Keep in mind that Valverde's season was very different in Houston than in Arizona. He lost the closer's role for a few weeks early in the season. That is probably responsible for the percentage difference in leveraged outings. I'll simply say this. Contract amounts don't sway me as much as percentage of payrolls. We all know that players are making more than they used to. However, the Astros payroll has not increased substantially at the same time (that is a bit disconcerting coming from an owner that talks about winning championships), so increased spending on a position like closer cannot be seen in the same light as it can in the rest of the league where teams payrolls are going up.

I am a senior writer at thefantasyfix.com and a staff writer at bigleaguesmag.com. The Hall of Fame Index is also still for sale and as relevant as ever.