Preseason ADP: 69.20
In an ideal world, we'd like to nab a closer for our fantasy squads that has some strikeout upside and is on a good team that will allow him to get plenty of save opportunities. Mark Melancon checked all those boxes after posting a 24.1% strikeout rate with an 11.0% swinging-strike rate in 2016 and then signing with the San Francisco Giants last winter, who were fresh off appearing in the National League Division Series.
Furthermore, Melancon had saved 131 games out of 141 opportunities between 2014 and 2016 with a 1.94 ERA and 2.55 SIERA in 218 innings, making him awfully dependable when called upon to shut the door in the ninth inning.
None of that came to fruition in 2017, as the right-hander saved 11 of 16 save opportunities to go along with a 4.50 ERA and 3.24 SIERA in an injury-shortened campaign that limited him to just 30 innings pitched. Plus, the Giants were terrible, finishing with a 64-98 record and being tabbed as the worst team in baseball, per our metrics.