We can all agree that the Tampa Bay Rays are a better team than their current 23-25 record suggests.
This is essentially the same team that won 97 games last season to finish atop the AL East. At this point last year, Tampa had 31 victories, but trust us, the wins are coming.
The question will remain: When they are leading in the ninth inning, which member of their bullpen will be given the ball to secure those wins?
With Troy Percival out indefinitely with tendinitis in his throwing shoulder, an injury that tends to linger and one that has him contemplating retirement, Rays manager Joe Maddon has a number of options at his disposal. Seven, to be exact, all who have seen save opportunities either this season or at some point during their careers.
So who will it be? For now, at least, it's all of them.
"[Maddon] went to all the relievers [Friday] and said, 'Look, there may come a time during the season when I announce who our closer is,'" recalled right-handed option Joe Nelson about his manager, as reported by MLB.com. "'But at this point, we're still going to go with the same gameplan we've been going with, which is whatever matchup and whoever's freshest, that's who we're going to go with.'"
The candidates are Nelson, who is 2-for-2 in save opportunities this season, Dale Thayer (1-for-1), Grant Balfour (1-for-1), J.P. Howell (1-for-3), Lance Cormier (1-for-1), Dan Wheeler (0-for-2) and 36-year-old Jason Isringhausen, who has 293 career saves over his 14-year career and who pitched the ninth inning with the lead on Saturday.
Maddon's plan is to pitch to matchups and use whoever he feels has the best chance at getting the three toughest outs in baseball at the given time. While this isn't exactly the best-case scenario, Maddon feels, given his options, this is the best way to utilize the talent left healthy on his roster.
"Of course there's more emotion in the ninth inning with a two-run lead or a one-run lead," Maddon said. "There's a different feeling entirely. But if we spread it out -- we don't have one closer, per se, and we spread out that ninth-inning emotion -- I think they all can do a better job for a longer period of time. That's what I think."
Unfortunately for Fantasy owners, this plan makes one more major league team -- and a good one at that -- without a viable Fantasy closer to rely on.
We fully expect Thayer, Balfour, Howell, Cormier, Wheeler, Nelson and Isringhausen to get some save chances in the near future. One or two of these guys might even begin to stand out from the bunch. But until one of them -- and besides Thayer, they've all had their opportunities in the past -- grabs hold of the job with Maddon's blessing, they are all not viable options in anything but AL-only Fantasy leagues.
The real shame is, even if the Rays got fantastically hot right now and won the pennant again, with this system in place, all those saves would be so dispersed between the herd that it would still be fruitless to own any of these options in Fantasy. Essentially, for now, Tampa Bay's closers are dead to us.
Call to the Bench -- We feel this player might be worthy of adding to Fantasy rosters for the long haul
Ben Zobrist, SS/OF, Tampa Bay
Owned: 65 percent of
leagues
Analysis: Excuse us for harping on the Rays, but they
have a lot of interesting situations going on right now. Fantasy owners
are mourning the loss of second baseman Akinori Iwamura for the season but this opens up a whole new world for
Zobrist. Zobrist was your garden variety utility man, albeit a good one
with the bat, before Iwamura went down. He has already seen time at
second, third, shortstop and all three outfield positions this season
but will now get to concentrate fully at second. Zobrist is hitting .286
this season with eight homers and 24 RBI as a utility man over 105
at-bats. For a second baseman, those are some pretty solid power
numbers, especially considering he hasn't played nearly every day before
now. His Fantasy flexibility -- right now he's available at OF and SS
but will gain 2B status with one more start -- only adds to his value
that has now blossomed into someone who should be owned in all Fantasy
leagues. If Zobrist gets really hot, he could make a case to become a
top-end Fantasy 2B for all formats.
You're Out! -- We feel this player might have already peaked and his value could be on the decline, so Fantasy owners might want to cut bait ASAP
Adam Kennedy, 2B, Oakland
Owned: 22 percent of
leagues
Analysis: For those who didn't realize, had the Rays
not traded Kennedy to the A's earlier in the season, he would have
likely been the guy to slide into Iwamura's spot for Tampa. Instead,
Kennedy is bashing the ball, for his standards at least, in Oakland
right now. Kennedy was given the outright starting gig at second for the
A's and he's hitting .441 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 59 at-bats
since. Kennedy is the hottest he's been right now with 12 hits in his
last five games and eight RBI over that span. Kennedy has always been
known as a streaky hitter, but this is a bit much. Over the course of an
11-year career with the Cardinals, Angels and A's -- he never played in
the majors with the Rays -- Kennedy is a lifetime .278 hitter. His best
season saw him hit .312 (2002 with Anaheim) and his career highs for
homers and RBI are 13 and 72, respectively. Kennedy may continue to
belong on AL-only and deeper mixed league rosters because second base is
a thin position for talent, but realize he is going to tumble hard at
some point, that is just a fact of baseball.
