It took a few weeks, but we finally had our first closer sidelined with a significant injury. Then we had our second. Then, our third, and it didn’t stop there. The “Hunting Saves” landscape was rocked a bit last week as we saw four different closers hit the Injured List. Edwin Diaz was the first, and I sort of saw this coming last week when I advised you to grab Alex Vesia before the Dodgers sat Diaz down to “rest”. I didn’t realize it would end up being elbow surgery that would shelve him for a couple of months. Then we got hit with a couple of surprise oblique strains that have sidelined Danny Palencia and Jhoan Duran, and finally (we hope) Raisel Iglesias was given some time off to “rest” his sore shoulder. Take a deep breath.
The truth of the matter is, the “saves landscape” is an utter mess right now, and you’ll see how messy it is once you read my rankings and notice how quickly the herd thins out. Safe options are few and far between at the moment. Fear not, there are saves available out there to be had, and we will help you find them as we continue “Hunting Saves”.
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This week’s Top 10
1) Mason Miller (Padres). Nothing to see here other than the best player in the game. He’s still putting up video game-like numbers.
2) Riley O’Brien (Cardinals). He’s been great, and the Cardinals have been better than expected, which makes him one of the top saves sources in the league right now.
3) Ryan Helsley (Orioles). He missed a few days this past week after going on the Bereavement list, but he will be back and good to go this coming week.
4) Aroldis Chapman (Red Sox). He’s been fine, even if he hasn’t had too many chances. He’s still an upper-echelon closer.
5) Paul Sewald (Diamondbacks). He’s still perfect in save chances (7 for 7), and overall, he’s been one of the stronger save sources in the early going.
6) David Bednar (Yankees). He had a strong week with four scoreless appearances and two saves. He looks to be on track, and the Yankees are back to their winning ways, making him an excellent saves source.
7) Alex Vesia (Dodgers). Vesia had been the Dodgers’ strongest high-leverage arm even before Edwin Diaz went under the knife. Tanner Scott and Blake Treinen will get a sporadic save here and there, but Vesia is the guy you want to own here. Pitching for the best team in baseball makes him an easy top-ten option for fantasy.
8) Emilio Pagan (Reds). He blew a save this week but hung on to get the win. He and Tony Santillan are logging more innings than most other short relievers, but they both apparently have rubber arms and can handle it. I would also want to own Santillan if I owned Pagan on my fantasy team, so pick him up if he’s on waivers.
9) Cade Smith (Guardians). I bumped Smith up into my top 10 this week after a solid week where he nailed down 2 saves, despite allowing a run in one of his outings. The fact that 3 of last week’s top options all got injured may have helped his elevation to our top 10 a little more than his actual performance, but he’s one of the few guys left locked into his role.
10) Kenley Jansen (Tigers). Jansen has been doing his thing, and he’s just fine as a second closer. Ranking in the top 10 would imply he should be safe as your top option, but we all know that Father Time is undefeated, and this can go sideways at any moment.
The Best of the Rest
The next three guys are all on the IL, so they can’t be top 10 options, but I’d still rather own them than the other names behind them, for the most part. So, they aren’t “ranked”, per se, but they are worth discussing.
INJURED-Jhoan Duran (Phillies). The good news is that the Phillies put him on the IL and made it retroactive to the last day he pitched, which was a full week before they finally broke down and made the roster move. It should be a short-term injury. I’d pick up Brad Keller for the two-week band-aid if I have Duran, but wouldn’t break my FAAB for him. He’s likely owned in NL-only leagues already, but if not, go ahead and add him or Jose Alvarado.
INJURED-Danny Palencia (Cubs)-INJ. This is a very similar situation to Duran and the Phillies, where we don’t know exactly when he was injured, and he doesn’t figure to be out for very long. Oblique injuries can be touchy, so it will be at least two weeks, but it shouldn’t be too much longer. Caleb Thielbar was doing an excellent job filling in, and he was probably picked up in many leagues, but he also sustained an injury this past week. Ben Brown has a great closer profile, and I’d love to see the Cubs use him in the role. I would grab him or Phil Maton for the short term.
INJURED-Raisel Iglesias (Braves)-IL. The MRI confirmed that there is no structural damage, so we’ll take that as a positive. The fear here is that he gets “Wally Pipped” by Robert Suarez if he misses too much time. Suarez is likely owned in most formats, but if you play in a shallow league, make sure you add him ASAP.
11) Andres Munoz (Mariners). He has not been the dominant closer we expected when we drafted him, but he has managed to luck his way into 3 wins. His job is safe for now, but I’d feel better if he could go back to locking down games instead of blowing leads and vulturing wins.
12) Abner Uribe (Brewers). He’s the closer right now, but that can change again, so don’t drop Megill if you own him. Uribe locked down 2 saves and earned a win over the past week, and at the moment, he’s one of the better save sources to own for fantasy.
13) Pete Fairbanks (Marlins). He locked down three straight saves this week after a rough patch that inflated his ERA into the double digits. He looks to be a fairly safe option for the time being.
14) Dennis Santana (Pirates). Santana has locked down the last few saves for the Bucs and has appeared in the 9th inning in his last 6 games. He’s the closer while Gregory Soto is the set-up/left-handed complement. Pittsburgh is playing well enough that both Santana and Soto should be owned in most formats.
15) Ryan Walker (Giants). The Giants finally had a true “This is how the manager wants things to happen” game. Tyler Mahle went 7 shutout innings against the Dodgers and left with a 3-0 lead. Caleb Killian came on and pitched a scoreless 8th, and Walker nailed it down in the 9th. Hopefully, this gave Tony Vitello a glimpse of how he can handle games going forward. Walker is the guy to own for saves right now, and Killian is worth adding in NL-only leagues as he’s been the Giants best bullpen arm so far.
