At the start of every season, 30 teams break camp with 30 closers. Some are the top-tier, can’t-miss incumbents, like Josh Hader, Emmanuel Clase, Kenley Jensen, and Jordan Romano.
Some teams employ some sort of committee of two or three guys to see who shakes out, ala Texas this season, which began the season with Jose Leclerc but then gave David Robertson and Kirby Yates a look after Leclerc spit the bit.
Regardless of the situation, there are generally only 30 guys who have the role of closer at any given point in the season, with the names changing as much as a game of musical chairs. We’ve just entered June, and there are still 100 games yet to be played this season, and there have already been 122 pitchers who have recorded at least one save this year.
It can be excruciating and force interesting roster configurations, but it’s also a necessary evil. Ideally, you’ll have seven starters and two closers within your nine pitching slots. In a league that factors in holds, you may have six starters, two closers, and a set-up man. But with so many pitchers getting saves, you may be forced only to have four or five starters and load up on those pitchers who get the random save. This is generally a decent strategy for daily leagues.
In my daily AL-only league, I have five active pitchers with at least one save this year…I had six before I traded away Michael Kopech. As I said, it can be excruciating. In addition, even when you think you have that lockdown closer, the injury bug can hit you, forcing you to scramble.
Over the last week, three closers have fallen: Seattle’s Andres Munoz, Toronto’s Jordan Romano, and New York Mets’ Edwin Diaz. There are four pitchers who all have low ownership percentages that you should gobble up if you can.
Ryan Stanek, Seattle Mariners:
Stanek is a great glue guy for every bullpen he’s been in. He has three saves, nearly doubling his career total of four. He also have three wins this season in his 25 appearances. He’s sporting a respectable 3.68 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. And he’s striking out 10.22/9ip.
Yimi Garcia, Toronto Blue Jays:
Garcia is similar to Stanek in that he’s been solid in just about every bullpen he’s been in. he’s gotten more of an opportunity to close, with 24 saves for his career. This year, he has three saves with a dynamite 1.56 ERA and 0.74 WHIP. And he’s striking out a whopping 11.34/9ip.
Chad Green-Toronto Blue Jays:
With Garcia getting the save chances while Romano is on the shelf, Green is sliding into the set-up role and locking down holds for those leagues that utilize that stat. In only ten appearances, he’s filling up the stat sheet. He has a win, two saves, and four holds. He also has a miniscule 1.03 WHIP and 1.69 ERA.
Reed Garrett, New York Mets:
Garrett has been a revelation for the Mets this season. He is 5-2 on the year with three saves. His ratios are slightly high, but his strikeout ratio is off the charts. He is striking out 14.22/9ip, which is rarified air that only a handful of relievers ever see…the Aroldis Chpaman’s and Josh Hader’s of the world.
Jake Diekman and Adam Ottavino are also in the mix to get saves for the Mets while Diaz is out, but neither possess the stuff of Garrett at this point. Their ratios are awful compared to Garrett’s. Ottavino was called upon for a save the other day and blew it.