The Washington Nationals may have signed veteran left-hander Brad Hand last offseason with the belief he would overcome shaky peripheral stats from recent seasons and thrive anyway, though it seemed rather predictable that Hand was hardly the same pitcher he used to be. Hand, with ample closing experience, was fine for about six weeks, then he struggled, and then he ended up on the Toronto Blue Jays. Now he is a New York Met, bereft of any fantasy value. Kyle Finnegan probably wishes him well.
Finnegan is the No. 6 relief pitcher on the ESPN Fantasy 30-day Player Rater, having completed a five-out save in Pittsburgh over the past weekend and boasting only one earned run permitted over the past month. He remains a walker, but he misses bats and the Nationals give him chances to go more than one inning. We like that in fantasy baseball. Finnegan, 30, is hardly an emerging star, but for fantasy baseball managers coveting saves, he is readily available. Go get him.
It sure seems as if fantasy baseball managers ignore the closers on bad teams, though in quite a few cases there are available hurlers saving games. Minnesota Twins right-hander Alex Colome blew it on Monday against the New York Yankees, but he has six saves in the past two-plus weeks and, as with Finnegan, little competition for the ninth inning. Kansas City Royals RHP Scott Barlow is performing well. There are saves out there. Go get 'em!