I hate spending high draft picks on closers- that’s why I’ll never have the studs on this list. I like to take chances on closers and only rarely does that hurt me. That being said, there are some sure things on this list that you won’t have to pay too much to get – here are my relief pitcher rankings.

Relief Pitchers

Tier 1

1. Jonathan Papelbon – Great. Young.

2. Mariano Rivera – Awesome. Old.

3. Joe Nathan – Consistently dominant.

4. Brad Lidge – Strikeout machine, perfect last season in saves. Will be good again in ’09.

5. Joakim Soria – Better than advertised – offense should be better in ’09.

6. Francisco Rodriguez – Despite all the hate, and talks of his demise, he’ll be good in New York.

Tier 2

7. Jose Valverde – All he’s going to do is get 40+ saves, strike out 10 or 11 per 9 innings, and let you not worry one second about your save guy.

8. Brian Fuentes – He comes into a great situation on a very good team that plays a lot of close games. Fuentes is a solid saves artist.

9. Jonathan Broxton – He’s as much of a power strike out closer that you’ll find, and the Dodgers will give him plenty of save opps.

10. Carlos Marmol – Marmol was the dirtiest closer in Chicago last year, even though he pitched in the 7th and 8th innings. He’ll be solid in that spot this season.

11. B.J. Ryan – He struggled a bit after a tough injury, but this guy will get his stuff back and he’s a  crafty save artist indeed.

12. Kerry Wood – Wood had a nice first season as a closer, and should get plenty of chances to do work in Cleveland.

13. Bobby Jenks – Chubby face, and body, but a good player that consistently gets between 30-40 saves.

Tier 3

14. Trevor Hoffman – Out of San Diego means more save chances for Hoff – he may be old, but I see at least one more good year in him.

15. Heath Bell – Taking Hoff’s spot in San Diego, I’m not the only one that expects a solid closer career out of Heath Bell.

16. Matt Capps – He may close for the Pirates, but he’s good when he gets his chances. He has better numbers than anyone in this tier.

17. Francisco Cordero – Cordero has a safe closer job – there’s not a ton of people out of the top 15 that you can say that about.

Tier 4

18. Huston Street – Top 10 upside, but the guy has sand in and around his va-j-j and that could cause an infection that limits his chances to close all year long. Ridiculous. He’s allergic to air I think. At least it’s more fresh in Colorado.

19. Brian Wilson – San Francisco save machine? This guy definitely is that. Despite an ERA and WHIP that left something to be desired last season, Wilson accumulated 41 saves. He was worth what you paid, and that will happen again this year.

20. Chad Qualis – I like Qualis. I think he keeps the job in Arizona – the Diamondbacks probably play better this season, and this kid could get 35 saves in ’09.

21. Frank Francisco – He’s got dirty powerful stuff and he’s the closer in Texas. He’s in a hitters park but if you can’t touch his pitches how can you do much damage with them?

22. Joey Devine – I’m not even sure Devine gets the closer nod, but he’s had some great numbers coming out of the bullpen and if he gets the chance it’s probably his to keep.

23. Matt Lindstrom – Nothing is great about Lindstrom except the Marlins will probably play in a lot of close games, he’s their closer, and he’ll probably gather 30 saves.

24. Brandon Lyon – I’ve never been too impressed with Lyon, but then again, there’s not much that says closer about him except for the fact that he does a good job closing games. Cheap saves anyone?

Tier 5

25a. Rafael Soriano – I like Soriano to emerge at some point for the braves, as their closer – I think he’s the better option, but…

25b. Mike Gonzalez – This guy is the closer coming in I reckon, and while things might change, he did do a fine job getting the job done in the 9th toward the end of last season.

27a. Chris Perez – I like Perez, and all his youth and skill, to take the closer job in St. Louis – but Tony LaRussa is crazy and he could try to give the job away to….

27b. Jason Motte – I don’t think he’s the best option to close games for the Cards, but if he gets the gig he’ll get you some cheap saves.

29a. George Sherrill – Sherrill was a tale of two seasons, most definitely – he was a great option for fantasy owners in the first half before struggling down the stretch – was it his shoulder woes or is that what you’re getting?

29b. Chris Ray – Before his injury woes, Ray was a very effective closer – will he beat out Sherril in his first season back?

30. Fernando Rodney – Who knows, he’s got the best stuff in the Detroit bullpen, there’s a chance he gets the job when Lyon is unimpressive.