2013 Pre-Season Closer Report - National League

National League East

Atlanta Braves

Closer – Craig Kimbrel

Next – Johnny Venters

Sleeper – Jordan Walden

Super-Sleeper – Eric O’Flaherty

The Braves are holding the best closer in the league and one of the best bullpen staffs. Craig Kimbrel is as dominating as they come with a 16.66 K9 in 2012. His continually improving control just makes him look better and better, his BB9 has improved every season to 2.01 in 2012. Johnny Venters was hit a little harder than usual in 2012 but on the surface his indicating stats are mostly unchanged. Although Venters continued to throw in the mid-90s he did see his velocity reduced by around 1MPH. Walden was the closer for the Los Angeles Angels in 2011 and with a solid performance this spring could move ahead of Venters in the closer rankings. Walden throws in the high 90s (though he too saw his velocity reduced a bit in 2012) and strikes out more than a btter per inning but has the type of control that can make managers nervous in the ninth.

Miami Marlins

Closer – Steve Cishek

Next – A.J. Ramos

Sleeper – Ryan Webb

Super-Sleeper – Jose Ceda

Steve Cishek is a favorite to be replaced as closer during the season. He lacks truly dominating stuff and lacks the control to be consistently effective. Ramos has slightly better stuff and slightly better control with less experience in the Major Leagues. However, Ramos has been an effective closer in the minors and should get goods odds as the near-future closer for the Marlins. Ryan Webb is a solid relief pitcher but does not accumulate the strikeouts associated with the closer role.

New York Mets

Closer – Frank Francisco

Next – Bobby Parnell

Sleeper – Jenrry Mejia

Super-Sleeper – Josh Edgin

For now Frank Francisco remains in place as the closer. He is likely much better than his 2012 performance but understandably most owners will be reluctant to put their faith in him. The Mets have reached out to several potential replacements including Roy Oswalt (yes, as a closer), Jose Valverde and Francisco Rodriguez without any success so far. Francisco is likely to begin the season closing for the Mets and will hold the role until the Mets just can not take it any longer. Bobby Parnell is a hot prospect to take over the closer role at some point. Parnell should get more strikeouts than he does with his high 90s stuff and above average swinging strike rate. Without the higher K9 associated with the position he would probably be a mid-tier closer at best.

Philadelphia Phillies

Closer – Jonathan Papelbon

Next – Mike Adams

Sleeper - Phillippe Aumont

Super-Sleeper – Antonio Bastardo

Jonathan Papelbon had another great fantasy season in 2012. There are some warning signs for 2013 that should not eliminate him from your consideration but may convince you not to throw in that extra dollar in your auction or to grab Jason Motte instead. He pitched a career high 70 innings this season, at age 32 this is not as bad as it would be for a younger player but he did see a velocity drop as a result. He also had a career high HR/FB that was largely hidden by a fairly high LOB percentage. The home runs could be a fluke but it could also be a result of the move from Fenway Park To Citizens Bank Park. Papelbon is unlikely to lose his job thanks to his huge contract but his results could start to decline this season.

Washington Nationals

Closer – Rafael Soriano

Next – Drew Storen

Sleeper – Tyler Clippard

Super-Sleeper – Christian Garcia

Some analysts claim that fantasy owners should avoid the Washington Bullpen because of the three potential closers. That seems like bad advice to me. Rafael Soriano is the closer to start the season until he does something to cost him the job. Given his track record no one should be counting on Soriano to fail. Soriano should be one of the better closers in baseball in 2013. Drew Storen certainly has the stuff and I expect him to take a big step up in results this season as far as K9 is concerned. The previous low K9s are likely part of the problem Davey Johnson (an old school manager is there ever was one) had with Storen in the closer role (that and being so inexperienced). Storen's swinging strike rate took a huge step up to 13.3 in 2012 which if it holds up would indicate elite K9 results in his future. Those in long term keeper leagues should pay attention to Christian Garcia. Garcia was a former top prospect of the New York Yankees whose career was nearly ended by a series of Tommy John Surgeries. The Nationals gave him a chance to return as a reliever and he rampaged through their system. His high 90s stuff returned with his hammer curve and solid change. He should be a bullpen factor at some point in 2013.

National League Central

Chicago Cubs

Closer – Carlos Marmol

Next - Kyuji Fujikawa

Sleeper – Alberto Cabrera

Super-Sleeper – Hector Rondon

The Chicago Cubs tried to dump Marmol off on the Los Angeles Angels early in the offseason but it did not work out. They have since declared their support for Marmol as their closer even as they signed his replacement in Kyuji Fujikawa. Fujikawa is not as flashly as Dice-K or Yu Darvish but has been a very effective pitcher in Japan. His name means "Baseball Kid" He was given the name because he was born the day after his father threw a No-Hitter. He has a career 1.77 ERA and 11.8 K9 in 12 seasons. He was once considered to have the most explosive fastball in Japan but his velocity has decreased in his later years. He still throws in the low to mid 90s with good movement on multiple fastballs including an effective splitter and outstanding control. Judging by Patrick Newman's scouting reports he has fallen from Craig Kimbell levels to J.J. Putz levels and that is not so bad.

