Closing Time 4/14: Ranking The Top 45 Closers Every Week

Hi my name is Matt, I’m addicted to saves. This week features mostly minor tweaks  and I will start to track stock movement next week. Don’t want to overlap too...

Hi my name is Matt, I’m addicted to saves. This week features mostly minor tweaks  and I will start to track stock movement next week. Don’t want to overlap too much with the Tuesday holds piece but you can easily cross reference that + the speculative tier to determine next in line heaven forbid injury strikes.

TIER 1

1A. Kenley Jansen (Los Angeles Dodgers)

1B. Wade Davis (Kansas City Royals)

3. Craig Kimbrel (Boston Red Sox)

TIER 2

4. Jeurys Familia (New York Mets)

5. Zach Britton (Baltimore Orioles)

TIER 3

6. Aroldis Chapman (New York Yankees)

7. Mark Melancon (Pittsburgh Pirates)

8. David Robertson (Chicago White Sox)

9. Trevor Rosenthal (St. Louis Cardinals)

TIER 4A

10. Cody Allen (Cleveland Indians)

11. Hector Rondon (Chicago Cubs)

12. Roberto Osuna (Toronto Blue Jays)

TIER 4B

13. A.J. Ramos (Miami Marlins)

14. Jonathan Papelbon (Washington Nationals)

15. Luke Gregerson (Houston Astros)

16. Huston Street (Los Angeles Angels)

17. Francisco Rodriguez (Detroit Tigers)

18. Arodys Vizcaino (Atlanta Braves)

19. Andrew Miller (New York Yankees)

TIER 5A

20. Brad Ziegler (Arizona Diamondbacks)

21. Santiago Casilla (San Francisco Giants)

22. Jake McGee (Colorado Rockies)

23. Jeremy Jeffress (Milwaukee Brewers)

24. Kevin Jepsen (Minnesota Twins

25. Alex Colome (Tampa Bay Rays)

TIER 5B

26. Shawn Tolleson (Texas Rangers)

27. Sean Doolittle (Oakland Athletics)

28. J.J. Hoover (Cincinnati Reds)

29. Jeanmar Gomez (Philadelphia Phillies)

30. Glen Perkins (Minnesota Twins)

31. Steve Cishek (Seattle Mariners)

32. Fernando Rodney (San Diego Padres)

TIER 6

33. Ryan Madson (Oakland Athletics)

34. Sam Dyson (Texas Rangers)

35. Keone Kela (Texas Rangers)

TIER 7A – Speculative

36. Hunter Strickland (San Francisco Giants)

37. Ken Giles (Houston Astros)

38/39. Tony Zych, Joaquin Benoit (Seattle Mariners)

40. Kevin Quackenbush, Brandon Maurer (San Diego Padres)

TIER 7B – Semi speculative, potential save opps when closer is coming off back-to-back appearances

41. Drew Storen (Toronto Blue Jays)

42. Felipe Rivero (Washington Nationals)

43. Dellin Betances (New York Yankees)

44. Joakim Soria (Kansas City Royals)

45. Darren O’Day (Baltimore Orioles)

DROPS

Jason Grilli (Atlanta Braves)

David Hernandez,  Dalier Hinojosa (Philadelphia Phillies)

NOTES

– Some shifting and tweaking but the main story is Glen Perkins to the DL with a left posterior shoulder strain. I was calling for a physical breakdown and it came a bit earlier than expected. Velocity concerns in Spring, some control issues so far, uh oh. The severity is still unknown but Perkins owners should be worried. Kelvin Jepsen has had a shaky start to the season but we’re talking about a small sample size. He’s the guy, Trevor May is next in line. 

Andrew Miller looks solid and will close games until Aroldis Chapman comes back. Don’t overvalue Miller. He has tier 1 stuff but Aroldis will return soon enough and Miller won’t retain much value outside of hold leagues and daily rotos. 

– Still patiently stashing Sam Dyson and Keone Kela. I undervalued Shawn Tolleson in the first two editions of Closing Time but he has been very shaky so maybe there is something to it.

Ryan Madson should be owned in every daily roto but as of now Sean Doolittle looks halfway decent and healthy. Was hoping this stash would pay off right away but stay patient.

Jeanmar Gomez has piled up 4 saves fast. Maybe he craps out but until then ride that pony. 

Luke Gregerson has established himself as the guy in Houston while Ken Giles is imploding and getting hurt by the long ball. My money is on Giles settling down but as long as Gregerson gets it done he should maintain the roll and save Houston some money with future arbitration talks involving Giles.

Nick Pollack

Founder of Pitcher List. Creator of CSW, The List, and SP Roundup. Worked with MSG, FanGraphs, CBS Sports, and Washington Post. Former college pitcher, travel coach, pitching coach, and Brandeis alum. Wants every pitcher to be dope.

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