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I get a lot of the same questions when people see my closer rankings, so I wanted to clear up a few misconceptions:
1. Having great skills doesn't mean you'll be the closer. Teams often like using their best reliever earlier in critical moments of games in a "fireman" role
1. Having great skills doesn't mean you'll be the closer. Teams often like using their best reliever earlier in critical moments of games in a "fireman" role
2. Just because Closer X was great closing last season or for part of last season, doesn't mean they will reprise their role the following season... especially if they didn't close prior to that.
Examples: Hader, Taylor Rogers, Ian Kennedy
Examples: Hader, Taylor Rogers, Ian Kennedy
If a guy isn't an "established" closer like Osuna, Chapman, Jansen, Giles, Diaz, Colome, Kimbrel, etc managers don't feel they're beholden to keep them in that role necessarily. I fully expect the Twins, Brewers, and Rays to be creative with using their best relievers
3. When I look for potential busts with closers, I look for who has the least job security/experience. It seems silly to say because Rogers, Hader, and Anderson are MUCH more skilled than Colome, but I have a lot more faith that the White Sox will keep Colome as full time closer
4. Other things I look for when trying to find busts are guys who have a big skills problem such as Leclerc with his walk rate, or guys who I have questions about their health coming into the season like Hand, Kimbrel, and Doolittle
So yes, I realize it looks weird to rank Hader, Rogers, and Hand so low... but I'll take a lesser skilled closer with a much better chance to accumulate saves than a more skilled guy with question marks. With closers it's "draft the role, not the skills." It usually works out
