May
Francisco Rodriguez tops the list of best closers so far this season. He’s had at least 40 saves the last three seasons and looks to be well on his way to another. Jonathon Papelbon, Joe Nathan and Jason Isringhausen aren’t far behind.
Trevor Hoffman and Brian Fuentes find themselves surprisingly at the bottom of this list, while Brandon Lyon and Brian Wilson inch closer towards the top.
It’s been an interesting start for closers this season; they’ve either been really good or really bad. There are very few closers who have been so-so thus far. The ninth inning isn’t supposed to be an adventure for teams, but some closers have made it just that.
THE TOP 30:
1. Francisco Rodriguez, LAA: Leads the majors with 14 saves and has only given up 10 hits in 14.2 innings of work.
2. Joe Nathan, MIN: 11-for-11 in save opportunities while sporting a 0.69 ERA. Who said they needed Santana to win?
3. Jonathan Papelbon, BOS: Has 10 saves and has struck out 21 batters in 16.1 innings. Also has two wins.
4, Brandon Lyon, ARI: Quickly proving to management that trading Jose Valverde was a good decision.
5. Mariano Rivera, NYY: He’s still one of the game’s top closers. He has 8 saves, a 0.00 ERA,12 strikeouts and no walks this season.
6. Joakim Soria, KC: One of the bigger surprises on the up-and-coming Royals. He also has 8 saves, while striking out 15 and walking just one.
7. Brad Lidge, PHI: Lidge has come back well from an early season injury. He has seven saves and a 0.00 ERA.
8. Takashi Saito, LAD: Has a low ERA of 1.76 in 15.1 innings this season, but has already blown two saves. He blew four all of last year. Has only allowed five walks.
9. Troy Percival, TB: Percival’s return to being a dominant closer is something very few, if any, saw coming. He has seven saves and has 10 strikeouts in 11 innings.
10. Jason Isringhausen, STL: Three blown saves already, but has 11 saves as well. Needs to lower his ERA and stop giving up so many hits to stay in top 10.
11. George Sherrill, BAL: Also 11-for-11 in save opportunities. ERA hovering around 5.00, but gets the job done every time.
12. Brian Wilson, SF: Wilson has 10 saves thus far and has struck out 15 batters in 14 innings of work. His eight walks are cause for some concern.
13. Huston Street, OAK: Has 9 saves in 11 opportunities. Has given up 13 hits in 15.1 innings however, and his 4.11 ERA is a bit high.
14. Billy Wagner, NYM: Only has seven saves, but his buddies in the bullpen are to thank for his lack of chances. Has struck out 13 batters while only walking 2. Owns a 0.00 ERA.
15. Jon Rauch, WAS: Also has seven saves, and he owns two wins. Has struck out 11 in 15 innings, but has also given up 16 hits.
16. Matt Capps, PIT: Capps is 6-for-6 this season. He has a 2.63 ERA and has only walked two in 13.2 innings of work.
17. B.J. Ryan, TOR: Only has five saves, but has struck out 10 in 8 innings of work. Has not given up a run this season.
18. C.J. Wilson, TEX: Owns seven saves and a 2.77 ERA. Has only allowed six hits in 13 innings of work.
19. Bobby Jenks, CHW: Jenks has six saves so far, but is also 2-0. He a 2.19 ERA and has struck out seven in 12.1 innings.
20. Kevin Gregg, FLA: Gregg has six saves, but he also has three wins, which is more than some very good starters have. In 16.2 innings, he has struck out 12, but has walked 9 and given up 14 hits.
21. Francisco Cordero, CIN: Had 44 saves last season, but only has five thus far. Has given up 10 walks in 13 innings of work.
22. Todd Jones, DET: Jones is 5-for-5 this season, but has given up 9 hits in 12 innings of work. Giving up four earned runs in that amount of innings for a closer isn’t exactly a good thing.
23. Jose Valverde, HOU: He’s blown three saves already and has given up 19 hits in 18 innings. He does have three wins and 22 strikeouts, but his 5.00 ERA is much too high.
24. Trevor Hoffman, SD: Hoffman had a bit of a hangover from last year’s meltdown, but seems to be on his way to righting the ship. He has five saves, but his 6.52 ERA and 11 hits given up need to improve.
25. Kerry Wood, CHC: As was the case when he was a starter, Wood is very hit-or-miss. He has 16 strikeouts in 17 innings, but has three blown saves and a 4.24 ERA.
26. Brian Fuentes, COL: Re-claimed the closer role because of Manny Corpas’ futility. Opportunities have been few and far between, but he’s been rock solid with a 2.40 ERA and two saves.
27. Rafael Betancourt, CLE: Has done an OK job of replacing Joe Borowski, but my 8-year-old neighbor who plays T-Ball could’ve replaced Borowski. Betancourt has 14 strikeouts in 13.2 innings, but needs to lower his 5.93 ERA.
28. Eric Gagne, MIL: Gagne has nine saves, but he has blown five saves already. Gagne once saved 84 games in a row, now it is an adventure every time he takes the mound. His 6.14 ERA has to come down.
29. J.J. Putz, SEA: Putz blew as many saves in April as he did last season and lost his closer’s job. Not the best way to start the season.
30. Manny Acosta, ATL: Time is running out to benefit from Acosta’s replacement closer status. Reports out of Atlanta are that John Smoltz will return to the ninth inning when he comes off the DL.
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