Keeper League: Best Picks (RP)

Relief Pitchers

1. Joe Nathan (keeper) - #3
   
2. J.J. Putz (keeper) - #79
   
3. Francisco Rodriguez (keeper) - #6
   
4. Mariano Rivera (keeper) - #1
   
5. Jonathan Papelbon (keeper) - #4
   
6. Billy Wagner (keeper) - #17
   
7. Takashi Saito, Feisty Mosquitos - #31
   
8. Huston Street, Cleveland Enforcers - #36
   
9. Jose Valverde, Cleveland Enforcers - #9
   
10. Bobby Jenks, Feisty Mosquitos - #20
    
11. Matt Capps, Stewies SexyParties - #29
    
12. Francisco Cordero, Mercer AutoWreckers - #34
    
13. Trevor Hoffman, Dunedain Rangers - #24
    
14. Manny Corpas, DamKnights - #100+
    
15. Brad Lidge, Dunedain Rangers - #8
    
16. Rafael Soriano, The Usual Suspects - #100+
17. Joakim Soria, Riders of Rohan - #2
    
18. Jason Isringhousen, Riders of Rohan - #100+
19. Chad Cordero, Akron Pronks - #100+
20. Carlos Marmol, Cleveland Enforcers - #12
    
21. Todd Jones, Mercer AutoWreckers - #100+
22. Kevin Gregg, Those Guys - #27
    
23. Joe Borowski, Vandelay Industries - #100+
24. B.J. Ryan, Howard’s Heroes - #33
    
25. Eric Gagne, Howard’s Heroes - #100+
26. C.J. Wilson, Stewies SexyParties - #100+
27. Brian Wilson, Feisty Mosquitos - #47
    
28. George Sherrill, Riders of Rohan - #74
    
29. Brandon Lyon, DamKnights - #100+
30. Jonathan Broxton, Feisty Mosquitos - #35
    
31. Troy Percival, Akron Pronks - #51
    
32. Jeremy Accardo, Vandelay Industries - #100+
33. Rafael Betancourt, Those Guys - #100+
34. Tony Pena, Howard’s Heroes - #100+
35. Heath Bell, Akron Pronks - #68
    
36. Kerry Wood, The Usual Suspects - #11
    
37. Bob Howry, Vandelay Industries - #100+
38. Hideki Okajima, Akron Pronks - #48
    
39. Pat Neshek, The Usual Suspects - #100+
40. Joel Zumaya, Cleveland Enforcers - #100+
41. Brian Fuentes, Those Guys - #16
    
42. Henry Owens, DamKnights - #100+
43. Scot Shields, Feisty Mosquitos - #52
    

Analysis

The breakdown on relievers is a little better than starters when it comes to Yahoo's rankings. It still has some legitimate closers listed pretty deep (Brandon Lyon, C.J. Wilson), but it's generally reliable. And it really only gets flaky deep into the system, so the top end guys are well-evaluated.

Undrafted high ranking relievers include Grant Balfour (10), Joey Devine (13), Hong-Chih Kuo (14), and Jose Arredondo (15). Interestingly enough, the Tampa Bay Rays had three guys in the top 25 (Balfour, J.P. Howell, and Dan Wheeler), and none of them was closer Troy Percival. That gives us a little insight into why they're in the American League Championship Series.

The best selection was a Rider, taken #17 overall and finishing #2 among all relievers, but there were a couple other big time payoffs. Kerry Wood was the #36 RP off the board, but finished at #11. And Brad Lidge was taken 15th among relief pitchers, but placed 8th in the final rankings.

Naming RP picks as "worst" selections is a little unfair because of the turnover among closers. Many of the picks that seem disappointing were guys who got hurt and lost the closer spot while they were gone. Additionally, because a lot of undrafted relievers ended up in the top 25, many decent pitchers were bumped lower and lower in the final rankings. So I'm not even going to name bad picks. My apologies to the more bloodthirsty among you.

Next up, I'll post how each team finished, and give some general analysis on how people's drafts helped them (or hurt them) in the final standings. Also, we'll have a suite of NBA basketball preview posts in the near future, so look forward to that.