If Huston Street is ever traded, Santiago Casilla's numbers say he is the next in line.

The situation in the Atlanta pen has increasingly become the most volatile and newsworthy pen thus far this season. According to manager Bobby Cox, starting pitcher John Smoltz will reprise his duties as closer when he returns from his latest DL stint. Many fantasy owners had high hopes for Rafael Soriano this season but his injury, coupled with Smoltz’s injury, has set in motion a scenario where it is likely he has lost most of his fantasy value for this season. Granted, Smoltz is not the healthiest pitcher but relieving will theoretically allow him to pitch through his latest ailment. Following the injury to Soriano and the injury to Peter Moylan, Manny Acosta has assumed closing duties for the Braves. Needless to say, Manny is not long for the job. His most recent outing, in a close game with the lowly Nationals, included five walks in a two-inning stint. The most likely configuration for the pen, upon the return of Smoltz and Soriano, would be Smoltz assuming closing duties and Soriano handling the eighth inning. In that scenario, it would be wise to hold onto Soriano but Manny Acosta would be relegated to regular relief and would be droppable in most formats. As a trade target, Smoltz is a risky play but his past history as a closer indicates that it is likely he would perform at a high level. His stint as closer, from mid-2001 through 2004, clearly exhibits numbers we would associate with a top tier, elite closer. It may be a little much to expect an exact replica of those results, but even a reasonable approximation would be enough to give him significant fantasy value.

In Washington, Chad Cordero finally went to the disabled list with a tear in his right latissimus dorsi muscle. Initial reports indicate that this figures to be a one to two month injury but in all likelihood Cordero has seen the last of the closer’s job for the 2008 season. There is a strong possibility that Jon Rauch has the closer’s job for this season all to himself, considering the lack of alternatives in the Nationals pen. Following a rocky start to his season, Rauch has righted the ship by converting his last four save opportunities and lowered his ERA with every outing. He figures to settle in nicely in the lower tier of closing options for the duration of the season.

Since yielding the closer’s job back to Brian Fuentes, Manny Corpas has continued his poor pitching and should be dropped by all of his owners who were hoping his time as ex-closer would be short. With the Rockies not generating as many chances for saves as they would have hoped and manager Clint Hurdle’s comfort level with Fuentes, any scenario in which Fuentes would lose the job has to be considered remote

This week we will focus on a few middle relief names that are not ranked in our Top 5:

Jesse Carlson – This 27-year-old lefthander has appeared to emerge as the primary fallback in Toronto in the event that B.J. Ryan is unable to close a game or becomes injured. This has been as a result of both Carlson’s excellent start coupled with the very slow start of former closer Jeremy Accardo. There is not much in Carlson’s minor league track record that supports this current performance but as a lefty there is higher likelihood he can sustain it, at least in the short-term.

Aquilino Lopez – After a successful 2003 season as a Rule 5 pick, Lopez bounced around for the next four seasons, a member of five different teams in all. At 33 years of age, Lopez has piqued fantasy owners’ interest for the sole reason that he appears the only competent reliever (outside of Todd Jones) this season in the depleted Tigers pen. With the absence of Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney for the greater part of this season, it amazingly appears that Lopez would be the logical choice to fill-in for Todd Jones in the event of an injury.

Chad Qualls – To those who are ardent believers in the fantasy value of middle relievers, Qualls should be a name that does not surprise anyone. As a primary piece of the Jose Valverde trade, Qualls was expected to be a significant contributor to the 2008 Diamondbacks pen. While most had figured Tony Pena as the eventual successor to Brandon Lyon in the event of non-performance, it has been Qualls who as emerged as the clear alternative. Qualls has yet to allow a run and has struck out his fair share of batters and has a history in Houston of being a quality reliever. If something were to happen to Brandon Lyon, it would be advisable to add Qualls and not Tony Pena at this point.

Tier One: The Elite Closers

Jonathan Papelbon – Boston Red Sox

Mariano Rivera – New York Yankees

Joe Nathan – Minnesota Twins

J.J. Putz – Seattle Mariners

Billy Wagner – New York Mets

Francisco Rodriguez – Los Angeles Angels

Tier Two: Your Average Joes

Joakim Soria – Kansas City Royals

Takashi Saito – Los Angeles Dodgers

Bobby Jenks – Chicago White Sox

Francisco Cordero – Cincinnati Reds

George Sherrill – Baltimore Orioles

Matt Capps – Pittsburgh Pirates

Brad Lidge – Philadelphia Phillies

Jason Isringhausen – St. Louis Cardinals

Huston Street – Oakland Athletics

Brian Wilson – San Francisco Giants

B.J. Ryan – Toronto Blue Jays

Brandon Lyon – Arizona Diamondbacks

Troy Percival – Tampa Bay Rays

Tier Three: Looking Over Their Shoulders

Kerry Wood – Chicago Cubs

Brian Fuentes – Colorado Rockies

Trevor Hoffman – San Diego Padres

Jose Valverde – Houston Astros

Todd Jones – Detroit Tigers

Kevin Gregg – Florida Marlins

C.J. Wilson – Texas Rangers

Jon Rauch – Washington Nationals

Manny Acosta – Atlanta Braves

Disabled:

Rafael Soriano/John Smoltz – Atlanta Braves

Top 5 Middle Relievers

Carlos Marmol – Chicago Cubs

Santiago Casilla – Oakland Athletics

Joba Chamberlain – New York Yankees

Hideki Okajima – Boston Red Sox

Jonathan Broxton – Los Angeles Dodgers