[menu name="rankings"]
| Rank | Player | Bryan | George | Chris | Professor's Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mariano Rivera | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6.75 K/9 is way down last season |
| 2 | Joakim Soria | 2 | 1 | 2 | Career 0.99 WHIP; 40+ saves 2 of last 3 seasons |
| 3 | Heath Bell | 4 | 3 | 5 | No Hoffman, no problem; 89 saves, 10.6 K/9 last 2 seasons |
| 4 | Brian Wilson | 5 | 5 | 4 | Wilson's ready to rage; averaged 42 saves last 3 years |
| 5 | Neftali Feliz | 3 | 6 | 6 | Is he a starter or reliever? 40 saves and 2.73 ERA indicate latter |
| 6 | Carlos Marmol | 9 | 4 | 3 | 16.0 K/9; 1 fewer K than Tim Hudson (139) in 151 fewer IP |
| 7 | Jonathan Papelbon | 7 | 7 | 7 | At least it's a contract year |
| 8 | Joe Nathan | 6 | 9 | 9 | Should be ready to go by Opening Day |
| 9 | Jonathan Broxton | 8 | 11 | 8 | .369 BABIP way above career average; 3.01 FIP last season |
| 10 | Andrew Bailey | 10 | 8 | 10 | Another injured RP; also should be ready to go by Opening Day |
| 11 | Jose Valverde | 11 | 14 | 12 | Almost unhittable; .188 opponents' AVG last season and career .210 |
| 12 | J.J. Putz | 15 | 10 | 13 | Back in the saddle in 'Zona |
| 13 | Francisco Rodriguez | 17 | 12 | 11 | 2010 BB/9 (3.30) lowest of career |
| 14 | John Axford | 12 | 16 | 14 | Opponents' AVG (.204) very good, but 4.19 BB/9 is too high |
| 15 | Francisco Cordero | 13 | 13 | 18 | At least 34 saves in each season since '04 minus '06 split with Texas |
| 16 | Huston Street | 14 | 15 | 15 | 4.09 K:BB and .226 opponents' AVG are great signs |
| 17 | Brad Lidge | 18 | 17 | 16 | .260 BABIP last season well below .323 career |
| 18 | Craig Kimbrel | 16 | 19 | 17 | 40 K in 20.2 IP last year (17.47 K/9) |
| 19 | Drew Storen | 20 | 21 | 19 | LD% (20.1%) and BB/9 (3.58) a little high but he has all the talent |
| 20 | Leo Nunez | 22 | 18 | 22 | 3.38 K:BB a huge improvement |
| 21 | Ryan Franklin | 21 | 22 | 20 | 1.38 BB/9 best since 2007 |
| 22 | Chris Perez | 19 | 24 | 24 | 19.6% LD% a bit high and 5.5% HR/FB rate not easily reproducible |
| 23 | Brandon Lyon | 24 | 23 | 21 | No competition for job with Lindstrom out; 2.2% HR/FB rate way too low |
| 24 | Kevin Gregg | 26 | 20 | 26 | Likely Baltimore's closer, but Uehara and Gonzalez in the conversation |
| 25 | Chris Sale | 23 | 30 | 27 | Likely successor to Jenks' job; 32 K in 23.1 IP last season (12.3 K/9) |
| 26 | Fernando Rodney | 29 | 26 | 25 | ERA at least 4.24 last 4 seasons |
| 27 | Joel Hanrahan | 25 | 35 | 23 | Just 9 saves in 4-year career so very unproven |
| 28 | Jason Frasor | 28 | 28 | 28 | Career 1.30 WHIP and 8.36 K/9; better pray he's the closer |
| 29 | David Aardsma | 30 | 25 | 30 | 69 saves last two seasons |
| 30 | J.P. Howell | 27 | 35 | 29 | Clearly Tampa's closer with Soriano out |
