I have recently joked about changing the title of this article from “Hunting Saves” to “Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places”. Streaming saves this year has reminded me of my dating life back in college, as it’s basically been a few brief moments of fun mixed with large doses of bitter disappointment and heartbreak.
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That doesn’t mean we give up the search for love..I mean, saves; we just have to temper our expectations going forward. As I’ve been saying (to my mostly unamused wife), we aren’t looking for somebody to marry here, but we would like some semblance of a safe relationship that won’t land us in either the poor house or a local walk-in clinic. Let’s dig into all 30 MLB bullpens and see if we can’t find ourselves somebody nice to spend a little bit of our FAAB on.
This week’s Top 10
1) Mason Miller (Padres). He let up a couple of runs this week. Big deal. That ball looked foul to me, anyway. If you have him, buy him flowers, cook him dinner, do whatever you have to do to keep him happy. Should the unthinkable happen (no jinx), Jeremiah Estrada is close to returning, and he may be available in leagues with limited IL spots.
2) Andres Munoz (Mariners). He’s back on track, going 3 for 3 this week in save chances without allowing a run. This is the guy we were expecting when we drafted him as a top 5 closer.
3) Ryan Helsley (Orioles). He’s 7 for 7 locking down wins thus far on the season, and there’s nobody breathing down his neck for the closer gig in Baltimore.
4) Aroldis Chapman (Red Sox). He’s a classic beauty, and he’s still doing his thing, chucking it 100+ mph and locking down games. Maybe the changes in the coaching staff will get this team to win a few more games, so he can get us more saves. He’s been a perfect 5 for 5 on the season. Keep him in your lineups.
5) David Bednar (Yankees). He’s allowed a run or two in each of his last two outings, but he’s still getting saves, and the team is winning. It’s hard to argue with the results, and he’s the current AL saves leader. He can be a bit of a two-face, but right now, in this light, he’s pretty hot.
6) Bryan Baker (Rays). He might not stay in the top 10 for long, but he’s stabilized the back end of Tampa’s pen, and they are one of the only teams that have been consistently winning games in the AL. The games are usually close, so Baker has been piling up saves, getting 3 this week. I’m not in love quite yet, but I can see Baker and me staying together for the rest of the season. I’m just not quite ready to introduce him to my family.
7) Cade Smith (Guardians). He’s like that crush from high school that teased you, and you thought it wasn’t going to ever work out. But now he’s back and as beautiful as ever. He’s not going to always be true, but in the end, he’s a keeper. Just be prepared for a bumpy road as he rarely has a “clean save.”
8) Emilio Pagan (Reds). It isn’t completely his fault that the sparks aren’t flying like they once were. The Reds have been winning games by too many runs, so the save chances haven’t been there to be had or blown. Making things worse, he has been coming into “non-save” games and allowing runs. His job is safe for the moment, but I would like to see a few clean outings strung together. Stick with him if you have him, but keep Tony Santillan and Graham Ashcraft’s numbers in your phone.
9) Riley O’Brien (Cardinals). He was our #2 last week. I really thought we were building something special, and then he messed around and blew a couple of saves, which led Ollie Marmol to scare us all by giving George Soriano a save chance. It seems that the message was received, and O’Brien bounced back with a save of his own this week. He’s still the best pitcher in that pen and should be fine going forward.
10) Louie Varland (Blue Jays). This is how the search for love can be, right? It’s too early in our relationship to be using the “L” word, but Varland checks all of the boxes. He has me very excited about what could be. Unfortunately, “the Ex” (Hoffman) is still hanging around, just waiting for the winds to change and get back into our lives, and sadly, I can never say never, but for now, I’m going to enjoy the ride with Varland.
The Best of the Rest
INJURED-Jhoan Duran (Phillies). He’s back on the mound, throwing bullpen sessions and working his way back to us. Stay by his side while he is on the mend; he’ll be back closing the occasional Phillie win before you know it. I pray.
INJURED-Danny Palencia (Cubs)-INJ. Much like Duran, he’s close to returning. Even closer perhaps. Nobody was able to replace him while he was gone. Caleb Thielbar meant nothing to us, and we promise you, Danny, when you come back, we will put you right in our lineups. (We don’t have to tell him that I secretly have a Ben Brown crush).
INJURED-Raisel Iglesias (Braves)-IL. Iglesias rounds out our “Triumvirate of Healing Closers” as he is also slated to return imminently. Robert Suarez has performed admirably in his absence, as expected, and should still get a few saves here and there, but I expect Iglesias to be eased back into the role and ultimately resume closing.
