Some fantasy baseball providers are idiots; not just idiots, but enablers to even larger idiots. Somehow Holds have made their way into fantasy baseball, and for some screwed up reason commissioners decide to click the Holds check box without even understanding what exactly a hold is.
What exactly is a hold in baseball?
To earn a hold, a pitcher must:
1. enters the game in a save situation; that is, one of the following three conditions applies:
- his team has a lead of no more than three runs, and there are at least three outs remaining
- the potential tying run is either on base, at bat, or on deck
- there are at least three innings remaining in the game
2. records at least one out;
3. leaves the game without his team having relinquished the lead at any point.
If Mr. Cracker Jack can enter a 2-1 game, strike out the first batter, walk the bases full, get pulled and still earn a save, so long as he didn’t allow a run. Great Stat.
With that said, who earns these bastardly stats?
Late Inning Relievers who:
- …pitch the 7th or 8th Inning.
- …pitch on a good club.
- …are left handed.
When you draft a player for holds, you generally want someone that won’t kill your ratios. However, quite a few of these HOLD specialists really aren’t that great of pitchers.
Here are the Holds Leaders for 2008 and 2007
2008
| Player | IP | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | K:BB |
| Scot Shields (LAA – RP) | 63.1 | 6 | 4 | 64 | 31 | 2.7 | 1.34 | 2.21 |
| Kyle McClellan (StL – RP) | 75.2 | 2 | 1 | 59 | 30 | 4.04 | 1.39 | 2.27 |
| Carlos Mármol (ChC – RP) | 87.1 | 2 | 7 | 114 | 30 | 2.68 | 0.93 | 2.78 |
| Dan Wheeler (TB – RP) | 66.1 | 5 | 13 | 53 | 26 | 3.12 | 0.99 | 2.41 |
| Dámaso Marte (NYY – RP) | 65 | 5 | 5 | 71 | 25 | 4.02 | 1.2 | 2.73 |
| Rafael Pérez (Cle – RP) | 76.1 | 4 | 2 | 86 | 25 | 3.54 | 1.18 | 3.74 |
| Eddie Guardado (Tex – RP) | 56.1 | 4 | 4 | 33 | 25 | 4.15 | 1.22 | 1.74 |
| J.C. Romero (Phi – RP) NA | 59 | 4 | 1 | 52 | 24 | 2.75 | 1.34 | 1.37 |
| Scott Downs (Tor – RP) | 70.2 | 0 | 5 | 57 | 24 | 1.78 | 1.15 | 2.11 |
| Arthur Rhodes (Cin – RP) | 35.1 | 4 | 2 | 40 | 24 | 2.04 | 1.25 | 2.5 |
| Hideki Okajima (Bos – RP) | 62 | 3 | 1 | 60 | 23 | 2.61 | 1.16 | 2.61 |
| Tony Peña (Ari – RP) | 72.2 | 3 | 3 | 52 | 23 | 4.33 | 1.33 | 3.06 |
| Heath Bell (SD – RP) | 78 | 6 | 0 | 71 | 23 | 3.58 | 1.21 | 2.54 |
| Will Ohman (LAD – RP) | 58.2 | 4 | 1 | 53 | 23 | 3.68 | 1.24 | 2.41 |
| Doug Brocail (Hou – RP) | 68.2 | 7 | 2 | 64 | 22 | 3.93 | 1.22 | 3.05 |
| Chad Qualls (Ari – RP) | 73.2 | 4 | 9 | 71 | 22 | 2.81 | 1.07 | 3.94 |
| Octavio Dotel (CWS – RP) | 67 | 4 | 1 | 92 | 21 | 3.76 | 1.21 | 3.17 |
| Taylor Buchholz (Col – RP) DL | 66.1 | 6 | 1 | 56 | 21 | 2.17 | 0.95 | 3.11 |
| Ramón Ramírez (Bos – RP) | 71.2 | 3 | 1 | 70 | 21 | 2.64 | 1.23 | 2.26 |
| Ron Mahay (KC – RP) | 64.2 | 5 | 0 | 49 | 21 | 3.48 | 1.39 | 1.69 |
| Duaner Sánchez (SD – RP) | 58.1 | 5 | 0 | 44 | 21 | 4.32 | 1.32 | 1.91 |
| Chad Bradford (TB – RP) DL | 59.1 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 21 | 2.12 | 1.25 | 1.13 |
| Pedro Feliciano (NYM – RP) | 53.1 | 3 | 2 | 50 | 21 | 4.05 | 1.56 | 1.92 |
| Matt Thornton (CWS – RP) | 67.1 | 5 | 1 | 77 | 20 | 2.67 | 1 | 4.05 |
| Matt Guerrier (Min – RP) | 76.1 | 6 | 1 | 59 | 20 | 5.19 | 1.59 | 1.59 |
2007
| Player | IP | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | K:BB |
| Brandon Lyon (Det – RP) | 74 | 6 | 2 | 40 | 35 | 2.68 | 1.24 | 1.82 |
| Heath Bell (SD – RP) | 93.2 | 6 | 2 | 102 | 34 | 2.02 | 0.96 | 3.4 |
| Derrick Turnbow (Tex – RP) NA | 68 | 4 | 1 | 84 | 33 | 4.63 | 1.32 | 1.83 |
| Jon Rauch (Ari – RP) | 87.1 | 8 | 4 | 71 | 33 | 3.61 | 1.1 | 3.38 |
| Jonathan Broxton (LAD – RP) | 82 | 4 | 2 | 99 | 32 | 2.85 | 1.15 | 3.96 |
