Top 10 American League Closers

Putz should be higher.

Why?

i know that what happens in Seattle is lost on most of the country, but the guy was untouchable. best save rate in the MLB, and for half the season he didn't bother throwing his devastating splitter because no one could even hit his fastball. i know a lot of closers have short life spans (career wise), but i think he has a few more seasons at the top of his game.

crazy beer-drinking Johnny Paps, no doubt...but Rivera that low?...not in high pressure situations...a rare prop to a classy NYY from a Rsox fan...Nathan is the Nolan Ryan of closers...how old is he now?...50

32... I think. Not that old.

I think the Rivera comment from orions, while I couldn't care less about pressure situations as a fantasy GM, is more valid than the Putz comment.

I rated Putz at #3, and he's still a top tier option. I'm a little worried that his 1.38 ERA will regress back towards his three year statistical mean. That's why he's #3 and not number #2.

Rivera has an ERA which was also an outlier from his past years' success. However his outlier was in the other direction, and I gave it a bit more weight and consideration due to River's age of 28.

Thanks for the comments guys. Keep 'em coming...

Even though there are still questions as to his health heading into the season...I'd have to rate a 75% B.J. Ryan ahead of Troy Percival in Tampa.

I think 75% is very optimistic for Ryan. Some think he won't get the closer's job back until mid-season and if then he may not be as solid of a pitcher as he was before TJ surgery. That being said, isn'r Ryan more like a 50% option? And if that's the case, do you take a 50% Ryan before Percival?

Yeah, I'd take a 32 yr. old Ryan at 50% over a 100% Percival at 38. Just the fact that Percival hasn't pitched a full season since 2004 scares me away. Sure, Ryan won't be ready until June or July, but Ryan could record as many saves in the 2nd half of the season as Percival records the entire season with the bullpen troubles that have plagued the Rays the past 5 years+.