Drafting closers who can rack up saves is one of the most difficult parts of fantasy baseball. The inherent volatility of the position — with many managers having short leashes for any sort of struggles in the latter innings — adds to the difficulty. It’s often not worth the price to take unproven closers in the early-to-mid rounds only for them to lose their job before the end of April. Here, we’ll look at four relief pitchers with a chance to take over the ninth-inning duties for their respective teams who are worth a late-round flier in your 2020 fantasy baseball drafts.
2020 Fantasy baseball sleepers: Closers
Ty Buttrey, Los Angeles Angels
Buttrey is expected to start the 2020 season behind Hansel Robles on the Angels’ closer depth chart. Robles has struggled this spring, however, and new manager Joe Maddon will have little allegiance to a player who converted 23 of 27 save opportunities in 2019.
The soon-to-be 27-year-old Buttrey appeared in 72 games last season but converted just 2 of 6 save opportunities. Still, he had a better strikeout rate than Robles and could certainly earn a shot if Robles takes his spring issues into the season. The Angels are expecting to be much better in 2020 after a busy offseason, and Robles’ leash will be kept tight while closing for a team with playoff aspirations.
Also see: 2020 Fantasy Baseball Busts: 5 Players to Avoid on Draft Day
Luke Jackson, Atlanta Braves
Jackson begins the 2020 season in a middle- relief role, while Mark Melancon and Will Smith occupy the late-inning roles. Jackson ranked inside the top 20 of qualified relievers last season in both strikeout rate (33.7%) and ground-ball rate (60.5%).
The 28-year-old converted just 18 of 25 save opportunities in 2019, but he did gain a reasonable amount of experience. He may need only to overcome Melancon, who hasn’t saved more than 12 games since 2016, with Smith preferred for the set-up role.
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Dellin Betances, New York Mets
Betances, who’s recovering from a torn Achilles which limited him to 2/3 of an inning with the New York Yankees last year, is still targeting Opening Day for his return to a major league mound. Used almost exclusively as a set-up man by the Yanks, Betances has converted 36 of 55 save opportunities over his career. He has an elite strikeout rate year-over-year and he induces more soft contact than hard. Betances will be available to replace Edwin Diaz if the latter’s 2019 struggles persist in the early going of 2020.
Andrew Miller, St. Louis Cardinals
Another veteran with considerable ninth-inning experience, Miller will start the season behind Giovanny Gallegos for closer duties. Gallegos, 28, pitched to a 2.31 ERA across 74 innings and 66 games last season, but he’s just 2-for-6 in career save opportunities. Miller has mostly been a set-up man the last four seasons, but he has 59 career saves and just 16 blown chances. He’s available at the end of drafts and will get enough work even in middle relief to provide value from the RP slot with strong ratios and high strikeout totals.
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