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May 30, 2012

Value Picks

Relief Pitchers for 5/30/12

by Dan Mennella

We’ve seen fewer closer shakeups the past couple weeks, which makes things easier on frustrated fantasy owners but forces me to work harder for the sake of this column. May my toil be to your benefit! In that spirit, among this week’s newcomers are a couple of relievers who can contribute to your pitching staff by means other than the vaunted save.

Departures
We first bid teary adieus to a whopping five closer types this week, a quintuplet of end-game relievers who have graduated beyond this space by virtue of their steadily climbing ownership rates. Indeed, this is our dilemma.

Casey Janssen (Yahoo! 37%, ESPN 47%, CBS 36%) is the least-owned of our departures, which is not entirely surprising considering his relative obscurity in Toronto and the fact that circumstances haven’t conspired for him to grab owners’ collective attention by ripping off four saves in a week or some such (he has four on the month). He’s a fine option, though, and since Sergio Santos’ rehab is progressing slowly, I’d strongly advise grabbing Janssen if he’s still kicking around your wire. The saves should come.

The last White Sox pitcher other than Addison Reed (Yahoo! 48%, ESPN 56%, CBS 60%) to record a save was Matt Thornton… on April 29. Reed is pretty secure in his standing as Chicago’s closer, and while his all-or-nothing outings are a little bit worrisome (he’s allowed all of his eight earned runs in just two appearances), there’s little reason to think he’s any more vulnerable to a demotion than any other closer.

If you bet the over on Dale Thayer (Yahoo! 43%, ESPN 63%, CBS 43%) collecting five or more saves this spring, congratulations; you’re a very rich person. But Thayer’s halcyon days may be coming to an end. First, his perfect ERA was blown up over the weekend, the result of a five-run meltdown versus the Mets. Now, reports are surfacing of Huston Street beginning a rehab stint soon. Hold onto Dale-lightful until he’s officially been replaced, but his best value is probably behind him.

May has been kind to Brian Fuentes (Yahoo! 47%, ESPN 56%, CBS 48%); he’s snagged the closer’s role and shaved over a run off his ERA. He’s also managed to convert each of his four save chances, but therein lies the rub: he’s only had four of them. The good news is, if he continues to pitch in the neighborhood of his 2.84 FIP, he’ll lock up some more when he sees the save opportunities.