We”ll conclude the “Best of” series of polls with the last of the final three polls, your selection as the best closers in the organization.
We had 22 pitchers who closed games last season and made this poll. You can select up to five pitchers on your ballot. This will allow us to establish what kind of depth we think we have in the organization.
(Don’t forget to submit your top prospect list by e-mailing it to prospectpoll@yahoo.com. To date, I have received about thirty. Please don’t be one of those guys who criticizes the outcome if you don’t participate.)
Each player listed below is in the poll and closed at least 2 games, and/or made a substantial amount of his appearances in a closer’s role, or some other secret criteria. Each player is linked to his profile in Baseball Reference. And, I have included a link to Gregg’s Report Card for Relief Pitching at CLW, REA. and LHV, and his Report Card for Relief Pitching at GCL, WPT, LAK.
- Pedro Beato
- Jeff Singer
- Will Hibbs
- Luis Ramirez
- Trevor Bettencourt
- Victor Arano
- Jesen Therrien
- Luke Leftwich
- Anton Kuznetsov
- Randy Alcantara
- Seth McGarry
- Miguel Nunez
- Tyler Gilbert
- Yacksel Rios
- Connor Brogdon
- Jonathan Hennigan
- Damon Jones
- Colton Murray
- Rafael Carvajal
- Garrett Cleavinger
- Jakob Hernandez
- Zach Morris
Phuture Phillies 
Surprised JD Hammer isn’t a candidate.
Jim, I really enjoyed these positional polls. I hope they’re not too much work for you. I found myself focusing on each player individually but against a peer group. It put my thoughts and beliefs in a new light which gave me a more intimate understanding of so many more players. I had to dig deeper on guys I often just read through during box scores. I’m better for it. I hope these become an annual exercise. Thanks.
I thought this was going to be easier than the the other polls. Singer, Arano, Therrien and McGarry were the choices I made straight off. Hibbs or Bettencourt looked like logical choices for the 5th slot. Kuznetsov looked like an obvious choice. A .36 ERA and 5 saves for the 19 yo. But he is from a place where baseball is not much of a sport. He also throws slow garbage so how can I put him in the top 5. Cleavinger and Jakob Hernandez looked like solid choices but after looking at the stats, I didn’t think so. Yacksel Rios played with the Phillies this year but his stats didn’t bear out a closer type. So Bettencourt was my 5th choice because he was far better at CLW than Hibbs.
Did I miss the catchers?
How about a poll for releavers
I don’t really expect any on this list to be major league closers. I still think VV will be turned into a closer however. Hammer is the only possibility and he’s not here.
Have to assume Hammer did not make the criteria cut since he had no saves, was only in 12 games and pitched 16 innings….but they were some of the best innings by a pitcher last year.
Whereas McGarry had 5 saves….but actually less innings pitched and one game more than Hammer. Perhaps just an oversight.
Beato and Hibbs were great. I was impressed how much inteligence Beato showed. He would walk a player with men on base in order to get to a player he felt he could handle. Ramirez did well in Williamsport and Bettencourt overcame a mid-season slump to pitch well.
closers are really tough to project as most of the high leverage pen arms are developed as a potential TOR in the earlier stages of their development. nonetheless, i voted the 5 based on the list provided although my personal list identifies the following prospects as potential closer:
1) Arano
2) Appel
3) Edgar Garcia
4) Grant Dyer
5) Hammer time
6) Will Hibbs
7) Austin Davis
8) Jake Kelzer
On the non-prospect side, Vinny, Ramos and Pivetta can be transitioned as a closer if needed.
Love what I saw from Arano in MLB. I think he’s penciled into middle relief role for next season.
Yeah, surprised about Hammer, but he probably didn’t qualify. I will cast my votes accordingly, especially since I tend to agree that closers, in addition to be overrated, don’t seem to be groomed for that role in the minors.