Hot Values: Closing Pitchers
As the dog days of August continue on, many fantasy owners are scrambling around to their waiver wires to find players who can help in saves. Here are some hot values who I believe could turn a nice profit over the final two months of the season.
Brad Ziegler, Oakland Athletics. Man, I love this guy. Coming into the majors, he has thrown 38 scoreless innings and counting. With the recent struggles of Huston Street, Ziegler has come in and shut the door in two Oakland close wins. Not only do I really like his name, I love the upside that he can provide a fantasy team that is desperate for saves over the rest of the season. I cannot forsee Street getting more than 2 or 3 save chances throughout the rest of the season, because this young kid has been so effective. Roster him if you can!
Christopher Perez, St. Louis Cardinals. Perez is a nice option for your team too if you are looking for saves. Sure, he isn’t the most dominant reliever, but as a recent callup from Triple-A, he isn’t a shabby option. Isringhausen is looking more and more like a 7th or 8th inning guy now, and La Russa hasn’t shown a lot of confidence in Ryan Franklin or Kyle McLellan in that bullpen. I can see Perez scoring 6-8 more saves over the rest of the season.
Fernando Rodney, Detroit Tigers. The Tigers have struggled as of late from the bullpen, using Rodney and Zumaya in late-inning roles, but it is fairly clear that Rodney is the guy to grab from the bullpen. Newly acquired Kyle Farnsworth (6.35 ERA with DET over 5 2/3 innings) has been anything but spectacular, so I like Rodney’s opportunity to produce, at least over the next month. Look for him on your waiver wire as well.
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