Alexis Díaz has just three saves over the past month, but at least he has pitched much better in the month of September, allowing zero baserunners and striking out five over six innings. Up until September, it had been quite the rough stretch for Díaz with a 4.47 ERA (5.29 xFIP, 4.76 SIERA), and 1.45 WHIP, plus 8% K-BB and 25% CSW rates over his past 86 innings dating back to last season. Despite the numbers, Díaz has still managed 44 saves over that span.
Unfortunately, Díaz ends the season with home series against the Braves and Pirates (Skenes, Keller, and Jones are the probables), before heading to Cleveland and Wrigley next week. If he manages to finish the season on a strong note, perhaps I might be back in on him next season depending on the price, but I still don’t think I’d be taking him anywhere inside the top 150, maybe even top 200 picks.
Notes
- Kirby Yates is coming off another fantastic week and now gets to finish the season with home series against the Blue Jays and Mariners this week before traveling to Oakland and Anaheim next week to finish the season. This is probably the best remaining schedule any closer has.
- Mason Miller’s schedule the rest of the way isn’t exactly brutal, but with two games left in Wrigley before heading home to face the Yankees this week, it’s not exactly ideal. Next week the A’s host the Rangers before finishing the season in Seattle against a Mariners team who may be fighting for their playoff lives in that series.
- Chad Green has really struggled lately and is likely just wearing down as the season comes to a close here, but if he can just hang on for these next two weeks he does get positive matchups with the Rays and Marlins.
- The Tigers are making an incredible playoff push right now with their bullpen being a huge part. Jason Foley and Tyler Holton could both be worth streaming next week, with home series against the Rays and White Sox. Even this weekend at Baltimore doesn’t scare me too much.
- We still don’t know who will be closing out games for the Angels the rest of the season but if it is say José Quijada, he will certainly benefit from five more games against the White Sox. Four games against Houston this weekend are dicey and something I may avoid, but the rest of the schedule is great.
- I think this may be the last week to roster/stream Aroldis Chapman as the road series against the Cardinals and Reds don’t worry me too much but next week they face off with the Brewers and Yankees, and who knows, maybe we even see David Bednar get save chances to close out the season.
- Jesús Tinoco has pitched so well since joining the Marlins and I even think he could (should?) be the favorite for saves in this bullpen next year, but the schedule is not great for him the rest of the way. Six games against the Dodgers and Braves this week followed by a series with the Twins in what will be a must-win series for Minnesota.
- Tyler Kinley has been so good since the start of August and I was happy to stream him the past two weeks, but with eight home games remaining (Arizona for two, Cardinals for three, and Dodgers for three) plus a road series against the Dodgers this weekend, I am fine with cutting bait now and not trying to push my luck.
And if you want more daily reliever updates, please check out our Reliever Ranks series
Watch List
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Evan Phillips | LAD | may be in some sort of committee with Kopech? |
| 2. | Clay Holmes | NYY | not closing for the time being |
| 3. | Tyler Holton | DET | left-handed compliment to Foley |
| 4. | Manuel Rodríguez | TB | could form a committee with Uceta and Cleavinger |
| 5. | David Bednar | PIT | could see some saves to end the year |
| 6. | Craig Kimbrel | BAL | no set closer in Baltimore anymore, but Kimbrel isn’t back yet |
| 7. | Camilo Doval | SF | back on the roster, but in a setup role for now |
| 8. | Jeff Hoffman | PHI | could still factor into some saves behind Estévez |
| 9. | A.J. Puk | AZ | best RP in baseball since mid-June |
| 10. | Tony Santillan | CIN | how long can Díaz hang on to the role? |
| Rank | Pitcher | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emmanuel ClaseT1 | - |
| 2 | Devin Williams | - |
| 3 | Edwin Díaz | - |
| 4 | Josh Hader | +1 |
| 5 | Raisel Iglesias | -1 |
| 6 | Kirby Yates | +3 |
| 7 | Jhoan Duran | -1 |
| 8 | Andrés Muñoz | -1 |
| 9 | Ryan Walker | -1 |
| 10 | Ryan Helsley | - |
| 11 | Kenley JansenT2 | - |
| 12 | Robert Suarez | - |
| 13 | Lucas Erceg | +1 |
| 14 | Seranthony Domínguez | +1 |
| 15 | Carlos Estévez | +1 |
| 16 | Mason Miller | -3 |
| 17 | Michael KopechT3 | +1 |
| 18 | Edwin Uceta | +1 |
| 19 | Porter Hodge | +2 |
| 20 | Chad Green | -3 |
| 21 | Justin Martinez | +1 |
| 22 | Luke Weaver | +1 |
| 23 | Jason FoleyT4 | +4 |
| 24 | José Quijada | +5 |
| 25 | Aroldis Chapman | -5 |
| 26 | Jesús Tinoco | -2 |
| 27 | Kyle Finnegan | -1 |
| 28 | Alexis Díaz | -3 |
| 29 | Tyler Kinley | -1 |
| 30 | Fraser Ellard | +UR |