Roberto Osuna: Late-Draft Saves Opportunity
By Bill Pivetz
The closer position is finite. There are 30 teams, so there are 30 closers. But there aren’t. There are 60 potential closers in the league. The set-up man is one of the more important positions to a baseball team. If a team’s closer gets injured, it is next man up and the set-up man (most likely) becomes the ninth-inning guy. Look at the Toronto Blue Jays. The team started with Miguel Castro as the closer and now are relying on Roberto Osuna in the playoffs. Saves can be found late and Osuna is someone to eye on in 2016.
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Castro recorded four saves in the first month of the season. He didn’t last long in the role. A 4.38 ERA will do that to you. Next man up was Brett Cecil. Cecil was a starting pitcher in his first three seasons. He transitioned to the bullpen in 2012. He got his first save of the 2015 season on April 28. He had five saves from then until June 28. He too had an inflated ERA and the Blue Jays moved on to Osuna.
In the first two-plus months of the season, Roberto Osuna pitched 32.0 innings with a 2.25 ERA and .184 opposing batting average. He recorded his first save on June 22, pitching two innings with one walk and five strikeouts. At 20 years old, Osuna became the youngest closer in the league.
At the end of the regular season, Roberto Osuna finished with 20 saves, 2.58 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 75 strikeouts and 16 walks over 69.2 innings. In the month of August, he recorded 10 saves with a 0.79 ERA and 0.62 WHIP in 11 games.
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Osuna was not drafted in ESPN leagues, and for good reason. He was the third man on the bullpen depth chart. Why would you draft a middle reliever unless you play in a dynasty or big re-draft league? However, by the end of the season, he was owned in 71.0 percent of leagues, which is still too low for a top closer.
Even though he appeared in just 68 games this season, Roberto Osuna finished as the 24th-best closer on the Player Rater.
Reports state that Cecil could be back from a calf injury by the World Series (if the Jays make it that far). While this sounds like the closer picture is clouded, but even when both pitchers were healthy, Toronto called upon Osuna over Cecil. I like Roberto Osuna to be the closer you draft for next season, and drafted fairly late.
Projections: 72.1 innings, 39 saves, 2.25 ERA, 0.89 WHIP
Draft: Round 14