Fantasy owners looked a Craig Kimbrel and were hoping that he was nearly as good as he looked last year in a brief stint with the Atlanta Braves.  Well, it looks like he’s much better than that, as he continues to put together a brilliant season in Atlanta and has been nothing short of a dominant force in the Braves bullpen – a crucial one that has helped them get a strangle-hold on the Wildcard race.  On Tuesday, Kimbrel was at it again as he struck out two Chicago Cubs in a scoreless nine to hammer down his 40th save of the season – a record-high for rookie closers.

Kimbrel not only has electric stuff but he has the confidence and poise to make it work immediately in the big leagues, which is far from an easy task.  So far this year, Kimbrel has a 1.70 ERA and is leading the league with his 40 saves.  As the Braves look to get closer to the Phillies and potentially make a run at the N.L. East, Kimbrel has turned into a crucial piece, one that might even help close the gap in overall talent between the Braves and Phillies in the playoffs.  With the kind of confidence that Kimbrel inspires at the back end of the bullpen, you won’t want to count out the Braves down the stretch.

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