Closing Time 5/6: Ranking the Top 40 Closers Every Tuesday

Just a week after the Diamondbacks lost A.J. Puk to an elbow injury, they placed Justin Martinez on the IL with a shoulder injury, leaving the once dominant bullpen scrambling for answers in the ninth inning. Shelby Miller figures to get the first crack at saves, and has already converted one, although he did struggle his last time out with four hits and two runs allowed in a blown save. Kevin Ginkel is also likely to factor in, but he is still just a week removed from his lengthy IL stint and has not exactly looked sharp since returning. Ryan Thompson and Jalen Beeks could also mix in, but are more likely looking at more hold opportunities compared to save chances. Miller has been good enough this season to be worthy of an add in most leagues, but the early prognosis for Martinez is optimistic, so he could return sooner rather than later.

 

Notes

 

• One week after pushing Emmanuel Clase down the list, he’s on his way back up again after a really strong week that saw him pick up three saves and a win. There’s even been a slight velo increase in his cutter, which is promising, and the swing and miss ability still remains impressive. Another week or two of this and he’ll be back in tier 1 again.

 

• Jhoan Duran has been solid so far, but the saves have been lacking as the Twins got off to a slow start. That said, Duran picked up two of his four saves this past weekend, so just remain patient with him. The velocity has looked better recently, although it was interesting to see him throw 9 pitches on Sunday, none of which were four-seamers. It appears as though the splitter (splinker) is Duran’s top offering now, so I’d expect to see that K rate continue to rise.

 

• Emilio Pagán continues to impress in what may be a true breakout season for him, and he truly has no competition for the role in that Reds bullpen at the moment. He’s cut down on his cutter use and thrown his four-seam more, which for a lot of pitchers can wind up having a negative impact, but Pagán’s best offering is his 95 MPH four-seam that gets -3.9 “VAA” and lives at the top of the strike zone.

 

• The Tigers situation remains fluid with Will Vest having a rough outing the other day in the 6th inning of a game, and it more or less just confirms that this team will not have a full-time closer at any point this season. That said, Vest and Tommy Kahnle still have value in deeper formats, as they should each get a handful of saves each month, it appears.

 

Rank	Pitcher	Change
1	Mason MillerT1	-
2	Josh Hader	-
3	Andrés Muñoz	+1
4	Jeff Hoffman	-1
5	Edwin Díaz	-
6	Félix Bautista T2	-
7	Robert Suarez	+3
8	Aroldis Chapman	-
9	Tanner Scott	-2
10	Jhoan Duran	+1
11	Emmanuel Clase	+1
12	José Alvarado	-3
13	Kenley Jansen T3	-
14	Ryan Walker	+1
15	Trevor Megill	+1
16	Ryan Helsley	+1
17	Raisel Iglesias	+1
18	Pete Fairbanks	+1
19	Emilio Pagán	+3
20	David Bednar	-
21	Kyle Finnegan T4	-7
22	Luke Weaver	+1
23	Devin Williams	+1
24	Shelby Miller	+3
25	Carlos Estévez T5	-
26	Luke Jackson	+2
27	Ryan Pressly	-1
28	Will Vest	-7
29	Tommy Kahnle T6	+5
30	Dennis Santana	+3
31	Porter Hodge	-
32	Lucas Erceg	-
33	Cade Smith	-4
34	Kevin Ginkel	+2
35	Camilo Doval	-
36	Kirby Yates T7	+1
37	Robert Garcia	+1
38	Matt Strahm	+1
39	Griffin Jax	+UR
40	Justin Slaten	-10