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

This will likely be the one time we have 31 closers on the list (temporarily) in the middle of the season, but it’s hard to tell right now what to do with Tanner Scott. He won’t be the Marlins closer after today, but he could be closing out games somewhere else, or he could be a team’s top set-up option. The top landing spots for him should be the Royals, Orioles, Dodgers, or Yankees but every team who’s looking to the playoffs seems to be interested in Scott, as they should be.

With Scott out of the picture, the Marlins will likely turn to a committee with Andrew Nardi, Huascar Brazoban, Calvin Faucher, and Anthony Bender all in the mix for saves. There’s also a good chance the team moves one or more of this group as well today, so that could help narrow things down. Nardi is their best reliever with the most upside but he also is now the only lefty in this bullpen with Scott and A.J. Puk out. That leaves me to lean towards Brazoban, who has been lights out lately and has flashed closer type upside in the past (despite being 34 going on 35).

 

Notes

 

• Devin Williams is back from the IL and made his debut this past weekend and the stuff looked great. Williams’ velocity was up two MPH from where it has been the past two seasons and closer to his 2019-20 self. It likely doesn’t make much of a difference either way, as the only concern we should have with Williams, if healthy, is the walk rate. The bullpen news in Milwaukee wasn’t all positive this past week, however, as they did lose Trevor Megill and Bryan Hudson to the IL. It was a great run from Megill but now that he’s on the IL, he can be dropped in most SV-only formats.
  

 

• The Rangers are going to play the season out despite having just a 14.6% chance at making the playoffs, but Kirby Yates managers certainly won’t be upset with the decision. Yates has been fantastic all season long and should finish the year as the Rangers closer now.

 

• Edwin Diaz still doesn’t look quite like himself yet, but I’m not completely ready to give up on him returning to form yet. Diaz’ velo has looked better the past three games (all after the All-Star break) but we need to see better command before pushing him back up into the top tier.

 

• Craig Kimbrel may not be on this list by the end of the day, which is wild to think about considering how well he had pitched prior to the All-Star break. Kimbrel has allowed seven earned runs over his past five outings on seven hits and six walks. The velo has been dipping lately, and it really is surprising that the Orioles didn’t add an impact reliever at the deadline (unless they wind up with Tanner Scott).

 

• Carlos Estévez was moved to the Phillies where he joins their closer committee but given the cost to acquire him and the fact that he’s been solid in the closer role all year, I believe he will be the primary closer option. Thompson loves to use Jeff Hoffman earlier in games as that fireman high leverage type where he can get the team out of jams when needed, so this move allows them to do that. I wouldn’t give up on Hoffman in standard leagues just yet, but José Alvarado can definitely be let go at this point.

 

• Somehow James McArthur may make it through the deadline as the Royals closer, which is definitely a bit disappointing for Royal fans, but it also makes sense I suppose as they likely aren’t ready to go all in and swing a deal for someone like Tanner Scott. Pete Fairbanks or Kyle Finnegan could make some sense, but it’s unclear if those two are actually available.

 

• The Blue Jays moved their best reliever in Yimi García to the Mariners where he will help get the ball to Andrés Muñoz, but this leaves only Chad Green as a closer option in Toronto. It sounds like Green won’t be moved today so expect him to be the team’s closer, at least until Jordan Romano returns (if he does return).

 

• With Estévez moving to Philadelphia, the closer job for the Angels opens up and it sounds like while Luis Garcia is the temporary option, that may be short-lived as he too is likely to be dealt with by the end of today. That leaves Ben Joyce as the closer for the rest of the season, and while there will definitely be some growing pains thanks to high walk rates and low strikeout rates, he’s still an exciting long-term closer prospect if he can put it all together.

 

• The White Sox shipped Michael Kopech to the Dodgers and don’t have much left on the active roster as far as closers go. John Brebbia is probably the favorite for now although he has allowed eight earned runs over his past four innings. I would just stay away from the White Sox situation for now. I also wouldn’t be shocked to see Kopech close out games in LA eventually, but I doubt we see it right away.

 

• Mason Miller landed on the IL last week after breaking his left pink in a fluke “placing his hand on a table” accident, and now with Lucas Erceg as a name being mentioned frequently today, we could see Tyler Ferguson continue to see save chances until Miller returns. Ferguson is about to turn 31 and just made his MLB debut in May but he has pitched well this year.

 

 

 

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

 

Watch List

 

 

Rank	Pitcher	Change
1	Emmanuel ClaseT1	-
2	Devin Williams	+UR
3	Josh Hader	-1
4	Raisel Iglesias T2	-
5	Kirby Yates	+14
6	Ryan Helsley	+3
7	Robert Suarez	+4
8	Andrés Muñoz	-1
9	Edwin Díaz	-6
10	Jhoan Duran	-2
11	Clay Holmes	+1
12	Camilo Doval	+3
13	David Bednar	+1
14	Pete Fairbanks	-4
15	Kyle Finnegan	+2
16	Kenley Jansen	-3
17	Craig Kimbrel	-12
18	Paul Sewald	-
19	Carlos Estévez	+5
20	Chad Green T3	+UR
21	Ben Joyce	+UR
22	Alexis Díaz	+3
23	Héctor Neris	+6
24	James McArthur	+4
25	Daniel Hudson	-4
26	Andrew Nardi T4	+UR
27	Victor Vodnik	+3
28	Jason Foley	-1
29	Tyler Ferguson	+UR
30	John Brebbia	+UR