A Different Look at Closers In Baseball
PLUS: RANGER ROOKIES HOPE TO COPY RICE/LYNN FRESHMAN FORMULA
Pregame Pepper
After leading the Cardinals in home runs and RBIs this spring, Dylan Carlson was involved in an outfield collision that will cost him early-season playing time . . .
Francisco Alvarez, starting his second year as the No. 1 catcher for the Mets, has greatly improved his throwing after a winter of workouts . . .
Mets DH J.D. Martinez, who collected 100+ RBIs for the 2023 Dodgers, will open in the minors because he missed most of spring training . . .
He’s still a huge improvement over Daniel Vogelbach, the rotund DH who somehow made the Toronto Blue Jays varsity . . .
The best average exit velocity recorded by any hitter this spring was 98.7 miles per hour by Pittsburgh shortstop Oneill Cruz, just ahead of Aaron Judge . . .
Baltimore ace Kevin Gausman had a delayed start to spring training but was pronounced healthy again just before Opening Day . . .
Minnesota pitcher Jay Jackson, 36, is on an Opening Day roster for the first time.
Leading Off
The Plight of Closers
By Ray Kuhn
If this comes across with a certain level of anger, frustration, or complaining, I don’t apologize. It is very much intentional.
I also don’t feel bad about it. Not even close in fact.
Aside from the fact that the sentiments I’m going to share are completely true and accurate, there I strength in numbers. I know I am far from alone here. With that being said though, we can’t make excuses. These are the rules of engagement and everyone is competing on a level playing field.
But there has to be a better way, right?
Fantasy baseball is fun. It is designed as a hobby to enhance our enjoyment of the game as well as for camaraderie among friends and fellow fans. But man, can it be stressful.
The problem, is that closers don’t help our case. In fact, they add a large amount of craziness to our game. Injuries and ineffectiveness are a common issue that we have to continuously deal with it. For as much as we try to prepare, plan for, and mitigate it, that is not simply possible at all times.
In the case of closers and dealing with saves, it a necessary evil and these are the rules of engagement. While sometimes it feels as if the fantasy spirits are conspiring against you and you are alone on an island, that is not the case. As the events of the last few months have proven, no one is immune.
Last season was relatively calm when it came to closers. However, I do need to qualify that though in a large way. If you were a fantasy manager counting on Edwin Diaz last season, you likely are going to have a different viewpoint. Aside from Diaz though, things did seem more stable than usual.
Considering there is such a finite number of closers, and more specifically saves, there is a scrutiny like non other placed on them. Then, depending on the contest you are participating in, the pressure takes on an even larger role as you simply can’t win without saves.
But then when happens when they are all injured? And then things become even more difficult when we don’t have a clear line of sight as to who the replacement will be. What happens next is clear anarchy.
Devin Williams.
Jordan Romano.
Paul Sewald.
Jhoan Duran.
All elite closers and drafted at considerable investment, but now injured and sidelined for at least a month or two. The only way to explain what happens next is clear anarchy. Speculation runs rampant and it truly becomes a bidding war to secure any saves that are potentially available. The problem though, is that major league teams don’t care about our problems. All they want to do is maximize efficiency, win games, and save money while doing so.
Each one of those items runs completely against what we are trying to accomplish from a fantasy perspective. The time we spend attempting to navigate the pecking order in each team’s bullpen is simply insane. However, we don’t have a choice.
Of course there is skill involved. Following the waiver wire requires precision and it certainly is a balancing act. The problem though, is that we simply don’t know what we don’t know. There is informed speculation for sure, but we are simply doing the best we can.
A lot of leagues, however not the high stakes contests, have made the transition to giving equal value to both saves and holds. This allows us to focus more on bullpen skills than actual role as that follows suit towards reality. At the same time though, it also devalues the position.
The amount of time we spend from a fantasy perspective focusing on saves speculation is simply insane. We can say the same about waiver priority and our free agent dollars. Managing these situations, and potentially enjoying some good luck, makes a big difference.
To add more fuel to the fire, Jason Foley got the save for Detroit to begin the season even though Alex Lange appeared to be the closer. And then we had Jose Alvarado enter in the eighth inning of a tied game when he was thought to be the Philadelphia closer.
