In this week’s Closer Report, the Astros will be without their top closer as Josh Hader lands on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder strain. With Bryan Abreu poised to step into the ninth-inning role, where does he place in the updated closer rankings? We review the situation and more as we examine the last week in saves.
Fantasy Baseball Closer Rankings
Tier 1
Andrés Muñoz – Seattle Mariners
Edwin Díaz – New York Mets
The Mariners’ bullpen had a busy week. Muñoz picked up his 28th save against the Orioles on Tuesday. The 26-year-old right-hander has recorded a 1.34 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and a 60/23 K/BB ratio across 47 innings. Meanwhile, Matt Brash stepped in for two saves during rest days for Muñoz.
Díaz hasn’t gotten much work amid the Mets’ struggles over the last couple of weeks. He made one appearance against the Brewers on Sunday and took the loss, giving up a solo home run.
Tier 2
Trevor Megill – Milwaukee Brewers
Aroldis Chapman – Boston Red Sox
Jhoan Duran – Philadelphia Phillies
Robert Suarez – San Diego Padres
Megill’s stellar season continues with two more saves on back-to-back days this week against the Mets. The 31-year-old right-hander is up to 28 saves with a 2.20 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and a 49/15 K/BB ratio across 41 innings. Shelby Miller was activated from the injured list to help bolster the middle innings.
Chapman made just one appearance, tossing a clean inning against the Padres on Saturday. In Philadelphia, Duran locked down back-to-back saves against the Rangers over the weekend before Orion Kerkering stepped in for a save against the Reds on Monday. Duran has already recorded four saves with the Phillies and is up to 20 on the season while posting a 1.86 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and a 56/18 K/BB ratio across 53 1/3 innings.
Suarez allowed one run to blow a save opportunity against the Red Sox on Saturday. He then bounced back with a clean inning against the Giants on Monday for his 33rd save. Behind Suarez, Mason Miller recorded a pair of holds in a setup role and has struck out nine batters over his last three outings.
Tier 3
Daniel Palencia – Chicago Cubs
Emilio Pagán – Cincinnati Reds
Randy Rodríguez – San Francisco Giants
Kenley Jansen – Los Angeles Angels
Pete Fairbanks – Tampa Bay Rays
Bryan Abreu – Houston Astros
Cade Smith – Cleveland Guardians
Jeff Hoffman – Toronto Blue Jays
David Bednar – New York Yankees
Kyle Finnegan/Will Vest – Detroit Tigers
Carlos Estévez – Kansas City Royals
Dennis Santana – Pittsburgh Pirates
Palencia made one appearance this week, tossing a clean inning with one strikeout for a save against the Blue Jays on Wednesday. He’s up to 16 saves with a 1.69 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and a 46/11 K/BB ratio across 42 2/3 innings. Meanwhile, Pagán converted his 25th save with a scoreless inning against the Pirates on Saturday.
It was also a quiet week for Rodríguez as the Giants’ struggles continue. He saw no save chances and did not make an appearance on the mound. In Anaheim, Jansen struck out two batters in a pair of perfect outings for two saves before giving up a solo homer to Shohei Ohtani on Tuesday. Pitching for the fourth time in five days, the 37-year-old veteran closer locked down his 23rd save with a clean inning on Wednesday. Jansen has recorded a 2.74 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and a 45/13 K/BB ratio across 46 innings.
Fairbanks struck out one batter in a scoreless inning against the Athletics on Monday for his 20th save of the season. Tampa’s biggest acquisition at the trade deadline, Griffin Jax, has slotted in to setup duties. He surrendered three runs and took the loss against the Mariners on Friday, then bounced back with two outs against the A’s on Monday to record a hold.
Josh Hader tossed 36 pitches over two scoreless innings on Friday to earn the win against the Yankees. Hader was unavailable to pitch against the Red Sox on Monday due to left shoulder discomfort was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left shoulder strain on Tuesday. Hader is reportedly seeking a second opinion and anticipates being out longer than the two-week minimum. Bryan Abreu is set to fill in as the primary closer. He’s more than capable of stepping into the role, with a 1.64 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and an 81/25 K/BB ratio across 55 innings. He converted his first save on Wednesday against the Red Sox, working around two hits with two strikeouts in a scoreless inning.
