When fantasy baseball owners should go after closers

When to select closers is one of the most polarizing topics of discussion during the fantasy baseball draft season.

The position itself is incredibly volatile, and over the past five seasons, we’ve seen roughly just 30 percent of the players who open the season as their team’s closer finish the year in the same role.

That certainly fuels the fire for those who insist on waiting until the later rounds to draft their relief pitchers, but making an early investment in a top ninth-inning specialist can be the difference you need to finish ahead of your competition.

First and foremost, let’s debunk the theory that closers are only good for one category.

Yes, they are in your lineup for saves, but high-end closers do a lot more than just that.

In this day and age, when managers coddle their starting pitchers, we are seeing fewer players throwing for more than 100 innings.

In fact, over the past decade, we’ve witnessed a 20 percent decrease in the number of pitchers who have finished the season at that mark.

That means, the impact of a closer who posts a 2.00 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP over 65 innings is much greater for your ratios than you would think.

Couple that with a K/9 over 10.00, and a top closer is actually augmenting your totals in every pitching category except wins.

That doesn’t mean you need to draft the top names such as Josh Hader or Emmanuel Clase.

The primary reason people do is for security. Given the volatility of the position, the investment comes with the belief that this player won’t lose his job should he struggle in an early outing or two.

But there are plenty more who share similar levels of job security and won’t cost you a third- or fourth-round pick.

Closers such as Pittsburgh’s David Bednar and Cincinnati’s Alexis Diaz have an ADP in the high-90s, and both have ratios and job security comparable to the top-tier.

You certainly can target closers deeper in your draft. Players such as Miami’s Tanner Scott or Tampa Bay’s Pete Fairbanks will be available in the middle rounds and have solid ratios, but the further down the draft board you go, the greater the volatility with regard to job security.

Not to mention, the longer you wait, the more likely it is that you will have to spend the bulk of your free-agent acquisition budget (FAAB) or waiver priority chasing saves on the waiver wire all season.

You don’t have to be the first person in your draft to take a closer, but you certainly don’t want to be last.

Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy baseball news and advice.