Cincinnati Reds

Closer – Jonathan Broxton

Next – Sean Marshall

Sleeper – Aroldis Chapman

Super-Sleeper – Jose Arredondo

It would appear that Jonathan Broxton has recovered from years of abuse at the hands of Joe Torre. His strikeout rate and fastball velocity will probably never be what they were again but Broxton has learned to be effective with what he has which is a still a nice low to mid 90s fastball. As long as his control is there he should be an effective mid-tier closer. Only the return of Aroldis Chapman to the bullpen would force an effective Broxton from the closer role.

Milwaukee Brewers

Closer – John Axford

Next – Jim Henderson

Sleeper – Burke Badenhop

Super-Sleeper – Mike Gonzalez

Throwing in the mid to high 90s will earn you a lot of forgiveness from crotchety baseball managers. However, Axford needs to get his stuff under control or he will become a highly paid middle reliever. The good news is that his absurd 19.2 percent HR/FB rate is extremely unlikely to be repeated. Jim Henderson is old for a rookie but his minor league experience is not so different from Axford's. Henderson throws in the mid-90s and has inconsistent control. Burke Badenhop doesn't have typical closer stuff. He throws in the high 80s usually but with excellent control. He is probably the best pitcher in the bullpen but finesse types tend to have a tough time convincing managers they can do the job and fantasy managers prefer strikeouts.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Closer – Jason Grilli

Next – Mark Melancon

Sleeper – Jared Hughes

Super-Sleeper – Tony Watson

Jason Grilli is not very different from the departed Joel Hanrahan but he comes a tiny bit cheaper. Grilli has low to mid 90s strikeout stuff with mediocre control. He has improved considerably the last couple of seasons mostly by improving from weak control of his fastball to the mediocre or decent control he has now. Marc Melancon can also close in a pinch but Grilli should get an extended opportunity and as long as his control holds he should be secure in the role. Melancon has similar stuff with fewer strikeouts but more consistent control. Melancon probably won't take the role in anything less than a full blown collapse by Grilli but he should receive the occasional save chance.

St. Louis Cardinals

Closer – Jason Motte

Next – Edward Mujica

Sleeper – Mitchell Boggs

Super-Sleeper – Fernando Salas

Jason Motte has been drafted as a top 4-5 closer in many early leagues. He gives his owners more innings than the typical closer thanks to his frequent use in the eighth inning. He throws in the high 90s with excellent control and an improving swinging strike rate and K9 rate. He is as locked into the role as any closer can be these days. His manager seems to have a great deal of faith in him and he has delivered nearly every time.

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks

Closer – J.J. Putz

Next – David Hernandez

Sleeper – Heath Bell

Super-Sleeper – Brad Ziegler

To some J.J. Putz still has a reputation as injury prone but that really should be considered a thing of the past if at all. Put has good stuff and has a nice strikeout rate and very good control. Putz should be as solid a pick as they come but former closer Heath Bell is certainly a huge presence in the Diamondbacks bullpen despite the announcement that he would typically be pitching in the seventh inning. There is also David Hernandez. Hernandez has improved quite a bit since joining the Diamondbacks (from the Orioles). He has gained nice control over his mid-90s stuff and has a rising swinging strike rate that lends hope that his gains in K9 in 2012 could stick around.

Colorado Rockies

Closer – Rafael Betancourt

Next – Rex Brothers

Sleeper – Wilton Lopez

Super-Sleeper – Matt Belisle

Rafael Betancourt should have been a closer years ago but bad results in very small samples always ruined his chances. In 2012 Betancourt finally finished a season as a team's closer and is a lock to start the 2013 season as the closer as well. Betancourt has an excellent low-90s fastball with an excellent change-up and outstanding control. Rex Brothers is the closer of the future but he'll need some time to get his mid-90s fastball under better control. Brothers also has an excellent slider and a solid change-up. Wilton Lopez is in the Rockies bullpen now thanks to an Astros/Phillies trade un-done thanks to a problem with an examination of Lopez's elbow. Lopez is an extreme groundball pitcher with excellent control and a decent (but not ideal for fantasy) strikeout rate. If Lopez is healthy he should be an excellent contributor to the Rockies pen and a potential closer in a pinch.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Closer – Brandon League

Next – Kenley Jansen

Sleeper – Javy Guerra

Super-Sleeper – Ronald Belisario

The Dodgers seem to start every season with a new closer. Brandon League has pretty good stuff but has been plagued with inconsistent control his entire career. The Dodgers acquired him from the Seattle Mariners where he was having a tough season. The Dodgers helped him make an adjustment to his mechanics and League finished the season well and the Dodgers rewarded him with a three-year contract. His control is unlikely to ever be great but when he is going well he induces a ton of ground balls and is a solid relief pitcher but not many fantasy owners idea of a closer. The Dodgers have declared that League will be their closer to open the season. Kenley Jansen who was considered the Dodgers future closer last year has been reduced to next-in-line again thanks to an unfortunate problem with his heart that required surgery. Jansen is expected to be completely prepared to pitch in 2013 but the Dodgers seem understandably shy about putting too much pressure on him.

