Welcome to the position tiered rankings for 2015. The tiers are broken out into five tiers with five being the highest and one being the lowest. Five star players are players that will be taken in the first couple of rounds or will go for $30-plus. Four star players will have $20-plus. Three stars $10-plus, two stars $5-plus and the one star are players you want to avoid or players to stash on your bench.
The statistics for each player are my semi-final projections. The projections are going to change going forward, but if you follow me on Twitter @MattCommins I will tweet out when my projections are updated and posted on MattCommins.com. If I was a reader I would focus on the tiering of players and the overall idea of the projections. For example, if I project a player for 28 home runs that means I think he’ll hit for a lot of power.
Links the other position previews:
I used to believe the adage of “never pay for saves.” I followed this strategy blindly for years, but in the last two years I’ve had better results (in roto and H2H) drafting closers early in drafts. The primary reasons why I love this strategy is because how many more strikeouts, the saves they provide, the benefits to my pitching staff’s ratios and the added roster flexibility.
If I’m in a 10-team mixed league I want at least one five star, one four star and one two star closer. If it’s a 12-team or 15-team mixed league I want one five start and one four star. Having top flight closers allows you to set it and forget it. By that mean I mean you will have 2-3 pitchers that will be locked in your lineup the entire season, which will allow you to use your bench for streaming pitchers and/or to have high upside hitters.
Five Star
| Player | IP | ERA | WHIP | SO | W | SV |
| Craig Kimbrel | 63 | 1.60 | 0.91 | 97 | 3 | 43 |
| Greg Holland | 66 | 1.30 | 0.97 | 95 | 2 | 45 |
| Dellin Betances | 70 | 1.56 | 0.84 | 115 | 3 | 35 |
| Kenley Jansen | 66 | 2.15 | 0.99 | 102 | 2 | 45 |
| Aroldis Chapman | 65 | 2.00 | 0.98 | 115 | 2 | 40 |
Five-Star Value Pick: Dellin Betances
If I knew Dellin Betances was going to be the closer the entire year he would be my number one closer because he has the best combination of raw stuff and team quality.
Four Star
| Player | IP | ERA | WHIP | SO | W | SV |
| Mark Melancon | 71 | 1.90 | 0.93 | 70 | 2 | 43 |
| Joaquin Benoit | 61 | 1.94 | 0.95 | 78 | 2 | 38 |
| David Robertson | 65 | 2.67 | 1.05 | 90 | 2 | 39 |
| Trevor Rosenthal | 70 | 2.85 | 1.30 | 90 | 2 | 43 |
| Steve Cishek | 67 | 2.60 | 1.10 | 77 | 4 | 35 |
| Cody Allen | 70 | 2.35 | 1.07 | 90 | 2 | 35 |
Four-Star Value Pick: Trevor Rosenthal
Trevor Rosenthal had great season in 2013, but in 2014 his command regressed immensely (specifically the fastball). Of all the pitchers in this tier he has the highest likelihood of finishing the year in the five star category. For that to happen the command has to improve. In 2013 the command was there, which gives me a lot of optimism.
Three Star
| Player | IP | ERA | WHIP | SO | W | SV |
| Fernando Rodney | 67 | 2.96 | 1.34 | 75 | 4 | 37 |
| Glen Perkins | 62 | 2.60 | 1.10 | 70 | 2 | 35 |
| Sean Doolittle | 61 | 2.77 | 0.92 | 96 | 2 | 26 |
| Huston Street | 60 | 2.55 | 1.01 | 55 | 2 | 35 |
| Drew Storen | 60 | 2.51 | 1.04 | 50 | 2 | 35 |
| Jonathan Papelbon | 63 | 2.50 | 1.10 | 60 | 3 | 31 |
| Koji Uehara | 50 | 2.50 | 0.94 | 69 | 2 | 29 |
| Hector Rondon | 63 | 2.50 | 1.06 | 65 | 2 | 29 |
Three-Star Value Pick: Drew Storen
The Nationals should be the best team in the NL and I’m probably projecting too few saves for Drew Storen (because I’m not 100% certain sure he’ll keep the job if he struggles), but if he’s the closer the entire season he could have the most saves of any pitcher in 2015.
Two Star
| Player | IP | ERA | WHIP | SO | W | SV |
| Brad Boxberger | 65 | 2.38 | 0.90 | 80 | 3 | 17 |
| Zach Britton | 75 | 2.90 | 1.25 | 62 | 3 | 26 |
| Tyler Clippard | 70 | 2.50 | 0.96 | 80 | 3 | 14 |
| Joe Nathan | 60 | 3.69 | 1.40 | 54 | 4 | 30 |
| Santiago Casilla | 55 | 2.10 | 1.05 | 45 | 2 | 24 |
| Jenry Mejia | 60 | 2.60 | 1.10 | 70 | 2 | 20 |
| Neftali Feliz | 50 | 3.01 | 1.03 | 50 | 2 | 25 |
| Luke Gregerson | 69 | 2.31 | 1.05 | 60 | 3 | 16 |
| Jake McGee | 47 | 2.50 | 0.99 | 60 | 2 | 20 |
| Jonatan Broxton | 55 | 2.80 | 1.23 | 53 | 2 | 25 |
Two-Star Value Pick: Brad Boxberger
Jake McGee had arthroscopic surgery on his elbow in December and the latest update is he may be ready sometime in April. Any time a pitcher is recovering from elbow surgery the timeline is always fluid and rarely goes as scheduled. Therefore, I wouldn’t be surprised if Brad Boxberger, the best reliever the Rays have, becomes the closer the entire year.
One Star
| Player | IP | ERA | WHIP | SO | W | SV |
| LaTroy Hawkins | 56 | 3.50 | 1.20 | 35 | 3 | 28 |
| Addison Reed | 60 | 3.90 | 1.20 | 68 | 2 | 24 |
| Brett Cecil | 60 | 2.99 | 1.27 | 71 | 2 | 20 |
| Kevin Jepsen | 50 | 2.88 | 1.28 | 65 | 2 | 17 |
| Eric O’Flaherty | 60 | 2.40 | 1.01 | 45 | 3 | 10 |
| Chad Qualls | 55 | 3.01 | 1.19 | 45 | 2 | 16 |
| Bobby Parnell | 40 | 2.50 | 1.10 | 30 | 2 | 15 |
One-Star Value Pick: Brett Cecil
As of mid-February the Blue Jays do not have a “proven” closer on their roster. With all the acquisitions they made in the offseason says they’re going to try to win the division this year and I believe they have a really good chance of achieving that. Therefore, they are going to win a lot of games, which means whoever is the closer will have many save opportunities. Even though Cecil is left handed he doesn’t have a major platoon split and is the best reliever in the bullpen, which makes him the front runner for saves.
