Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat

April 12, 2011 @ 12:33:20

By Tim Heaney
Edited by Nicholas Minnix

 

Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat | AL depth charts | NL depth charts

What are the odds that you still own the same relief pitchers you rostered in your fantasy baseball draft? KFFL.com's Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat series gives you a no-nonsense perspective on performances, injuries and managerial decisions from MLB bullpens. Get your arm loose: Let's find fantasy baseball players who'll get saves in your rotisserie or head-to-head baseball league.

Key

Job security (JS) score	1 (unstable) to 5 (untouchable)
Health (H) score	1 (injury-prone) to 5 (durable)

 

Chicago White Sox

Closer: Matt Thornton

Understudy: Chris Sale, Sergio Santos

Lurkers: Jesse Crain

Sale, pals stand by, but D is issue

Another rough ninth inning for Thornton and the Sox: On Monday he allowed a leadoff double and then a hard line-out to first, but a one-out fly ball was dropped by left fielder Juan Pierre, allowing the tying run to score. Crain stopped the bleeding but later drew some of his own when he allowed the game-winning dinger.

Days after informally instituting a quasi-committee setup, Ozzie Guillen said Thornton, perfect in eight ninth-inning save opps last year, "will be back out there" and acknowledges the ChiSox are hurting the lefty's chances. Pierre has had a direct hand - err, glove - in two of Thornton's three BS entries, having also botched an aerial shot Friday to push Thornton toward a blown save. Of the seven runs Thornton has allowed, only one has been earned; if your defense extends the inning, your odds of failing increase.

In a small sample size, however, Thornton has been hit hard and more frequently. Primarily a fastball pitcher, Thornton has often been beaten on his secondary stuff. That leadoff two-bagger came off a slider he described as something at least rated PG-13. Mixing in a changeup that he used rarely last year, if at all, hasn't helped. His heat remains a prominent offering, but its location probably isn't right yet.

Ozzie apparently is willing to trust Thornton's reliable history, which fantasy should owners should as well. Regardless, the three backups are stash-worthy.

• Previously, in Chicago...

Job security score: 3

Health score: 5

 

Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat | AL depth charts | NL depth charts

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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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