2006 closer watch

[kentx12]

Updated 06/21/06




Below I will list the top cantidate for closer and the next 2 in line.

NL

Arizona

Jorge Julio
Jose Valverde
Brandon Lyon


Atlanta

Ken Ray
Chad Paronto
Mike Remlinger

Chicago

Ryan Dempster
Bob Howry
Scott Eyre

Cincinnati

Todd Coffey
David Weathers
Esteban Yan


Colorado

Brian Fuentes
Jose Mesa
Ramon Ramirez


Florida

Joe Borowski
Logan Kensing
Carlos Martinez


Houston

Brad Lidge
Dan Wheeler
Chad Qualls

Los Angeles


Takashi Saito
Danys Baez
Jonathan Broxton

Eric Gagne DL



Milwaukee

Derrick Turnbow
Matt Wise
Jose Capellan


New York

Billy Wagner
Duaner Sanchez
Aaron Heilman


Philadelphia

Tom Gordon
Arthur Rhodes
Ryan Franklin


Pittsburgh

Mike Gonzalez
Salomon Torres
Roberto Hernandez

St. Louis

Jason Isringhausen
Braden Looper
Adam Wainwright



San Diego

Trevor Hoffman
Scott Linebrink
Scott Cassidy


San Francisco

Armando Benitez
Jeremy Accardo
Tim Worrell


Washington

Chad Cordero
Gary Majewski
Bill Bray


AL

Baltimore

Chris Ray
LaTroy Hawkins
Todd Williams



Boston

Jonathan Papelbon
Mike Timlin
Craig Hansen


Chicago

Bobby Jenks
Neal Cotts
Brandon McCarthy


Cleveland

Bob Wickman
Rafael Betancourt
Jason Davis


Detroit

Todd Jones
Fernando Rodney
Joel Zumaya


Kansas City

Mike MacDougal "DL"

Ambiorix Burgos
Elmer Dessens
Joel Peralta


Los Angeles

Francisco Rodriguez
Scott Shields
Brendan Donnelly


Minnesota

Joe Nathan
Jesse Crain
Juan Rincon


New York

Mariano Rivera
Kyle Farnsworth
Scott Proctor


Oakland

Huston Street
Kiko Calero
Chad Gaudin


Seattle


J.J. Putz
Eddie Guardado
Rafael Soriano


Tampa Bay

Brian Meadows
Ruddy Lugo
Seth McClung


Texas

Akinori Otsuka
Francisco Cordero
Rick Bauer


Toronto

B.J. Ryan
Justin Speier
Jason Frasor

[kentx12]

I will try to keep this updated thru the spring. Any information that any of you could pass along to me would be appreciated.

[SHOCKandAWE]

Will do! thanks

[Snakes Gould]

the two mistakes or changes i can think of right off the bat would be jorge julio in the running in baltimore if hes not traded and dan kolb is probably 2nd in line in milwaukee behind turnbow since he has closed there successfully before.

[bellings]

I know that Crain is proclaimed to be the closer of the future, but I have to think that Rincon would get the ball first if Nathan goes down.

[NZF]

Good stuff Kent, excellent list.

A few bits of input from me.

Firstly, you missed the Cincinnati Reds.
I'm thinking it would be

Weathers
Mercker
Standridge top 3 but obviously it's a very open situation.

Luis Ayala will be the main set-up man in Washington, not sure why you're missing him.

Also, Brazoban should be third on the Dodgers list as Broxton will be competing strongly for a spot in the starting rotation.

Jorge Julio must surely be in the running to close again in Baltimore (at least worth a mention in the Top 3). They may be reluctant to go with Chris Ray given his inexperience.

Madson is also likely to make the Phillies starting rotation so aside from Gordon who is a certainty to close I'm not sure who else could be used in the closers role there if Flash went down with injury. I'm thinking the Phillies are desperately seeking an eighth inning set up guy as of right now. Santana isn't the answer.

[Trot Nixon]

There we go!

[davidmarver]

Looking at the Padres logjam for spots #4 and 5 in the rotation, I think Clay Hensley would be behind Linebrink and Hoffman in the closer run. Andrade would likely be after those three, Brocail, Brad Baker, and probably even Alan Embree.

And for the Reds...Ryan Wagner has to be in the top three.

[Trot Nixon]

Maybe I'm wrong but weren't the Phils gonna make Madson a starter???

[pokerplaya]

Nice, and sincerely appreciated.