San Diego Padres

Closer – Huston Street

Next – Brad Brach

Sleeper – Luke Gregerson

Super-Sleeper – Dale Thayer

The Padres have a loaded bullpen led by closer Huston Street. Street gets the strikeouts and has excellent control. Petco Park tends to contain the long fly balls. Street is not the most durable pitcher in the league but he is very effective when healthy. Street owners should consider investing in the key members of the Padres bullpen as insurance. Luke Gregerson is probably the short term replacement when Street is unavailable but I like Brad Brach as the longer term closer. Gregerson's pitches in the high 80s and though he has a nicely above average swinging strike rate he does not put up the strikeout totals that would indicate. Brach pitches in the low 90's with his fastball and should have very nice strikeout totals for a middle reliever. His control needs work but was excellent coming through the minors.

San Francisco Giants

Closer – Sergio Romo

Next – Javier Lopez

Sleeper – Heath Hembree

Super-Sleeper – Jeremy Affeldt

Sergio Romo lives by his slider. He has a high 80s fastball with nice movement but does not use it much. He gets the strikeouts that owners expect from their closers and he complements them with excellent control. The Giants are calling their closer a collective effort of the entire pen but Romo should get the bulk of saves. Heath Hembree has yet to make his Major League debut but has owned the closer of the future label.Hembree did not have a great 2012 season but is essentially ready to be tested by the big leagues.

Boston Red Sox Fantasy Report

Last offseason the Red Sox made a concerted effort to bolster their offense by signing Mark Teixeira. There were also several rumors of them attempting to trade for various offensive stars. They also seemed determined to upgrade their captain Jason Varitek with a younger, more offensively oriented catcher. They pretty much failed in every effort. However, the team projected as stacked and there were few public concerns. Then David Ortiz, the heart of the sox lineup began the season with a horrendous months-long slump. The Red Sox were still scoring runs but after every loss, fingers were pointed at the offense and the lack of it from the designated hitter. Eventually Ortiz did pull out of his slump and had a strong second half but the doubts remains as he heads into the last year of his guaranteed year of his contract (the club holds a $12.5m option for 2011).

As David Ortiz slumped, Jason Varitek was as inconsistent as expected from an offensive viewpoint. Lauded as a great leader and fair defensive catcher, Varitek did many intangible things to help the team win. Nevertheless, the Red Sox wanted offense from the catcher position and got it when they sent several prospects to the Cleveland Indians for Victor Martinez who will be the starting catcher in 2010. Varitek will return by virtue of utilizing his player option for $3m and incentives after the Red Sox passed on using theirs.

The Red Sox run the risk of losing slugging left fielder Jason Bay to free agency. A loss that will be difficult for the Red Sox faithful (an unsabermetricly inclined crowd to say the least, despite the clear beliefs of the teams management) to understand. Most analysts believe that signing Bay to the rumored deals that include several years and over 100 million dollars would be a colossal mistake. Granted, it is a mistake the Red Sox can afford to make. Unlike the rival New York Yankees, the Red Sox have avoided including extra years into contracts as incentives to sign. But Bay is an aging player (who some describe as a Three True Outcomes type) who is mediocre at best defensively and a perhaps a future designated hitter. Paying full price for Bay seems like something the Theo Epstein Red Sox would never do but then you hear things. Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports on the Extra Bases Blog this series of events:

So we're talking to Theo Epstein Monday afternoon and he mentions that restructuring Tim Wakefield's deal will save the Sox $1.5 million on the CBT, which is GM-speak for the payroll luxury tax, or collective bargaining tax. "That's important because there's some things we want to do this winter and we don't have a ton of room under the CBT," Epstein said. The tax threshold for 2010 will be $170 million. Are the Red Sox actually planning to approach that? I mean, zowie. They were around $125 million this season. Keeping in mind that is an extremely rough estimate, I have the Red Sox committed to approximately $109 million for next season. That's figuring arbitration raises for Jonathan Papelbon, Jermey Hermida, Hideki Okajima and Ramon Ramirez and $500,000 each for the assorted 0-3 service-time players. Let's say they sign Jason Bay for $18 million. So now they're at $127 million. Where is that extra $43 million coming from that Theo seemed concerned about? Are the Red Sox leaving room for Roy Halladay and some other superstar? This is total conjecture, of course, and perhaps Epstein was just musing out loud. But perhaps that was a clue that the Sox are, if nothing else, giving themselves the option to make a huge splash.

It seems impossible that the Red Sox could worry about approaching the tax threshold without planning to devote a substantial amount to re-signing Jason Bay. Maybe they plan to sign Bay AND Holliday and put Bay at designated hitter. That would be out Yanking the Yankees, no doubt.

