Why Are Closers So Valuable?

[FrogStamp]

I'm not sure if this is a dumb question, but why do people value closers so much in pools? In my league, the only category they really affect is Saves. We also have WHIP and ERA as categories, but closers only pitch an inning a game and that really doesn't affect the team's overall numbers in these two categories over a week.

I'm in a 10-team head-to-head non-keeper league with pitching categories as follows: W CG SV K ERA WHIP

I had a quick look at the ESPN trade history for Guardado and he's recently been traded straight up for:

Abreu
Sheets
Bonderman
Smoltz
Helton
Harden
Prior
Buehrle
Hudson

Am I missing something or are closers really that valuable?

[TheYanks04]

For Abreau or Harden or Prior is pretty funny.


Closers are often over-valued based on their being a limited resource. I never overpay for them. You shouldn't either.

[bdrotoronto]

I was thinking about this just the other day.. I think it's just because saves is a relatively scarce commodity..

for example, in my league the middle-of-the-pack teams have like 35-40 saves.. by comparison, middle-of-the-pack in my league for steals is in the 50's, and for HR's it closer to the 100's.. so it's among the tougher categories to come across, and if there are certain players who get the vast majority of the points in that category, they will have value just for that category alone.. I agree with you, though, I don't think they have a really gigantic impact on the other pitching categories, starting pitchers will definitely have more significant impact there..

Although I traded for Gagne earlier in the year on the idea he could help across several categories, so I tend to have a jaded view on this question..

[Yoda]

SVs are worth 10% of scoring in a standard 10 cat leagues. The only position that has its own unique category is CL.

[jbones733]

in my first roto league this year, & closers killed me, Foulke, Kolb & some other fill ins hav destroyed my era & whip, killing it actually & provided me w a few saves, but not worht it for the categories the killed. unless you have a Lidge or mariano, closers suck , their so up & down , so many lose their jobs

[Box]

Easy to get them on the cheap if you read the Cafe or other resources regularly. No way I would have given up any of those guys for Eddie. Thats the difference between smart and foolish managers.

My strategy for example: one stud closer in early rounds (Mo this year), one in the lower teir towards the end, vulture as many as you can off the WW.

[TheYanks04]

in my first roto league this year, & closers killed me, Foulke, Kolb & some other fill ins hav destroyed my era & whip, killing it actually & provided me w a few saves, but not worht it for the categories the killed. unless you have a Lidge or mariano, closers suck , their so up & down , so many lose their jobs

It has been a bad year for closers. It is more luck than anything else. You could have drafted Gagne and gotten burned also. Nothing you can do but play it right and hope you do not get screwed over by bad luck. Paying for top line closers is still a bad investment imo and you are better off with the round 6-12 guys like Izzy, or F. Cordero than you are paying for top guys like Mo or Lidge.

[Laean]

closers are overrated. there are tons of MR that turn into closers due to an injury/trade/suckiness of a closer throughout the whole season.

even a closer on the royals will give you 30 SVs.

i'd much rather forget about drafting the big name closers and avoid the inevitable "closer run" that occurs in every draft altogether, and draft a crappy one near the end of the draft, or just forget drafting closers altogether and pick up a fuentes, farnsworth, turnbow, etc throughout the year.

but then again, i mostly play only h2h. i imagine in a roto league those first couple of weeks without a closer would hurt you quite a bit.

[tuff_gong]

I agree with what was said earlier, there's no reason to overpay for closers. If you pay attention early in the year, you can get them off the waiver wire...all my closers this year were free agents at the begining of the year; turnbow, street, reitsma

[thehat]

By far the most overvalued draft day players. I've rarely drafted an elite closer and yet I always come out just fine in saves.