Valverde or R. Soriano...who would you rather have?

[jimmyvegas33]

I really like Soriano, but I'm toying with the idea of dropping him for Valverde. I love either for appearances, K/BB, ERA and WHIP, but Im leaning towards Valverde because of the Mantei situation. What do people think?? I've got Gagne, Hoffman, and Riske, but its an 8 team league and there's never enough closers

[Jimmyvegas33]

nobody's got an opinion??

[xeifrank]

I'm drafting Valverde on many of my teams. Look at that amazing K/IP ratio, great whip and era, plus the added bonus of being on the edge of taking over closer duties for Mantei. R.Soriano is very talented too, but has Guardado and even Shiggy ahead of him for getting saves.

vr,

Xeifrank

[Mordraken]

Depends what you want. Valverde has an opportunity for some saves for the first while, and will get you good numbers throught the year. The saves may even last longer if Matai gets injured during the year.

Soriano MAY get an opportunity to start should there be an injury to the starting staff or if someone starts to crap out. But it's most likely he'll only vulture a few wins (8-10 on the high side) and get very few saves. Good for ERA and WHIP management, but not a whole lot of anything else (well, decent Ks for a reliever).

At this point, I think Valvarde would give better production, then maybe drop him for Soriano if he's still available into the season.

[ntrdame316]

Decent K's for a reliever?
He had 68 K's in 53 innnings, thats pretty damn good K's for a reliever.

[Paco625]

I was pondering the same question but also have Lidge in the mix. I like Valverde over Soriano. But not so sure where Lidge ranks. In a league without holds who would you rather have Valverde or Lidge?

[whoson1st0]

This is a tough situation with no definite answer (IMO). Soriano is the best of the bunch for ERA/WHIP, but his chance to close is slim. I have had him since last year and was hoping he would eventually get a chance to start, but no such luck (the mariners were the ONLY team to go with the same 5 SPs all year - no injuries, demotions, etc).

For saves, you have to go with Valverde and then Lidge. Both have a solid and similar ERA/WHIP, with Valverde getting the edge with a much better strikeout rate. Plus he'll likely have an opportunity to close with all the injury problems Mantei has. Lidge may see a few opportunities but likely will only get a shot to close if Dotel falters. But since it's Dotel's first full year as closer, he is probably more likely to lose his job than an established guy like Guardado in Seattle.

[KolbSaves]

Valverde is closing to start the season so he's the obvious choice to me.

[LBJackal]

Mantei is closing, not Valverde. But if/when Mantei is injured or dealt, Valverde would step into the closer role. He was an amazing K/9 last year (2nd in the majors to Gagne), and if given the chance I'm sure he would be a great closer. Throughout the minors he K'd a lot of people as well, so it wasn't a fluke.

[KolbSaves]

Valverde is closing to start the season because Mantei's fingernails are messed up again.

Mar. 28, 2004 - 12:35 am et

Matt Mantei retore his index and middle fingernails while pitching two-thirds of an inning Saturday.
"It’s frustrating because I can’t finish the ball," he said after walking three and allowing two hits. "It’s getting too close (to the season) now. I’ve got to figure something out." Mantei hasn't been effective at all because of his finger problems, so unless he gets things turned around quickly, Jose Valverde could start the season as Arizona's closer.