Fantasy Focus

Clay Buchholz, RHP
The Red Sox have a very strong pitching staff. They have a clear ace in Josh Beckett. Jon Lester is among the top starters in the American League and he has room in his development to become a dominating lefty ace. Daisuke Matsuzaka has been a slight disappoint for the Red Sox but he still has that amazing talent which made him such a desirable roster addition. Tim Wakefield is the versatile, and effective veteran that has the ability to throw opposing lineups into weeks-long slumps. But the pitcher who has the potential to have the biggest impact on the Red Sox staff as it now stand may be Clay Buchholz. The Red Sox have been huge believers in his incredible talent and have refused to include him in potential deals for Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Felix Hernandez, and even Roy Halladay. After several brief appearances in the Red Sox rotation and some rumored (but hard to document) fiddling with his mechanics over the last three seasons (which include a no-hitter in his second major league start), he appears to have finally cemented a place in the Red Sox rotation for the 2010 season.

Coming through the Red Sox farm system Buchholz displayed double strikeout rates and solid groundball rates. He reportedly owned a potentially plus slider, plus fastball, plus-plus change up, and a plus-plus curve ball --The curve being his devastating out pitch. The strikeout rates have fallen in the higher levels (which is to be expected). However, the 6.65 k-rate Buchholz displayed in the majors in 2009 was much lower than we had come to expect. The 7.85 mark for triple-A Pawtucket was also an unexpected low but it may have been a price paid to deliever something else – an increased groundball rate. Buchholz delivered a career best 52.5 GB percentage for Pawtucket in 2009 (discounting small sample sizes). He brought that powerful skill with him to the majors in the second half where he produced a 53.8 percent mark in 92 innings and 16 starts.

FIP says that Buchholz was not as good as he looked this season (4.69 FIP, 4.21 ERA) probably due to his relatively low .289 BABIP. It does not look quite so much like good fortune when compared to his .270 minor league career BABIP. Buchholz has a minor league career K/9 of 10.12, a ML career GB% of 47.6 percent, and a HR/FB of 8 percent. This makes the 15.7 percent HR/FB in the majors look like more of an aberration than his .289 BABIP. The skills are there and even if his development has not gone exactly as expected he does not have anything left to prove in the minors.

Buchholz is an extremely talented pitcher and the Red Sox view him an extremely valuable. In fact, if what we know of trade negotiations is true, they see Buchholz as untouchable. This places him in a very elite class of prospect. I think the Red Sox look at Buchholz and see a pitcher that will eventually compare well to Felix Hernandez and Roy Halladay. While Fantasy Owners should be very careful not to expect too much of young pitchers without a full season of experience in the majors, I think there is a lot of reason for optimism here.

Jonathan Papelbon, RP
They have died down recently but not long ago, Red Sox Nation was flooded with rumors about a possible change in the closer role for the Red Sox. These rumors found fertile ground in a few areas. One, Red Sox General Manager, Theo Epstein, does not believe in paying exorbitant prices for closers. He has learned well the PR lesson of not actually having a closer but I doubt that his core beliefs on building bullpens has changed. Two, Jon Papelbon has refused attempts to sign a long-term contract. He has indicated that he will not accept anything that does not pay him as one of the best closers in the league. In other words, he wants to be paid like Mariano Rivera. This makes it unlikely that he remains in Boston past his arbitration seasons. Three, rookie Josh Bard came up from the minors and justified all the talk of him being the closer of the future. In fact, Bard was dominating in the playoffs. Meanwhile, many fans have blamed Papelbon for the Red Sox failure to advance past the first round.

Papelbon was not his usual self in 2009. His control was way off and his fastball was much less effective than it has been. This is not to say that Papelbon was bad. In fact, he was a fine closer. Nevertheless, he was less deceptive, less dominating, and less intimidating in 2009. It does make some sense that the Red Sox in their search for offense use Papelbon as bait. Bard is definitely a closer-quality talent who the Red Sox love. They have a deep bullpen and plenty of help in the minors should Bard fall apart. With the Detroit Tigers in dump mode, perhaps the Sox can pry Miguel Cabrera away to fill the role they failed to fill with Teixeira. It would give the Tigers a real closer finally, and dump enough salary that they could keep Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson. Just a thought…

Searching for Sleepers

Jeremy Hermida, OF
Red Sox fans were surprised by the acquisition of Jeremy Hermida. They were expecting news regarding Jason Bay, one of several shortstops, or maybe even Roy Halladay, not a fourth outfielder. This is what Hermida represents to Red Sox fans these days. If you aren’t a huge name with a huge contract, what good are you? The thing is Hermida has it in him to be good…very good. I will not re-hash Hermida’s development as a prospect. Since the trade, a million and one blogs and newspapers have related the story of Hermida’s high minor-league walk rates and impressive plate discipline. However, what they have neglected to share is that Hermida was probably a bit overrated based on numbers put up in the low minors. Yes, he had good walk rates but his strikeout rates were not very impressive and this is part of his problem.

