Joe Nathan Fallout: Top 15 Fantasy Baseball Closers for 2010

By now we’ve all heard about the injury to Joe Nathan, which has the potential to end his 2010 campaign before it even begins.  According to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minnesota Star-Tribune (click here for the full article):

“While surgery certainly looks to be imminent, Nathan will take two weeks to let the swelling in the area subside. He’ll work with the trainers to strengthen the muscles around the elbow. And then he will try to pitch. He’s prepared to pitch in pain—given the huge expectations placed on the 2010 Twins—and is prepared to tests the limits of his tolerance level.”

Only then will we know for sure that he’s going to miss the entire year due to Tommy John Surgery.  At this point, if you are drafting over the next two weeks, you have to ask yourself if you are willing to take the gamble on Nathan (who was previously the second ranked closer on my rankings) and if he’s going to pitch.

Let’s first take a look at how this news shuffles the rankings:

1. Jonathan Broxton—Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Mariano Rivera—New York Yankees
3. Joakim Soria—Kansas City Royals
4. Jonathan Papelbon—Boston Red Sox
5. Francisco Rodriguez—New York Mets
6. Heath Bell—San Diego Padres
7. Brian Wilson—San Francisco Giants
8. Jose Valverde—Detroit Tigers
9. Billy Wagner—Atlanta Braves
10. Huston Street—Colorado Rockies
11. Andrew Bailey—Oakland Athletics
12. Frank Francisco—Texas Rangers
13. Trevor Hoffman—Milwaukee Brewers
14. Rafael Soriano—Tampa Bay Rays
15. Francisco Cordero—Cincinnati Reds

Nathan is just too good of a pitcher to completely ignore at this point.  With the potential for him to still pitch, even at 70 percent, he’s still worth taking the flyer on in all formats in the last few rounds of your draft.  Unfortunately, that’s not enough to keep him in the Top 15.

I certainly wouldn’t ignore him, however, until the news breaks that he is officially out for the entire 2010 season.  According to Mock Draft Central, there are 21 relief pitchers with ADPs in the first 200.  After that, why not take the gamble on Nathan, backing him up with Jon Rauch or Matt Guerrier?  When you are drafting guys at that point, you are concerned about them losing their job anyway, right?

What are your thoughts?  Would you take the gamble on Nathan?  What are the chances he actually pitches?

If you would like to see a free preview of the Rotoprofessor 2010 Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide (available for just $5) now including a Top 50 Prospects for 2010 List, click here .

Make sure to check out our 2010 yearly league rankings:

• Catchers
• First Basemen
• Second Basemen
• Third Basemen
• Shortstops
• Outfielders
• Designated Hitters
• Starting Pitchers

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM