David Bednar and Alexis Díaz were both All-Stars this season, deservingly so, and they continue to rack up saves. So why are they dropping in the ranks this week?
They are both having rough Augusts, but even going back to early/mid-June (June 8th to be exact), Díaz has a 4.73 xFIP, 1.27 WHIP, 11.7% K-BB, and 25.9% CSW rates over 28.1 IP while Bednar has a 4.66 xFIP, 1.42 WHIP, 13.8% K-BB and 28% CSW rates over 24.2 IP.
Those numbers all rank in the bottom third amongst active closers, although Díaz’s value has been helped by the fact he leads the league in saves over that span (19) and they each have 7 saves since the All-Star break, good for sixth most in baseball.
At this point in the season, there isn’t much you can do other than ride it out with these two closers and hope they can hang on for a strong finish.
Notes
- Jordan Romano is expected to return to the Blue Jays bullpen tonight and should resume his closer role right away. It was a short IL stint for Romano, so as long as the back injury was minor and in the rearview, he should be fine moving forward. I may hang on to Erik Swanson or Jordan Hicks in deeper leagues for a week or two if I have them rostered, as back injuries can be tricky, but they are not must-holds.
- One bad blown save against the Marlins probably shouldn’t lower Clay Holmes four spots, but I do like what others ranked above him now have been doing, and with the Yankees all but out of the playoff race (5% chance), save chances may be harder to come by.
- Carlos Estévez is still hanging on to his closer role with the Angels, picking up two saves this past week. It will be hard to trust him the rest of the year, especially with Matt Moore and Reynaldo López looming, but if he continues converting saves then he can be rostered.
- It’s been closer musical chairs in Detroit, with Jason Foley picking up the last save for the Tigers. I think he’s the best bet for saves moving forward, especially being the complete opposite of Alex Lange (low walks, low whiffs). With Foley being the safe option, I could still see the team turning back to Lange if he can figure out his command issues eventually.
- After getting hyped up for Carlos Hernández to get save chances post-deadline, we have seen him pick up ZERO saves in August so far, as he has a 13.50 ERA and 2.57 WHIP this month. Only Austin Cox has a save for the Royals this month.
- JoJo Romero may be the favorite for saves in St. Louis right now, although that is likely to change with Ryan Helsley likely to return in the next week or so. Once Helsley returns, I’d highly doubt we see him work back-to-back days or more than 2-3 times a week so there could still be value to rostering Romero or even Giovanny Gallegos still.
And if you want more daily reliever updates, please check out our Reliever Ranks series
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Aroldis Chapman | TEX | The situation is still fluid in Texas; both he and Smith should be rostered. |
| 2. | Reynaldo López | LAA | Could see him replacing Estevez in the closer role. |
| 3. | Giovanny Gallegos | STL | Looks to be in committee with Romero as option 1B. |
| 4. | Brooks Raley | NYM | Timeshare with Ottavino for now. |
| 5. | Alex Lange | DET | Not closing games now, but if BB issues get fixed he has elite upside. |
| 6. | Jason Adam | TB | No closer is more injury prone than Fairbanks… |
| 7. | Matt Brash | SEA | …but Muñoz is a close second now. |
| 8. | Erik Swanson | TOR | Romano returns today; may see his workload lightened. |
| 9. | Austin Cox | KC | Could split role with Hernandez (and others). |
| 10. | Tanner Scott | MIA | Robertson has pitched better recently, but Scott has been great. |
| Rank | Pitcher | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Félix BautistaT1 | - |
| 2 | Devin WilliamsT2 | - |
| 3 | Craig Kimbrel | - |
| 4 | Ryan Pressly | - |
| 5 | Camilo Doval | - |
| 6 | Josh Hader | - |
| 7 | Paul Sewald | - |
| 8 | Jhoan Duran | - |
| 9 | Raisel Iglesias | - |
| 10 | Jordan Romano | +UR |
| 11 | Emmanuel Clase | -1 |
| 12 | Andrés Muñoz | -1 |
| 13 | Evan Phillips | +2 |
| 14 | Pete Fairbanks | - |
| 15 | Adbert Alzolay | +2 |
| 16 | David Bednar | -4 |
| 17 | Alexis Díaz | -4 |
| 18 | Kenley Jansen | - |
| 19 | David Robertson | +1 |
| 20 | Clay Holmes | -4 |
| 21 | Will Smith | -2 |
| 22 | Gregory Santos | +2 |
| 23 | Carlos EstévezT3 | +4 |
| 24 | Kyle Finnegan | +1 |
| 25 | Jason Foley | +UR |
| 26 | Carlos Hernández | -4 |
| 27 | Adam Ottavino | +1 |
| 28 | JoJo Romero | +UR |
| 29 | Justin Lawrence | - |
| 30 | Trevor May | - |