Closing Time 6/17: Ranking the Top 40 Closers Every Tuesday

The Phillies changed things up in their bullpen last night, featuring Jordan Romano in the seventh inning, Matt Strahm in the eighth, and Orion Kerkering in the ninth for his first career save. Strahm picked up a save on Saturday with Kerkering working the eighth, and well, Romano hasn’t picked up a save since May 29. It has now been a month since José Alvarado was suspended 80 games for PEDs, but here is how the three stack up since the suspension.

Pitcher	SIERA	K-BB%	SwStr%	CSW%
Jordan Romano	2.73	24.4%	11.7%	30.1%
Matt Strahm	3.89	17.6%	15.2%	23.4%
Orion Kerkering	4.67	6%	10.1%	30.3%

Based on these numbers, I’d say Romano is deserving of the closer role, but the Phillies feel differently, and I don’t blame them, as it does feel like there may be some availability concerns, and he did go through a rough patch in early June. Strahm is probably the safest option, but he has not looked like himself this year either. Kerkering has the best stuff, but he has really struggled getting swing and misses this year and has been very inconsistent. However, he hasn’t allowed an earned run since May 6, and that’s probably why Rob Thomson is considering him for more save chances. I wouldn’t rule out anyone here.

 

Notes

 

• Shelby Miller all of a sudden finds himself in the top 15 mainly because he has no competition in Arizona and will be the sole closer there, at least until the deadline (Arizona is three games back of a Wild Card spot). He has been fantastic all season, and with A.J. Puk also suffering a setback, the closer role is firmly Miller’s to lose.

 

• Ryan Helsley doesn’t seem at risk of losing his closer role just yet despite allowing runs in all four of his June appearances so far. The bigger concern is whether or not he gets moved at the deadline, although the Cardinals are just 2.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. If they want to maximize Helsley’s value at the deadline, they will be keeping him in the closer role.

 

• Emilio Pagán worked the eighth inning in Sunday’s game with Tony Santillan working the ninth, indicating there may be some hierarchy movement taking place here. It could just be a one-off situation, although Terry Francona has told us how much he trusts Santillan, so maybe there is something to this. FWIW, over the past month, Santillan holds a 4.71 SIERA with 7.8% K-BB and 9.0% SwStr rates while Pagan has a 2.24 SIERA plus 28.2% K-BB and 15.8% SwStr rates.

 

• The Braves have yet to pick up a save since Raisel Iglesias was “removed” from the role, but it appears that Iglesias has assumed the eighth inning role for now, with Dylan Lee as the potential closer, as he has continuously worked the ninth inning lately. Iglesias has pitched much better since, and given that Lee hasn’t even gotten a save chance yet, I wonder if Iglesias may not even wind up losing his role here. We should finally get some answers this week, hopefully.

 

Rank	Pitcher	Team	Change
1	Josh HaderT1	HOU	-
2	Edwin Díaz	LAD	-
3	Emmanuel Clase T2	CLE	-
4	Andrés Muñoz	SEA	-
5	Jhoan Duran	PHI	-
6	Mason Miller	SD	-
7	Jeff Hoffman	TOR	-
8	Aroldis Chapman	BOS	+1
9	Tanner Scott	LAD	-1
10	Devin Williams	NYM	+1
11	Robert Suarez T3	ATL	-1
12	David Bednar	NYY	-
13	Félix Bautista	BAL	+1
14	Trevor Megill	MIL	+2
15	Shelby Miller	CHC	+6
16	Ryan Helsley	BAL	+4
17	Emilio Pagán T4	CIN	-4
18	Daniel Palencia	CHC	-1
19	Camilo Doval	NYY	-
20	Will Vest	DET	-2
21	Pete Fairbanks T5	MIA	+1
22	Carlos Estévez	KC	+1
23	Robert Garcia	TEX	+2
24	Kyle Finnegan	DET	-
25	Kenley Jansen	DET	+1
26	Jordan Romano T6	LAA	-11
27	Raisel Iglesias	ATL	-
28	Dylan Lee	ATL	-
29	Calvin Faucher	MIA	+11
30	Tommy Kahnle	BOS	-1
31	Orion Kerkering	PHI	+UR
32	Randy Rodríguez	SF	-
33	Matt Strahm	KC	-
34	Kirby Yates	LAA	+4
35	Chris Martin	TEX	-5
36	Tony Santillan	CIN	+UR
37	Ryan Pressly		+UR
38	Ronny Henriquez	MIA	-7
39	Greg Weissert	BOS	+UR
40	Luke Jackson	NYM	+UR