Abner Uribe (Brewers). It’s been over a week since his last save, but he’s still the closer. Angel Zerpa landed on the IL, which has thinned this crowd back down to just Uribe and Megill with the former still the top choice to close games. He has managed to keep his walk rate at a career low so far, and that was the lone missing element that has kept him from being elite.
Seranthony Dominguez (White Sox). Don’t look now, but the ChiSox have actually managed to play .500 ball for the entire calendar month. That has led to Dominguez piling up a healthy save total. He may not be the prettiest filly in the stable with an era north of 4, but he’s been there for us and has treated us better than most others have. Keep rolling with him.
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, despite getting knocked around this past week. I don’t love hearing him actually come out and say things like “Some days you know you don’t have it and you just hope they hit a line drive right at somebody”, but I’m not going to penalize him for saying out loud what every other pitcher has thought at one time or another.
Dennis Santana (Pirates). He blew his second save of the season this week, and it was an ugly one. Gregory Soto will continue to loom as “Plan B” and the saves chances have not been plentiful for the Bucs despite a winning record. I’m not ready to dump him yet, but if he cheats on me one more time, I may say something.
Lucas Erceg (Royals). He looked like he was going to flake out on us for a minute there, but he reeled it back in this past week and was able to lock down a couple of saves along with a win. He’s another one who isn’t going to win any beauty pageants, but he gets the job done. Carlos Estevez has advanced to throwing live BPs, and the reports are that his velocity has improved. If he were dropped, you may want to grab him and stash him just in case.
Kenley Jansen (Tigers). “Jansen has been doing his thing,….. but we all know that Father Time is undefeated and this can go sideways at any moment.” That’s what I wrote last week. Apparently, Father Time read the article and realized it was time to pay Kenley a visit. Two blown saves later, and Kyle Finnegan gets the next save chance. It’s possible that AJ Hinch may be contemplating a change, but considering Jensen’s experience and contract, I would think that he gets another shot to reclaim the job. Pick up Kyle Finegan and Will Vest if they are out there, this could get worse for Jansen.
Devin Williams (Mets). Technically, he’s still the closer since Carlos Mendoza hasn’t demoted him. We would have to see the Mets actually have a save opportunity to know for sure who will be the pitcher called upon when needed. Williams did manage a scoreless inning this week, so there’s room for optimism. This might just be his annual “fatten my ERA” stretch, and he could be great the rest of the way. If you’re the adventurous type, maybe give this guy a chance as a buy-low candidate, and he’ll turn from a toad back into a Prince.
Victor Vodnik (Rockies). I was ready to kick him to the curb, then he showed up on my doorstep and promised he was a new man. I don’t really believe him, but my self-esteem is just that low. He managed to close out the front end of a doubleheader that the Rockies swept in Citi Field, but it was Zach Agnos who came on to close out the second game to notch his second save. The fact that Seth Halvorsen was dispatched back to the minors has me willing to give Vodnik one more chance. But this is it, I swear.
Committees:
The Astros. Enyel De Los Santos is likely still the best bet for saves, but he hasn’t had a save in over a week, and he was tormented by the Yankees the last time he pitched. There really isn’t another candidate to take the job until Josh Hader returns in about a month. If Hader was dropped, add him now. Those who are scraping the bottom of the barrel in deep AL-only formats can speculate on AJ Blubaugh. His ERA is still ugly from the 9 runs he allowed over two outings last month, but he’s been pretty solid since, allowing just 2 ER over 10 IP.
The Dodgers. I said it would be Vesia, my buddy, Lou Landers said it would be Tanner Scott. The first save went to Vesia, the second went to Scott, and the Dodgers haven’t had a save chance since. Both are worth owning, but I’d also like to bring your attention to Edgardo Henriquez. He’s most likely not going to get many saves as they will be split between Vesia, Scott, and Blake Treinen, but the youngster does have Dave Roberts’ attention and has been used in several high-leverage spots. He hits triple digits with ease, and the velo is starting to equate to whiffs as he has 6 K’s over his last 4+ innings. Guys who throw 100 mph sinkers don’t grow on trees. He’s worth an add in most deeper leagues.
