2K17: Closer and Bullpen

[cool hand]

Dyson gets no love.
But then, neither did Britton...

[madducks]

I'm taking Jim Johnson in every league that i can get him cheap at auction or late in the snake draft.

Jim Johnson....40 saves....book it.

Was going to post the exact same thing about Cabrera and Vizcaino. Since Johnson has a cheap two year contract i think the Braves ride him at least until the 2018 trade deadline. They may even surprise everyone again by extending his contract if they can do it on the cheap. I think it's hilarious how in 2016 everyone kept saying Johnson is getting dumped by the Braves at the trade deadline. Then when that didn't happen everyone said the younger guy with the better stuff is coming back to push Johnson into middle relief. Then when that didn't happen everyone said that Johnson will never be resigned by the Braves. And after that happened the entire rumor cycle just started repeating itself lol. Meanwhile Johnson just kept rolling along and getting guys out in the ninth inning. Obviously, Johnson made an impression with both the coaches and the front office with his contribution to the Braves performance down the stretch last year. The Braves were 35-27 (.565 win pct) over the final 10 weeks of 2016. And here's Jim Johnson's numbers over the final 10 weeks of 2016:

ip-30
h-22
bb-6
k-39
er-5
era-1.50
whip-0.93
saves-18 in 18 chances

Pick #284 from the Mock One draft:

18.12 Jim Johnson RP ATL

The most underrated closer in baseball.

[onejayhawk]

I'm taking Jim Johnson in every league that i can get him cheap at auction or late in the snake draft.

I totally get that. He was unhittable as 9th inning guy last year.

34.2 IP, 1.56 ERA, 39 K, 0.0% HR/9, 4.2 K/BB

Some cannot handle the pressure. Some thrive on it.

J

[Hornsby]

Johnson has spit the bit in Baltimore, Oakland, and LA, and I really don't expect him to hold the job for the full season considering his history. I think that the best that can be hoped for is 20 saves and a trade at the break to a contender. The numbers were great at the end of the season last year, but they've been great in the past as well...

[madducks]

Johnson has spit the bit in Baltimore, Oakland, and LA, and I really don't expect him to hold the job for the full season considering his history. I think that the best that can be hoped for is 20 saves and a trade at the break to a contender. The numbers were great at the end of the season last year, but they've been great in the past as well...

Yeah, Johnson's history is a little hard to figure out. Not sure what happened to him in 2014 (Tigers/A's) and the 2nd half of 2015 (Dodgers) when he was horrible after pitching great for the Braves in the first half. No injuries, but some really bad pitching. Atlanta seems to know how to handle him or maybe he just knows how to handle being in Atlanta. Closers seem to be much more susceptible than other players to losing their focus when they are taken out of their comfort zone. It's really weird sometimes. I guess they really do have a different mindset. But, i think the Braves have realized how valuable he is to them and will hold on to him a little longer this time.

[joncarlos]

How high is Hector Rondon on the list of setup guys? I think I'd take Miller, Betances, Addison Reed above him. Since Jeanmar Gomez is ostensibly the closer going into camp, is Rondon ahead of Neris?

[Moonlight J]

How high is Hector Rondon on the list of setup guys? I think I'd take Miller, Betances, Addison Reed above him. Since Jeanmar Gomez is ostensibly the closer going into camp, is Rondon ahead of Neris?

What about Nate Jones in that group? I'd take him ahead of Rondon as well

[Moonlight J]

Who ahead of him do you bump?

I am running away from Wade Davis in leagues because I don't think he holds up. I don't get Andrew Miller going ahead of Cody Allen right now, and Jeurys Familia may miss up to a month. Johnson is currently RP23 by ADP and that's profit all day long

[joncarlos]

What about Nate Jones in that group? I'd take him ahead of Rondon as well

Yeah, good call, he's another good one.

[shrops]

Who ahead of him do you bump?

I couldn't agree more with the Johnson love.

