Fantasy Baseball Closer Report and Bullpen Depth Chart - July 14
The All-Star break begins next week, so we have a short window to make closer moves before the second-half.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Over the past week, Mark Melancon picked up his first save since June 3rd, but he struggled twice over his last three outings (two runs and seven baserunners over three innings with four strikeouts). Melancon has 12 saves in 14 chances with weakness in his ERA (5.28) and WHIP (1.60). Kyle Nelson stumbled in two of his previous five outings, leading to a 4.91 ERA and no strikeouts over 3.2 innings.
Atlanta Braves
A.J. Minter dominated his last four games (no runs over four innings with no walks and five strikeouts) while delivering three saves. With Kenley Jansen back this week, he moves back to the Braves’ top setup man with an elite ERA (1.66) and WHIP (0.87). Jensen pitched a clean inning on Wednesday afternoon, pointing to him regaining the ninth inning this weekend. He is 20-for-24 in closing situations.
Baltimore Orioles
For the first time since 2016, the Orioles have a winning record in mid-July, thanks to a 10-game winning streak. Jorge Lopez earned a save in his previous four games (no runs over four innings with no walks and six strikeouts), upping his season total to 17 preserved wins in 21 tries. He has an 8.44 ERA and 1.88 WHIP over his past 5.1 innings with nine strikeouts.
Boston Red Sox
Wins have slowed up in Boston, resulting in Tanner Houck not recording a save since June 25th. He has a 2.53 ERA over his last 10.2 innings with 15 strikeouts and six saves. In his two rehab appearances at AAA, Garrett Whitlock allowed a pair of runs over four innings with four strikeouts. Boston expects to have him back for their series vs. the Yankees. John Schreiber extended his scoreless run to 17.1 innings with six hits, 23 strikeouts, and two saves.
Chicago Cubs
David Robertson lost his command (seven walks) over his previous 11.2 innings, leading to three blown saves in his eight opportunities. He is 12-for-17 when asked to finish off wins. Mychal Givens pitched his way back into closing consideration after tossing 12 shutout innings with 13 strikeouts.
Chicago White Sox
Since returning from the injured list, Liam Hendriks posted four no-hit shutout innings with no walks, seven strikeouts, and two saves. His arm has been sensational since mid-May (no runs over 13.1 innings with 19 strikeouts and eight saves), other than his 23 days on the injured list. Hendriks has three blown saves in 21 chances. Kendall Graveman has a 2.57 ERA in July with five strikeouts, a win, and two saves.
Cincinnati Reds
Alexis Diaz pitched 3.1 scoreless innings with a save and seven strikeouts since returning from the injured list. Since May 19th, he has had a 3.78 ERA over 16.2 innings with 10 walks and 22 strikeouts. Hunter Strickland posted a 2.53 ERA and seven strikeouts over his past 10.2 innings with two wins, three saves, and two blown saves.
Cleveland Guardians
Over his last 22 innings, Emmanuel Clase allowed only one run with three walks and 26 strikeouts while converting all 12 of his saves. He is 19-for-21 when asked to pitch with the game on the line. Eli Morgan pitched his way out of high leverage situations over his previous six innings of work (seven runs, eight baserunners, and three home runs over six innings with no walks and seven strikeouts).
Colorado Rockies
Daniel Bard converted his last 10 saves, giving him 19 protected wins in 21 tries. He has a 1.20 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 22.2 innings despite issuing 12 walks. Alex Colome gave up a hit or more in his previous nine appearances, leading to a 5.16 ERA and 2.16 WHIP over 8.1 innings. He picked up a hamstring issue this week, putting him on the shelf for several days.
Detroit Tigers
Gregory Soto has five saves over his past six appearances. He improved his shutout streak to 7.1 innings with nine strikeouts, giving Soto 18 saves in 20 closing situations. Michael Fulmer has a 0.50 ERA, and 22 strikeouts over his last 18 innings, with one save and 12 holds.
Houston Astros
After getting drilled for four runs by the Yankees on June 23rd, Ryan Pressly tossed six perfect innings with 11 strikeouts, a win, and five saves. His only downside over this stretch is that he pitched only three innings over the first two weeks in July. He pushed his save total to 19 with three negative showings. Rafael Montero posted a 1.38 ERA and 1.08 WHIP over his previous 13 innings with 15 strikeouts, three saves, and a blown save.
