FLB Closer Report: June 3
— -- No position upsets fantasy owners like that of the closer. From day to day, something is always changing. Well, each week we'll examine who are the save guys and rank them. Also, we give the backup closer in case a guy goes down and you need to know his likely replacement. Got thoughts? Talk to the Fantasy Buzz.
Risers: Graves, Kolb, Herges
Fallers: Worrell, Percival, Rhodes
| CLOSER RANKINGS (As of Thursday morning, June 3 - so anything starting Thursday is for next week) | |||
| PLAYER (LW TEAM Rank) | TEAM | SKINNY | NEXT IN LINE |
| 1. Eric Gagne (1) | Dodgers | Love the SportsCenter Gagne tracker | Guillermo Mota |
| 2. Mariano Rivera (2) | Yanks | Messy vs. Baltimore though | Tom Gordon |
| 3. Keith Foulke (3) | Red Sox | Pedro, Lowe struggles hurt him, too | Mike Timlin |
| 4. John Smoltz (4) | Braves | Would help if they could score | Chris Reitsma |
| 5. Armando Benitez (5) | Marlins | Really, this is rather incredible | Toby Borland |
| 6. Trevor Hoffman (7) | Padres | Looks like his old ACDC self | Akinori Otsuka |
| 7. Danny Graves (8) | Reds | Hey, he might get 75 saves. I'm not joking | Todd Jones |
| 8. Jose Mesa (9) | Pirates | Time to stop being surprised, I guess | Brian Meadows |
| 9. Francisco Cordero (10) | Rangers | Maybe the walks will never hurt him | Jay Powell |
| 10. Danny Kolb (19) | Brewers | Just blew one, but man, great stats | Luis Vizcaino |
| 11. Octavio Dotel (11) | Astros | Holding on, could still be great | Brad Lidge |
| 12. Joe Nathan (12) | Twins | He finally gave up a hit | J.C. Romero |
| 13. Braden Looper (13) | Mets | Safe, quality closer | Orber Moreno |
| 14. Tim Worrell (6) | Phils | Any day now on Billy Wagner coming back | Roberto Hernandez |
| 15. Jason Isringhausen (14) | Cards | Still their guy when feels right | Julian Tavarez |
| 16. Ugueth Urbina (15) | Tigers | One real, real bad outing | Danny Patterson |
| 17. Eddie Guardado (17) | Mariners | Would rebuilding Seattle deal him? | Shigetosi Hasegawa |
| 18. Jorge Julio (18) | Orioles | Doing a fine job in obscurity | B.J. Ryan |
| 19. Troy Percival (16) | Angels | I think he's hurt; K-Rod saved Wednesday game | Francisco Rodriguez |
| 20. Matt Herges (22) | Giants | A few hiccups, but looks safe | Felix Rodriguez |
| 21. Joe Borowski (23) | Cubs | I don't see change coming here this season | LaTroy Hawkins |
| 22. Danys Baez (26) | D-Rays | Numbers are fine, has 9 saves | Lance Carter |
| 23. Shawn Chacon (20) | Rockies | 1.83 WHIP just doesn't lie | Steve Reed |
| 24. Rocky Biddle (25) | Expos | That Braves blown save - with 2 HR - was so, so bad | Chad Cordero |
| 25. Arthur Rhodes (21) | A's | Bad weekend, he could lose this job | Jim Mecir |
| 26. Jeremy Affeldt (29) | Royals | Has become somewhat reliable, could keep job | Nate Field |
| 27. Jose Valverde (24) | D-backs | Lost job, seemingly got it back real fast after Service got it | Scott Service |
| 28. Billy Koch (27) | White Sox | Blew it Wednesday, but only his second one of year | Damaso Marte |
| 29. Jason Frasor (30) | Jays | Pitching well, but can he keep the job? | Terry Adams |
| 30. Jose Jimenez (28) | Indians | He's not good, but it's his job for now | Rafael Betancourt |
| A FEW MIDDLE MEN TO WATCH | |
| PLAYER | SKINNY |
| Justin Duchscherer, A's | Real young, but about to get a chance |
| Brad Lidge, Astros | Remains a great source for Ks |
| Ryan Madson, Phillies | Lit up by Todd Zeile? C'mon... |
| Akinori Otsuka, Padres | The new HOT reliever, 1.33 ERA |