RELIEVERS: An Early Look at LIMA Candidates, 2012

This column is a quick peek into the Baseball Forecaster's LIMA ratings of relievers for 2012. There are a lot of broad-stroke revelations from this year's list--what teams do not yet have LIMA-worthy closers, how many LIMA-worthy relievers there are for 2012 (a whopping 66 relievers!) and some categories of these relievers to help you decide who to take and when to pass.

LIMA-worthy relievers generally have a projection with a minimum of a 6.0 K/9, 2.0 K/BB, maximum of a 1.0 HR/9 and a BPV of at least 70. A LIMA reliever also should have an xERA below 4.00. Finally, a LIMA reliever has a role that is meaningful enough to gather useful innings. Not all of the relievers on these lists meet all of these criteria. The names here are...

Almost!

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