Evan Phillips has emerged as the Dodgers’ primary closer and all it took were a couple of shaky Brusdar Graterol appearances. The Dodgers have seemed determined to keep Phillips out of the ninth-inning role but their hand has been forced, which is great for those who drafted Phillips. Despite only one strikeout so far (he’s faced a lot of lefties to begin the season), he has yet to allow a run in four outings. I get the sense Phillips will be used more like a “Rays” closer, in that he won’t see all of the save chances, but this development certainly makes him a most-rostered reliever in all but the shallowest of formats.
Notes
- Even despite last night’s blown save, A.J. Minter should still be close to rostered in all leagues as the news on Raisel Iglesias injury has not been as optimistic as we had hoped for. He has yet to resume throwing off a mound, but he has at least begun throwing on flat ground, so all that being said, Minter should be the closer here for the next month or possibly longer.
- Scott Barlow has pitched well this season (three-inning sample size of course) despite his fastball being down 1.5 MPH, and while I’m not overly concerned with that right now, I am concerned with how well Aroldis Chapman has been throwing. I doubt the Royals would just change things up as is, but it may just take 1-2 blown saves to get Chapman into the role now.
- Alex Lange has seen some weird usage to begin the year so far, and while I still believe he’s the best reliever in this bullpen, the early season results have not been great. Velocity is down almost 2 MPH, while his fastball is up 1 MPH and not getting the Whiffs we are used to. This could be a mechanical thing so I’d still sit tight and wait for things to turn around for Lange.
- Andrew Chafin now has two saves on the season for the Diamondbacks, striking out the side in order yesterday to finish off the Brewers. What’s more interesting is that he faced two righties in the inning (Joey Wiemer and Willy Adames) while just facing one lefty in Christian Yelich. Chafin looks like the favorite for saves in this pen now and makes for a worthy speculative add in deeper leagues.
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emmanuel ClaseT1 | CLE | - |
| 2 | Devin Williams | NYM | - |
| 3 | Josh Hader | HOU | - |
| 4 | Félix Bautista | BAL | +1 |
| 5 | Jordan Romano | COL | -1 |
| 6 | Ryan Helsley | BAL | - |
| 7 | Ryan Pressly | - | |
| 8 | Kenley Jansen | DET | - |
| 9 | Jhoan DuranT2 | PHI | - |
| 10 | Pete Fairbanks | MIA | - |
| 11 | Paul Sewald | ARI | - |
| 12 | Evan Phillips | LAD | +UR |
| 13 | David BednarT3 | NYY | -1 |
| 14 | Clay Holmes | NYM | +1 |
| 15 | Alexis Díaz | TEX | -2 |
| 16 | Camilo Doval | NYY | -2 |
| 17 | David RobertsonT4 | +2 | |
| 18 | Michael Fulmer | SF | +2 |
| 19 | A.J. Puk | ARI | -2 |
| 20 | A.J. Minter | NYM | +4 |
| 21 | Scott BarlowT5 | KC | -5 |
| 22 | Alex Lange | KC | -4 |
| 23 | José Leclerc | SD | -2 |
| 24 | Reynaldo López | ATL | -2 |
| 25 | Carlos Estévez | KC | -2 |
| 26 | Craig KimbrelT6 | TB | - |
| 27 | Andrew Chafin | +UR | |
| 28 | Pierce Johnson | CIN | +2 |
| 29 | Kyle Finnegan | DET | -2 |
| 30 | Dany Jiménez | -2 |
Watch List
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | José Alvarado | PHI | Likely the most talented reliever in this potential three-man committee. |
| 2. | Jason Adam | TB | Should be option 1B in Tampa, so worth a spot in deeper leagues. |
| 3. | Aroldis Chapman | KC | Velo is all the way back and if it sticks, could work his way into the role. |
| 4. | Scott McGough | ARZ | Will still likely factor into late inning matchups. |
| 5. | Will Smith | TEX | Could he be in a matchup-based timeshare with Leclerc? |
| 6. | Giovanny Gallegos | STL | Should still cut into Helsley’s save totals, as long as he is healthy. |
| 7. | Taylor Rogers | SF | Kapler doesn’t like to stick with one closer and Doval isn’t reliable yet. |
| 8. | Kendall Graveman | CWS | May wind up in a timeshare with Reynaldo before Hendriks returns. |
| 9. | Jorge López | MIN | Has pitched well to start, might get some save chances occasionally. |
| 10. | Dylan Floro | MIA | Puk still seems the favorite, but hasn’t had a ton of chances yet. |
And if you want more daily reliever updates, please check out our Reliever Ranks series
