Fantasy Baseball-The Under-Appreciated Art of Middle Relievers

As we continue to get geared up for all our fantasy baseball coverage, here’s some early strategy tips from our newest contributor Sky. Look for more from Sky and our entire fantasy baseball crew in the coming weeks as we delve into spring training and help you get your fantasy team in top shape as they prepare to break camp. -Z-

Your starter gets the early hook and it seems like your week is starting to take a turn for the worse. All you wanted was a win out of your guy and he’s getting rocked by the worst team in baseball. How many times has this happened to you? I can remember this very instance occurring countless times each season. But an early exit can be secretly the biggest treasure in fantasy baseball because it opens the door for the middle man.

Everyone loves Mariano’s cutter, Valverde’s theatrics, and Wilson’s beard, but no one appreciates the guys who get them there. Let’s just say a typical starter makes it 7 innings each game he pitches (now this is a stretch depending on the quality of the starter), there will be a reliever who sets down the side in the 8th to get to the closer. To me, the hold is the single most under-appreciated stat in the game. Out of Tim Lincecum’s 13 wins last season, 12 of them required holds by relievers. Now Big Time Timmy Jim is an ace and an absolute workhorse, so let’s look at someone at the opposite end of the spectrum. John Lackey managed 12 wins in a less than effective year last season. He only was able to make it through the 7th inning in three of those wins. Boston’s bullpen required a lot of work during his starts. That is music to my ears.

Sep 16, 2011; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Alfredo Aceves (91) pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays during the seventh inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-US PRESSWIRE

Because of Lackey’s inconsistency along with inability for the other starters to flourish last season in Boston, a secret star emerged. His name is Alfredo Aceves. He threw an unbelievable 114 innings out of the pen last season (Yes, he did make 4 spot starts too, I know.). His ERA sat at 2.61 and his WHIP was 1.11. Oh and he notched 10 wins along the way, no big deal. In a 4 day stretch last season, Alfredo appeared in 4 consecutive games and pitched 7.1 innings. I honestly don’t know how his arm didn’t fall off. You’ll be lucky to get that many innings out of a single start, let alone a reliever in a week’s span. In 105 career relief appearances, Aceves has 22 wins, 17 holds, a 2.62 ERA and 1.01 WHIP. Out of those outings, an amazing 49 of them have been two innings or longer. You can’t really ask much more out a guy than that.

In a head-to-head points league with separate slots for starters and relievers, a secret loophole exists. Obviously, almost always closers fill the reliever roles, but some middle relievers can be very intriguing. There are quite a handful of pitchers in the league that are starter eligible, but come out of the bullpen. Guys like Aceves, Hisanori Takahashi, Aaron Crow, David Hernandez and much more thrived in this loophole. These guys would be put in the starting pitcher slot, but wouldn’t count against a weekly limit of starts because they were relievers. If owners execute this well, they could get an average of 30-50 points extra each week which could easily vault them to victory.

Oct 10, 2011; Arlington, TX, USA; Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit (53) stands on the mound in the seventh inning of game two of the 2011 ALCS against the Texas Rangers at Rangers Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-US PRESSWIRE

Last year down the stretch, Detroit’s back end of the bullpen was very vital for their success. Everybody knows Papa Grande never blew a save last year, but there was quite a few times when he was on the verge of disaster. In the second half of the season, it was really Joaquin Benoit who had more success than the Big Potato. After a horrendous opening half, Benoit’s ERA was below 2 for the rest of the season. He also struck out 36 batters in 30.2 innings. Not a bad 8th inning guy at all. I would expect his work to get even higher as the Tigers seem to have a great shot at 100 wins this season.

Each year there seems to be a reliever who goes on an absolute tear. In 2010, Tyler Clippard went beast mode on us to start off the year. By the 9th of May, he was already 6-0 and led the league in wins. Not bad for a set-up man in a troublesome Nationals bullpen. There always are top prospects who come up to make a playoff push as well. Neftali Feliz bursted onto the scene in August 2009. In just two short months, he managed 39 innings with a 1.74 ERA, 0.68 WHIP plus 39 punchouts. With playoff spots getting more competitive each season, top prospects will begin to see earlier call-ups in order to clinch playoff berths.

Oct. 6, 2011; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher David Robertson (30) pitches during the eighth inning of game five of the 2011 ALDS against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium. Tigers beat the Yankees, 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

The best part about these middle relievers is typically most of them will go un-drafted. Their value will actually outweigh many backend starters and closers. Although you may have to sacrifice saves, these guys earn quality stats in ERA, WHIP, and K’s per inning and that is definitely worth it in my eyes. So there is no need to fret when someone reaches on Axford in the 10th round because you know that David Robertson will be sitting pretty on the waiver wire for you. Those early exits seem to kill so many owner’s moods, but you’ll be the guy smiling when you see your middle reliever trotting in from the bullpen. Best of luck to you all this season!

Tags: Alfredo Aceves, Fantasy baseball help, fantasy baseball preview, fantasy baseball strategy, Featured, Joaquin Benoit, Relief Pitchers