| Scot Shields (LAA – RP) | 77 | 4 | 2 | 77 | 31 | 3.86 | 1.23 | 2.33 |
| Rafael Betancourt (Cle – RP) | 79.1 | 5 | 3 | 80 | 31 | 1.47 | 0.76 | 8.89 |
| Tony Peña (Ari – RP) | 85.1 | 5 | 2 | 63 | 30 | 3.27 | 1.1 | 2.03 |
| Hideki Okajima (Bos – RP) | 69 | 3 | 5 | 63 | 27 | 2.22 | 0.97 | 3.71 |
| Ryan Franklin (StL – RP) | 80 | 4 | 1 | 44 | 25 | 3.04 | 1.01 | 4 |
| J.C. Romero (Phi – RP) NA | 56.1 | 2 | 1 | 42 | 24 | 1.92 | 1.4 | 1.05 |
| Justin Speier (LAA – RP) | 50 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 24 | 2.88 | 0.96 | 3.92 |
| Casey Janssen (Tor – RP) DL | 72.2 | 2 | 6 | 39 | 24 | 2.35 | 1.2 | 1.95 |
| Scott Downs (Tor – RP) | 58 | 4 | 1 | 57 | 24 | 2.17 | 1.22 | 2.38 |
| George Sherrill (Bal – RP) | 45.2 | 2 | 3 | 56 | 22 | 2.36 | 0.99 | 3.29 |
| Bob Howry (SF – RP) | 81.1 | 6 | 8 | 72 | 22 | 3.32 | 1.17 | 3.79 |
| Aaron Heilman (ChC – RP) | 86 | 7 | 1 | 63 | 22 | 3.03 | 1.07 | 3.15 |
| Jamie Walker (Bal – RP) | 61.1 | 3 | 7 | 41 | 21 | 3.23 | 1.21 | 2.41 |
| Frank Francisco (Tex – RP) | 59.1 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 21 | 4.55 | 1.6 | 1.29 |
| Scott Linebrink (CWS – RP) | 70.1 | 5 | 1 | 50 | 21 | 3.71 | 1.32 | 2 |
| Chad Qualls (Ari – RP) | 82.2 | 6 | 5 | 78 | 21 | 3.05 | 1.32 | 3.12 |
| Brian Shouse (TB – RP) | 47.2 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 21 | 3.02 | 1.26 | 2.29 |
| Chad Bradford (TB – RP) DL | 64.2 | 4 | 2 | 29 | 19 | 3.34 | 1.44 | 1.81 |
| Saul Rivera (Was – RP) | 93 | 4 | 3 | 64 | 19 | 3.68 | 1.4 | 1.52 |
| Mike MacDougal (CWS – RP) | 42.1 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 19 | 6.8 | 1.96 | 1.18 |
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Looking at these numbers, what can we gather? A good team helps, but it’s much more about opportunity. It’s also a pain in the ass to predict who will do well, unless their role of setup man is guaranteed. We can also gather that Holds is a really unnecessary statistic.
Lefties that come in for a batter or two, and then get out of there, are just as valuable as great pitchers.
So who has a shot at doing well this year?
Solid Bets:
Scott Shields & Jose Arredondo – LA Angels
Carlos Marmol – Chicago Cubs
Dan Wheeler – Tampa Bay Rays
Scott Downs – Toronto Blue Jays
Tony Pena – Arizona Diamondbacks
Hideki Okajima – Boston Red Sox
Rafael Perez – Cleveland Indians
J.J. Putz – New York Mets
Ryan Franklin – St. Louis Cardinals
Matt Guerrier – Minnesota Twins
Kyle McClellan – St. Louis Cardinals
The Next Tier
Ryan Madson – Philadelphia Phillies
Rafael Soriano – Atlanta Braves
Scott Linebrink – Chicago White Sox
Rafael Betancourt – Cleveland Indians
J.P. Howell – Tampa Bay Rays
Matt Thorton – Chicago White Sox
Brandon Lyon – Detroit Tigers
Juan Cruz – Kansas City Royals
Joe Beimel – Washington Nationals
Jesse Carlson – Toronto Blue Jays
Edwar Ramirez – New York Yankees
John Grabow – Pittsburgh Pirates
Jeremy Affeldt – San Francisco Giants
C.J. Wilson – Texas Rangers
Who Knows.. Maybe worth the risk.
Renyel Pinto – Florida Marlins
Hong-Chih Kuo – Los Angeles Dodgers
LaTroy Hawkins – Houston Astros
Jesse Crain – Minnesota Twins
Cla Meredith – San Diego Padres
Brian Bruney – New York Yankees
Jerry Blevins – Oakland Athletics
Mark Lowe – Seattle Mariners
Eddie Guadardo – Texas Rangers
I did not enjoy putting this list together at all, and I hope to have listed at least 75% of the guys that finish in the top-25 holds by years’ end.
The question you should ask yourself when drafting holds, is where else can the player contribute. A lot of the better pitchers will contribute to your ratios and strikeouts, whereas the guys on good teams will contribute to your W totals.