I am not going to pretend to completely understand strike zone dynamics, but I am going to share my theory anyway. Despite the ability to lay off pitches outside of the strike zone, Hermida still has high strikeout totals. He is not missing pitches in the zone; he has an upwards trending contact rate in the strike zone. I am guessing that he is being called out on strikes in the zone (I could not find this data – I know it is out there somewhere, but I wanted to get this published). Perhaps he is being stubborn about a personal strike zone, or Umpires just are not respecting his judgment. Whatever it is, I think he needs to start swinging at more pitches. Hermida had a 90 percent contact rate in 2009, and swung at just 23.9 percent of pitches outside the strike zone. Either he has been just unlucky (possible), or he is being called out on borderline pitches, pitches that Hermida needs to do something with. There is more evidence that Hermida needs to swing more in his BABIPs. His MLB career BABIP stands at .322, yet his career batting average is just .265. How can his discipline be good, his BABIP be high, and his batting average low, when he does not swing at many pitches? If you look at the image below, it appears that he does receive a lot of called strikes out of the zone but I have no idea if this is typical or not.


Here is what we do know. Hermida makes better than average contact in the strike zone, and less than average at pitches outside the zone. When he makes contact the result is better than average. His walk rate is back on the rise and has been better than average anyway. He is trending more fly balls and line drives and fewer groundballs. He looks (in my eyes) like a player just on edge of a leap forward. The Red Sox obviously see things they like and believe he can be a productive player for them. They certainly did not acquire him for his defense. Therefore, they must believe that he can contribute with the bat. The Red Sox are excellent evaluators and have top notch coaching, that in combination with Hermida’s talent make me willing to take a chance on Hermida in AL-only leagues. I would have to be very impressed during Spring Training to recommend him to shallow mixed-leaguers, but anything can happen.

Best Team Blogs for the Boston Red Sox

Firebrand of the American League - http://firebrandal.com/

Yawkey Way Academy - http://www.ywacademy.com/

ProJo Sox Blog - http://soxblog.projo.com/

El Guapo’s Ghost - http://elguaposghost.blogspot.com/

Sox Prospects - http://soxprospects.com/

Top Relievers / Closers Ranked By FIP

This is the last of the lists of rankings by position. Now we get to the good stuff the sleepers and potential busts.

