1) Heath Bell
2) Mariano Rivera

Heath Bell has unseated Mariano Rivera from the #1 spot, but their stats are nearly identical. Bell’s ERA and WHIP are just slightly better and they both have 18 strikeouts. However, the Yankees are using Rivera in non-save situations, while Bell has converted saves in his last 5 straight appearances. If Rivera continues to pitch in those situations, it will take him more innings to get as many saves as Bell, so I give the slight edge to Bell.

3) Brian Wilson
4) J.J. Putz
5) Francisco Rodriguez
6) Jonathan Papelbon
7) Huston Street
8) Craig Kimbrel

Craig Kimbrel has been as good as the Braves could have hoped for and with the exception of a few blown saves has been a model closer. He has the most strikeouts of anyone with a save by a good margin and has kept his ERA and WHIP at good marks for a young pitcher. I normally wouldn’t endorse the “handcuffing” of a closer, but as good as Kimbrel has been, Jonny Venters has been that good just without the saves. Venters is the only non-closer I have ranked in the top 30 and is also worth a pickup, especially if you have Kimbrel.

9) Drew Storen
10) Carlos Marmol
11) Leo Nunez
12) Andrew Bailey

Andrew Bailey returned to the majors and has pitched a couple perfect innings in relief, working his way back toward the closer role. In 134 innings pitched in his career, he has a 1.67 ERA and an 0.89 WHIP, and there’s no reason to believe he can’t continue pitching that way. If you’re like me and patiently waited for his return, you will be rewarded with a nice bump to your saves, Ks, ERA, and WHIP.

13) Ryan Madson
14) Jose Valverde
15) Neftali Feliz

Neftali Feliz dropped like a rock and was tough for me to drop below some of these guys but he is really worrying me. His 1.37 ERA is very nice, but I can’t get past his identical 1.37 WHIP. Between that and his lack of strikeouts (just 9 in 19.2 innings), I couldn’t get myself to rank him higher. In fact, I had very serious thoughts about moving him behind Sergio Santos for the rest of the year.

16) Sergio Santos
17) Joel Hanrahan
18) Jordan Walden
19) Francisco Cordero
20) Fernando Salas
21) Chris Perez
22) Aaron Crow

Kansas City’s Aaron Crow makes his debut at 22 after taking over the job from Joakim Soria. Crow has yet to record a save, but has 26 strikeouts, a 1.33 ERA, and a 1.04 WHIP in 27 innings. All 3 stats are sure to help your team if they can continue and he should begin accruing saves soon. In deep leagues, he’s definitely worth a pickup. As for Soria, he may get back to closing games, but his 6.55 ERA and 1.68 WHIP are toxic and he wasn’t striking out pitchers. Deep league owners should hang on to him if they have an extra roster spot, but in 10-team leagues, I dare to say you can cut him.

23) Kyle Farnsworth
24) Jonny Venters
25) John Axford
26) Mark Melancon

Mark Melancon will be the closer for Houston the rest of the year if he continues to pitch like he has. He does give up an occasional
earned run, but he strikeout rate is good, and he keeps his WHIP down by not walking batters (just 8 in 27 innings). He’s been a nice pickup for some owners and is still available in 36% of ESPN leagues.

27) Brandon League
28) Matt Capps
29) Kevin Gregg
30) Jon Rauch

6 Relievers for Very Deep Leagues
1) Matt Lindstrom
2) Brad Ziegler
3) Mike Adams
4) David Pauley
5) Antonio Bastardo
6) Sean Marshall

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