Closing Time 7/23: Ranking the Top 30 Closers Every Tuesday

There is not a lot to report on this week as we only had a weekends worth of games, but the biggest news comes from the Dodgers as closer Evan Phillips may be out of the role for the time being. Daniel Hudson picked up the save last night, and should see the bulk of the saves in the short term. Phillips for his part has been more unlucky than straight up bad recently, but his 12.5% strikeout-minus-walk rate, 4.57 xFIP and 28.6% CSW over his past 8.1 innings leave much to be desired. While Phillips should be able to get his job back in due time, this is also a Dodgers team willing to spare no expense to upgrade their roster, and while they have many needs at the deadline now given all their injuries, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them wind up with a potential closer when all is said and done. Add Hudson if you have roster space and hang on to Phillips for a week or two, but don’t be surprised if we see someone outside of the current roster closing out games come August.

 

Notes

 

• Raisel Iglesias velo is still up from where it was at the beginning of the season, but he may be settling into the 96 MPH range rather than 97+ MPH we had seen prior to the All-Star break. That should be fine, and he should be able to get around a K per inning still, but he may move down the list slightly anyway. Craig Kimbrel may also slide down the list as I do have some concerns as far as how the veteran holds up the rest of the way. He has allowed three walks in his most recent two outings and his walk rate does still stand at 11.6% for the season.
  

 

• Andrés Muñoz has looked better as of late, and his velo seems to be stabilizing back to normal now, which is hopefully a good sign he’s over his back injury. His usage is still less than ideal as he came in to the 8th inning yesterday before Trent Thornton took over the 9th, but it’s still good to see him pitching better. Staying on the subject of velo, Jhoan Duran has continued to show increased velocity after the All-Star break, and if he continues to sit at 102 MPH, will almost assuredly move up the ranks in the coming weeks.

 

• Couple of injury notes here as we found out that Ryan Helsley has been pitching through a hip injury, and could be limited in the second half. He’s made just three appearances since July 2nd, and even with just one save over that span, still leads the league with 32 saves. The Red Sox will be without closer Kenley Jansen for their series in Colorado as Jansen’s AFib has given him problems at Coors before. The good news is it is just expected to keep Jansen out until Friday when the team returns home.

 

• David Bednar’s velo seems to have returned in his first two games since the All-Star break. He’s been back to sitting at 97 MPH and should be a pretty safe bet in the second half. Héctor Neris continues to see low velocity but it also sounds like the Cubs are committed to moving their rentals in an effort to build for the future, so expect Neris to be moved in the next week.

 

 

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