Closing Time 6/14: Ranking the Top 30 Closers Every Wednesday

The Pirates have climbed right back into the playoff picture, and should get a boost after ousting Tony Watson from the closer role finally. Felipe Rivero will get the first...

The Pirates have climbed right back into the playoff picture, and should get a boost after ousting Tony Watson from the closer role finally. Felipe Rivero will get the first crack at saves and is certainly talented enough to run away with the job, although Juan Nicasio has also been very good this season. While the Pirates are fixing their bullpen problems, I am really starting to feel a tiny bit bad for Dusty Baker. A managers worse nightmare is not having that reliable late game pitching, and Baker has absolutely no one at the moment whom he can rely on to protect a lead. They seem destined to make a deal before the deadline, and at this point, might have to bump up the urgency and get a deal done soon.

TIER 1: Nothing Compares 2 U

1. Kenley Jansen (Los Angeles Dodgers)—Pedro Baez, Josh Fields

2. Craig Kimbrel (Boston Red Sox)—Matt Barnes, Joe Kelly

3. Greg Holland (Colorado Rockies)—Jake McGee,Adam Ottavino

4. Wade Davis (Chicago Cubs)—Carl Edwards Jr., Koji Uehara

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Rick Graham

Rick resides in the Boston area and has experience as a player and coach at the collegiate level. He has been covering relievers for Pitcher List since 2017.

4 responses to “Closing Time 6/14: Ranking the Top 30 Closers Every Wednesday”

  1. Goingfish says:

    I have Reed and Melancon (12team H2H)
    I feel Melancon is worth rostering despite lack of chances, hopefully he’s traded.

    That being said do you think it’s worth dropping Reed for Rivero?
    I get that Rivero likely has a higher ceiling but ROS who do you like more?
    I don’t really have another drop option.

    • Rick Graham says:

      Unfortunately Melancon probably won’t be traded after signing a 5 year deal this offseason with the Giants. Rivero should be owned, and I think Reed is droppable to make this happen, although all 3 would be nice to have. Theres a chance Familia is back in August, while Rivero should be closing the rest of the season.

  2. Sticki says:

    Bush looked pretty good last night against Altuve.

    • Rick Graham says:

      Altuve looked lost against that slider. It was nice to see him have a clean outing after his last 3. Perhaps the biggest positive though was that even after his recent struggles, Bannister still went to him for the 4 out save.

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