2012 Position Preview: Relief pitcher
Ah, saves. You fickle, fickle category, you.
Throughout the preseason, you're going to hear a lot of cautionary tales about paying for closers strewn across these pages. Matthew Berry annually warns: "Don't pay for saves." Now more than ever, that advice rings true.
To be clear up front, "don't pay for saves" shouldn't necessarily be taken literally. Saves are, after all, one of the 10 categories in standard rotisserie 5x5 scoring, so unless you make the decision to punt the category ...
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2012 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit
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2012 Projections and Profiles
• All players | Sortable statistics
• More: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF | SP | RP
2012 Rankings
• Top 300 | AL-only | NL-only
• Points Leagues | Cheat sheets
• Custom roto dollar value generator ![]()
•
Fantasy Draft Engine ![]()
• Catcher: Rankings | Preview
• First Base: Rankings | Preview
• Second Base: Rankings | Preview
• Third Base: Rankings | Preview
• Shortstop: Rankings | Preview
• Outfield: Rankings | Preview
• Designated Hitter: Rankings
• Starting Pitcher: Rankings | Preview
• Relief Pitcher: Rankings | Preview
• Tristan H. Cockcroft's Top 250 keepers
Talented Mr. Roto
• Bold predictions for the season
• Berry's Guys I Love, Guys I Hate
• Matthew Berry's Top 250 Rankings
• Matthew Berry's Draft-Day Manifesto
• Berry's "100 Facts to know" for 2012
• Mock Draft with 11 Average Joes
Mock Drafts
• Mock 4.0: 5x5 roto leagues
• Berry versus 11 Average Joes
• Head-to-head points leagues
• 5x5 Rotisserie leagues
• Mock Draft Lobby
• Live Draft Results
Analysis
• Position battle winners, losers
• ADP reveals drafting trends
• Staff sleeper and bust picks
• Tristan's Twenty: Cockcroft's 2012 targets
• Bleagh! The guys Tristan doesn't like for 2012
• Cockcroft's 'perfect' draft
• The components of ERA
• Understanding the BABIP statistic
• Cockcroft's "Kings of Command"
• Which teams got worse defensively?
• Spring watch list
• 2013 free agents to be, by position
• 'Mulligan' ERAs: The impact of awful starts
• Dissecting wins for pitchers
• Why negative BA can be overrated
• Notable offseason moves | All moves
• 30 Questions archive
Strategy
• Taking advantage of position flexibility
• Points leagues primers: Pitchers | Hitters
• Fantasy 101: Intro to fantasy baseball
Stephania Bell
• Injury updates: Hitters | Pitchers
• Injuries: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP
• Who's recovering from Tommy John surgery?
Insider 
• Goldstein: Top 50 prospects
| 51-100
• Eric Karabell: Top 100
| Five prospects
• Karabell: My 2012 "Do Not Draft" list ![]()
• Karabell: Bold stat predictions ![]()
• Karabell: Steals sleepers ![]()
• Karabell: Bounce-back sleepers for 2012 ![]()
• Keith Law: Top 100 prospects for 2012 ![]()
• Dan Szymborski: MLB's best sophomores ![]()
• Szymborski: Nine make-or-break players ![]()
• Szymborski: Breakout hitters | Pitchers ![]()
• Dave Cameron: Spring stats that matter ![]()
• Todd Zola: Players with new home parks ![]()
• Todd Zola: 10 surprising park factors ![]()
• Todd Zola: Advanced auction strategy
• Todd Zola: Head-to-head points strategy
Rankings Roundtable
• Matt Wieters could be the No. 1 catcher ![]()
• Dee Gordon's steals upside ![]()
• Is Alex Rodriguez "washed up?" ![]()
• When should you draft your first closer? ![]()
• Is Derek Jeter still a top-10 shortstop? ![]()
• Can you trust Brian Wilson? ![]()
• What to expect from Dan Uggla in 2012 ![]()
• Just how good is Desmond Jennings? ![]()
• Will Jason Motte be a reliable closer? ![]()
• What is Starlin Castro's upside? ![]()


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