Today's pitchers with 150+ saves: 2012 edition

[Cowtipper]

Currently, Baseball-Reference lists 14 pitchers as "active" who have 150 or more saves. Those pitchers are:

Mariano Rivera, 608 saves
Francisco Cordero, 329 saves
Jason Isringhausen, 300 saves
Francisco Rodriguez, 292 saves
Joe Nathan, 274 saves
Jose Valverde, 254 saves
Jonathan Papelbon, 236 saves
Brad Lidge, 225 saves
Brian Fuentes, 204 saves
Huston Street, 185 saves
Bobby Jenks, 173 saves
Brian Wilson, 171 saves
JJ Putz, 164 saves
Joakim Soria, 160 saves

New pitchers to the list are:

JJ Putz
Joakim Soria

Pitchers who dropped off from last year are:

None.

Pitchers who "just" missed making this list are Heath Bell (147 saves) and Kevin Gregg (144 saves).

Here are the percentages from last year:

Mariano Rivera, 95.24%
Jonathan Papelbon, 4.76%
Everyone else, 0.00%

So, which of these guys do you think should make it to the Hall of Fame?

[PVNICK]

I'm not a fan of the "closer" role but for Mariano I will make an exception.

[Cougar]

It's tempting to just check Rivera's box and call it a day.

To be interesting, though, I'll check Nathan and Papelbon too. Both of them have peripherals that are strong enough that if closers start getting into the HOF regularly, they could be candidates. Both are pitching at a high level in 2012 and look to pad their career totals substantially. So, they've got a shot.

[1905 Giants]

Just Rivera for Me.

[SamtheBravesFan]

Only Mo out of the group has a shot.

[Cowtipper]

Rivera is the only one that does it for me, as well.

[jjpm74]

Just Rivera, but I can see Papelbon eventually getting there, assuming a long career.

[dominik]

Rivera is the only one that does it for me, as well.

I agree with that.

[jalbright]

Just Rivera, but I can see Papelbon eventually getting there, assuming a long career.

I agree with this. Rivera's already done it. I also think Papelbon could make it, but I've seen too many pitchers look like they've got a shot only to experience arm trouble and never get any closer to induction to have any conviction he will make it.

[Cowtipper]

Career projections:

Mariano Rivera: 656 SV
Jon Papelbon: 448 SV
Francisco Rodriguez: 416 SV
Francisco Cordero: 413 SV
Jose Valverde: 407 SV
Brian Wilson: 388 SV
Joakim Soria: 385 SV
Huston Street: 362 SV
Joe Nathan: 322 SV
Jason Isringhausen: 303 SV
Brad Lidge: 297 SV
Bobby Jenks: 284 SV
Brian Fuentes: 264 SV
JJ Putz: 253 SV

[Cowtipper]

Voting results from years past:

			2011		2010
					
FranciscoCordero	0		0
Brian	Fuentes		0		0
Trevor	Hoffman				53.85
Jason	Isringhausen	0		
Bobby 	Jenks		0		0
Brad	Lidge		0		0
Joe	Nathan		0		3.85
Jon	Papelbon	4.76		3.85
Mariano	Rivera		95.24		84.62
FranciscoRodriguez	0		3.85
Huston	Street		0		
Jose 	Valverde	0		0
Billy 	Wagner				26.92
Brian 	Wilson		0

[Cowtipper]

Most similar players. First, their most similar players by career totals, then through the pitcher's current age:

Mariano Rivera: Trevor Hoffman, Trevor Hoffman
Francisco Cordero: Jeff Montgomery, Roberto Hernandez
Jason Isringhausen: Jeff Montgomery, Roberto Hernandez
Francisco Rodriguez: Tom Henke, Bruce Sutter
Joe Nathan: Todd Worrell, Tom Henke
Jose Valverde: Brad Lidge, Troy Percival
Jon Papelbon: Bryan Harvey, Bryan Harvey
Brad Lidge: Ugueth Urbina, Francisco Cordero
Brian Fuentes: Brad Lidge, Damaso Marte
Huston Street: JJ Putz, Bobby Thigpen
Bobby Jenks: Brian Wilson, Jose Valverde
Brian Wilson: Bobby Jenks, Bobby Jenks
JJ Putz: Heath Bell, Todd Worrell
Joakim Soria: Bryan Harvey, Gregg Olson

[3and2Fastball]

Mariano Rivera, to me, is a 1st ballot Hall of Famer and the future standard for Hall of Fame closers. Mo has 12 seasons with an ERA+ of 200 or higher, 2 seasons of an ERA+ of 300 or higher, and currently has a career 206 ERA+

Nathan has had 5 seasons of an ERA+ 200 or higher (and is over 200 this year) and one season over 300, his career ERA+ is 154

Papelbon has had 2 seasons of ERA+ over 200 and one over 300 (when he had an incredible 517 ERA+ in 2006! His career ERA+ is 192

Papelbon has a better shot because he is much younger and has been much more successful in the postseason. A few more great postseasons along with 4 or 5 great seasons and he should be in

Nathan will need a few more amazing seasons and a few incredible postseasons to overcome his career 7.88 postseason ERA (yeah, I know ERA scores for closers are not exactly super important stats, but HOF voters look at that stat....