To answer the question, on this list;

Relief Pitchers
1 Kenley Jansen (LAD, RP)
2 Aroldis Chapman (NYY, RP)
3 Zach Britton (BAL, RP)
4 Mark Melancon (SF, RP)
5 Seung-Hwan Oh (STL, RP)
6 Roberto Osuna (TOR, RP)
7 Craig Kimbrel (BOS, RP)
8 Edwin Diaz (SEA, RP)
9 Wade Davis (CHC, RP) - Prefer Johnson (Gimp)
10 Kenneth Giles (HOU, RP)
11 Andrew Miller (CLE, RP) - Prefer Johnson (Not a closer)
12 Cody Allen (CLE, RP)
13 Kelvin Herrera (KC, RP)
14 Jeurys Familia (NYM, RP) - Prefer Johnson (Suspension)
15 David Robertson (CWS, RP) - Prefer Johnson - (Trade risk, generally meh)
16 Alexander Colome (TB, RP) - Prefer Johnson - (Personal preference, trade risk, and I don't trust D-Rays relievers)
17 Dellin Betances (NYY, RP) - Prefer Johnson - (Not a closer)
18 Danny Duffy (KC, SP,RP) - Prefer Johnson - (Not a closer)
19 Francisco Rodriguez (DET, RP) - Flip a coin. (Slight trade risk, getting older and generally meh)
20 A.J. Ramos (MIA, RP) - This one is debatable, but I prefer Johnson. I could see Florida going with Ziegler or Bearclaw or god knows who if he he falters even slightly. I think Johnson is safer.

[onejayhawk]

I am wondering about Knebel as a set-up guy. I guess it depends on what you think of Feliz.

Sporer suggested Daniel Hudson was one to watch this spring. Is there a Pirates fan in the house?

J

[madducks]

Sporer suggested Daniel Hudson was one to watch this spring. Is there a Pirates fan in the house?
J

I'm pretty sure that Watson will have a very long leash as closer to start his contract year. The Pirates probably want to build up his value before dealing him at the trade deadline. Hudson is a good player to stash or to target at mid-season. He will probably get a few first half save chances as an audition for a possible permanent role later in the year.

[joncarlos]

I am wondering about Knebel as a set-up guy. I guess it depends on what you think of Feliz.

Sporer suggested Daniel Hudson was one to watch this spring. Is there a Pirates fan in the house?

J

Yeah, I just don't see it. They've got Rivero AND Bastardo as lefty relievers. They need a righty setup guy (which is Hudson) more than another non-closing lefty. I do think there's some chance that Watson gets moved if things don't go well, but even though it would probably make sense to flip Watson for a mint even if they were contending, I doubt they do it. So for Hudson to get saves, you either need Watson to stink (unlikely, but he has been ridden hard) or Hurdle to play some matchups and give him chances when 3 righties are coming up in the 9th (possible, I guess).

Yeah, we can whitewash those 3 weeks when Hudson was the worst pitcher in baseball and say he had a great 2016, but really, I think the Pirates will be happy if Hudson just proves to be a good setup guy in 2017 and then is a candidate to take over next year.

Given how good Rivero can be, and what they paid to get him, I'm not even 100% sure that Hudson would get the job if Watson did lose it.

[madducks]

I'm thinking that Rivero is still a year away from closing. The Hudson signing allows them to bring Rivero along more slowly. And the Pirates MO with their young relievers seems to be to let them excel in the 8th inning before making them the closer.

[onejayhawk]

This is Paul's full comment: http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/ear...closer-market/

Elsewhere he backed off a bit.

I don’t think Tony Watson (150) is lock to hold the job in Pittsburgh with Daniel Hudson (459) in the mix. Though the Pirates having multiple reliable lefties (namely Felipe Rivero and Antonio Bastardo) does make it easier for them to keep Watson there and see if he can improve upon that out-of-character 1.3 HR/9 from last year.

Pretty much the same thing you guys are saying.

J