Little has changed among the elite closers in the game, but injuries have thrown us for a loop when it comes to situations in Atlanta, St. Louis, Seattle and Milwaukee. Closers and fill-ins are in jeopardy of losing their jobs soon, which creates both problems and opportunities for fantasy owners.

Mike Gonzalez is the unofficial closer in Atlanta, but we’ve gotten mixed reviews in his two outings off the disabled list. He got a surprise save in his first appearance, then got touched up in a non-save situation in his second. Until we see what he can do when given consistent opportunities, he will hold down our No. 30 ranking.

Ryan Franklin, as far as we’re concerned, is a dead man walking in St. Louis. Soak up the saves and quality ERA numbers now because his predecessor Jason Isringhausen is re-discovering his swagger and filthy slider while in a set-up role. If Izzy gets right, the closer job will be his once again.

J.J. Putz’s return to the DL has created another small window of opportunity in Seattle. This time, Brandon Morrow, who is nursing a sore elbow, has been the benefactor. While Morrow is closing games, he’s also bringing an electric arsenal that yields a high strikeout rate and quality ERA and WHIP digits.

The full list (previous ranking in brackets):

1. Francisco Rodriguez, LAA: MLB saves leader (32) has WHIP down to tidy 1.17 [1]
2. Jonathan Papelbon, BOS: After converting 9 straight saves, has blown 2 of last 4 [2]
3. Mariano Rivera, NYY: Nearly perfect; has 0.76 ERA, 0.57 WHIP, 21-for-21 saves [5]
4. Brad Lidge, PHI: Phils’ struggles costing him; hasn’t had save opp in 2 weeks [3]
5. Kerry Wood, CHC: After rocky start, has established himself as one of NL’s best [4]
6. Joe Nathan, MIN: Mr. Consistency again one of most reliable closers in baseball [6]
7. George Sherrill, BAL: Sell-high candidate ranks 2nd in MLB with 26 saves [9]
8. Billy Wagner, NYM: In 11 full seasons, has never finished with ERA above 2.85 [12]
9. Joakim Soria, KC: Only Mariano has lower WHIP among closers than his 0.79 [13]
10. Brandon Lyon, ARI: Saves few and far between; has just 4 opps since May 15 [8]

11. Bobby Jenks, CHW: Ks down for 4th straight year, but can’t argue with results [10]
12. Jose Valverde, HOU: Rough week bloated his ERA (4.34) and WHIP (1.42) [7]
13. Takashi Saito, LAD: Value skyrockets if Dodgers provide more save chances [11]
14. Matt Capps, PIT: Strike thrower thrives by keeping BBs down and WHIP low [15]
15. Francisco Cordero, CIN: Mediocre in June; 5.14 ERA, just 4 Ks in 7 innings [14]
16. Troy Percival, TB: Shaking off rust; has walked 6 in 5 IP since return from DL [21]
17. Brian Wilson, SF: Nothing to like beyond 20 saves; has 4.55 ERA, 1.45 WHIP [16]
18. Kevin Gregg, FLA: Gets few save chances, but leads all closers with 5 wins [17]
19. Trevor Hoffman, SD: .248 BAA, .446 opp. slugging highest marks of career [18]
20. Jon Rauch, WAS: Has allowed 0 HRs and just 1 walk in last 14 IP [19]

21. Huston Street, OAK: ERA has risen from 3.16 to 4.19 in last 3 outings [22]
22. B.J. Ryan, TOR: Sharing hurts value; has just 15 of Jays’ 25 saves [23]
23. Brian Fuentes, COL: Watch trade talks; wouldn’t close games for a contender [20]
24. Salomon Torres, MIL: Exceptional in filling for Gagne; deserves to keep job [27]
25. Todd Jones, DET: If healthy, Zumaya not a threat to unseat him as closer [25]
26. C.J. Wilson, TEX: On the hot seat, but candidates to take job are shaky at best [24]
27. Ryan Franklin, STL: Just a matter of time until Izzy takes his job back [29]
28. Brandon Morrow, SEA: Putz expected to return to closer role by All-Star Break [NR]
29. Joe Borowski, CLE: Worst closer in baseball; has 8.31 ERA, just 5 saves [28]
30. Mike Gonzalez, ATL: Needs more work to see what he can do when healthy [NR]

Injured Closers on the Mend
1. J.J. Putz, SEA
2. Jason Isringhausen, STL
3. Eric Gagne, MIL
4. Chad Cordero, WAS
5. Rafael Soriano, ATL

Top 5 Middle Relievers (in terms of save probability)
1. Taylor Buchholz, COL
2. Masa Kobayashi, CLE
3. Eddie Guardado, TEX
4. Jeremy Accardo, TOR
5. Carlos Marmol, CHC

Dustin Hockensmith is editor of ImaginaryDiamond.com. He can be contacted at dhockensmith[at]fantasysports101.net.