Smith recorded a clean save with two strikeouts against the White Sox on Saturday, then fell in line for a win with four outs against the Marlins on Tuesday. The 26-year-old right-hander should finish out the season as Cleveland’s closer. He’s converted five saves with a 2.68 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and a 74/18 K/BB ratio across 53 2/3 innings.
Hoffman walked five batters against the Dodgers on Sunday and was charged with a blown save before somehow falling in line for a win. He then bounced back with two strikeouts in a clean inning in a non-save situation against the Cubs on Tuesday. The 32-year-old right-hander has converted 26 saves with a 4.41 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and a 66/16 K/BB ratio across 49 innings.
Bednar entered in the eighth inning against the Astros on Saturday with the bases loaded and one out. He walked in the game-tying run and was charged with a blown save before recording the final five outs and falling in line for a win. He then tossed a clean ninth inning with a four-run lead against the Twins on Monday, indicating that Bednar is likely the reliever the team will go to in save opportunities for now.
Finnegan converted a save against the Angels on Friday, his third with the Tigers. Vest then stepped in for the next two saves against the White Sox on Monday and Wednesday, with Finnegan pitching the eighth in both instances. Expect this committee approach to continue likely through the rest of the season.
It was a mixed week on the mound for Estévez. He took two losses and recorded a pair of saves. The 32-year-old right-hander is up to 30 saves with a 2.92 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and a 43/20 K/BB ratio across 52 1/3 innings. And in Pittsburgh, Santana worked a clean inning for his seventh save against the Reds on Friday, then pitched a scoreless inning in a non-save situation against the Brewers on Tuesday.
Tier 4
Raisel Iglesias – Atlanta Braves
Jojo Romero – St. Louis Cardinals
Phil Maton/Robert Garcia – Texas Rangers
Blake Treinen/Alex Vesia/Ben Casparius – Los Angeles Dodgers
Ronny Henriquez/Calvin Faucher – Miami Marlins
Iglesias worked two clean outings this week for a pair of saves against the Marlins. The 35-year-old right-hander has converted 16 saves with a 4.34 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and a 53/10 K/BB ratio across 47 2/3 innings.
Romero worked around three hits and a walk on Sunday against the Cubs, holding on for a four-out save. He then surrendered two runs against the Rockies on Wednesday to blow the save and take the loss. With Romero the only healthy left-hander in the Cardinals bullpen, Riley O’Brien could figure into the saves mix on a matchup basis.
The late-inning mess continues in Texas. Garcia was charged with a blown save after he blew the lead in the seventh inning against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. Maton then got the save chance in the ninth on Wednesday and surrendered four runs to blow the save and take the loss.
It’s a similar struggle in Los Angeles as the Dodgers try to fill the ninth-inning void left by Tanner Scott. Both Treinen and Vesia were charged with blown saves this week. Scott could be ready to face live hitters at some point next week as he continues his rehab from an elbow injury. For now, expect the team to continue to use a committee approach. Meanwhile, no saves in Miami this week as Faucher and Henriquez remain at 11 and six saves, respectively.
Tier 5
Keegan Akin – Baltimore Orioles
Justin Topa/Cole Sands – Minnesota Twins
Jose Ferrer – Washington Nationals
Sean Newcomb – Athletics
Juan Morillo/Kyle Backhus – Arizona Diamondbacks
Grant Taylor – Chicago White Sox
Victor Vodnik – Colorado Rockies
Most of this tier consists of situations you don’t really want to go chasing. In Minnesota, Topa pitched the final two innings against the Yankees on Wednesday for his second save for the Twins. Things are even murkier for the Diamondbacks. Morillo picked up a save in his first appearance since he was recalled from Triple-A. Andrew Saalfrank then got the save chance on Wednesday, while Kyle Backhus also remains in the mix. Akin seems to be the guy in Baltimore, though he was charged with two blown saves this week.
Read the full article here