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JB’s Fantasy Baseball Closer Strategy: What do you do now?

By Justin Buckhanan

BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 11: Craig Kimbrel #46 of the Boston Red Sox pitches during game two of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 11, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 11: Craig Kimbrel #46 of the Boston Red Sox pitches during game two of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 11, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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PHOENIX, AZ – MAY 14: Josh Hader #71 of the Milwaukee Brewers delivers a pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on May 14, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ – MAY 14: Josh Hader #71 of the Milwaukee Brewers delivers a pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on May 14, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

1. Josh Hader: Could easily be top five on the elite list, but the way Manager Craig Counsell uses him is still suspect and Jeremy Jeffress is bound to steal some opportunities when he gets healthy. That said, no matter what role Hader is in, he’s going to produce numbers to help your fantasy team, whether it’s a roto format or points league.

2. Wade Davis: While extremely prone to occasional blow ups, he seems fairly entrenched as the Colorado closer assuming the Rockies start to win some games.

3. Jose Alvarado: Am I sipping the Alvarado Kool Aid here? Diego Castillo figures to get spot opportunities here and there for an upstart Tampa Bay team. Alvarado’s stuff is absolutely nasty. His only glitch at the moment is control. Castillo could probably close for a bunch of teams right now, but the Rays are loading up the bullpen.

4. Kirby Yates: Doesn’t seem to overwhelm you with stuff but gets the job done for the NL’s version of Tampa Bay. The big concern here is that the Padres are so loaded with arms that Yates could get pushed out of a job at the first sign of faltering.

5. Jose LeClerc: Gotten off to a slow start but stuff is there to excel. The fact that Manager Chris Woodward recently said that LeClerc is the Rangers best pitcher should be very telling.

6. Arodys Vizcaino: He’s injured again, so this is a tough one. A.J. Minter is getting healthy, but is erratic, and there’s always Kimbrel lurking. However, the Atlanta situation stands to get a lot of chances for saves.

7. Will Smith: He has some nasty stuff and appears to be healthy again after two years of problems. The issue is how many chances he’ll get with San Francisco or whether the rebuilding Giants will trade him if he proves to be consistent.

8. Cody Allen: Has done well in the past but coming off a down year and is a blown save waiting to happen. Beyond that, the Angels just aren’t a very good team right now, making save opportunities a big question.

9. Shane Greene: Has held off Joe Jimenez so far and gotten off to a strong start this year. Will it last? If it does, does that just mean that Detroit will trade him to a contender?

10. Ken  Giles: Ended last season strong for Toronto and carried that over to this year. I just have a feeling he’s a time bomb waiting to explode any game.