There are a few new names on the list this week, but two of the more interesting ones are Ryan Walker and Justin Martinez. With 24.5% K-BB and 32.6% CSW rates, as well as a 2.60 SIERA on the season, Walker as a full time closer might be a top 5 closing option right now. He is the Giants closer for now, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility Doval returns in a few weeks and gets a chance to take his job back. For now, Walker is worth the add in almost all formats as long as he is the teams closer.
Martinez has a 28.8% K rate on the season, but it comes with a 12.1% BB rate as his control is still an issue but he has a solid 2.94 xFIP on the year still and has pitched better as of late. The walk rate was a reason I didn’t see the Diamondbacks considering him to be the teams closer but he arguably has the best pure stuff of all of their relievers and is the closer of the future anyway. Again, I still wouldn’t rule out Paul Sewald returning to the role, but he still has some command issues himself that need to be ironed out.
Notes
- Pete Fairbanks velocity has been up a bit over his past 8 games, leading to a 30.8% K rate, 35.3% CSW rate (best amongst closers over this period) and a 1.91 SIERA. Fairbanks was great over the last few months of last season and we may be in for another strong finish this year.
- I thought Mason Miller might get a boost from his time off on the IL but he’s still kind of hit or miss in the strikeout department. Going back to June, Miller has a 34.4% K rate, which is great, but for the closer of the Athletics to be in the top 5, we’d need to see that north of 40%. Still a great reliever to roster, but I don’t know if we can count on more than 5-6 saves the rest of the season.
- Robert Suarez dropped a bit this week as there are some minor concerns, specifically to his bat missing ability (or lack there of). Over his past 20.1 IP Suarez holds just a 22.4% K rate and a 23.6% CSW (worst amongst all active closers), but the 1.13 WHIP and 3.26 SIERA are at least about average. The bat missing numbers are similar to Emmanuel Clase, but Suarez doesn’t suppress hard contact the way Clase does so there is a little concern here, but again nothing that makes him drop worthy anywhere.
- It’s been a trying season for Alexis Díaz but he’s managed to at least keep his job the entire year and things could be trending up for him now. The velocity has been up over his past three outings, leading to 4 K’s over his past 1.2 IP. There’s something valuable in his consistency, even if he’s consistently below average, he’s still going to be the guy the Reds give the ball to in the ninth with a lead.
- With Hunter Harvey on the IL, Lucas Erceg has emerged as the favorite for saves in Kansas City, although there’s still the chance of a committee approach with lefty Kris Bubic getting the occasional save as well. Whatever the role is for Erceg, he is the teams best reliever right now now by a relatively wide margin, so I think at worse he will be used like Jeff Hoffman was with the Phillies prior to the trade deadline.
- Seranthony Domínguez has gone from low leverage reliever in Philadelphia to the Orioles closer in a matter of two and a half weeks, which is quite the meteoric rise, but I suppose one that is not terribly uncommon in the reliever world. To his part, Dominguez has pitched much better in Baltimore, with 23.3% K-BB and 34.5% CSW rates, as well as a 3.11 SIERA…and a 153 Stuff+! The velocity has been up over the past 5 games, but the overall pitch mix has mostly stayed the same. I still wouldn’t rule out Craig Kimbrel from regaining the role eventually, but this new success from Dominguez is likely worth chasing at the moment.
- I’m not sure if this is David Bednar’s rock bottom as Pirates closer, but it certainly feels like it could be. There hasn’t been any word from the team yet that Bednar has been removed from the closer role, but with how well Aroldis Chapman has pitched lately, it’s probably just a matter of time.
- Will Vest has seen the past two Tigers save chances, and will likely share this role with Tyler Holton and maybe even Jason Foley moving forward. Thats to say, there probably won’t be much if any fantasy value from this bullpen the rest of the way, but Vest might still be of value in 14 or 16 team leagues.
