Finding a quality closer for your fantasy baseball team isn’t difficult. There are plenty of pitchers clustered toward the top of the rankings that would provide solid output on a weekly basis.
To compete in the saves category in fantasy baseball, though, a team must have more than one weapon at the closer position. That’s where finding value becomes key to competing.
The good thing for fantasy baseball owners is that some of those closers ranked 10 and below still offer a good amount of opportunities to gather stats.
Here’s my three best values among closers for fantasy baseball owners.
Cody Allen, Cleveland
Part of finding the best closer in fantasy baseball is finding a team that should beat its wins projections. I’m hot on the Indians this season, giving way to Allen seeing more opportunities than he’s seen in recent years.
Fantasy Pros, a website that tracks several experts’ opinions regarding fantasy baseball, has Allen ranked as the 11th best option among closers. His overall ranking is 118, putting him in the 10th round.
Allen has improved in the saves category each of the last two years, going for 24 two years ago and 34 last year. That improvement should continue this year, especially with a better team. He appeared in 70 games last season, which amounted to less than the previous year.
I expect that number to drift up into the mid-to-upper 70s this season, putting him in position to reach 40 or more saves. He also blew four saves, which should go down this season. Allen makes for a potential top closer on your roster or a solid No. 2.
Hector Rondon, Chicago Cubs
He’s not maybe the best pitcher available and he’s getting dominated in Spring Training, but Rondon still offers some value for fantasy baseball owners.
Despite his deficiencies, Rondon has an attraction based on what letter is on his cap. The Cubs are going to win some games. And in the National League, that usually means it’s close, giving the closer a chance to see the mound often.
Rondon netted an ERA of 1.67 last season and saved 30 games. He appeared in 72 games, but only finished 47. That number should rise this season, allowing fantasy baseball owners an opportunity to get more out of him than his predicted ranking.
Fantasy Pros has Rondon as the 137th rated overall player and 12th rated closer. He has a chance to be a No. 1 closer if he pitches the way he is capable of when out on the mound. The chances for saves will be there, which is a major component of finding value in closers.
Shawn Tolleson, Texas
I’m not sold on Texas to have a similar season as last season, but with Tolleson manning the closer role for the entire season, I like his chances at being better than last year.
Tolleson appeared in 73 games, up from nine from his 2014 total. He finished only 53 of those games and saved 35 contests. He registered only two blown saves, which gives me hope that number will stay in that range.
The only issue with Tolleson is that Rangers sometimes win by a large amount, limiting his opportunities. However, the fact that he still saved 35 games last season without being the full-time closer during the season should be enough to grab him later in the fantasy baseball draft.
Fantasy Pros has him ranked 17th among closers and 175th overall. That’s tremendous value for a young pitcher who appears ready to take the next step as a reliever.
