Standard Information (Yahoo! Defaults)
12-Team, 5x5, Mixed, Rotisserie League
Positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 3 OF, U, 2 SP, 2 RP, 3 P
Stats: R, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, W, SV, K, ERA, WHIP
Limits: 1250 IP & 162 G
I'm not going to make guesses at who will end up as closers where they are up in the air, so the rankings will have only a player if he is currently their team's closer.
Replacement Level
3 W, 12 SV, 51 K, 3.46 ERA, 1.26 WHIP
First Tier
1. Joe Nathan, Minnesota Twins
2. B.J. Ryan, Toronto Blue Jays
3. Francisco Rodriguez, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
4. Billy Wagner, New York Mets
Second Tier
5. Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees
6. Huston Street, Oakland Athletics
7. Tom Gordon, Philadelphia Phillies
8. J.J. Putz, Seattle Mariners
9. Trevor Hoffman, San Diego Padres
10. Chad Cordero, Washington Nationals
11. Francisco Cordero, Milwaukee Brewers
12. Eric Gagne, Texas Rangers
13. Bobby Jenks, Chicago White Sox
14. Brian Fuentes, Colorado Rockies
15. Jose Valverde, Arizona Diamondbacks
16. Brad Lidge, Houston Astros
If you take Gagne, make sure to handcuff him with Akinori Otsuka. I thought about dropping Lidge down to the next tier, but his stuff is still very good. Is Albert Pujols really powerful enough to ruin a former top-notch closer?
Third Tier
17. Chris Ray, Baltimore Orioles
18. Jason Isringhausen, St. Louis Cardinals
19. Takashi Saito, Los Angeles Dodgers
20. Armando Benitez, San Francisco Giants
21. Todd Jones, Detroit Tigers
Handcuff Jonathan Broxton to Saito. I would say the same for Joel Zumaya and Jones, but Fernando Rodney is still in Detroit as well.
Fourth Tier
22. Salomon Torres, Pittsburgh Pirates
23. Joe Borowski, Cleveland Indians
24. Bob Wickman, Atlanta Braves
25. Ryan Dempster, Chicago Cubs
26. Octavio Dotel, Kansas City Royals
If Wickman falters, keep an eye on who gets tapped to take his place. Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano are both great pitchers. Will they go to Gonzalez because he has closer experience, or Soriano because Gonzalez can be used to match up with lefties in the earlier innings?