So, what are we supposed to do? Well, other than complain that is.
The only option we really have, is to deal with it. And have fun.
But make sure to pick the right closer.
Ray Kuhn can be found covering Fantasy Sports on Fantrax and Fantasy Alarm after previously covering the Houston Astros as part of the FanSided network at Climbing Tal’s Hill. Reach him on X/Twitter at @ray_kuhn_28 or raykuhn57@gmail.com as he is always interested in talking or writing about our great game.
Cleaning Up
Texas Trots Out Two Talented Rookies
By Dan Schlossberg
They’ve just started playing together but a pair of rookies in the lineup of the World Champion Texas Rangers are already conjuring up memories of two other outfielders who also proved an instant hit when they broke in together.
Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter, like Fred Lynn and Jim Rice before them, are brimming with talent. Not necessarily experience — just really good baseball skills.
Carter, 21, is a left-handed hitter from Tennessee who plays center field while Langford, 22, is a righty from Florida.
Langford, the fourth overall pick in the 2023 amateur draft, is a former catcher who clouted 47 home runs at Florida over the last two seasons, earning an $8 million signing bonus that was the biggest in the history of the Rangers.
"We think he's the perfect fit for what we're building here," Rangers general manager Chris Young said. "Who he is as a person, his winning pedigree and certainly the talent as a player."
That .373 college batting average in 2023 helped the Gators reach the championship round of the College World Series. Now he’s aiming for the same thing in the majors.
Carter impressed after a late-season call-up last year but retained his rookie status. He hit .306 with five homers in 23 September games, then kept right on hitting in the playoffs.
No team has had such a rookie tandem since Lynn and Rice of the 1975 Red Sox.
Lynn played center field and batted left-handed while Rice played left and hit right-handed. Dubbed the Gold Dust Twins by the Boston media, they divided all the votes for American League Rookie of the Year.
Lynn got 23 1/2 of a possible 24, while Rice got the other half-vote. It was tough to ignore Lynn, who also became the first rookie to also win an MVP trophy.
The affable Californian hit .331 with 21 home runs, 105 runs batted in, and league highs in slugging (.567), OPS (.967), doubles (47), and runs scored (103). He also won a Gold Glove for fielding excellence.
Lynn might have clinched the award on June 18, when he tied an American League record with 16 total bases: three home runs, a triple, and an infield single in Boston’s 15-1 rout at Detroit.
“Things happen fast when you’re a rookie,” he said. “The next game, I think we headed to Baltimore and I had to deal with Jim Palmer.”
As things turned out, it was Rice and not Lynn who reached the hallowed halls of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He hit .298 with 382 home runs, winning an MVP award in 1978. But he was aided by the designated hitter, saving him the wear-and-tear Lynn endured as a wide-ranging center-fielder.
Now the Rangers hope Langford and Carter can last as long and burn as brightly as Rice and Lynn. Their success could be one of the great storylines of the new season, especially since the Rangers hope to become the first team to win consecutive World Series since the New York Yankees of 1998-99-2000.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is the author of Home Run King: the Remarkable Record of Hank Aaron and 40 other baseball books. His email is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia: Milwaukee’s Marvelous Freshman
“Youth is not an issue when you’ve got the talent this kid has. He’s unique but he’s still got a long way to go and a lot of growing pains. Considering where we are right now, it still makes sense to put him on our roster and go let him play.”
— Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy on rookie rightfielder Jackson Chourio
The only other players who cracked an Opening Day lineup at a younger age were Robin Yount (twice), Ken Griffey Jr., and Adrian Beltré, all Hall of Famers . . .
Chourio, a fleet Venezuelan who trails only Jackson Holliday on the MLB.com list of Best Prospects, turned 20 earlier this month . . .
He’s one of 12 Brewers on an Opening Day roster for the first time . . .
Chourio walked, singled, stole a base, and made a leaping catch — as his parents and cousins watched from the CitiField stands — as the Brewers upset the Mets, 3-1 . . .
Only Yount, who was 18 in 1974 and 19 in 1975, was younger when he started an Opening Day game for the Brewers . . .
Because of his speed and power, his manager believes Chourio will be a 30/30 player.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.