16) Bryan Baker (Rays). He’s blown 2 of his last 4 save chances, yet still remains the closer, highlighting just how shaky things have been in the Rays pen. The fact that he’s ranked this high also highlights how bad things are across the league. Kevin Kelly is worth a speculative add in AL-only leagues for this week. Hold onto Griffin Jax if you are in a super deep league because this role is going to likely move around the pen all year long.
17) Seranthony Dominguez (White Sox). He blew a save last week, but bounced back with 2 scoreless outings after that, including 1 save. He’s not great, but there aren’t many great options in the league right now, period.
18) Lucas Erceg (Royals). He blew two straight save chances this past week, and the team has been reeling. His recent performance has certainly opened the door for Matt Quartaro to consider other options for the last 3 outs. Carlos Estevez may not have to work too hard to get his job back when he’s ready to rejoin the team after all. Matt Strahm and John Schreiber haven’t been much better, so we can ride with Erceg for now. Nick Mears could be next up, but it’s nothing I’d act on yet.
19) Joel Kuhnel (Athletics). I guess he’s a real, bona fide closer now that he has 4 saves. I struggle with him because he pitches to contact, and he pitches in a minor league park, so I feel like this is all going to come crashing down at some point. He does throw a heavy sinker that reminds us of Zach Britton or prime Blake Treinen, so there is a decent chance he holds this job all year long. He hasn’t blown a save yet, but he has been scored upon in his last two outings, so if I owned him, I’d lean into the Britton comp and try to deal him to somebody who is desperate for saves.
19) Devin Williams (Mets). He had a spectacular meltdown during the tail end of his team’s 12-game losing streak, which had many speculating that he may be replaced by Luke Weaver as closer. Then he struggled to close the door in his most recent appearance, yet was somehow gifted a win by the official scorer. Carlos Mendoza says he’s safe for now, but he may not be around much longer to make those decisions if the Mets don’t turn things around. Grab Luke Weaver if he’s out there in most standard formats. Super deep leagues may want to speculate on Sean Manaea. He was warming up while Williams was choking on that last 3-run lead, and he could thrive if he just pitched 1 inning at a time. Considering what the Mets are paying him, they would probably like to see him fill some sort of important role.
21) Enyel De Los Santos (Astros). He now has 3 saves, and Josh Hader is at least a month away from joining the team, so that’s enough to qualify him as the closer, for now. It hasn’t all been great, so don’t get too comfortable with him as your second closer. Just enjoy the few he does manage to get for your team while they last. Bryan Abreu has somehow managed to get even worse each week, and I won’t be surprised if he joins Hader on the IL, which leaves Bryan King as the only other real option for Joe Espada in the 9th. AJ Blubaugh is the name I’d keep an eye on here if De Los Santos has already been scooped up from waivers.
22) Jakob Junis (Rangers). The Texas pen is a bit of a mess, but Junis still feels like the preferred option, even if it’s by default. The Rangers haven’t had a save lately, but it was Junis who was brought on to close out their most recent 4-run win. He was then called upon in the 8th against the Pirates in a 5-run game to face the middle of their lineup. Recent call-up, Peyton Gray, then pitched the 9th in that same game, so he could be an option if Junis struggles again. If you are desperate and want to get out in front of this ever-changing situation, go ahead and grab Gray or Jacob Latz for a bunk in super deep AL-only formats.
23) Jeff Hoffman (Blue Jays). It’s a roller coaster with this guy, but he keeps on piling up Ks. At this point, the Blue Jays look like they may be heading towards a closer committee with Hoffman and Louie Varland sharing the role until Yimi Garcia comes back and muddies the waters further. I would add Varland if he wasn’t picked up last week, as it looks like Hoffman may get removed from the role for a bit. Don’t drop Hoffman if you can hold onto him, because 24 Ks in 10.2 innings doesn’t grow on trees. He’ll get the job back at some point.
24) Clayton Beeter (Nationals): Clayton Beeter is still the best bet to lead the team in saves, but Gus Varland is hanging around to get an occasional save here and there. That’s what I wrote about this bullpen last week, and nothing has changed. I don’t really have an interest in any of them.
25) Victor Vodnik (Rockies). He managed to nail down 2 saves in a week, so he looked like he was taking the closer job by the horns, and then he imploded spectacularly in his outing against the Rockies. Yep, that’s how bad things are right now. He’s still on this list for some reason, at least for another week. Seth Halvorsen was just called up and should be picked up by anybody desperate for saves in NL-only leagues. He’s a flame thrower who shared the role with Vodnik last year, and it feels like the change will be made as soon as the next save opportunity.
26) Jordan Romano (Angels). Kurt Suzuki joined the “non-committal” club last week when asked if Romano is his closer. That club is getting larger and larger each week, and Romano hasn’t helped his cause by going 4 straight outings with at least 1 runner reaching base. One of those 4 was a scoreless inning with 3 Ks, so he’ll probably still get a chance to blow another save before being officially demoted from the role. I would pick up Kirby Yates (and I did in many leagues) as he’s getting close to returning.
Minnesota Twins: Nothing here has changed since last week. Literally nothing. This team just doesn’t get saves, and if they do, it can be any one of 3 or 4 guys who will get the save. Avoid the whole mess since there isn’t even a Jeff Hoffman type, “High K” arm, in the group to speculate on. If you put a gun to my head and told me I had to choose one, I’d go with Cole Sands….I’d more likely just tell you to pull the trigger.
Good luck! Just remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Use your FAAB budget wisely.
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