Name	K/9	BB/9	HR/9	BABIP	FIP
Joey Devine	9.66	2.96	0	0.224	1.97
Hong-Chih Kuo	11.16	1.95	0.39	0.296	1.99
Takashi Saito	11.49	3.06	0.19	0.35	2
Jonathan Papelbon	10	1.04	0.52	0.313	2.01
Mariano Rivera	9.81	0.76	0.51	0.232	2.03
Joba Chamberlain	11.31	3.6	0.26	0.322	2.19
Grant Balfour	12.65	3.7	0.46	0.233	2.22
Arthur Rhodes	10.19	4.08	0	0.319	2.23
Brian Fuentes	11.78	3.16	0.43	0.317	2.24
Jorge Campillo	7.06	2.08	0	0.266	2.26
Jonathan Broxton	11.48	3.52	0.26	0.328	2.26
Kerry Wood	11.4	2.44	0.41	0.331	2.32
Brad Lidge	11.94	4.54	0.26	0.317	2.41
Billy Wagner	9.96	1.91	0.77	0.258	2.66
Scott Eyre	11.22	2.45	0.7	0.342	2.7
Matt Thornton	10.29	2.54	0.67	0.276	2.75
Chad Qualls	8.67	2.2	0.49	0.294	2.77
Joe Nathan	9.84	2.39	0.67	0.245	2.79
Ramon Ramirez	8.79	3.89	0.25	0.294	2.84
Craig Breslow	7.47	3.64	0.19	0.261	2.96
Ramon Troncoso	9	2.84	0.47	0.336	3
Kirk Saarloos	4.7	1.17	0.39	0.354	3.05
Jeff Samardzija	8.13	4.88	0	0.312	3.06
Jose Arredondo	8.11	3.25	0.44	0.25	3.1
Mark Hendrickson	5.51	2.48	0.28	0.272	3.13
Mike Adams	10.19	2.62	0.96	0.276	3.13
Carlos Villanueva	9.4	2.12	0.91	0.285	3.17
Will Ohman	8.13	3.38	0.46	0.299	3.17
Frank Francisco	11.79	3.69	0.99	0.295	3.18
Shawn Camp	7.09	2.52	0.46	0.322	3.21
Francisco Rodriguez	10.14	4.48	0.53	0.302	3.22
Rafael Perez	10.14	2.71	0.94	0.313	3.22
Jerry Blevins	8.36	3.11	0.48	0.296	3.24
Jason Grilli	8.28	4.56	0.24	0.313	3.24
Damaso Marte	9.83	3.6	0.69	0.295	3.24
Garrett Mock	10.04	5.54	0.35	0.265	3.25
Joakim Soria	8.82	2.54	0.67	0.215	3.25
Matt Lindstrom	6.75	4.08	0.16	0.321	3.27
LaTroy Hawkins	6.97	3.19	0.44	0.283	3.28
Matt Capps	6.54	0.84	0.84	0.272	3.28
Chris Sampson	4.96	1.61	0.44	0.247	3.29
Justin Hampson	5.58	2.93	0.29	0.308	3.3
Joe Beimel	5.88	3.86	0	0.32	3.3
Sergio Romo	8.74	2.12	0.79	0.171	3.31
Manny Delcarmen	8.72	3.39	0.61	0.266	3.32
Adam Russell	7.62	3.46	0.35	0.361	3.32
Ryan Madson	7.29	2.5	0.65	0.305	3.33
Taylor Buchholz	7.6	2.44	0.68	0.234	3.33
Justin Masterson	7.6	3.15	0.52	0.277	3.34
Heath Bell	8.19	3.23	0.58	0.291	3.34
Trever Miller	9.14	4.15	0.42	0.321	3.36
Saul Rivera	6.96	3.75	0.32	0.336	3.37
Jim Johnson	4.98	3.67	0	0.258	3.38
Scott Downs	7.26	3.44	0.38	0.264	3.39
J.P. Howell	9.27	3.93	0.6	0.259	3.39
Bobby Jenks	5.55	2.48	0.44	0.261	3.41
Tony Pena	6.44	2.11	0.62	0.329	3.42
Dan Giese	5.4	3.04	0.34	0.305	3.43
Bobby Seay	9.27	3.99	0.64	0.353	3.43
Joe Nelson	10	3.67	0.83	0.286	3.45
Cesar Jimenez	7.16	2.6	0.65	0.325	3.46
Huston Street	8.87	3.47	0.77	0.288	3.47
Vladimir Nunez	6.61	5.23	0	0.32	3.5
Russ Springer	8.05	3.22	0.72	0.265	3.51
David Robertson	10.68	4.45	0.89	0.344	3.53
Darren Oliver	6	2	0.62	0.286	3.53
Bill Bray	10.34	4.6	0.77	0.369	3.54
Franklyn German	6.23	5.4	0	0.281	3.55
Wil Ledezma	9.09	5.88	0.27	0.307	3.55
Brandon Morrow	11.54	3.68	1.23	0.187	3.57
Buddy Carlyle	8.47	3.73	0.72	0.285	3.58
Brian Tallet	7.51	3.51	0.64	0.3	3.61
Hideki Okajima	8.71	3.34	0.87	0.272	3.62
Juan Cruz	12.37	5.4	0.87	0.28	3.62
Carlos Marmol	11.75	4.23	1.03	0.185	3.62
Brian Bruney	8.07	4.18	0.56	0.194	3.63
Darren O'Day	6.02	2.91	0.42	0.335	3.64
Ryan Rowland-Smith	7.58	4.08	0.58	0.293	3.65
Sean Green	7.06	4.1	0.34	0.324	3.65
Jeremy Affeldt	9.19	2.87	1.03	0.329	3.66
Horacio Ramirez	3.13	2.17	0.24	0.323	3.67
Dennys Reyes	7.58	2.91	0.78	0.282	3.67
Jose Valverde	10.38	2.88	1.25	0.302	3.67
B.J. Ryan	9	4.34	0.62	0.285	3.68
Jeff Bennett	6.14	4.35	0.22	0.277	3.69
