Trevor Megill, Carlos Estévez, Ryan Helsley, Kenley Jansen, Evan Phillips, Ryne Stanek, and Alex Vesia all had three SV+HLDs this past week, with Megill having a whopping four saves. Only Helsley has more saves than Megill since Megill earned his first save of the season back on April 25th. Jansen has looked much better lately with just 1 walk allowed over his past 8.2 innings. Stanek continues to see plenty of save and hold chances but doesn’t really help in any other category. Vesia on the other hand could be a top 10 holds option if this usage continues. Since the start of May, Vesia has a 43% K rate, 0.44 WHIP and 1.60 SIERA but just 7 SV+HLD’s over 18.1 innings.
Notes
- Chris Martin, John Brebbia, Phil Maton, Caleb Ferguson, Yuki Matsui, and Aaron Bummer all join the list this week. Martin rejoins the list after being activated off the IL this week while the others have pitched well enough recently to make an appearance at the back end of the list.
- Yimi García, Ian Hamilton, Nick Sandlin, Michael Grove, Hunter Stratton and Héctor Neris all fell off the list this week. They all wound up on the IL this past week with the exception of Neris who it looks like may have finally lost the closer role in Chicago after allowing 7 ER over his past 3 outings.
- Ryan Helsley is all alone now as the league leader SV+HLDs for the season with 25 total. Same old thing with Helsley, who now has a 3 SV+HLD lead on the rest of the league. This may be the best time to sell high here, as I doubt we see Helsley reach the 50+ save mark he is on pace for (has only happened 7 times over the past 20 seasons).
- Quick closer update since Closing Time came out on Tuesday. Outside of the Twins and Guardians, the AL Central closer roles seem to be up in the air at the moment, with Chris Stratton and John Brebbia picking up saves in the past few days. As much a James McArthur has struggled lately, he’s still a much better option than Stratton so I wouldn’t do anything rash because of one game. Jason Foley is still likely the Tigers closer, but it is quite hard to tell as he only has 3 saves dating back to May 8th.
And if you want more daily reliever updates, please check out our Reliever Ranks series.
| PITCHER | TIER | INJURY. NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Devin Williams | 1-2 | Back. Playing catch now and should throw off a mound soon. On track for a July return as of now. |
| Jordan Romano | 2-3 | Elbow. Nearing mound work and could return in a week or two. |
| A.J. Minter | 4-5 | Hip. Throwing bullpens and could begin a rehab assignment shortly. |
| Julian Merryweather | 5-6 | Rib. Has progressed to bullpen work, should be on track for a July return. |
| Josh Sborz | 5-6 | Shoulder. Started a rehab assignment and could return in the next week. |
| Danny Coulombe | 5-6 | Elbow. Underwent surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow, and now out until at least September. |
| Brock Stewart | 5-6 | Shoulder. Throwing off the mound but they are taking things very slow for now. |
| Gregory Santos | 6-7 | Lat. Progressed to bullpen work and should face live hitters shortly. |
| Yimi García | 3-4 | Elbow. No structural damage, but there is ulnar nerve symptoms. No return timetable as of yet. |
| Joe Kelly | 7-8 | Shoulder. Moved to 60 day IL but he is throwing bullpens now. |
| Giovanny Gallegos | 7-8 | Shoulder. In the middle of a rehab assignment and could return as early as this weekend. |
| Brusdar Graterol | 7-8 | Shoulder. Likely out until at least August now, if not longer. He has been able to start bullpen work however. |