Evaluating Our Reliever Rankings

Eno Sarris published the staff’s reliever rankings earlier today, and now it’s my turn to dissect them. I have written a ton of articles on relievers since coming over to RotoGraphs in late January, so if you want to look at my specific feelings on certain relievers, you can just click my name over on the right hand side of the screen and see my in depth thoughts.

– The first thing I noticed on these rankings is how close John Axford and Joel Hanrahan are. I have commented on this a few times this year and see Hanrahan as an undervalued reliever, with the only slight against him being the possibility for a future trade.

– I also really like how highly regarded Rafael Betancourt and Sergio Santos are. Betancourt’s ADP on Mock Draft Central is 23 among relievers, 23! He is much better than that, and our guys were right in putting him inside the top 10. The same is true for Santos, who was ranked ninth by our consensus but has an ADP of 17.

– One place I don’t agree with the rest of the staff is on Jordan Walden. I have him at 13, just as Zach does. I can see why there would be varying opinions on him though, as his strikeout rate and walk rate last year do not correlate with his minor league marks.

– The range of our staff’s ranking on Kenley Jansen is pretty wide. Obviously, this was done before the most recent occurrence of his heart issues (which have apparently been cleared up by a doctor), but Jeff has him at 7 while Mike has him at 26. The big issue is if, or when, he will become the closer for the Dodgers. I suspect Jeff thinks that will happen sooner than later, which is certainly plausible.

– In contrast, Addison Reed also has a wide range but seems to be a bit undervalued, at least in my opinion. Zach has him at 25 while Jeff has him at 50. His situation is similar to Jensen’s, as most expect him to become the closer for the White Sox but it is difficult to determine when.

– I love their Chris Perez ranking of 33. He’s not good, he’s currently injured, and his set up man is a better pitcher than him. Pestano being ranked ahead of him, albeit slightly, is an accurate ranking.

– Something else I have noticed in their rankings and in draft preparation is that the middle tier of closers is pretty solid. While it is nice to get one of the top tier closers who rack up the strikeouts, guys like Andrew Bailey, Kyle Farnsworth, and Brandon League can fill out a fantasy bullpen nicely. I hardly ever like to be the first to draft relievers, and targeting these guys along with Santos and Betancourt, who I have already spoken about, seems like a good strategy on draft day.

– I won’t comment on the rankings of the expected starters who are currently ranked as relievers. The guys have explained those rankings in that post and in the comment section.





Ben has been at RotoGraphs since 2012 and focuses most of his fantasy baseball attention toward dynasty and keeper leagues.

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Steve
12 years ago

comments on where Frank Francisco is ranked? As I stated in the original thread, I believe he is being highly undervalued.