Fantasy baseball reports are already starting to fill the void for Major League Baseball fans. Edwin Diaz, who is penciled in as the closer for the Seattle Mariners this season, is starting to garner a lot of interest as well. This is about the time when a lot of baseball fans outside of Seattle start remembering how well Diaz pitched during his rookie season with the Mariners. After posting 18 saves during the 2016 MLB season, Diaz won’t be a secret when fantasy baseball drafts get started this winter.
As the Mariners started to realize that the bullpen needed help in June, Edwin Diaz got promoted from Double-A Jackson. The organization didn’t even bother having Diaz spend any time at Triple-A Tacoma and the early returns on that decision have been quite good. Not only did Diaz soon take over the ninth-inning duties, but he showed the flash and flair that the organization had been hoping to get from his right arm.
Diaz was used heavily by Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais down the stretch, appearing in 49 games for the 2016 MLB season. Diaz pitched 51 2/3 innings, posting a 2.79 ERA and a 1.161 WHIP. He proved to be the most valuable arm in the bullpen, giving the Mariners a much-needed and reliable pitcher in late-game situations.
Though he wasn’t perfect, Edwin Diaz converted 18-of-21 save attempts, finishing 23 games in the process. He posted a lot of great numbers that will bend the ear of fantasy baseball owners this off-season, including striking out 88 batters in those 51 2/3 innings of work. His strikeout rate was 15.3 per nine innings, ranking him among the best in baseball for that particular statistic.
The first Seattle Mariners depth chart for the 2017 MLB season has Edwin Diaz listed as the closer, with Steve Cishek or Nick Vincent getting a lot of the eighth inning work. The team completed several trades and free agent signings that could also affect the back of the bullpen, including the acquisitions of Marc Rzepczynski, Casey Fien, Rob Whalen, and Max Povse. As previously reported by the Inquisitr , the Mariners acquired Whalen and Povse in a trade with the Atlanta Braves for former first-round pick Alex Jackson.
So how valuable will Diaz become now that the closer role has been given to him? There are no questions about who will enter the 2017 MLB season as the closer for the Seattle Mariners and nobody is getting groomed to replace him in the future. Job security is a great thing for fantasy owners. Diaz is still only 22, showing that he might also have a ton of value in dynasty and keeper leagues. His value with the Mariners might make him a mid-round selection in most head-to-head and rotisserie leagues this year.
A lot of owners in fantasy baseball keeper leagues have a short list of closers who are worth using one of those slots on. In leagues with 12 or fewer teams and three or fewer keepers, Edwin Diaz won’t get mentioned as a player worth putting in a keeper slot. Where he becomes valuable is in leagues with many owners (14 or more) or around five to six keepers for each team. In first-year dynasty leagues, he also brings a lot of value due to his impressive rookie season with the Mariners.
Edwin Diaz is now a player who must be on a roster in every league this year (before the season starts). He needs to be one of the first 10 closers selected in nearly every format and has an extremely high level of value for leagues that are going to keep 10 or more players past the 2017 MLB season. Most fantasy baseball owners may already know about the value that Diaz will provide the Seattle Mariners this season, but if the team starts winning a lot of games early on, the value for Diaz could go through the roof.
[Featured Image by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images]
