Chris Devenski

Reliever strategy in fantasy baseball has a lot to do with specific league settings. In a saves-only league, some might be tempted to draft Fernando Rodney, chasing saves regardless of the collateral damage caused. In leagues where holds or combined saves/holds are a category, a much larger priority is placed on the total impact of each reliever.This approach is pretty common and can be effective, but one thing that might not be talked about enough is the growing impact of relievers in all formats. Starters are throwing…

The Baseball Show, guest Jason Collette After a two week hiatus, The Baseball Show returns with guest Jason Collette! We are trying out a new format in which we release the full episode as an audio podcast. It will be available on our Soundcloud/iTunes feeds, and then we will present a condensed video montage.This week we welcome Jason Collette (@jasoncollette) of Fangraph's The Sleeper and The Bust podcast, as well as RotoWire, and ESPN's the Sweet Spot. We discussed Tyler O'Neill's promotion. Also we reviewed Hot…

A lot has changed in the reliever market since my last closers-in-waiting article in early-June. We’re getting to the time of year when back-end bullpen arms are in high demand.The simplest bit of advice I can offer fantasy owners scrambling for saves is to look at the MLB teams that are falling out of contention and add their top set-up man. Let’s say there are 10 teams out of contention. I’d bet a hefty sum of money that five of them trade their closers to contenders looking for set-up help.It happens every single…

Every spring, most fantasy owners tend to wait too long on closers in their drafts and end up with uninspiring options to choose from. They then spend the rest of the season chasing saves and trying to grab the next new closer.In competitive leagues, newly anointed closers are grabbed quickly. That’s why it’s important to get ahead of the game and look for the next good reliever that might get a chance to close. If any of the below 10 guys are free agents in your league and you’re looking for a closer, give them a look.…

Middle relievers are generally looked over in fantasy baseball, but they can have value, especially in AL or NL-only leagues.  That is because they can offer help in ERA and WHIP and are often better picks than a back-end starting pitcher.  Here is a look at 10 guys you should target when thinking of adding a middle reliever to your pitching staff:Mychal Givens, Baltimore Orioles - 26-year old righty Mychal Givens is a hard thrower with a sidearm delivery.  He has been death to righty batters so far in his career, as…