At least for now, Dan Wheeler is the man in St. Pete.

As usual, the most significant closer happening of the past week was the scramble to the wire for the suspected replacement of a freshly injured closer. This week it was the ancient Troy Percival, collapsing following a strikeout pitch, which sent fantasy owners to the wire. Percival was immediately placed on the DL and while there is optimism from the Tampa Bay camp, there is no assurance at his age that he returns quickly and/or with the same efficacy he had been displaying. The object of the affection of fantasy owners in this case is Dan Wheeler. Since being traded by the Mets to the Astros in 2004, Wheeler has been among the more consistent relievers in baseball. While some may say his 2007 season represents a down year (and they’d be right) he did show many positive signs even when having an off year (more than K per inning, sub 1.30 WHIP). Since being dealt from the Mets, Wheeler has recorded a very respectable 3.20 ERA/1.11 WHIP in the 257 relief innings he has pitched. There is enough in his track record to indicate that Wheeler could serve as an adequate replacement for the duration of Percival’s DL stint, whether it is the minimum required or for a longer term. Not to be ignored in this discussion is last year’s primary closer for the Rays, Al Reyes. While it is likely that Wheeler will receive the bulk of the work in Percival’s absence, there is a chance that Reyes may vulture some opportunities.

In the world of major league bullpens there occasionally emerges order out of chaos. The most chaotic bullpen this year has been that of the Milwaukee Brewers. By that “logic” it stands to reason that a look at this past week reveals Salomon Torres, the interim closer in Milwaukee, as the only reliever to record both three saves and a win should come as no surprise. Following the majority of his pen mates imploding, it appears that Torres has brought about some stability. While he has always been a high-wire/high WHIP-type closer when given the opportunity, it has to be a refreshing change for the Brewer faithful to actually see saves being converted and not blown on a daily basis. How long this honeymoon lasts may depend on how anxious the Brewers are to activate deposed closer, Éric Gagné from the disabled list. After proclaiming his readiness to return to the team as soon as his stint expires (June 7^th) the Brewers are faced with the decision of whether to thrust their 10 million dollar investment back into a role in which he has proved unable to handle and return Torres to middle relief right at the point when he has brought stability to the pen. That the Brewers have won six of their past 10 and moved to within two games of .500 following a horrendous start may not be solely because of Torres but he certainly has a hand in it.

A situation that has been bereft of any reliable closer option this year via injury/opportunities has been the Atlanta Braves. The interim nominal “closer”, Manny Acosta has been a non-factor and this week the Braves welcomed back Rafael Soriano from the disabled list. A return to the closer’s role is not assured for Soriano, as his return should be followed within the next week by the return of John Smoltz. The Braves have not been entirely clear as to how the exact roles will play out, in part because of the uncertain health situation of the participants and because they themselves are unsure of what the optimal structure should be. Given his importance to the organization as a whole and the fact that he is a proven elite pitcher, no matter the situation, it is nearly a certainty that Smoltz will be the one closing out games at Turner Field this season. It will be a fascinating summer in the Braves bullpen, as we will see if Smoltz can regain his place in the top echelon of closers.

The final relief situation we will touch on is the much-anticipated move of Joba Chamberlain, from one of fantasy’s elite middle relief options to potentially a spot at the front of the Yankee rotation. It will be up to others to prognosticate as to his potential in the rotation but in this space our concern is relief and what becomes of the vacuum this creates at the back of the Yankee bullpen. While the Yankees are paying Kyle Farnsworth $5.5 million dollars to presumably be the top non-closing option in their bullpen, we all realize that at this point any hope for him as 8^th inning option is long gone. The most likely current member of the pen to step in is Edwar Ramirez. The rail-thin Ramirez is truly an enigma. After a stint in the Angels’ system, Ramirez was forced to play independent league baseball in such baseball hotbeds as Pensacola, Florida and Edinburg, Texas. Fortunately for Ramirez, the Yankees caught wind of his eye-popping numbers and gave him a shot in 2006. The results speak for themselves: across the top 3 levels of the minors, Ramirez struck out 162 batters in 96 and two-third innings (a staggering 15 batters per 9 innings!). Following his promotion in 2007 to the Yankees, Ramirez displayed the same strikeout ability (13.3 per 9) in his 21 innings but he allowed a staggering 38 baserunners and allowed an atrocious six home runs. Thus far 2008 has been a different story: no runs (earned or otherwise), reasonable hit and walk rates and most importantly no homeruns allowed in his first 14 innings. His strikeout rate is down (still a robust 9.6 per 9) but the Yankees would assuredly accept that tradeoff in lieu of Ramirez proving to be a solid eighth inning option.

Tier One: The Elite Closers

Jonathan Papelbon – Boston Red Sox

Francisco Rodriguez – LA Angels of Anaheim

Mariano Rivera – New York Yankees

Billy Wagner – New York Mets

Joe Nathan – Minnesota Twins

Joakim Soria – Kansas City Royals

Brad Lidge – Philadelphia Phillies

J.J. Putz – Seattle Mariners

Tier Two: Your Average Joes

Kerry Wood – Chicago Cubs

Jose Valverde – Houston Astros

Takashi Saito – LA Dodgers

Francisco Cordero – Cincinnati Reds

Brandon Lyon – Arizona Diamondbacks

Bobby Jenks – Chicago White Sox

Huston Street – Oakland Athletics

B.J. Ryan – Toronto Blue Jays

George Sherrill – Baltimore Orioles

Jon Rauch – Washington Nationals

Matt Capps – Pittsburgh Pirates

Trevor Hoffman – San Diego Padres

Tier Three: Looking Over Their Shoulders

Brian Fuentes – Colorado Rockies

Todd Jones – Detroit Tigers

Brian Wilson – San Francisco Giants

Kevin Gregg – Florida Marlins

C.J. Wilson – Texas Rangers

Joe Borowski –Cleveland Indians

Salomon Torres – Milwaukee Brewers

Ryan Franklin – St. Louis Cardinals

Dan Wheeler – Tampa Bay Rays

Rafael Soriano – Atlanta Braves

Top 5 Middle Relievers

Carlos Marmol – Chicago Cubs

Hideki Okajima – Boston Red Sox

Hong-Chih Kuo – Los Angeles Dodgers

Jonathan Broxton – Los Angeles Dodgers

Taylor Buchholz – Colorado Rockies