GIDPs -- We feel this player might not warrant as much Fantasy consideration as he is receiving and should be avoided in most instances
Shairon Martis, SP, Washington
Owned: 39 percent
of leagues
Analysis: Realize, Martis is a good young major
league pitcher. He has a bright future ahead of him. He's been on target
for superstardom ever since he pitched the first, and likely last, no
hitter in the World Baseball Classic. With a record of 5-0, Martis is
not this good. But that's evidenced by his 4.86 ERA. Somehow, the
Nationals are winning for him when he pitches well and playing well when
he doesn't. He has two no decisions in a row and has allowed 10 earned
runs over 12 innings against Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Martis has some
gems already this season but has been unable to pitch deep into the
seventh inning in all but two of his nine starts. With Washington's
bullpen among the worst in baseball, it stands to reason that even if
Martis pitches well, his bullpen should eventually fail him. During
weeks Martis pitches twice, he becomes a viable Fantasy option in deeper
mixed leagues. When he only has one start, that start better be the best
matchup in the world to use him in anything but NL-only formats. The
rule of thumb should be: Pitches for the Nationals? Find another pitcher.
Scouting -- We feel this player is on the verge of being a Fantasy reliable option, but still needs to be monitored over the next few weeks
Jason Vargas, SP, Seattle
Owned: 7 percent of
leagues
Analysis: Vargas started the season pitching out of
Seattle's bullpen. He now has three starts under his belt and Fantasy
owners are beginning to take notice, making him one of the most picked
up pitchers in Fantasy play over the past week. He has definitely earned
the ownership after going seven strong innings in his last start against
the Giants allowing two hits, one run and striking out seven. Thus far,
in his three starts, Vargas has allowed a total of three runs over 17
1/3 innings and has an ERA of 1.29 on the season. This isn't the
26-year-old's first go-round in the majors, however. He's started 23
games since breaking into the league in 2005 with the Marlins and has
been a member of the Mets as well in parts of four seasons in the bigs.
Vargas has a career record of 7-8 with a high 5.17 ERA and in two starts
for the Mets last season was lit up. He's never been particularly
dominant down in the minors in parts of five seasons, either. These red
flags leave us to believe he's pitching above his head right now so
before you scramble to pick him up, give him a few more starts to prove
himself.
Farm Boys -- This segment is for those long-term keeper owners looking for the next Fantasy superstar
Jeanmar Gomez, SP, Cleveland
Owned: 6 percent of
leagues
Analysis: If you hadn't heard, Gomez is terrorizing
Double-A hitters right now. They can barely touch his stuff. Promoted
from Class A earlier this season, Gomez is 4-0 with an 0.31 ERA in four
starts for the Akron Aeros. And after his last start, when he pitched
the first perfect game in franchise history, striking out eight and
retiring all 27 batters he faced with ease, the Indians have noticed and
are talking about a possible call up to join the rotation as early as
Week 9 (June 1-7). Gomez, just 21, is the absolute real deal and he's
been nearly unhittable at two levels. It is only a matter of time before
he's standing on the mound for the Indians.
Doctor's Report -- This segment highlights a player on the verge of coming off the DL and ready to make an immediate Fantasy impact.
Hiroki Kuroda, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
Owned: 59
percent of leagues
Analysis: Kuroda made one start this season
and shut down the Padres in San Diego allowing one run over 5 2/3
innings. We haven't seen him since as a left oblique strain put him on
the disabled list, where he remains to this point. The Dodgers have
moved on to go 31-15 without Kuroda, but the back end of the Dodgers
rotation is by no means set in stone and Kuroda would definitely help
right away upon his return. That return seems imminent as Kuroda is
currently rehabbing down in the minors. He allowed one run over 3 2/3
innings at Class A in his first appearance and will likely see two more
before the Dodgers make a decision on his future. That schedule means he
could be back with the club to start on June 6 against Philadelphia and
would immediately become a viable NL-only and deeper mixed league
Fantasy starter.
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