Brad Ziegler	4.53	3.32	0.3	0.246	3.72
D.J. Carrasco	6.98	3.26	0.47	0.262	3.73
Geoff Geary	6.33	3.94	0.42	0.237	3.74
Chad Durbin	6.47	3.59	0.51	0.292	3.77
Francisco Cordero	9.98	4.86	0.77	0.314	3.77
Leo Nunez	4.84	2.79	0.37	0.28	3.77
Cory Wade	6.43	1.89	0.88	0.227	3.78
J.J. Putz	10.88	5.44	0.78	0.36	3.78
Jesse Carlson	8.25	3.15	0.9	0.235	3.8
Kevin Gregg	7.6	4.85	0.39	0.261	3.8
Roy Corcoran	4.83	4.46	0.12	0.278	3.81
Scot Shields	9.09	4.12	0.85	0.304	3.81
Doug Brocail	8.39	2.75	1.05	0.298	3.83
Clay Rapada	6.33	5.91	0	0.296	3.84
Clay Hensley	6.35	6.09	0	0.287	3.84
Brandon Lyon	6.67	1.97	1.06	0.355	3.84
Joel Hanrahan	9.92	4.48	0.96	0.306	3.84
Brian Stokes	6.51	2.28	0.98	0.301	3.85
Brian Wolfe	5.73	2.45	0.82	0.25	3.86
Jared Burton	8.9	3.84	0.92	0.318	3.86
Kameron Loe	5.87	2.35	0.88	0.332	3.88
Justin Miller	8.29	3.86	0.77	0.322	3.88
Eddie Guardado	5.27	3.04	0.64	0.268	3.9
Ryan Speier	5.82	3.18	0.53	0.307	3.9
Cla Meredith	6.27	3.07	0.77	0.328	3.91
Seth McClung	7.99	5.62	0.43	0.291	3.92
Robinson Tejeda	9.6	4.69	0.89	0.229	3.93
Brian Shouse	5.79	2.45	0.88	0.268	3.93
Brian Wilson	9.67	4.04	1.01	0.336	3.93
Jon Rauch	8.29	2.01	1.38	0.299	3.96
Manny Corpas	5.65	2.6	0.79	0.33	3.96
Edwar Ramirez	10.25	3.9	1.14	0.285	3.96
Kyle McClellan	7.02	3.09	0.83	0.318	3.96
Joe Smith	7.39	4.41	0.57	0.271	3.97
Jesse Crain	7.18	3.45	0.86	0.306	3.98
Aquilino Lopez	6.98	2.52	1.03	0.324	3.98
Trevor Hoffman	9.13	1.79	1.59	0.268	3.99
R.A. Dickey	5	3.5	0.5	0.227	3.99
Boof Bonser	9.52	2.77	1.38	0.388	4
Dennis Sarfate	9.98	6.75	0.42	0.268	4.01
Jamey Wright	6.4	3.74	0.53	0.331	4.01
Al Reyes	7.54	3.97	0.79	0.297	4.06
Keiichi Yabu	6.35	4.24	0.4	0.294	4.06
Matt Herges	6.44	3.36	0.7	0.353	4.06
Chad Bradford	2.58	2.28	0.46	0.271	4.08
Santiago Casilla	7.69	3.58	0.89	0.357	4.09
Lance Cormier	5.9	4.46	0.52	0.326	4.11
Steven Shell	7.38	3.6	0.9	0.225	4.11
Fernando Rodney	10.93	6.69	0.67	0.324	4.12
Rudy Seanez	6.23	5.19	0.42	0.281	4.15
Chad Gaudin	7.5	2.83	1.17	0.326	4.15
Julian Tavarez	8.4	4.61	0.82	0.397	4.16
Brandon League	6.27	4.09	0.55	0.271	4.16
Jorge Julio	10.2	5.7	0.9	0.322	4.17
Mike Gonzalez	11.76	3.74	1.6	0.282	4.17
Jose Veras	9.83	4.53	1.09	0.311	4.19
Clay Condrey	4.43	2.48	0.78	0.33	4.19
Javier Lopez	5.76	4.1	0.61	0.275	4.19
Blaine Boyer	8.38	3.13	1.25	0.317	4.2
Doug Waechter	6.54	2.98	0.99	0.297	4.21
Ron Mahay	6.82	4.04	0.84	0.292	4.21
Salomon Torres	5.74	3.71	0.68	0.283	4.22
Scott Linebrink	7.77	1.75	1.55	0.267	4.23
Octavio Dotel	12.36	3.9	1.61	0.292	4.24
Tyler Yates	7.73	5.03	0.74	0.315	4.24
Tyler Walker	8.27	3.54	1.18	0.283	4.24
Edward Mujica	6.28	2.33	1.16	0.333	4.27
Jon Lieber	5.04	1.21	1.21	0.313	4.3
Mike Wuertz	6.04	4.03	0.81	0.294	4.3
Duaner Sanchez	6.79	3.55	0.93	0.285	4.3
Chris Perez	9.07	4.75	1.08	0.278	4.33
George Sherrill	9.79	5.57	1.01	0.307	4.33
David Weathers	5.97	3.89	0.78	0.319	4.36
Boone Logan	8.93	2.98	1.49	0.393	4.36
Leonel Rosales	5.4	4.5	0.6	0.311	4.4
Rafael Betancourt	8.11	3.17	1.39	0.323	4.4
Tom Gordon	7.89	5.16	0.91	0.327	4.41
Mark Lowe	7.77	4.81	0.85	0.366	4.42
Mitch Stetter	11.01	6.75	0.71	0.229	4.43
Glendon Rusch	5.3	4.34	0.72	0.29	4.44
Guillermo Mota	7.89	4.42	1.11	0.289	4.45
Neal Cotts	10.85	3.28	1.77	0.35	4.45
Luis Ayala	5.95	2.85	1.07	0.32	4.47
Royce Ring	6.45	4.03	0.81	0.39	4.48
Jack Taschner	7.31	4.5	0.94	0.35	4.49
Dan Wheeler	7.19	2.98	1.36	0.202	4.49
Brad Thompson	3.82	3.06	0.76	0.298	4.49
Bob Howry	7.51	1.66	1.66	0.354	4.49
