One thing I have found interesting this year is that the closer jobs are in less flux this season. We have four closers with over 30 saves as of 8.11.23: Alexis Diaz (33), Camilo Doval (33), Felix Bautista (31), and Emmanuel Clase (31).
There are 30 pitchers with 10 or more saves and 44 with five or more saves. An incredible 173 pitchers have at least one save this year. It appears more and more likely that good fantasy players will have to learn to live in these margins and will win the saves category by targeting some of those pitchers in the 5-15 save range. That will be an article for a different time.
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Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report
AL East
Kenley Jansen quietly continues to get the job done in Boston with 26 saves. The K% is down a bit to 29.6, but Jansen is still terrific at getting the last three outs of games. He once again is set up by Chris Martin, John Schreiber and Josh Winckowski, all of whom have two holds each this week. Continue to use Jansen without fear.
Toronto: Jordan Romano has been out with a balky back. Word out of Toronto is that his midweek bullpen session went well; Romano is on a rehab stint this weekend and could be activated if all goes well for the Jays’ tilt on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Erik Swanson and Jordan Hicks could get the opportunity to close until that time.
AL Central
Chicago: some eyebrows were raised this week when veteran Bryan Shaw got a save against the New York Yankees. Jimmy Lambert also had a save this week but that was because current closer Gregory Santos was on the bereavement list, and now that he is back in the bullpen, it appears he will take the closing role back and hold it the rest of the season. The White Sox have a bevy of other arms here that are effectively getting a tryout for the rest of a lost season: Lane Ramsay, Declan Cronin, and the newly acquired Brent Honeywell. Santos remains the best bet to get any save chances the rest of the way.
The Detroit Tigers are a committee now, with Beau Brieske now in the hierarchy. It’s long been thought that Alex Lange might cede the closer role this season. With nothing to lose, the Tigers are trying out other options, and why not? Look for Brieske, Lange, and Jose Cisnero to get save chances, and keep an eye on lefty Tyler Holton. I would steer clear of this bullpen until it becomes clear who is in the driver’s seat at closer…if anyone even emerges here.
AL West
Ryan Pressly was reportedly out last weekend with some soreness but came back and earned a save this week. Interestingly, Bryan Abreu got the nod when Pressly was out with Hector Neris setting him up. Should Pressly miss any time with this malady, I would target Abreu as the next man up. This is still clearly Pressly’s job in Houston.
Los Angeles Angels: Carlos Estevez is struggling, could Reynaldo Lopez get a chance in Los Angeles? Estevez had a nightmarish outing this week in which he coughed up five earned runs on three hits and two walks. Command has been his bugaboo lately. Dominic Leone earned a save here this week; Estevez did close the door Wednesday on the San Francisco Giants. Don’t make any mistake: the two horses here would be Estevez and Lopez, who was recently acquired from the Chicago White Sox. Lopez did have five saves for the Sox this year, but he can be a tightrope act with an unsightly 12% walk rate. It would seem that the Angels will give Estevez a chance to work it out as he has been mostly excellent all season.
So much for my suggestion last week that Dany Jimenez could be in the closer mix. Oakland sent Jimenez down and recalled Angel Felipe, who immediately registered two holds this week. We could easily see a changing of the guard here as Trevor May‘s grip on the job is tenuous even as he has converted his last seven chances. One to watch here as Felipe could get some opportunities over the next month.
The much-anticipated discussion over who would close in Texas has not materialized to this point. Will Smith continues to get the save chances and be set up by Aroldis Chapman. Smith now has 22 saves and Chapman has a ridiculous 45.1 K%. This could flip at any time, but manager Bruce Bochy knows how to use a bullpen and has the Rangers operating at a very high level. Josh Sborz continues to be in the mix for holds as well.
NL East
The Miami Marlins added closer David Robertson two weeks ago, but there is some intrigue behind him there. Tanner Scott and Andrew Nardi, back from the IL, are the top setup guys here. A.J. Puk, who held the closer job for much of the season, has now been relegated to a middle relief role. Puk’s ERA has grown to a bloated 4.62 and he was only used once this week. It’s safe to drop him in all but the deepest leagues if you had been holding out any hope of him retaining any share of the closer’s job.
The New York Mets bullpen is in some disarray. Phil Bickford, cast off from the Los Angeles Dodgers last month, earned their only save this week. At this time it appears that Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley are co-closers, but the Mets have only won two of their last 10 games. Unless desperate for saves, this is a bullpen to avoid right now.
NL Central
The Chicago Cubs continue to use Adbert Alzolay in the top role, and for good reason: two more saves this week bring him to 15 on the season, and he has lowered his walk rate to a minuscule 4%. He is throwing his slider more (41.3% up from 32.8% last year), and he has added two ticks in velocity to it, limiting hitters to a .183 batting average against the pitch. The Cubs have finally found a solution at the back end of their bullpen.
The St. Louis Cardinals ninth-inning job will remain a split between Giovanny Gallegos and JoJo Romero. I would anticipate, though, that Gallegos will get 75% of those opportunities.
NL West
Evan Phillips and Brusdar Graterol both got saves this week, but remember, context matters. Phillips had earned saves in two straight games and was given a night of rest on the night Graterol earned his save. Don’t read too far into it here. Phillips is still the guy to roster here.
Isn’t Marinaccio in the minors now?
Yes! Missed taking him off the list this weekend!