In what has been quite a crazy week in the closer world, Tanner Scott moves up four spots just by hanging onto his grip on the role. Scott has been one of the shakier closers for some time now, but the Marlins continue to trust him in the ninth despite his propensity to allow free baserunners. The swing and miss ability has always been there, but until Scott is able to get that walk rate closer to or under 10% (currently 15.5%), he’ll be awfully hard to trust from a fantasy standpoint at least. Over the past eight games in which Scott has allowed at least one earned run, he has also allowed at least one walk in each of those outings.

 

Notes

 

• Phillies closer Seranthony Domínguez was placed on the IL with triceps tendinitis, an injury that the team is hopeful will only keep him sidelined for the minimum 15 days. It’s a tough blow, especially after losing Corey Knebel for the season, but this is why they went out and got David Robertson at the deadline. Even if Seranthony returns soon, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the team sticks with Robertson in the role the rest of the way, although more outings like Sunday’s blown save loss against the Mets certainly won’t help his cause.
• The Dodgers have officially removed Craig Kimbrel from the closer role for the time being, with Evan Phillips picking up a save this past week. With Brusdar Graterol returning and Blake Treinen back in early September, the closer role could go to any one of those three (Graterol, Treinen, Phillips) but Phillips is definitely deserving of the role as he’s allowed just two earned runs dating back to May 1st (39 IP). The Dodgers have basically clinched the NL West at this point, so they can take their time with Kimbrel while easing Graterol and Treinen back into the mix.

 

• With Clay Holmes and now Scott Effross on the IL, the Yankees turned to Jonathan Loáisiga last night to convert a four-out save. Since returning from the IL, Loáisiga hasn’t been anything to write home about (13 IP, 4.15 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 4.56 SIERA, 3.5% K-BB rate), but with the bullpen depleted and Aroldis Chapman reverting back to being terrible over his last two outings (1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, K), Loáisiga may still get a chance to close out some more games. Holmes may return this weekend, but it remains to be seen what his role will be and I’m skeptical that the back injury is solely to blame for his second-half struggles.
• The Padres are giving Josh Hader a break from the closer role as the once elite reliever has now allowed 22 earned runs and 7 home runs since June 7th. The good news is that Hader is aware of what the issue may be (his release point is off) so we could see him fix things fairly quickly and still have a monster September as the Padres will want him as their closer down the stretch and into the playoffs. That fix isn’t guaranteed, however, and for now the team looks likely to mix and match the ninth with Luis García and Nick Martinez seeing the majority of the chances.

 

Rank	Pitcher	Change
1	Edwin DíazT1	-
2	Liam Hendriks T2	-
3	Devin Williams	-
4	Emmanuel Clase	+1
5	Kenley Jansen T3	+3
6	Félix Bautista	+5
7	Jordan Romano	-
8	Ryan Helsley	+1
9	Paul Sewald	+1
10	Camilo Doval T4	+2
11	Scott Barlow	+2
12	Jorge López	+3
13	Daniel Bard	+3
14	Gregory Soto	+3
15	Tanner Scott	+5
16	David Robertson	+UR
17	Alexis Díaz T5	+4
18	Garrett Whitlock	+5
19	Jason Adam	+6
20	Kyle Finnegan	+7
21	Jonathan Hernández	+1
22	Evan Phillips	+UR
23	Jonathan Loáisiga	+UR
24	Luis García	+UR
25	Wil Crowe T6	+1
26	Dany Jiménez	+UR
27	Brandon Hughes	+UR
28	Héctor Neris	+UR
29	Ryan Tepera	-
30	Ian Kennedy	-

 

 

Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)