Updated 2010 Fantasy Baseball Closer Rankings: Coffee Is for Closers

This is it gentlemen (and ladies). It’s put up or shut up time. Which closer are you gonna take this season?

I can't think of closers without recalling that irreverent scene in the film Glengarry Glen Ross, perhaps Alec Baldwin’s finest acting moment.

“Coffee is for closers!”

What does it have to do with fantasy baseball? Not a thing. Because in the movie closers are everything, while in fantasy baseball they are next to nothing.

But you need them.

A. Always

B. Be

C. Closing

So what does that mean for us? Since my initial preseason closer rankings, things have changed around the league in the course of one short month.

Joe Nathan , you’re fired.

Kerry Wood , you suck.

Huston Street , put that rosin bag down—rosin is for closers!

Brad Lidge , Andrew Bailey , and Bobby Jenks are all hurting...no coffee for you!

No matter who you grab come draft day, you will spend the entire season “closing.”

All season long there will be injuries, and there will be a closers carousel around baseball: new faces, new names, sleepers, and surprises.

So good managers, even those with Jonathan Broxton or Mariano Rivera, will be keeping tabs on guys that come out of nowhere this season that could be this year’s Andrew Bailey .

There is still a battle in Houston between Brandon Lyon and Matt Lindstrom, as well as in Toronto between Kevin Gregg and Jason Frasor. Keep an eye on these battles this last week before the games start to count.

As we get down to the last week of fantasy drafts, let’s look at the current value of the most volatile position in fantasy baseball.

Key

JS = Job Security:  G ood, F air, P oor

In Bold = Guys I’m high on in 2010

	Tier 1	Team	JS	Successor in Waiting	One Liners
1	Jonathan Broxton	LAD	G	George Sherrill	As safe a bet as it gets.
2	Mariano Rivera	NYY	G	Phil Hughes	Lowest WHIP of all 2009 closers.
3	Jonathan Papelbon	BOS	G	Daniel Bard	Fly balls and walk stats are rising.
4	Joakim Soria	KC	G	Kyle Farnsworth	Similar line to Papelbon, but at a better price.
	Tier 2
5	Billy Wagner	ATL	G	Takashi Saito	My leap of faith in his ability and recovery.
6	Francisco Rodriguez	NYM	G	Kelvim Escobar	3.71 ERA in ‘09. Ouch.
7	Heath Bell	SD	F	Edward Mujica	Likely to be traded by the All-Star break
8	Andrew Bailey	OAK	F	Brad Ziegler	Can he avoid a sophomore slump?
9	Francisco Cordero	CIN	G	Nick Massett	Not flashy, but safe. Watch the WHIP.
10	Brian Wilson	SF	G	Jeremy Affeldt	Somehow he gets it done each year.
	Tier 3
11	Brian Fuentes	ANA	F	Fernando Rodney	Lots of saves, but he’ll give you a stroke.
12	Jose Valverde	DET	F	Joel Zumaya	Could be a nice surprise comeback.
13	Trevor Hoffman	MIL	G	LaTroy Hawkins	Old reliable. Emphasis on old.
14	Huston Street	COL	F	Franklin Morales	Morales gets the nod Opening Day.
16	Rafael Soriano	TB	F	J.P. Howell	Injury concern, but great stuff.
17	Carlos Marmol	CHC	F	Angel Guzman	Cardiac kid can throw the heat
18	David Aardsma	SEA	F	Mark Lowe	I don’t like this guy, but he’ll get his chances.
19	Mike Gonzalez	BAL	P	Jim Johnson	Can he stay healthy?
	Tier 4
19	Bobby Jenks	CHW	F	Matt Thornton	He’s not getting much love this season.
20	Ryan Franklin	STL	F	Jason Motte	Franklin’s struggled; Motte has not.
21	Chad Qualls	ARI	F	Juan Gutierrez	Should be ready by Opening Day.
22	Jon Rauch	MIN	P	Matt Guerrier	Rauch will have a short leash to start.
23	Brad Lidge	PHI	P	Ryan Madson	Plays better in even years; risk/reward pick.
24	Frank Francisco	TEX	P	Neftali Feliz	He still has the job...somehow.
25	Octavio Dotel	PIT	F	Joel Hanrahan	Could be a steal this season.
	Tier 5
26	Matt Capps	WAS	P	Brian Bruney	Closer on a bad team = opportunity.
27	Kerry Wood	CLE	F	Chris Perez	Perez will take over sometime this season.
28	Matt Lindstrom	HOU	P	Brandon Lyon	Handcuff these two.
29	Leo Nunez	FLA	P	Dan Meyer	He walks too damn many batters.
30	Jason Frasor	TOR	P	Kevin Gregg	If Frasor can keep Gregg at bay...
31	Franklin Morales	COL	X	Betancourt	He’s lethal, and Huston Street is hurt.
32	Matt Thornton	CHW	X	N/A	If Jenks falters...

Here’s a look at our Closer Breakouts, Busts, and Sleepers.

For those interested in the infamous "Coffee Is for Closers" scene, you can find it here.