2010 Dynasty Rankings: Top 15 Closers: A First Look

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As much as any other position, the rankings for closer’s see some drastic changes when you are looking at drafting for yearly leagues vs. dynasty leagues.  How far does Mariano Rivera fall?  Where does Andrew Bailey fit?  What other changes are there?  Let’s take a look:

1. Jonathan Broxton - Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Joe Nathan - Minnesota Twins
3. Jonathan Papelbon - Boston Red Sox
4. Joakim Soria - Kansas City Royals
5. Francisco Rodriguez - New York Mets
6. Mariano Rivera - New York Yankees
7. Heath Bell - San Diego Padres
8. Brian Fuentes - Los Angeles Angels
9. Brian Wilson - San Francisco Giants
10. Huston Street - Colorado Rockies
11. Andrew Bailey - Oakland Athletics
12. Francisco Cordero - Cincinnati Reds
13. Jose Valverde - Houston Astros
14. Frank Francisco - Texas Rangers
15. Ryan Franklin - St. Louis Cardinals

Thoughts

• It’s extremely difficult to rank Mariano Rivera sixth, especially when you consider how dominant he has been and for how long.  Still, no matter what he says about wanting to play another five years, he will be 40-years old before the 2010 season begins.  Sooner or later his dominance has got to subside.
• Heath Bell actually moves down a spot from our yearly league rankings.  It’s easy to think of him as a young closer, with 2009 his first year in the role, but he’s actually 32-years old.  There’s also the constant worries of him being traded either before or during the season hanging over him.
• I wanted to put Carlos Marmol onto this list.  I mean I really wanted to, but unless he gets his control in order he is never going to be a safe option closing games.
• Andrew Bailey appears to be the hot young closer, now doesn’t he?  He was lights out in his rookie season, striking out nearly 10 batters per nine innings to go along with a 1.84 ERA and 0.84 WHIP.  Repeating numbers like that is highly unlikely and we all know that relief pitchers are extremely volatile.  Keep that in mind, but we will take a much closer look at him in the near future.

What are your thoughts on these rankings?  Who should be higher?  Who should be lower?

Previous Dynasty Rankings:

• Catchers
• First Baseman
• Second Baseman
• Third Baseman
• Shortstops

To view all of our rankings, including for both yearly and dynasty league owners, click here .

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