FanHouse positional rankings were compiled by averaging the individual rankings of each member of the Fantasy FanHouse staff. If starting pitching is considered fickle, relief pitching is some disastrous, climactic result of the chaos effect. Okay, maybe that's a touch too much. On the other hand, there are nearly zero true options when it comes to picking closers and relief pitchers; there's just too much turnover.
That's why guys like Joe Nathan and Jonathan Papelbon, as noted by Snyder elsewhere, are so valuable: they're stone-cold locks for certain numbers every single year. After the jump, find out what record-setting, former free agent we don't think will end up as the No. 1 closer this year.
| Jonathan Papelbon | Red Sox |
| Joe Nathan | Twins |
| Francisco Rodriguez | Mets |
| Brad Lidge | Phillies |
| Mariano Rivera | Yankees |
| Joakim Soria | Royals |
| Jose Valverde | Astros |
| Carlos Marmol | Cubs |
| Bobby Jenks | White Sox |
| B.J. Ryan | Blue Jays |
| Jonathan Broxton | Dodgers |
| Brian Fuentes | Angels |
| Kerry Wood | Indians |
| Francisco Cordero | Reds |
| Matt Capps | Pirates |
| Brian Wilson | Giants |
| Heath Bell | Padres |
| Mike Gonzalez | Braves |
| Huston Street | Rockies |
| Chad Qualls | Diamondbacks |
| Matt Lindstrom | Marlins |
| Joey Devine | A's |
| Trevor Hoffman | Brewers |
| Frank Francisco | Rangers |
| Chris Perez | Cardinals |
| Brandon Lyon | Tigers |
| Brad Ziegler | A's |
| Joel Hanrahan | Nationals |
| Troy Percival | Rays |
| J.J. Putz | Mets |
| Chris Ray | Orioles |
| Dan Wheeler | Rays |
| Jose Arredondo | Angels |
| Ryan Franklin | Cardinals |
| Hong-Chih Kuo | Dodgers |
| Jason Motte | Cardinals |
| Roy Corcoran | Mariners |
| Scott Downs | Blue Jays |
| Manny Corpas | Rockies |
| Hideki Okajima | Red Sox |
Notes: Holy Moses, do I like Joey Devine. And that's not just the N.C. State homerism; he'll be cheap, he's obscenely talented and he should get some saves in Oakland. J.J. Putz is a great pick too; as you can tell by the Francisco Rodriguez ranking, we don't think that highly off him (relatively speaking). It's crazy to think how good Joakim Soria and Jose Valverde are, but it's legit. Matt Capps only walked five guys last year ... two of them on opening day; if the Pirates were decent, he'd be freaking great.
