Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat - NL

June 9, 2010 @ 13:30:00

By Tim Heaney
Edited by Nicholas Minnix

Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat: AL | NL

Fantasy baseball closer depth charts: AL | NL

In fantasy baseball, the closer position remains volatile. Rarely does every closer hang on to the job for an entire season - injuries, poor performance and managerial decisions can cloud a team's bullpen picture.

Should you be concerned about a struggling stopper? Which relievers are climbing the depth chart? Are any injuries popping up? KFFL.com's Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat keeps you informed when you're looking for saves.

Mound meetings

• Results were secondary to health Tuesday for the Colorado Rockies' Huston Street (groin, shoulder). The righty reported no pain after a rough rehab outing in which he yielded two runs and two hits, including a dinger.
  He'll throw in game action Thursday and Friday; a healthy stint could return him to the big league roster as soon as Saturday.
• Matt Lindstrom has rattled off three straight scoreless saves since his back-to-back gaffes in early June. The righty sealed it for the Houston Astros Tuesday, working around a walk in a scoreless inning. His positive response to his struggles affirms his strong hold on the job.

• Street is on the brink of activation

  Bad Brad showed up again. Brad Lidge loaded the bases with two outs before closing out the Philadelphia Phillies' victory last night. The walk and two hits he allowed were the first in each column since returning from the DL. He has tossed four scoreless innings with six K's in his latest comeback.
• Imagine if the struggling Matt Capps failed to wrap up Stephen Strasburg's dazzling debut. He wouldn't have to worry as much about keeping his Washington Nationals closer job as he would the angry mob of 40,000-plus.
  Luckily, the righty set the Pittsburgh Pirates down 1-2-3 to rebound from a horrid Sunday trip. His job is still relatively safe, especially if he fixes his slider.
• John Axford (Milwaukee Brewers) has given up at least one run in three of his last four appearances. He entered a tied game last night and gave up one run on two hits before he was bailed out for a Brew Crew win in walk-off fashion in the bottom half.
  This shouldn't affect his interim (permanent?) hold on the closer job with Trevor Hoffman still working back to form.
• Milwaukee's rally blew a save chance for the Chicago Cubs' Carlos Marmol. It was his third gaffe in 15 chances this year and his first since May 17. No worries here; move along.

Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat: AL | NL

Fantasy baseball closer depth charts: AL | NL

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Tim Heaney

Since the Boston University alum joined KFFL in 2006, his work has been featured by USA Today/Sports Weekly and Yahoo! Sports, among numerous publications.

Tim competes in Tout Wars and LABR and appears every Wednesday on 1570 AM WNST in Baltimore, as well as frequently on Sirius XM Fantasy Sports Radio.

Follow him on Twitter.

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