Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
There are closers that come out of nowhere each fantasy baseball season. The position naturally has a very high turnover rate and the lack of job security makes it extremely difficult to to find reliable closers each fantasy season.
There are obviously only a handful of All-Stars at the position, including the likes of Craig Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman, and Greg Holland. However, after the top names, no player has a strong hold on the ninth inning.
Last year alone, nearly half of the closers in the league lost their jobs. Many fantasy owners drafted closers like John Axford and Rafael Betancourt with high expectations, but both closers ended up losing their job by the time the fantasy playoffs came around. It just shows how completely unreliable the position has become.
There will be plenty of closers to take a shot on in the second half of the draft, so don’t obsess over the top five guys. There can be great value in grabbing closers Steve Cishek, Huston Street, Nate Jones, and Jose Veras towards the end of the draft and there will always be guys that develop throughout the season.
The bottom line is that there is a ton of sleeper potential at the closer position this season. Fantasy owners shouldn’t be afraid to load up on low-end closers or setup men at the end of the draft this spring, because it simply isn’t worth reaching for a closer anymore.
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
