NL Closer Report: May 15

Strong Performers

Matt Capps | Washington Nationals
The Comments: Capps continues to lead the world in saves with 14 in as many tries and is one of the main reasons why the club remains in the playoff hunt. The right-hander has struck out 18 batters in 19.1 innings. He hasn’t walked a batter in 10 games and was 3-for-3 in saves this past week.

Jonathan Broxton | Los Angeles Dodgers
The Comments: The Bull’s save opportunities took a little while to come around with the club’s disappointing play but he remained strong and has been rewarded; Broxton saved four games this past week. On the year, he has struck out 23 batters in 13.2 innings while issuing just two free passes. His 1.32 ERA is also pretty nifty.

Heath Bell | San Diego Padres
The Comments: The Padres organization is probably quite happy with its decision to keep Bell. The closer has saved 10 games and the club is in first place in the NL West. Bell is also showing an increased strikeout rate at 11.25 K/9, as well as an improved ground-ball rate (56.4%). He went 3-for-4 in saves opportunities this week.

Brian Wilson | San Francisco Giants
The Comments: Wilson has blown just one save this season in eight opportunities. He has a yet to allow a homer and his ground-ball rate is strong at 64.5%. The right-hander also has a 12.83 K/9 rate. He had just one save opportunity this past week and he was successful.

Carlos Marmol | Chicago Cubs
The Comments: Dominance, meet Marmol. The right-hander currently has a 1.13 ERA and he’s struck out 33 batters in 16.0 innings (good for an 18.56 K/9). Unfortunately, he doesn’t always find the plate, as witnessed by his 5.63 BB/9 rate. Marmol has converted five of his six save opportunities on the year and went 1-for-1 this past week.

Francisco Cordero | Cincinnati Reds
The Comments: Cordero is second in the NL with 11 saves despite one of the higher ERAs at 2.95. The veteran has battled his control with nine walks in 18.1 innings and his strikeout rate has been modest for a closer at 7.36 K/9. He converted both his save opportunities this past week.

Billy Wagner | Atlanta Braves
The Comments: Save opportunities have been few and far between for Wagner, but he’s 4-for-5 on the year and has a nice ERA at 2.08 and two wins. He’s given up just eight hits in 13.0 innings, while striking out 20 batters. Is the 0.3 WAR to this point worth the lost first round draft pick?

Matt Lindstrom | Houston Astros
The Comments: Lindstrom continues to be oddly reliable. The 30-year-old closer has shown significantly-improved control this season, which is a strong reason why he’s had more success. His walk rate of 2.08 is down from 4.56 BB/9 in ’09. His ground-ball rate is up more than 10% over his career norm.

Leo Nunez | Florida Marlins
The Comments: Along with Matt Lindstrom, Nunez is one of the more surprising success stories in ’10… to this point. The right-hander has a significantly-improved strikeout rate at 9.98 K/9 and his ERA sits at just 0.59. He’s 7-for-9 in saves and he went 3-for-3 this past week.

Steady Performers

Francisco Rodriguez | New York Mets
The Comments: Rodriguez has converted a mere five saves this year but he’s given up just 11 hits in 17.2 innings of work. The Mets closer has a solid strikeout rate at 10.19 K/9. He appeared in four games this past week and went 1-for-2 in save opps and took a loss.

Ryan Franklin | St. Louis Cardinals
The Comments: Franklin and dynamic will never be used in the same sentence but he just keeps getting the job done with eight saves in nine tries. His ERA is high (for a closer) at 2.93 and strikeout rate is just 4.70 K/9 so he’s really not offering fantasy owners anything but saves.

Octavio Dotel | Pittsburgh Pirates
The Comments: My buddy Brian is probably the world’s biggest (only?) Dotel supporter so I’m trying to be as nice as I can to a closer with a 6.91 ERA. The strikeout rate is solid at 12.56 K/9 and the xFIP of 4.19 suggests he’s been a tad unlucky… but the walk rate remains poor at 5.02 BB/9 and he’s just giving up too many base runners in general.

Fallen on Hard Times

Trevor Hoffman | Milwaukee Brewers
The Comments: The stat says it all: 5-for-9 in save opportunities. Hoffman has had a brutal season and his ERA currently sits at 12.00. He was 1-for-1 in save opportunities this past week but he was torched in his other appearance (three runs in 1.0 inning). The club should give Carlos Villanueva a shot.

Chad Qualls | Arizona Diamondbacks
The Comments: Things just aren’t getting any better for Qualls, who made three appearances this past week and blew his only save opportunity. On the week, he gave up six runs (just two earned) in 2.0 innings. Unfortunately, no other reliever is really stepping up their game to compensate for Qualls’ ineffectiveness.

New to the Job

Brad Lidge | Philadelphia Phillies
The Comments: Health concerns continue to dog Lidge but his job is fairly safe for now considering Ryan Madson’s health woes. Keep an eye on Scott Mathieson, though. The hard-thrower is pitching very well in triple-A.

Manny Corpas/Rafael Betancourt | Colorado Rockies
The Comments: Young closer Franklin Morales is on the DL with shoulder weakness; he joins veteran closer Huston Street on the shelf. That leaves the job to Corpas and maybe Betancourt. The closer situation in Colorado is no sure thing right now but Street has been throwing well on a rehab assignment.