The Closer Report: April 21, 2010

SAVES:

Matt Lindstrom (4) - Lindstrom threw a near perfect 12 pitch inning giving up a lone hit.  His WHIP (1.14) and ERA (3.86) are still a bit high, but both are coming down.

Mariano Rivera (6) - Rivera is absolutely unhittable.  He recorded his sixth straight save, but showed a chink in his armor.  He gave up a hit and needed 26 pitches to close out the game.  His season ERA is still 0.00.

Jose Valverde (4) - Valverde made quick work of Angel hitters needing only 10 pitches to get his fourth save.   He got one strikeout and lowered his WHIP to 1.00.

Joakim Soria (4) - SOria got back on track with his fourth save of the season beating the Blue Jays 4-3.  He had a quite 1-2-3 inning and struckout one closing out the game.

Matt Capps (7) - Capps recorded his league leading seventh save of the season and did it in wow fashion.  Capps struckout the side, raising his strikeout total from 5 to 8 in one appearnce.  He did give up a hit and a walk, but an overall very impressive outing for Capps.

BLOWN SAVE:

Brian Fuentes (BS1) - Fuentes made his first appearance since coming off the DL and he entered the game in the eighth inning as expected and blew the lead.  Before his work was done, he gave up two runs on two hits and two walks.  The big blast was a solo homerun to Miguel Cabrera.  He also took the loss 4-3.

APPEARANCES:

Brain Wilson - Pitched a quite inning in a losing cause.  He only threw 10 pitches, so he should be fine for tomorrow.

Jonathan Papelbon - Pitched a strong two innings in a 7-7 game with Texas.  He gave up one hit and struckout one.  There is no chance he will pitch tomorrow.  Since Bard also went two innings, I'm not sure who will get the call to close if the Red Sox lead going into the ninth inning.

Carlos Marmol - Worked one inning in a 9-3 blow out.  Walked one and struck out one. 

Neftali Feliz - Another impressive outing for Feliz.  He pitched two innings for the Rangers in an extra inning game.  He threw 23 pitches and struck out three batters, while giving up no hits or walks.  His WHIP is now at a microscopic 0.75.

Future Stars: Drew Storen, Washington Nationals

By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com

Player: Drew Storen

Round Picked: 1

Position: RP

Team: Washington Nationals

MLB Chances in 2010? Date?: 65% / September call-up 

Drew Storen is as hyped as they come.  A commanding closer in college for Stanford, Storen has shown a brilliance that is hard to find in a 22 year old player.  The Nationals drafted him in the first round of last years draft. 

Scouting Storen you can see that he has complete command of his fastball and a hard curve and both can easily get players out.  His fastball tops out at 94 and that is hittable for a closer.  His curve isn't the best closer pitcher.  Storen will have to develop his rarely used changeup to be effective in the majors.  Once developed Drew Storen could close for the Nationals and even be converted into a starter. 

All the hype that I'm hearing is that by the end of 2010 Storen could be the Washington Nationals closer.  I'm here to tell you to snipe the hype.  This kid, this outstanding prospect will probably not see the field this year and at best a September call-up.  The reason is simple, he's not ready.  Getting college outs is a whole lot different from major league outs.  He needs to get more muscle on his fastball and develop a sneaky changeup.  Most MLB batters can spot a curve or fastball if they know that's all that is coming.  Then he needs to mature, learn the system, and handle the pressure.  All of that and the rest of the maturation process could easily take 1 year.  Also, rushing the kid up to the majors could do more harm than good.

Don't get me wrong, if the Nationals take a major plunge and have massive injuries, sure they will bring him up.  I know that there is a large group of people who seem to think that he will close this season.  Here's my question to all of you, Why would the Nationals sign Matt Capps for two years?

We are already assuming he will be major league ready at some point this season, but that doesn't explain the Capps signing.  Why sign a closer and why for two years?  The answer is they don't know what they have and they have to find out.  Will Storen close or will he start.   Whichever it is, he should be an outstanding pitcher, just not in 2010.

Capps inks 1-year deal with the Nationals

Today Matt Capps did the unthinkable.  He went from a terrible team to a horrible team.  I've always toted that when healthy and on a good team, Capps could be one of the better closers in baseball.  There were high hopes he would get a deal with a solid team like the Tigers.  Not so.  He signed a one year deal with the Washington Nationals and he will be their closer.  It really doesn't help his value and in fact it hurts it.  Nobody was expecting that when leaving the Pirates.  Capps' issue is his health.  He looked terrible and suitors aren't excited to take a risk on Capps in 2010.  He will have to prove he can get back the the closer he was and then he can expect a big contract in 2011. 

Right now, steer clear of Capps.  Not only will he not see many save opportunities, but he has to prove consistency.

MacDougal in, Hanrahan out as Nationals's Closer

The closer carousel continues in Washington: Mike MacDougal has been named the new closer for the Washington Nationals. MacDougal takes over for Joel Hanrahan, who lost the job after consecutive poor performances on Thursday and Friday. MacDougal started the season with the Chicago White Sox. but pitched poorly, and was eventually released. Washington, desperate for bullpen help, quickly signed MacDougal and gave him an opportunity in the bullpen. Since signing with the Nationals on May 3rd, MacDougal has appeared in 4 games, pitching 2 innings, with no runs allowed, 3 K's and 1 BB. Be warned though, his overall numbers are ugly (7 IP, 7.71 ERA, 2.46 WHIP). Given how volatile the closer's gig is in Washington, it's risky to put much faith in any Nationals closer. Still, MacDougal has the job (for now), and has had success as a closer in the past. He saved 27 games for Kansas City in 2003 and 21 games in 2005. MacDougal is widely available (owned in under 1% of Yahoo Leagues), and is worth adding if you're desperate for saves. As for Hanrahan, he's already lost and regained the closer's job once, and it's not out of the question that he'll get another shot at it this season. If you can spare the bench spot, hang on to him until it looks like MacDougal has a firm grip on the job.

Nationals' Wells Picks Up Second Save

Washington Nationals reliever, Kip Wells, picked up his 2nd save of the season in the Nationals 6-3 win over the Giants. He gave up 1 run in his 1.2 inning of relief.

Wells is a former starter who has worked his way back into becoming a solid reliever and with the Nationals current opening at closer, he seems poised to seize the job.

For how long? That is the question. It could be just temporary before he too implodes, but he could end up keeping the job and being a decent closer if you are lucky.

Wells has a lifetime 4.67 ERA and a 6.6 lifetime K-ratio. Neither stat is great, nor is either stat awful. So there is some hope his move to the closer role might work.

He is worth a look if you need saves...and who doesn't?

Sin City Scout

Nationals Closer Change?

The Washington Nationals are fed up with their bullpen. The struggles are highlighted by closer Joel Hanrahan, who has no saves (but two blown saves) and sporting a 9.0 ERA. Mike Rizzo has made a flurry of moves, with one of particular interest - Garrett Mock. Garrett Mock was being used as a closer in the minors and may just get that chance in the majors with the struggles of Hanrahan and the rest of the pen. His minor league stats aren't eye popping, but 46 Ks in 41 Innings is not too bad. His ERA is a very average 4.17. Nothing official has been announced yet, but it's possible that he could be announced as the closer as soon as Monday. Keep a close eye on this situation and be ready to grab Mock if you need a closer. - Scout Monkey (scout_monkey@gmx.com)