And if you want more daily reliever updates, please check out our Reliever Ranks series
Watch List
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Aroldis Chapman | PIT | Bednar is likely on the outs as closer |
| 2. | Craig Kimbrel | BAL | not closing for now, but not totally giving up hope |
| 3. | Evan Phillips | LAD | not closing for now, but not totally giving up hope |
| 4. | Paul Sewald | AZ | not closing for now, but not totally giving up hope |
| 5. | Michael Kopech | LAD | has thrived in LA, looking like a closer |
| 6. | Yennier Cano | BAL | fall back if Seranthony and Kimbrel fail |
| 7. | Kris Bubic | KC | left handed compliment to Erceg |
| 8. | Jeff Hoffman | PHI | could still factor into some saves behind Estevez |
| 9. | Griffin Jax | MIN | Duran will see some 8th inning usage |
| 10. | Yimi García | SEA | Munoz will see some 8th inning usage |
| Rank | Pitcher | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emmanuel ClaseT1 | - |
| 2 | Devin Williams | - |
| 3 | Josh HaderT2 | +1 |
| 4 | Raisel Iglesias | +1 |
| 5 | Kirby Yates | +1 |
| 6 | Edwin Díaz | +3 |
| 7 | Jhoan Duran | +3 |
| 8 | Pete Fairbanks | +4 |
| 9 | Mason MillerT3 | -6 |
| 10 | Andrés Muñoz | -2 |
| 11 | Robert Suarez | -4 |
| 12 | Clay Holmes | +1 |
| 13 | Ryan Helsley | -2 |
| 14 | Kenley Jansen | +2 |
| 15 | Alexis Díaz | +8 |
| 16 | Ryan WalkerT4 | +UR |
| 17 | Justin Martinez | +UR |
| 18 | Kyle Finnegan | -1 |
| 19 | Carlos Estévez | - |
| 20 | Lucas Erceg | +UR |
| 21 | Chad GreenT5 | -1 |
| 22 | Daniel Hudson | +4 |
| 23 | Seranthony Domínguez | +UR |
| 24 | Ben Joyce | -3 |
| 25 | Héctor Neris | -3 |
| 26 | Victor Vodnik | -2 |
| 27 | David Bednar | -9 |
| 28 | Calvin Faucher | - |
| 29 | Will Vest | +UR |
| 30 | John Brebbia | - |
I think Chad Green should be in consideration for top of tier 3. Most saves in August (unless Clase passed him) and he’s been solid all year. With Yimi gone and Romano hurt, he’s a lock imo.
I couldn’t help but notice an awfully big drop for Mason Miller after returning from the IL only a week ago. So, I decided to compare his performance this past week with those you moved ahead of him. Here are the results (sorry for the crude format).
Mason Miller 3 IPs, 0 H, 1 W, 3K, 2 for 2 saves
Josh Hader 3 IPs, 1 H, 0 W, 3K, 3 for 3 saves
Raisel Iglesias 5 IPs, 0 H, 0 W, 6 K, 2 for 2 saves
Kirby Yates 1.2 IPs, 0 H, 1 W, 3 K, 0 for 0 saves
Edwin Diaz 2 IPs, 2 H, 0 W, 4 K, 1 for 1 saves
Jhoan Duran 1 IP, 1 H, 0W, 3 K, 1 for 1 saves
Pete Fairbanks 3 IPs, 1 H, 0 W, 4 K, 2 for 2 saves
While all have performed well, only Hader had more saves and three of them had fewer saves (Yates -0; Diaz -1, Duran -1). Only Iglesias pitched more innings and three of them pitched fewer IPs (same names as those with less saves). Three of the six pitchers have more Ks. So, if you’re digging for Ks more so than saves, I could maybe see an argument for those three. But, with such a small sample size and Miller just returning from the IL, it seems like a hasty conclusion. It’s no big deal – it just caught my attention since I have Miller.
Bubic is a left-handed complement — not “compliment”