As far as fantasy owners were concerned, 2011 was a perfect season for Jose Valverde. He finished with 49 saves (and didn’t blow any), had a low ERA (2.24), good WHIP (1.19) and a good amount of strikeouts (69). That’s the good news. The bad news is that it’s probably not going to continue. Valverde continues to struggle with his control, posting a walk percentage over 11 percent (8 BB% is MLB avg.) for the second straight year. He is also becoming more hittable as his contact rate has risen from 71.8 percent to 76.7 percent in the last two years. I’m sure Valverde will continue to rack up the saves in a seemingly weak AL Central division, but his ERA could balloon as his 3.55 FIP suggests.
Best case scenario: 2011 Jose Valverde
Similar players: Brian Wilson (SF), Leo Nunez (MIA), Frank Francisco (NYM)
Worst case scenario: Chris Perez (CLE)
Strengths
Stability, strikeouts. Barring a catastrophic meltdown, Valverde should hold onto the closer’s job f...
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