Fantasy Relief: A whirlwind week for closers
You want to know how to quickly become a major-league closer? Apparently the key is learning how to throw a screwball.
Matt Thornton didn't do it. Neither did Jesse Crain, Will Ohman nor Addison Reed, all of who were in the mix for the White Sox closer's role, which was vacated following Sergio Santos' trade to Toronto.
Hector Santiago surprised everyone on his way to winning the ninth-inning role for Chicago, and he did it because he challenged himself.
"I had nothing to lose," Santiago told CSN Chicago. "I was going into my fifth season as a minor-league player and I was like, 'Let's try to get something in my arsenal that can make me better, get me noticed a little more and stand out.'"
Mission accomplished. Santiago not only surpassed a crafty veteran in Thornton, but he also leapfrogged Reed, who came into spring training as one of the majors' top young relievers to watch.
Nobody threw their lot behind the 24-year-old Santiago, but here we are a week into the baseball season and the left-handed hurler has been the most-added player in Fantasy because he showed no fear in mastering a difficult pitch.
"I have a couple friends that are left-handed, but they won't get into it," Santiago said. "They're scared of injury."
Even before Santiago added the screwball to his repertoire, he was a pretty effective strikeout pitcher in the minors, whiffing 9.6 batters per nine innings. Santiago struck out 13 batters in 11 innings in exhibition games this spring, showing he can still be effective at getting batters to swing and miss.
While Santiago realizes he has a great opportunity, his game still needs some refinement. Santiago walked six batters in his 11 spring innings after walking 4.1 batters per nine innings in the minors.
With that said, Santiago has a chance to thrive in the closer's role for Chicago because he's trending toward being a ground-ball pitcher, which probably has a lot to do with the development of his screwball. That's certainly going to help Santiago in a bandbox stadium like U.S. Cellular Field.
Thornton entered the spring as the odds-on favorite to win the White Sox's closer role, but we were all thrown a curve -- check that, a screwball -- when Santiago entered the fray.
Closing Time
Each week we'll break down closer situations worthy of further examination ...
| | ||
| Player | Points | |
| 1. | Jeff Samardzija, RP, Cubs | 35 |
| 2. | Lucas Harrell, RP, Astros | 30 |
| 3. | Lance Lynn, RP, Cardinals | 30 |
| 4. | Duane Below, RP, Tigers | 22.5 |
| 5. | Josh Lindblom, RP, Dodgers | 18.5 |
| 6. | Aroldis Chapman, RP, Reds | 17.5 |
| 7. | Luis Perez, RP, Blue Jays | 17.5 |
| 8. | Casey Janssen, RP, Blue Jays | 15.5 |
| 9. | Tyler Clippard, RP, Nationals | 12.5 |
| 10. | Juan Cruz, RP, Pirates | 11.5 |
Toronto: Speaking of Santos, the Blue Jays might want to use a mulligan on their trade with the White Sox after the 28-year-old right-hander has blown his first two save chances with his new team. I was never a big fan of this trade seeing how Santos struggled at home (5.51 ERA) in 2011, and he was leaving one hitter's ballpark for another. It would be naïve to think former closer Francisco Cordero signed with the Blue Jays because he figured he would be in a setup role all season. Toronto added Cordero as insurance in case Santos proved to be a one-year wonder. If you have an open roster spot and are willing to gamble, then adding Cordero might not be such a bad idea.
Washington: The Brad Lidge/Henry Rodriguez situation at the back-end of the Nationals' bullpen is about to become a more permanent situation with the news that closer Drew Storen will visit Dr. James Andrews for further evaluation on his injured elbow. That's almost like the kiss of death for MLB pitchers. Logic tells us that Washington should turn to Lidge because he has vast experience as an MLB closer. But Rodriguez brings triple-digit heat, which, if harnessed, would be a very effective weapon in the closer's role. It's the reason why Washington is using a two-man rotation at closer. They see the potential Rodriguez brings to the ninth-inning.
Boston: Manager Bobby Valentine was fishing for a lifeline after he watched setup man Mark Melancon and closer Alfredo Aceves meltdown in the team's season-opening series against Detroit. Valentine hinted that moving Daniel Bard back to the bullpen would be a solution. However, general manager Ben Cherington is taking a hard stand and has no plans on moving Bard out of the rotation. Although, I find it interesting that every time Cherington answers a question about Bard being shifted back to the bullpen, he uses the phrase "right now" when he talks about the team's commitment to using Bard as a starter. I always thought it should have been Aceves in the rotation and Bard in the bullpen, and who knows it still might be if Bard continues to get results like Tuesday's.