Jesus Colome	6.97	4.94	0.76	0.275	4.5
Mike Lincoln	7.29	3.07	1.28	0.284	4.51
Ron Villone	9	6.66	0.72	0.311	4.51
Alan Embree	8.32	4.38	1.17	0.304	4.53
Andrew Brown	7.2	5.4	0.77	0.221	4.53
John Grabow	7.34	4.38	1.07	0.251	4.54
Jason Frasor	7.99	6.08	0.76	0.259	4.55
Masa Kobayashi	5.66	2.26	1.29	0.318	4.55
Casey Fossum	6.1	3.92	0.87	0.311	4.56
Jensen Lewis	7.09	3.68	1.09	0.309	4.59
Matt Albers	5.26	4.54	0.72	0.25	4.59
Pedro Feliciano	8.44	4.39	1.18	0.332	4.59
Randor Bierd	6.14	4.66	0.74	0.365	4.63
Nick Masset	5.9	3.57	1.09	0.32	4.63
David Aardsma	9.06	6.47	0.74	0.338	4.65
J.C. Romero	7.93	5.8	0.76	0.239	4.66
Freddy Dolsi	5.48	5.29	0.57	0.308	4.68
Kevin Hart	7.48	5.86	0.65	0.402	4.69
Sean Marshall	7.52	3.76	1.37	0.256	4.69
Zach Miner	4.63	5.44	0.4	0.275	4.7
Warner Madrigal	5.73	3.82	1.09	0.28	4.71
Ryan Franklin	5.83	3.43	1.14	0.308	4.75
Gary Glover	6.13	3.64	1.16	0.329	4.77
Logan Kensing	8.95	5.37	1.14	0.299	4.79
Alex Hinshaw	10.66	6.58	1.13	0.286	4.82
Alberto Castillo	7.96	3.46	1.04	0.323	4.82
Jason Isringhausen	7.59	4.64	1.05	0.338	4.87
Aaron Heilman	9.47	5.45	1.18	0.326	4.91
Chan Ho Park	6.27	3.58	1.28	0.303	4.91
Osiris Matos	6.97	3.92	1.31	0.352	4.92
Scott Schoeneweis	5.4	3.65	1.11	0.276	4.97
Scott Proctor	10.71	5.59	1.63	0.35	4.97
Todd Coffey	5.06	2.7	1.35	0.31	4.97
Josh Rupe	5.34	4.63	0.81	0.299	4.99
Wesley Wright	9.22	5.5	1.29	0.27	5
Franquelis Osoria	4.6	1.78	1.48	0.355	5.04
Juan Rincon	6.34	3.9	1.3	0.335	5.07
Gary Majewski	6.07	3.37	1.35	0.391	5.08
Matt Guerrier	6.96	4.36	1.41	0.315	5.08
Ross Ohlendorf	8.1	4.28	1.58	0.359	5.11
Luis Vizcaino	9.59	3.72	1.96	0.32	5.13
Carlos Muniz	6.17	2.7	1.54	0.287	5.15
Denny Bautista	6.56	6.27	0.9	0.304	5.15
Sean Burnett	6.67	5.4	1.11	0.298	5.16
Phil Dumatrait	5.66	5.66	0.87	0.306	5.16
Doug Slaten	5.57	3.9	1.11	0.289	5.17
Renyel Pinto	7.79	5.43	1.25	0.254	5.2
Manny Acosta	5.26	4.42	1.19	0.257	5.21
Yasuhiko Yabuta	5.97	4.06	1.43	0.301	5.23
T.J. Beam	4.73	3.94	1.18	0.261	5.23
Bryan Corey	4.4	2.4	1.6	0.3	5.27
Randy Flores	5.96	7.01	0.7	0.366	5.27
Joaquin Benoit	8.6	7	1.2	0.288	5.29
Kip Wells	7.59	7.31	0.84	0.283	5.29
Edgar Gonzalez	7.71	3.86	1.71	0.316	5.32
Dustin Nippert	5.9	5.45	1.13	0.373	5.35
Joe Thatcher	5.96	4.56	1.4	0.407	5.35
Billy Sadler	8.53	5.48	1.22	0.252	5.37
Brian Falkenborg	7.66	4.84	1.61	0.333	5.37
Brian Bass	4.11	3.09	1.41	0.306	5.46
Jason Hammel	5.15	4.09	1.42	0.288	5.46
Tim Byrdak	7.64	4.72	1.63	0.243	5.46
David Riske	5.74	5.31	1.28	0.307	5.47
Mike Timlin	5.84	3.65	1.64	0.323	5.48
C.J. Wilson	7.96	5.24	1.55	0.314	5.48
Kyle Farnsworth	9.1	3.28	2.24	0.335	5.49
Craig Hansen	6.22	8.35	0.58	0.273	5.51
Vinnie Chulk	4.55	2.27	1.71	0.269	5.53
Todd Jones	3.02	3.89	1.08	0.303	5.6
Joel Zumaya	8.49	8.49	1.16	0.324	5.75
Chris Britton	4.7	4.3	1.57	0.312	5.78
Justin Speier	7.41	3.57	1.99	0.285	5.81
Jimmy Gobble	7.67	6.54	1.42	0.353	5.85
Troy Percival	7.49	5.32	1.77	0.181	5.87
Keith Foulke	6.68	3.77	2.03	0.246	5.94
Jorge Sosa	4.98	4.57	1.66	0.346	5.95
Cha Seung Baek	5.14	3.54	1.93	0.232	5.95
Charlie Manning	7.93	6.64	1.71	0.249	6.06
Eric Gagne	7.38	4.27	2.14	0.274	6.13
Dave Borkowski	6	3.5	2.25	0.367	6.3
Joel Peralta	6.49	2.39	2.56	0.271	6.3
Miguel Batista	6.46	6.85	1.52	0.207	6.43
Fernando Cabrera	9.85	5.4	2.86	0.32	6.87
Jamie Walker	5.68	2.61	2.84	0.33	6.92
Kelvin Jimenez	4.12	5.62	1.87	0.289	6.92
Oscar Villarreal	5.02	4.06	2.87	0.26	7.67