Is Gange a legit 1st rounder?

[19681984????]

He will go earlier than he should because as has been said in this thread, his higher K total makes him the clear #1 closer and the guys who take closers early, and you know who you are, will have an itchy trigger finger starting in the 2nd round. I took him with the last pick of the 3rd round (14 team league) and I think he was well worth it. He is probably the only closer worth drafting in the first 5-7 rounds. There are not many positions with such a clear cut "run-starting" pick and there is nothing better than to watch your opponents scramble to fill a position while a solid player falls into your lap.

[mightyian5]

for me, i just cant justify taking a closer that early. not when there will be undoubtfully very good starters still around (which are much more difficult to come by) and of course some top of the line sluggers. closers seem to always come and go during the season, so saves can be a very easy category to improve upon. i do, however agree that hed be a good pick around the 4th+ round possibly.

[Madison]

Gagne is not even worth a 1st round pick in a 20 team league. DO NOT make the mistake of drafting him in the first round, or the second for that matter.

Yahoo rankings are completely and totally worthless. Don't even get me started on it.

Here's a good example of how dumb Yahoo rankings are:

Vlad finished the season ranked 37th overall! Can you think of 36 guys you would rather have next year over Vlad? Even with the injury risk, he should not fall that far.

Perfect example of why Yahoo has no idea how to rank players.

[Pogotheostrich]

You couldn't pay me enough to take a closer in the 1st round. Usually I don't take a closer til the around the 7th. Gagne will probally go late 2nd or 3rd round.

[mightyian5]

at times, yahoo stat pages are even false with incorrect statistics. the only good thing about them is the free fantasy leagues. even their news headlines are taken right from the sporting news.

[Grenade Teeth]

The 7th is even a little early for me. You can win saves by taking 5 20 save guys after the 10th. I think this year's closer for a week trend will continue next year, meaning that you can finish high in saves even if you draft zero closers (I don't recommend that though) if you just watch the box scores and roll with it.

[Swinger]

You make a good point, Teeth. The problem is, you'll probably sacrifice ERA, WHIP, and potential K's. This year, which is my first year of baseball, I drafted only one closer; Keith Foulke. The league winner drafted six. But as I learned more, I drafted some promising closers; Cordero, Shiggy Hasegawa, Kolb, Tom Gordon, and Riske. I ended up only 3rd in saves.

[orange12]

I've learned from experience that the theory of stocking up on B-class closers in late rounds doesn't particularly work. The problem is B-class closers tend to suffer a higher rate of turnovers. Just ask anyone who drafted a combination of Scott Williamson, Danny Baez, Mike Williams, Mike Timlin, Kelvin Escobar, and Jose Jimenez thinking they'll overwhelm a team with two elite closers by shear number. My strategy is always to pick a good closer by round 6 and then wait until late in the draft and go with low rent closers. This way, I at least have a foundation to fall back on.

[wrveres]

I've learned from experience that the theory of stocking up on B-class closers in late rounds doesn't particularly work. The problem is B-class closers tend to suffer a higher rate of turnovers. Just ask anyone who drafted a combination of Scott Williamson, Danny Baez, Mike Williams, Mike Timlin, Kelvin Escobar, and Jose Jimenez thinking they'll overwhelm a team with two elite closers by shear number. My strategy is always to pick a good closer by round 6 and then wait until late in the draft and go with low rent closers. This way, I at least have a foundation to fall back on.

agreed..... I always try and grab 1 solid closer early .... and fill in later in the draft or wire ... The last two years I had Smoltz and ..... XXXXX ... I have always placed in the top two or three in saves .. This year I won saves by "1"...

1st round. I can't see it. Not in a mixed league. There is just too many 5 category guys and top teir pitchers, to grab a guy who at most will help you in three. Well Gagne maybe 4. Hmmm ... Maybe early to mid 2nd. I say let him slide and draft a Smoltz, Wagner or Foulke later on .... Of course if he sitting there at 3... I would probably take him ..

[shortsavage]

Hummmm, I don't know what kinds of leagues you guys play in, but GAGNE IS ABSOLUTELY WORTH A FIRST ROUND SELECTION. He is far and away the best closer out there. C'mon, he converted every save opportunity he had this season!

If you play in a H2H league, he is going to get you a consistant chunk of points . If you are in a roto league, with saves, he could single handedly win saves for you . And, as mentioned before, he gets a ton of strike outs .

I was hoping to get Gagne in the 3rd round of my 14 team, H2H league this season but, he went in the second. I don't see how he could go in the 7th, inless you are in a fantasy league will elementary school kids .

Barring a funky scoring system, Gagne should be selected no later than the first round. Hehe, I am still hoping this thread is a joke . Some of you are killing me . Do you just resent the guy because he is going to win the NL Cy Young this season ?