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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.

Lefty outfielder John Bowker saw Major League action for the first time in his career Saturday for the San Francisco Giants, and promptly went 2-3 with a home run. Then for an encore he wet 2-3 with another home run on Sunday. Not bad for the 24-year-old. His consecutive game home run streak ended at two when he went 2-4 with only a triple on Tuesday.

Bowker has come out of the gates red hot. Last season in 139 games at Double-A Connecticut, he batted .307 with 22 home runs and 37 doubles. This kid can hit, and his power keeps developing every year. With Randy Winn and Fred Lewis around, Bowker might not be around to stay, not just yet. But if his performances stay relatively close to this level, the Giants will have to find a spot for him.

Bowker is surely worth an add in NL-only fantasy baseball leagues, and he should be on your mixed-league radar as well.

To say that you must keep up with minor league prospects in order to win your fantasy baseball league is a bit of a stretch. You don’t HAVE to look to the youngsters in the minors, but boy can it sure help. Think about Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo from last season. Don’t you think the fantasy GM’s who were tracking them in the minors greatly benefited from signing them upon the call ups to the show?

So, we’re going to keep an eye on the minor leagues this season. Here we go…

1. Cameron Maybin | AA Carolina Mudcats | Florida Marlins - Maybin should have won the center field job for the Marlins out of Spring Training, but a little more minor league seasoning can’t hurt, right? Through 10 games in 2008 he’s averaging .303/.477/.545 with 2 home runs and 3 stolen bases and is just a quick flight away from Miami when Amezaga stops overproducing. Maybin should use the extra time in Double-A to work on hitting lefties, which shouldn’t be a problem for this right-handed youngster. MLB ETA: June 2008
2. Clayton Kershaw | AA Jacksonville Suns | Los Angeles Dodgers - What does a mid-90’s fastball with a plus curve get you these days? Well, if you’re Clayton Kershaw, it gets you to Double-A by the time you turn 20 and also turns you into the top Dodgers pitching prospect. He’s 0-2 so far this season in two starts, but his ERA is good at 3.38 and he’s got a very nice strikeout to walk ratio of 3.00 (12:4). The Dodgers rotation isn’t really rock solid at the #5 spot, and Kershaw could find himself pitching in Los Angeles earlier than expected if he keeps his K:BB ratio rolling along. MLB ETA: July 2008
3. Jo-Jo Reyes | AAA Richmond Braves | Atlanta Braves - This 23-year-old lefty was brought up to Atlanta a bit too early last season and suffered in 10 Major League starts with a 6.21 ERA and an abysmal 0.9 strikeout to walk ratio (27:30). If anyone could benefit from another year in the minors, it’s Jo-Jo. But, it doesn’t look like that is going to happen in 2008. Atlanta starting pitchers are dropping like flies and Reyes is really impressive so far in 2008 in his 2 starts.  He’s yet to record a victory, but he hasn’t allowed an earned run and has a phenomenal strikeout to walk ratio of 4.66 (14:3). MLB ETA: May 2008 (most likely late April… next week even)

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Rich Hill emerged last season as a legitimate force for any fantasy baseball rotation. He recorded an 11-8 record in 32 starts with a 3.92 ERA. He also had 183 strikeouts compared to 63 walks in 195 innings of work. But, the 2008 season isn’t going so well for Hill, and currently he’s been relegated to spot starts and relief work in the Cubs bullpen. It’s temporary, but cause for alarm.

”We’re just trying to formulate a couple of ideas to see how we can get better quickly,” Piniella said, ”but there’s no deep concerns.”

Beyond specific work and/or short leashes with struggling starters such as Rich Hill, the Cubs will keep their top four starters on fifth-day cycles and skip the fifth guy as days off dictate.

After Marquis’ effort Sunday, he’ll become the fourth guy in the rotation, Piniella said, starting again Friday against Pittsburgh — following Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly.

Hill, who’s in the bullpen awaiting a chance to show for a couple innings the aggressiveness he lacked in his last start, goes Saturday, behind Marquis.

Part of Hill’s problem is his strikeout to walk ratio. In 2007 it was 2.90 (183:63). So far, this season, it’s 1.00 (7:7) in nine innings of work. The strikeout rate (7 in 9 innings) is nothing to worry about, but the ratio to walks surely is.

Before Monday night’s game, Red Sox DH, David Ortiz was mired in a deep slump. He was batting .068 (3 for 44) and was even taken out of the lineup for the ESPN Sunday Night baseball game against the Yankees. You probably couldn’t have convinced many people to sell you Papi low, even at this point. but, at least they wouldn’t have laughed at you… for long.

However, before Monday’s game, Papi texted Terry Francona “asking” to be in the lineup.

“He actually texted me - and this is no joke, I actually thought I was texting my daughter - and he was like, ‘Hey, dad’ or ‘Hey, pop’ or whatever it was,” Francona said. “I texted him back and I was like, ‘What number is this?’

“All of a sudden, I get back, ‘Mine, (expletive).’ Now I’m getting (upset), so I call and it’s David. I was all mixed up, because the last one said, ‘Put me in, (expletive).’ And I can’t figure it out. I was actually kind of relieved. If David gets hits or not, at least I don’t have a 14-year-old talking like that. The good news is my daughter’s not speaking like that, and David wants to play.”

Papi went 2 for 5 with 2 singles and is now hitting .104. These are two signs that all David Ortiz fantasy baseball owners have been looking for. The first is that he’s anxious to get out there and keep swinging. The second is that the base hits are starting to come now.

Maybe you can buy low on Papi by saying his power is still down…

I just found a chat transcript from yesterdays baseball chat at the Houston Chronicle with Jose de Jesus Ortiz. There were a few questions and answers that could be of some fantasy baseball assistance to you guys.

astrosmaniac: What Astros players in the minors have the best chance to emerge this season?
Jose_de_Jesus_Ortiz: When healthy, look for Felipe Paulino and Fernando Nieve to contribute. Bud Norris could be here if he stars.

astrosmaniac: What’s the problem with Hunter Pence’s slow start?
Jose_de_Jesus_Ortiz: A lot of folks are wondering the same thing. Let’s give him a few more weeks to see if he can turn it around before we declare this a sophomore slump.

G-532357578: Is there something wrong with Roy O, he seems….off.
Jose_de_Jesus_Ortiz: I’m always asked that question. If he’s healthy, it’s just a matter of correcting some mechanical flaws.

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