Kansas City Royals
Since June 24th, Scott Barlow has a 1.69 ERA and 0.75 WHIP over 10.2 innings with 13 strikeouts, a win, and seven saves. He is 15-for-17 with the game on the line. The Royals expect Josh Staumont to begin a rehab assignment this weekend as he works his way back from a neck injury.
Los Angeles Angels
The right arm of Raisel Iglesias started to go awry over his previous three outings (five runs and 10 baserunners over 2.2 innings with two strikeouts), leading to a pair of his losses. There have been reports of his velocity being down, which may be a signal of an underlying injury. He has 15 saves in his 17 chances, with his last preserved win coming on June 29th. Ryan Tepera struggled in three appearances (three runs, five baserunners, and one home run over 2.2 innings with two strikeouts). The Angels haven’t used him in a game since July 8th.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Despite some up and down results over the past three weeks, Craig Kimbrel flashed signs of moving in the right direction. He has a 4.00 ERA and 1.22 WHIP over his last nine innings with three wins, a loss, three saves, and two blown leads. Kimbrel needs a good month of success to correct his ERA (4.50) and WHIP (1.47). He is 15-for-18 when asked to protect a lead. Brusdar Graterol has been closer-worthy over his previous 7.2 innings (no run, four hits, seven strikeouts, and three saves).
Miami Marlins
Tanner Scott gave up a run in three of his last six appearances, leading to job loss risk based on his regressing command (seven walks over 5.2 innings with a 4.76 ERA, 1.94 WHIP, and seven strikeouts). He blew half of his six save tries over this stretch. Overall, Scott has 12 successful saves in his 16 opportunities. Dylan Floro has a 1.80 ERA and 0.90 WHIP over his previous 10 innings, with eight strikeouts and two saves. Anthony Bass extended his scoreless string to 13.2 innings with one walk and 12 strikeouts, but he doesn’t have a save all season.
Milwaukee Brewers
For anyone investing in Josh Hader in 2022, frustration with his results has mounted over his last five appearances (six runs, 10 baserunners, and two home runs over four innings with nine strikeouts and two saves). He only has one blown lead in 28 chances. Devin Williams continues to post zeros over his previous 23.2 innings with 39 strikeouts and three saves.
Minnesota Twins
The save train hasn’t landed in Jhoan Duran’s station over the past two weeks despite the appearance of having the Twins’ closing job. He struggled in two of his three outings (three runs, seven baserunners, and one home run over three innings), leaving the window open for another arm to steal the ninth inning role. Tyler Duffey earned a save on July 10th while extending his shutout run to 13 innings with 12 strikeouts. Emilio Pagan has an 11.62 ERA and 1.62 WHIP over his last 8.2 innings, with 14 strikeouts and two blown saves.
New York Mets
Over the previous three weeks, Edwin Diaz didn’t allow a run over nine innings with five hits, one walk, and 20 strikeouts while securing five saves. He is 19-for-22 in closing situations with an impressive 73 strikeouts over 36.1 innings. Unfortunately, Seth Lugo lost his way over his last 12 innings (5.25 ERA and 1.50 WHIP with 12 strikeouts).
New York Yankees
The Reds gave Clay Holmes his first disaster game (four runs and five baserunners) on July 12th when he failed to record an out in his second blown save 18 tries. His command (three walks) faded over his last 2.1 innings. Aroldis Chapman looked better over his previous four innings (one run, one hit, three walks, and four strikeouts), but he hasn’t pitched in a closing situation since May 17th.
Oakland A’s
Lou Trivino still has cracks in his arm over his previous 8.2 innings despite converting five of his six saves. He allowed three runs and 18 baserunners over this span, meaning Trivino doesn’t have a long lifeline pitching in the ninth inning. Domingo Acevedo is the A's best reliever (one run allowed over his last 11.1 innings with one walk and 13 strikeouts).
Philadelphia Phillies
Over his last nine innings, Seranthony Dominguez has a 2.00 ERA with eight strikeouts, two losses, and three saves. The Phillies gave him one successful save chance in each of his last three weeks of work. Brad Hand picked three saves over the same span in four chances while improving his stats (2.31 ERA and 0.77 WHIP over 11.2 innings with eight strikeouts). Corey Knebel improved his scoreless streak to 8.1 innings with one hit, seven strikeouts, and one save, giving him a potential window to regain the Phillies’ closing role.
