Brian Wilson is likely heading for season-ending elbow surgery, opening up a heralded closer's job in San Francisco. Those who play Fantasy Baseball know how valuable saves can be, especially when they come from the waiver wire. So with Wilson on the mend and manager Bruce Bochy looking for a new closer, who should you be looking to pick up in your leagues?
There are quite a few options that San Francisco could go with. The most obvious guy would be set-up man Sergio Romo, but the club has always viewed him as an eighth inning guy. Romo already has some fantasy value given his incredible numbers, but you really shouldn't expect too many saves. Bruce Bochy is pretty stubborn with his managing methods and a change to Romo seems unlikely.
Javier Lopez and Jeremy Affeldt are both proven left-handed relievers capable of pitching in the late innings, but unless numerous lefties are expected to come up in the ninth, it seems pretty unlikely that Bochy would have either of these two out there in the ninth.
This brings us to Santiago Casilla, who should be the guy you target in Fantasy Baseball. Casilla has been stellar with the club since coming over from Oakland in 2010, working 107 innings with an ERA of just 1.83. His strikeout-to-walk ratio of nearly 2-to-1 is not stellar, but he has the stuff to keep hitters from squaring up his pitches. Along with Romo, who should probably already be in your bullpen anyway, go pick up Casilla and monitor his usage in the coming weeks.
For more on the Giants, check out McCovey Chronicles.