The Giants. Ryan Walker is still the closer, but the winds of change are blowing. Speaking of blowing, that’s exactly what the entire pen did in a recent double header sweep at the hands of the Phillies. After Walker blew game one, Tony Vitello went with lefty Matt Gage for the nightcap with identical results. This will likely be a committee going forward, and the most interesting arm for me has been Caleb Killian. It should be noted that Keaton Winn and Eric Miller have been coming in after Killian and are probably ahead of him in the pecking order for the next save chance.
The Marlins. With Pete Fairbanks on the IL with a nerve issue in his throwing hand, the saves will likely be covered by Calvin Faucher, Tyler Phillips, and Anthony Bender. Phillips nailed down the first save, while Faucher was given the next opportunity on the very next day. Bender very well may get the next chance, making this a full-blown mess that we are going to want to avoid. I would grab Phillips in NL-only leagues since he got the first save chance, and Faucher’s save was a complete mess that he escaped thanks to a weird double play.
The Rangers. Despite Jacon Latz getting the two most recent saves for Texas, this still feels like a committee to me. Skip Schumaker is going to mix and match and bring guys in at any point if he thinks they give him the best chance to get batters out. Go ahead and grab Latz if he’s out there, but just know that Jakob Junis, Cole Winn, and even somebody like Peyton Gray may log the next save in Arlington. Tyler Alexander, Cal Quantrill, Gavin Collyer, and Jalen Beeks. There, I named all of their relievers. Now I can say I mentioned the name of the next guy to get a save there. As much as I love the hunt, this team is just maddening right now.
The Athletics. Joel Kuhnel seemed like he had staked a claim to the closer role, despite his “pitch to contact profile” telling us that it likely wouldn’t last. He didn’t really do anything to lose the job, but Mark Kotsay has now seemingly been looking for other options. Mark Leiter nabbed a one-out save this week, and Jack Perkins had logged a pair of 2 inning saves and then got their most recent of the traditional 1-inning variety. This is definitely a keep-it-casual type of relationship, but I’m willing to throw a few dollars of FAAB at Perkins and see where it goes.
The Nationals: Clayton Beeter is on the IL, and it’s anybody’s guess who will get the next save. Paxton Schultz locked down a recent save, while Gus Varland came in and locked down the next one. Cionel Perez has also been used previously to close games, so he may also be in the mix. I had already thrown a minimal bid on Varland a couple of weeks ago to keep his brother company on my bench in some of my deeper leagues, but he hasn’t seen my lineup yet. If he’s out there and you’re desperate, take him out for a cup of coffee. Just don’t spend too much on him.
The Twins: They finally had a save chance! They gave it to Eric Orze, and he blew it. If you have Eric Orze in the “Who gets the next Twins save” pool, you may take a seat. Those of you holding Justin Topa, Taylor Rogers, and Kody Funderburk tickets, stay tuned. My gut says it will probably be Topa, but that could just be the combination of my lunch and my refusal to acknowledge a slight lactose intolerance.
The Angels. Holy tire fire, Batman. How much do you really hate yourself that you want to read about this bullpen? Well, I hate myself enough for the both of us, so let’s see what we have here. Roll call!
Drew Pomeranz? That would be an ERA of 8.49, and he’s allowed at least 1 run in five straight appearances, PASS.
Ryan Zeferjahn? He was given the chance to log a 2-inning save, but couldn’t hold on. He blew the save and allowed just 1 run in 2 innings, actually lowering his ERA to 5.51, PASS
Brent Suter? He’s 36, and he’s more interested in doing funny voice impersonations and his next career as a broadcaster than he is in being the closer, PASS
Chase Sileseth? 11 innings, 10 Ks/10 walks. Suzuki hasn’t let him near the 9th, and it’s been a horror show, PASS
Sam Bachman? 15 innings, 15 Ks/10 walks. It’s only not ugly when compared to Silseth, PASS
Nick Sandlin? His ERA is over 14, PASS
Jose Fermin? OK, he hasn’t sucked yet, so by default, he’s their best current bullpen arm. A guy with 2.2 innings pitched.
Ben Joyce is beginning a rehab assignment; they aren’t going to rush him back from shoulder surgery and Kirby Yates has been getting bombed in his rehab workouts, so he’s going to need to string together a couple of scoreless innings before he joins the team.
There just isn’t anybody here worth investing FAAB on. There’s nothing here but a bunch of ugly ducklings. If you are in a zero-dollar bid league and want to throw a dart, go ahead and stash Fermin and see if he ends up developing into a beautiful swan. There is enough in his profile that says it’s possible.
Good luck! Just remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Use your FAAB budget wisely.
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