Chicago Cubs: Cherington's old boss, Theo Epstein, is having his own closer problems in the Windy City. After it appeared using a new grip on his fastball solved Carlos Marmol's problems, his first two appearances this season resulted in a loss and blown save. Even when Marmol finally record his first save, it was of the one-out variety and he walked a batter. The alarming part is that Marmol has no strikeouts in three appearances. The only good news for Marmol is that setup man Kerry Wood is having his struggles as well and there's really no one else in the Cubs' bullpen to threaten Marmol's reign as closer. Manager Dale Sveum said he doesn't consider Marmol to be struggling, but how much longer can he say that if this keeps up?
| | ||
| Player | Rank | |
| 1. | Jeff Samardzija, RP, Cubs | 4 |
| 2. | Lance Lynn, RP, Cardinals | 7 |
| 3. | Lucas Harrell, RP, Astros | 8 |
| 4. | Duane Below, RP, Tigers | 9 |
| 5. | Aroldis Chapman, RP, Reds | 21 |
| 6. | Josh Lindblom, RP, Dodgers | 23 |
| 7. | Luis Perez, RP, Blue Jays | 26 |
| 8. | Casey Janssen, RP, Blue Jays | 28 |
| 9. | Tyler Clippard, RP, Nationals | 35 |
| 10. | Juan Cruz, RP, Pirates | 40 |
Tampa Bay: Manager Joe Maddon is no friend to Fantasy owners. He refuses to name a closer with Kyle Farnsworth on the disabled list, leaving everyone guessing who might take over the ninth-inning role in the interim. With Joel Peralta being the logical choice seeing how he was second on the team in saves in 2011, Maddon used Fernando Rodney for the team's first two save chances over the weekend. Maddon still said he will use a committee approach in the closer's role, but it looks like if you are looking for a stopgap option at closer, grab Rodney off waivers. Remember, Maddon refused to name Farnsworth his closer last year, but he still finished with a team-high 25 saves. It appears Maddon will keep going to Rodney until he proves he can't handle the job.
Kansas City: Manager Ned Yost finally ended the suspense last Thursday and named Jonathan Broxton the team's closer in the wake of Joakim Soria's season-ending injury. Broxton has dominating stuff, but he hasn't had an ERA lower than 4.04 the last two seasons and has already shown mixed results in his first two appearances this season. If I were in an AL-only league, I would make sure to hold onto Greg Holland.
Baltimore: Much like the Kansas City situation, Orioles manager Buck Showalter finally made it a formality when naming Jim Johnson the team's closer. Thus far, Johnson has made his skipper look smart, going 2 for 2 in save chances. Showalter always has fallback options like Matt Lindstrom and Kevin Gregg in the event Johnson falters, but one name to keep tabs on is Pedro Strop, who has closer's experience in the minors and also had a very good strikeout rate (10.8 K/9).
Call to the 'pen
Each week we'll break down pertinent Fantasy news with setup men and other relievers ...
Pirates setup man Evan Meek made his season debut Sunday against the Phillies, pitching the eighth inning of a 4-all game. However, prior to his first appearance Meek said he isn't in an ideal situation right now to be pitching late in games. He's hinting that he might not be fully back to form after being limited in 2011 due to shoulder problems. Meek did have a 4.63 ERA this spring, but he still had a .227 opponents' batting average, so it's not like he was completely ineffective ... Cardinals setup man Fernando Salas still has the confidence of manager Mike Matheny despite his struggles dating back to the exhibition season. Matheny said Salas is falling behind hitters, but he doesn't expect that to last much longer ... Padres manager Bud Black is in love with Micah Owings as his long reliever. Owings bailed out starter Cory Luebke in a 6-0 loss last Friday by tossing 3 1/3 scoreless innings against the Dodgers, saving the Padres' bullpen. Owings' days as a rotation candidate seem numbered. He went 5-0 with a 3.59 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and struck out 7.2 batters per nine innings in 29 relief appearances for Arizona last year, and he's already off to a riveting start as a reliever this year ... The Marlins have a new role for reliever Steve Cishek -- workhorse. Miami has used Cishek in four of the team's first five games. He's responded with four scoreless innings. If Cishek keeps chewing up innings, then Head-to-Head owners in very deep formats will find some use for him ... Dodgers setup man Kenley Jansen seems to have figured out why he was having problems keeping the baseball in the ballpark. Including spring training, Jansen surrendered four homers in 12 innings this year. The Dodgers pitching staff pointed out that Jansen had a mechanical flaw. Jansen fixed it by bending his right knee, which allows him to drive off the rubber and keep his left arm in front of his body for better pitch deception. Jansen responded by firing two scoreless innings against San Diego on Saturday. Crisis averted ... Mets manager Terry Collins said Monday that he would probably use veteran reliever Miguel Batista in a save opportunity if closer Frank Francisco and setup man Jon Rauch were unavailable at the same time.
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