Pirates Felipe Rivero: Sleeper closer in 2018
By Bill Pivetz
The Pirates may be rebuilding but they locked up their closer for the next couple of seasons. Felipe Rivero is a sleeper closer entering this season.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are the newest team to start the rebuilding process, trading away Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen over the last week. Though, they will need some players to take the field. The front office signed their closer to a four-year deal with two options. Felipe Rivero pitched well down the stretch and is a sleeper pick this season.
Rivero spent some time in Washington before being traded to Pittsburgh as a part of the Mark Melancon deal in 2016. He took over the Pirates closer job in mid-June and didn’t look back. The Pirates traded Tony Watson to the Dodgers, showing their confidence in the 25-year-old.
For the season, Rivero finished with a 1.67 ERA, 0.889 WHIP, 2.47 WHIP, 10.5 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and 21 saves. He had a 2.44 ERA and 0.992 WHIP from the date of his first save to the end of the season.
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For a relief pitcher that went undrafted in standard leagues, 260.0 ADP, Rivero finished as the No. 7 reliever on the Player Rater. He moves up to No. 5 if you remove the two starters that have RP eligibility. He finished ahead of top names like Wade Davis, Aroldis Chapman and Greg Holland.
Looking at his numbers from the minor leagues until now, Rivero improved a lot of areas. His ground ball and home runs rates stabilized to a manageable 52.9 and 28.3 percent, respectively. His HR/FB rate was 7.5 percent after posting an 11.9 percent the season prior.
Rivero also increased his swinging strike rate and first-pitch strike and he decreased his contact rate, Z-Contact rate, and zone rate. Inducing more swings-and-misses and having more control over his pitches resulted in a higher strikeout rate and lower walk rate, both things we look for in an elite closer.
While the Pirates may not be as competitive as years past, Rivero should still get his fair of saves. Steamer projects a 2.92 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 31 saves. I don’t like seeing an increase of over one run in ERA but anything could happen, I guess. I’m projecting something closer to a 2.10 ERA.
The Cardinals finished the highest in the division with a .256 batting average, 14th overall, while the Cubs finished atop in slugging, seventh overall, with a .437 slugging percentage. The National League Central doesn’t feature the best offenses.
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Rivero ranks as my No. 10 closer as well as Fantasy Pros. If you can draft him as your No. 2 closer in standard leagues, you will have a solid one-two combination. Aim to draft him in the 12th round.