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Fake Teams 2013 Consensus Reliever Rankings: 21 - 40

Taking a look at the relievers ranked in the bottom 20 of our Top 40 Relievers for 2013, and the bottom 20 is headed by Padres injury prone closer Huston Street.

Jared Wickerham

Well, the big news from Tuesday was that Scott Boras somehow weaseled a 2 year, $28 million contract for closer Rafael Soriano, with the Nationals adding to their already strong bullpen with the signing. It's a guarantee that Soriano will open the season as the Nationals closer, but this is bad news for Drew Storen owners. The big talk from yesterday was how prophetic our own Jason Hunt was in ranking Drew Storen as his #40 reliever in our consensus rankings. Some readers questioned the ranking, and while I thought it was low, Jason went with his gut reaction to Storen's post season performance. I think Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo must have seen Jason's ranking and decided Soriano was the more reliable choice, and made him the second highest paid closer in baseball.

To respond to reader's questions about the Kenley Jansen ranking, or rather, my Jansen ranking, I do think Jansen will eventlually take over the Dodgers' closer job as he did last season. Like Javy Guerra in 2012, I see Brandon League's hold on the closer job being short-lived. I just can't see League and his increasing walk rate keeping the job for long. There will be too much pressure on manager Don Mattingly to win this season, and he already went to Jansen last season, and I see it happening again this season. Jansen is the more dominating reliever, a change in his pitching mechanics late in 2012 resulted in a 5 mph increase in his cutter, and his strikeout rate was second in baseball, trailing just Braves closer Craig Kimbrel.

Let's take a look at our Consensus Reliever Rankings for relievers ranked 21 - 40:

Rank

Player

Ray

Bret

Jason

Craig

Score

21

Huston Street

22

24

26

11

89

22

Ryan Madson

21

22

24

21

84

23

Grant Balfour

32

25

19

15

81

24

Glen Perkins

26

17

20

32

77

25

Brandon League

30

29

31

10

72

26

Tyler Clippard

23

32

18

35

64

27

Casey Jannsen

31

19

16

NR

63

28

Steve Cishek

28

27

28

29

60

29

Jason Grilli

20

26

39

27

60

30

Bobby Parnell

36

30

29

23

54

31

Ernesto Frieri

NR

31

17

37

44

32

Carlos Marmol

33

28

NR

26

42

33

David Hernandez

27

40

27

NR

35

34

Ryan Cook

16

NR

36

NR

34

35

David Robertson

34

36

32

NR

27

36

Sergio Santos

NR

34

NR

28

24

37

Jose Valverde

NR

33

NR

31

22

38

Sean Marshall

38

NR

33

39

19

39

Jose Veras

NR

NR

38

30

18

40

Vinnie Pestano

NR

35

34

NR

17

Brandon League, LAD

Like I mentioned above, I see League's hold on the Dodgers closer job will not last long in 2013, as there will be huge pressure on Mattingly to win this season. All it will take is a few blown saves in April, and I see Jansen taking over the closer job fairly quickly. This is all a gut feeling really, but Jansen is easily the more dominating reliever.

Jason Grilli, PIT

The Pirates cashed in on Joel Hanrahan by dealing him to the Red Sox a few weeks ago, so the deal signaled that recently signed reliever Jason Grilli will be closing in 2013. So, where did the huge improvement in his strikeout rate come from? His fastball velocity increased from the 92 mph range to 93.6 mph, and his swinging strike rate improved from 12.4% to 14.4%. Grilli has just 5 career saves, but will be given the first opportunity to close in Pittsburgh in 2013.

Ernesto Frieri, LAA

If Ryan Madson isn't ready to start the season as the Angels closer, Frieri has a good shot at opening the season in the role. Madson is coming off Tommy John surgery, so there is a chance he won't be ready in March-April. Frieri saved 23 games last season, but fell apart in August and September, giving up six home runs in 23 innings. His 12.9% HR/FB rate was more than triple his HR/FB rate in 2011, so we could see some regression there in 2013. His strikeout rate improved to 13.36 per nine innings last season, good for sixth among all qualified relievers.

Steve Cishek, MIA

With the trade of Heath Bell to the Diamondbacks this offseason, Cishek should open the season as the Marlins closer. Cishek saved 15 games last season, with a 9.61 strikeout per nine, 4.10 walk rate, which isn't great, but he keeps the ball on the ground at a 52% rate, and gave up just 3 homer runs in 63.2 innings of work last season. He is someone to target late in drafts, and he should reward you with 30+ saves in 2013.