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Closer In Waiting Power Rankings: April 11, 2017: Vizcaino Rising Up The Ranks & More

Tuesday, April 11, 2017 7:35

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(Before It's News)

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

Are you someone constantly on the lookout for the next potential closer? That’s what we are trying to pinpoint here, with our Top 5 Closer In Waiting Power Rankings. These rankings look at the pitchers who appear capable of taking over their team’s respective closing duties (though in some cases, will need some help to get there). Keep in mind, if a pitcher is currently part of a committee they will not be included in these rankings (i.e. the Oakland A’s and Cincinnati Reds situations) despite not currently “holding” the job outright.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at how things stand:

Rank	Player	Team	Current Closer	Note
1.	Arodys Vizcaino (3)	Atlanta Braves	Jim Johnson	Johnson blew his first save Sunday & we all know that he’s not the future for Atlanta. One or two more poor outings could lead to Vizcaino, who has done the job before, being given another opportunity.
2.	Koda Glover (2)	Washington Nationals	Blake Treinen	Treinen has shown cracks but that came working three consecutive days., while Shawn Kelley has struggled since Opening Day (though he appeared to be getting ready for a save opportunity on Monday). Glover’s shaky outing earlier this week helps slow the change, but it will come at some point.
3.	Matt Bush (4)	Texas Rangers	Sam Dyson	Dyson has taken the Shawn Tolleson route & one more poor showing could lead to a change. That said Dyson appeared to bounce back yesterday and isn’t a lock to be replaced.
4.	Hector Neris (1)	Philadelphia Phillies	Joaquin Benoit	The Phillies’ removed Jeanmar Gomez, but turned to the veteran instead of the potentially long-term solution. It makes sense, but if Benoit were to struggle the team won’t have a choice but to turn things over to Neris. We’ll have to sit back and see how things play out.
5.	Brad Hand (NR)	San Diego Padres	Brandon Maurer	Maurer’s recent struggles came in a non-save situation and Carter Capps is the long-term solution. That said Hand has been impressive and currently appears to be next up if a change is made.