wood, who entered a scoreless game in the ninth inning Monday against division rival Milwaukee. ”Obviously, you don’t want to let guys on base late in a game.”

Wood, who issued only one walk during a stellar spring training, hit the first batter he faced, Rickie Weeks. When Tony Gwynn Jr. sacrificed the runner to second, it left Wood and manager Lou Piniella with the dilemma of facing either 2007 National League home-run leader Prince Fielder or ‘07 Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun.

”We decided to walk Fielder, but if I don’t have a man on base, we wouldn’t be in that situation,” Wood said. ”I wanted to try to get a double play there.”

Instead, Braun singled home a run, and Corey Hart added a two-out, two-run double.

To make matters worse, Bob Howry, who Wood beat out for the closer’s job, came in to stop the bleeding and was tagged for an earned run and took the loss.

”It’s one game,” Howry said. ”It’s not going to be the last one. It’s a long year.”

Howry may not be closing games, but Piniella needs him to get better.

”I have to pitch him,” Piniella said. ”We just have to get him sharp, and the only way to do that is by using him.”

Carlos Marmol, the third competitor for the closer’s job, also pitched in the game, and yielded zero runs while striking out three in 1.1 innings. He, by far, had the best day, but is still third on the Cubs closer depth chart.
photo credit: felicity redwell

Kerry Wood pitched a perfect 9th inning yesterday to earn a save and more importantly, inch closer to earning the Chicago Cubs closer job.

Wood needed just six pitches to get through the inning, five of them strikes. His previous outing, he delivered six pitches — all strikes.

”Woody is making it easier,” manager Lou Piniella said. ”He has been throwing strikes. He has been going after hitters. His velocity has been good. He is mixing in some nice, hard sliders. He is getting ahead of hitters. He is really throwing the ball well.”

Piniella said Wood’s fastballs were clocked in the 95-to-98 mph range. Wood has struck out four and walked none in seven innings.

Wood has pitched seven innings of spring ball earning one save, a 3.86 ERA all while striking out five and walking none.