Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat - AL

September 9, 2010 @ 12:45:00

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.

Key

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

 

Chicago White Sox

Closer: Bobby Jenks (forearm)

Understudy: Matt Thornton, J.J. Putz

Lurkers: Chris Sale, Sergio Santos

Jenks, who hasn't pitched since his two-save Saturday, is dealing with forearm tightness. He had difficulty warming up Wednesday and felt discomfort in his right forearm earlier this week. Though earlier reports said he would be ready for Friday, it now appears he'll miss at least a few games.

Jenks was used frequently last week when Chicago had a depleted bullpen. Keep an eye on this injury. Though manager Ozzie Guillen didn't say who would close in Jenks' absence, your best bets are Thornton, who closed in Jenks' place Sunday, and Putz, who was just activated from the DL.

Guillen could very well select his closer between those two depending on bullpen use and matchups. For the short term, Thornton is probably the better option since Putz just came off the DL. But if Jenks misses extended time, Putz could easily take over frequently.

Job security score: 4

Health score: 3

Mound meetings

• Thornton and Co. to save day again?

  Though Matt Capps has done the job for the Minnesota Twins (11-for-13 in save opps with them), they haven't come easily lately. He holds a 6.75 ERA and a 2.25 WHIP in his last four outings, all conversions. His Wednesday go-round involved an RBI groundout and a run-scoring single; he allowed two runs on two hits and one walk.
  As long as Capps works within the lead given to him, though, Minny probably won't make a change this late in the year.
• Fernando Rodney (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) has now given up a run in each of his last three games (eight hits total in three innings) and four of his last five. The Halos' stopper allowed three hits and a run while blowing last night's save chance.
  The Angels still might give Kevin Jepsen or Jordan Walden a brief saves look, but it won't be enough to knock Rodney from the gig for what remains of 2010.

Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat: AL | NL

Fantasy baseball closer depth charts: AL | NL

KFFLians are saying....

Comment

 

---

What do you think? We want to hear from you!

Name: E-mail: Please, enter the number that you see

Comment Guidelines

Tim Heaney

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

Tim co-hosts KFFL's Big Lead Sports block every Thursday (10pm-1am ET) on Sirius XM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210 | XM 87) and competes in Tout Wars (2011) and LABR (2012).

Follow him on Twitter.

Talk Sports 24/7!
KFFL Sports Forums: Over 24,000 strong and growing!

Heath Bell won't be as loud for fantasy baseball saves (02/10)
Burning Fantasy Baseball Questions: Chicago Cubs (02/10)
Fantasy baseball players in the news (02/10)