Pittsburgh Pirates
The trade value for David Bednar decreased over the last three and half weeks due to multiple poor showings (11 runs, 21 baserunners, and two home runs over 11 innings with 14 strikeouts, a win, five saves, and three blown leads. He has 16 converted saves in his 20 opportunities. Yerry De Los Santos allowed a run in half of his previous eight games (3.24 ERA and 1.20 WHIP over 8.1 innings with nine strikeouts) while picking three saves in four tries.
San Diego Padres
Taylor Rogers gave up a run or more in five straight games, leading to two blown saves in four opportunities. Over this span, he allowed seven runs and 13 baserunners over 5.2 innings with no walks and seven strikeouts. His ERA (4.04) has become a liability, but Rogers does have 24 saves in his 29 chances. Nabil Crismatt faded over his previous 6.1 innings (five runs, eight baserunners, and two home runs with 13 strikeouts), leading to him giving up the lead in two matchups.
San Francisco Giants
Over his last 7.1 innings, Camilo Doval allowed five runs, 14 baserunners, and two home runs while recording 10 strikeouts and one save. He is 10-for-12 closing games with a risk/reward feel at this point of the year. Tyler Rogers has a 1.50 ERA and 0.83 WHIP over his previous 12 innings with seven strikeouts. He is still trying to correct his stats after getting drilled for seven runs and seven baserunners on May 24th. San Francisco released Jake McGee over the past week.
Seattle Mariners
Making up ground in saves can be streaky in fantasy baseball. Paul Sewald only had four saves on June 22nd. Since that point in the year, Seattle started to win more games, securing eight saves over the three weeks with a 1.80 ERA, no walks, and 17 strikeouts over 10 innings. Diego Castillo gave up two runs over his last 20.1 innings with 21 strikeouts, five wins, and three saves. Anthony Munoz extended his shutout run to 14.2 innings with three walks and 29 strikeouts.
St. Louis Cardinals
The closing role for the Cardinals remains a coin flip. Ryan Helsley has four saves in five tries over the past five weeks with a 1.15 ERA and 0.83 WHIP over 15.2 innings with 26 strikeouts and three wins. He allowed only 13 hits over his 38 innings pitched this year. On the other hand, Giovanny Gallegos blew up over his last four games (five runs, eight baserunners, and two home runs over four innings with seven strikeouts, one save, and two blown saves). He now has six failed closing attempts in 16 opportunities.
Tampa Bay Rays
Chasing saves in Tampa remains a coin flip with more than two sides. Colin Poche extended his scoreless streak to 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts while picking up his sixth save in eight chances on July 13th. Brooks Raley has a pair of saves over his last five appearances, but he did blow up on July 9th (three runs and three baserunners over one-third of an inning), ending his shutout string at 11 innings. Jason Adam has been exceptional over his last 5.1 scoreless innings (four hits, no walks, and 10 strikeouts) while recording only one save (July 3rd).
Texas Rangers
The Rangers removed Joe Barlow from the closing role last week while placing him on the injured list on July 13th with a blister. He allowed eight runs, 15 baserunners, and two home runs over his last 13 innings with six strikeouts, four saves, and four blown leads. Brett Martin picked up three saves over the past week. He improved his scoreless streak to 11.2 innings with eight strikeouts. Brock Burke continues to pitch at a high level (1.19 ERA and 0.97 WHIP over 45.1 innings with 47 strikeouts), but he doesn’t have a save on the year.
Toronto Blue Jays
Jordan Romano hasn’t allowed a run over his last six innings with seven strikeouts and two saves. He is 19-for-22 in closing situations while still having command issues (14 walks over 32 innings). Adam Cimber regained his form over his previous 9.1 innings (0.96 ERA and six strikeouts), helping to secure his fourth save in eight tries.
Washington Nationals
The ball dropped on Tanner Rainey’s arm on Wednesday when the Nationals placed him on the injured list for 60 days with a right elbow issue. Kyle Finnegan is the likely choice to pitch in the ninth inning, but he did blow his last two save chances. Over his previous 11.1 innings, he has a 4.76 ERA and 13 strikeouts while allowing four home runs. I can’t imagine him keeping the job very long. Mason Thompson has yet to allow a run at AAA and the majors (10 innings), giving him a chance at pitching in high leverage innings. In 2021, he secured seven saves at AAA. Hunter Harvey has a live arm (no runs over 3.2 innings with four strikeouts), but injuries have derailed him over the past four years in the majors (only 27.1 innings pitched).
More Fantasy and MLB:
• Betting/Fantasy Impact: Blue Jays Fire Charlie Montoyo
• Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire
• Unvaccinated Royals Lay Bare Their Lack of Commitment
