2K17: Closer and Bullpen

[Ryno84MVP]

I think that it's going to be Either Uehara or CJ Edwards...for some reason Maddon just doesn't seem to trust Rondon.

This is a nice problem to have...between Davis, Rondon, Strop, Edwards, Uehara, Grimm and Duensing, the Cubs bullpen should be one of the best.

If Davis were to go down, I would imagine that Rondon (now healthy after his triceps injury) get first crack at the job. Long-term, I'm looking at Edwards.

[onejayhawk]

Closer Monkey did a MR ranking using Holds http://closermonkey.com/

Predicting hold candidates is difficult because hold opportunities are largely a function of team success. Teams that have late leads can generate multiple holds per game, and dominant LOOGYs can rack up holds in a hurry. Further complicating things is the growing trend for managers to (correctly!) use their best arms in the biggest spots of the game, be it in the 7th inning or 9th (Hi, Tito!)

We aren’t assigning numerical values to players within tiers, as these would differ depending on whether your league is saves+holds league, straight-up holds, or a (SV+H)-BS league, so please factor your league rules in accordingly. You also may see several players from the same team in the same tier, where spring training battles will determine who wins the 8th inning going into the season (O’Day vs Brach, etc.)

All those disclaimers aside, here are your tiered holds rankings for 2017.

Tier 1
Andrew Miller, Cleveland Indians
Dellin Betances, New York Yankees
Addison Reed, New York Mets
Hector Rondon, Chicago Cubs
*Cam Bedrosian, Los Angeles Angels
-Likely to start season as closer; watch Andrew Bailey if Huston Street misses extended time.

Tier 2
Tyler Thornburg, Boston Red Sox
Matt Bush, Texas Rangers
Nate Jones, Chicago White Sox
...

[Hornsby]

We really shouldn't be post other peoples work here in it's entirety...we used to have a pretty strict prohibition against that. While Closer Monkey no doubt likes some exposure, they're not getting a cent of ad revenue like they do from their web site.

[Pauly]

Dovetail on the MR rankings - How long until Neris supplants Gomez in Philly? A lot of sites predict it will happen before the season even starts.

[The Dane]

Dovetail on the MR rankings - How long until Neris supplants Gomez in Philly? A lot of sites predict it will happen before the season even starts.

I have an NL draft tomorrow. The only closers available are Wade Davis, Hector Neris, and Jeanmar Gomez. I'm betting Davis goes for full price, $25 or so. Neris will definitely go for more than Gomez, probably $8 to $4.

[Erik]

Don't forget the Phillies also have Benoit. I could see him being option 2 if Gomez falters so that Neris doesn't get an inflated price come arbitration time. Teams that aren't going to contend sometimes factor that into their thinking.

[Pauly]

Don't forget the Phillies also have Benoit. I could see him being option 2 if Gomez falters so that Neris doesn't get an inflated price come arbitration time. Teams that aren't going to contend sometimes factor that into their thinking.

I know you are a philly guy... That pitching staff has me believing that they can contend. Maybe I am just crazy

[The Dane]

From an NL-only draft I had today:

Wade Davis $35 (super-high, tied Kershaw as the most expensive player taken, but he was the only 100% closer available)
Hector Neris $16
Jeanmar Gomez $9
Joaqin Benoit $1
Greg Holland $7
Addison Reed $3
Kyle Barraclough $1

and some other MRs went in dollar days.

[Judge Jude]

I don't need to know the exact parameters to know that I bid 36 on Kershaw unless most losses are a category.

[The Dane]

I don't need to know the exact parameters to know that I bid 36 on Kershaw unless most losses are a category.

It's a league with little inflation, and this year's draft was a little less crazy than most years. The highest dollar guys:
(as you can tell, we have two Mets fans)

Davis $35
Kershaw $35
Goldschmidt $35 (kept)
Bryant $35 (kept)
Cespedes $35 (kept)
Harper $34
Scherzer $33
DMurphy $31 (kept)
Bumgarner $31
Harvey $30
Freeman $30 (kept)
everyone else was under $30

[onejayhawk]

There seems to be a surge in D Hudson interest. Any reason?

J

[Judge Jude]

he's off to a great ST start and Watson is not, but even as a Hudson owner I still am not buying the hype.

yet.

Hudson had a bizarre month last year that buried me. otherwise, he was quite good. crappy stats overall but an NL buy if he has good ST even if not the closer. tip me in Oct

[Erik]

I know you are a philly guy... That pitching staff has me believing that they can contend. Maybe I am just crazy

A lot of things would have to go right for them to finish higher than 3rd in the division, but anything's possible. I don't think the hitting is where it needs to be yet.

Neris could also be one of those guys that gets used in high-leverage situations regardless of what inning it is. Or he could flame out, relievers are volatile and young ones especially so. Many leagues are pricing Neris on the assumption that he will eventually get the closer job and I just think the other possibilities are not being adequately considered.

Case in point:

Hector Neris $16
Jeanmar Gomez $9

[Gregg]

It's a league with little inflation, and this year's draft was a little less crazy than most years. The highest dollar guys:
(as you can tell, we have two Mets fans)

Davis $35
Kershaw $35
Goldschmidt $35 (kept)
Bryant $35 (kept)
Cespedes $35 (kept)
Harper $34
Scherzer $33
DMurphy $31 (kept)
Bumgarner $31
Harvey $30
Freeman $30 (kept)
everyone else was under $30

So if I were in your league I would own Kershaw, Harper, Bumgarner for 102 bucks! Wow,

[Judge Jude]

not sure about Harper (can you trade him?), but I'd keep the 2 SPs