Closers are the most painfully necessary players in fantasy baseball. Every season, only 30 of them exist, which creates a market dynamic unlike any other position in the game. The chase begins on draft day and doesn’t end until the season comes to a close.

Injuries, ineffectiveness and committee situations are among the headaches that come with relievers, but there is an upside. Because closer positions are the most volatile in fantasy, there are constantly opportunities to improve throughout the season. Drafting well is important, sure, but hawking saves all season long might be even more crucial.

We’ve put together our preliminary closer rankings, which are, of course, prone to change at any time throughout the spring. As the regular season nears, we’ll shuffle the rankings and go a little deeper to include the ‘insurance policy’ for each closer on the list. Read more »

1.) Which starting pitcher(s) is undervalued in drafts thus far?
Dustin Hockensmith: Each season, it’s a good practice to identify mid-round starters ready to take the next step. There are always some exciting young arms in that group, but this season’s class is particularly deep. Oakland’s Brett Anderson, Tampa Bay’s David Price, Boston’s Clay Buchholz and Detroit’s Rick Porcello are all premium talents with enough Major League experience to make a leap.

Anthony Barton: Besides the names mentioned above, add San Francisco’s Jonathan Sanchez to the list of sleeper candidates. His high strikeout rate has always been helpful, but the high ERA has always been a problem. That said, take a look at his numbers after the All Star break, and there are improvements across the board. Sanchez is worth a flier to see if he has finally figured it out.

Jared Shanker: He has been around for a while, but Jon Garland is a middle-of-the-rotation starter ready to bounce back. He has two 18-win seasons to his name but has been under .500 two of the last three years. Pitching in San Diego, Garland will be in arguably the most pitcher-friendly park in baseball. Kevin Slowey is another starter you can grab in the late rounds. In an eight-start stretch between May 12 and June 19, Slowey had seven quality starts (6 IP, 3 ER). His season ended two weeks later. Read more »

Name recognition and marginal statistics are often times all that separates elite closers from the ‘middle class.’ There’s a steep price to be paid for both items, most of the time for fantasy owners who want to lock down their bullpens, then shift their focuses elsewhere for the rest of the season.

That’s one form of bullpen shopping. But the other, more popular, way to obtain help involves a season-long dedication to bargain hunting and scavenging for saves. Like a housemom fixated on clipping coupons, a hustling fantasy owner is rewarded for his hard work with freebies and cost-effective substitutes. Read more »

Another look at the state of bullpens across Major League Baseball. About a third of teams in the league are dealing with some sort of upheaval in the late innings, which, of course, opens plenty of doors in fantasy.

The St. Louis Cardinals were quickly scrambling for a ninth-inning solution when rookie Jason Motte blew his first save opportunity. They appear to have found their man, at least for now, with veteran Ryan Franklin. The Toronto Blue Jays enter a two-week stretch with B.J. Ryan on the 15-day disabled list, and Colorado’s Huston Street has been relegated to middle relief in favor of Manny Corpas.

All of those details and more in our Week 3 closer rankings. Previous ranking is in brackets at the end of each player note. Read more »

Rafael Soriano is officially the Atlanta Braves’ closer, taking over the job when it was announced that John Smoltz would have season-ending shoulder surgery. While just returning himself from an elbow injury, Soriano will have to perform to hold off Manny Acosta, and potentially Mike Gonzalez, to stay in the ninth-inning role.

Effectiveness has never been the problem for Soriano, who has pitched to a 2.90 ERA and 257 strikeouts in 251.0 career innings. Health, however, has been. Soriano had season-ending elbow surgeries in 2004 and 2005, so how his arm holds up will dictate how he fares as a stopper. Read more »

Closer candidates Rafael Soriano and John Smoltz are both working through rehab assignments in efforts to return to the Atlanta Braves bullpen. Smoltz (shoulder) and Soriano (elbow) are neck and neck in the race to come back, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that both will have tests to pass on Tuesday before doing so.

Smoltz will make another rehab appearance for Class-A Rome, according to the AJC, and Soriano will throw a bullpen session. If both are setback-free, they could join the Braves in Milwaukee, where they kick off a seven-game road trip on Tuesday. Read more »