Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat - NL

September 1, 2010 @ 14:00:00

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

• Looks like Guti is doing the duty

  Juan Gutierrez acted like a closer Tuesday. The Arizona Diamondbacks' righty entered the game in the ninth with a four-run lead but runners on second and third. He recorded a K and two groundouts to escape.
  Manager Kirk Gibson has been reluctant to name a closer since he took over. Considering two of Guti's last four appearances came on successful save conversions, Gibson is probably leaning toward the righty as his choice. Fantasy baseball owners should follow suit.
• Brandon Lyon (Houston Astros) threw another scoreless save Tuesday and has converted 10 straight save opps, including six since Matt Lindstrom (back) went on the DL. Lindstrom, however, was activated off the disabled list Wednesday after completing a scoreless rehab inning last night for Double-A Corpus Christi.
  He presumably would be slotted back into closing, but that isn't 100 percent certain. Hang on to Lyon if possible; he has been effective in replacing Lindstrom, and you don't want to let go of potential saves if you need them this late in the year.
• One would think a line without an earned run that included three strikeouts in 1 1/3 innings would helps the Los Angeles Dodgers' Jonathan Broxton. Unfortunately, the deposed closer entered in the seventh yesterday down by two. He immediately allowed a two-run, bases-loaded single that scored inherited base runners against his long-time tormenters, the Philadelphia Phillies.
  At least he went on to throw a scoreless eighth, but he's not helping his cause to return to closing.
• After taking the loss in a tied extra-inning game last night, Drew Storen has a 20.25 ERA in his last three appearances (2 2/3 innings). The Washington Nationals probably won't let that deter them from giving him save chances for the rest of the year, even with Sean Burnett also in the picture. They want to see what the former has.
• Appearing for the third straight day, Brian Wilson needed just eight pitches to throw a scoreless one-inning save Tuesday for the San Francisco Giants. His neck issues from this past weekend don't appear to be hindering him.

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.

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