Philadelphia Phillies Dalier Hinojosa: Waiver Wire Target

Dalier Hinojosa is by no means a household name, but he does like to be in first in line for closing duties with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Participating in fantasy baseball and being successful at it, comes down to two main acts that are of equal performance. Drafting is the obvious first action that will determine an owner’s success, but the importance of being active on the waiver wire cannot be understated.

MLB action has barely even started and we have seen unknown players get off to torrid starts and bullpen roles start to shake out. The Phillies are not going to win very many games this season, but whatever leads they have late in games, they will need to take full advantage of. Yesterday against the Reds, they had a lead late in the game, but the bullpen faltered.

The interesting thing about it though, was that David Hernandez, the odds on favorite to be the closer, came in the eighth inning and would go on to blow the lead. Phillies’ manager Pete Mackanin, would later state that if they had the lead going into the ninth, reliever, Dalier Hinojosa, would have been brought in to close the game.

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Hinojosa came over from Cuba in 2012 and has spent most of his time in the Red Sox organization before being released by the club in 2015 and then picked up by the Phills the middle of last season. He has thrown a grand total of 24.2 innings at the MLB level, and has not notched a save yet in his career. But over the second half of the season with the Phillies, he posted a minuscule 0.78 ERA, with a 2.92 FIP, 1.00 WHIP and 21 K over 23 innings.

He features both a nasty breaking ball and splitter, and his 8.2 SO/9 looks to be a good indicator that he has enough swing and miss stuff to have success as a closer. He did not have the greatest of springs, but it’s a telling sign that the team stuck with him after his success last season. Confidence is a big key in securing a high pressure role in the bullpen and the Phillies seem to be positive he can be a capable closer.

Next: Arodys Vizcaino: The Closer in Atlanta

Dalier Hinojosa’s upside is clearly limited by the team he plays for and the fact that he is not going to necessary overpower people with velocity, but saves are saves no matter where or whom they come from. Fantasy owners may want to see how he handles his first save chance, but he is a name to remember and keep track of on the wire. If you like what you see, snag him before other owners try to swoop in and stockpile backend arms.