You shouldn’t have to read tea leaves or do a sneaky scroll down to see who I am talking about in this week’s closer report. If you are new to this guessing game and word association type stuff, it is Brad Hand. Why Brad Hand, I say why not? I hear what you are all saying closers on losing teams are not that fantastic fantasy options, and for the most part you are right. Because the stats behind that prove that… mostly, But we can get into that a little later with handy-dandy stats and percentages and such. So all Brad Hand did last year is basically his job, which in most instances gets you paid. Which he just did by inking an extension this offseason. The stats are all there for him to be a legit closer numero uno, with flair. The flair that I am talking about is kinda like the buttons worn on suspenders at Shenanigans, but only with fantasy intrigue. He boasted a 11.8 K/9 rate last year, amassed 21 saves and 16 holds. All stuff we can read on any fantasy bio sheet. Dig deeper though, and he does have a few kinks in the armor, namely a HR/FB rate that is not what you are looking for in a an elite closer, but he’s being drafted as a number two. He falls just outside the elite though, because he is capped by being on the Padres and their expected win totals… or is he?
Please, blog, may I have some more?