Closing Time 7/16: Ranking the Top 30 Closers Every Tuesday

Jeff Hoffman now has the four of the last five saves for the Phillies, while José Alvarado has just one save since June 11th. Over that time, Hoffman holds a fantastic 29.4% strikeout-minus-walk rate and 32.4% CSW as well as a 2.21 SIERA and 112 Stuff+. Alvarado on the other hand sits at a 9.6% strikeout-minus-walk rate and 21.5% CSW, as well as a 4.38 SIERA and just 77 Stuff+. Alvarado isn’t necessarily a drop at this point, but I think it’s clear Hoffman remains a must hold.

 

Notes

• Kenley Jansen now seems like a safe closer option for the rest of the season as the Red Sox have played their way into the Wild Card race. Jansen allowed eight walks over his first seven games, but since then holds a 24% strikeout-minus-walk rate and 2.85 SIERA over his past 26.2 innings.
  
• David Bednar returned from the IL this past week and, despite trade rumors in the past, is unlikely to be dealt this deadline. He was able to get into a game before the All-Star break and while he didn’t allow a run, it’s worth noting his fastball velocity was down over a MPH.

 

• Kyle Finnegan, Paul Sewald, and Kirby Yates all could be traded, but there’s also a chance they stay with their respective clubs and finish the year as closers. The Nationals already moved Hunter Harvey, so Finnegan gets some breathing room at the back end of that bullpen for now, but perhaps moving Harvey signals the Nationals’ willingness to move Finnegan as well. Sewald is in the final year of his deal, but the Diamondbacks are still very much in the playoff hunt despite a sluggish first half. Yates is the most likely to be moved of the three, but maybe the Rangers decide to just play the season out and hope they can get hot in August once they get some reinforcements.
• The next group, however, almost certainly won’t remain on this list much longer. At this point, we are just patiently waiting to see where Tanner Scott ends up, but unless it is with the Royals, he likely won’t be closing out games. The same goes for Yimi García who returns this weekend and will likely make a few appearances with Toronto before being moved. Carlos Estévez will be on the move as well unless the Angels think for some reason they can make a playoff run when Mike Trout returns. It’s also the end of a great run by Trevor Megill with Devin Williams’ return imminent. Megill still remains an elite holds league option and I’d keep him around in standard leagues through the end of the month if you can afford to.

 

• The Royals made the first big splash in the reliever trade market by acquiring Hunter Harvey this past weekend. It sounds like in the meantime, they will mix and match in the ninth inning based on matchups and lineup pockets, but this was the one contender that did have a closer opening.
  
• Victor Vodnik isn’t worth getting excited about quite yet, but there may be something here long-term if he can figure out a decent secondary offering. The fastball sits at 98 MPH with 87th percentile HAVAA (1.5) so the foundation is here for Vodnik to become a quality closer.

 

And if you want more daily reliever updates, please check out our Reliever Ranks series

 

Watch List

 

 

Rank	Pitcher	Change
1	Emmanuel ClaseT1	-
2	Josh Hader	-
3	Edwin Díaz	-
4	Raisel Iglesias T2	-
5	Craig Kimbrel	-
6	Mason Miller	+1
7	Andrés Muñoz	-1
8	Jhoan Duran	+4
9	Ryan Helsley	-
10	Evan Phillips	-
11	Pete Fairbanks	-
12	Robert Suarez T3	+3
13	Clay Holmes	+3
14	Kenley Jansen	+6
15	David Bednar	+UR
16	Camilo Doval	+1
17	Jeff Hoffman	+UR
18	Kyle Finnegan T4	-4
19	Paul Sewald	-
20	Kirby Yates	-2
21	Tanner Scott	-8
22	Trevor Megill	-14
23	Yimi García	+UR
24	Carlos Estévez	-2
25	Alexis Díaz T5	-2
26	Michael Kopech	-1
27	Jason Foley	-1
28	Héctor Neris	-1
29	James McArthur	-5
30	Victor Vodnik	+UR