We’re entering the stretch run for the fantasy regular season, with most leagues having just a couple of weeks remaining until the playoffs. While most closer roles are settled, we saw a pair of very key injuries this week, along with some continued depth chart shuffling following the trade deadline.
For the rest of the season I’ll follow the same format for saves: recapping the week in news and ranking all closers below 75%-rostered on Yahoo. For the Holds section, as there are few truly new names to cover, I’ll note a handful of risers and fallers along with how I would manage them.
(stats updated through Saturday, 8/16)
Closer News (by team)
ARI
The Diamondbacks’ pair of saves this week were split between Andrew Saalfrank and Juan Morillo. Saalfrank is the only closer contender left here who’s been decent overall, but he’s a soft-tossing lefty with a meager 15% strikeout rate over his 14.2 innings this year. I continue to doubt that we see any Arizona pitcher worth rostering for saves; Saalfrank, Morillo, and Kyle Backhus should all factor in sporadically.
ATH
The Athletics‘ first save in over two weeks fell to Sean Newcomb, who secured the final five outs of Saturday’s 7-2 win. Generally, A’s saves are likely to be split between Newcomb and Elvis Alvarado, depending on the handedness of opposing lineups. Alvarado is at least “closer-like,” given his 99 mph fastball and 29.1% strikeout rate over a small sample this season. Newcomb continues to be a solid option in save+hold leagues, particularly given his SP eligibility. Neither stands out for saves, and both fall near the bottom of my closer rankings this week.
DET
As promised, you can never be too sure about bullpen roles when manager A.J. Hinch is involved. Case in point, two of Detroit’s three saves this week fell back into the familiar hands of Will Vest. On both Monday and Wednesday we saw the newly-acquired Kyle Finnegan in the eighth inning and Vest in the ninth. On Saturday the roles were reversed, as Finnegan nabbed his one save for the week.
Attempting to predict the split here is a foolish endeavor, though I lean 60/40 in Finnegan’s favor as Vest’s usage seems more flexible. Both retain a similar value in roto leagues going forward.
HOU
The most significant bullpen news came out of Houston this week with Josh Hader’s shoulder injury all but ending his season for fantasy purposes. The fantastic Bryan Abreu steps into Hader’s large shoes and rockets up my rankings this week. Abreu should make for a top-10 fantasy closer as the season concludes.
LAD
The backend of the Dodger bullpen is a mess at the moment. Alex Vesia and Blake Treinen each had a rough week, and Brock Stewart landed on the IL. Jack Dreyer relieved Alexis Díaz for a single out to pick up Los Angeles’s lone save. There’s a lot goin’ on here.
With no one managing to seize the role, it’s possible we see Tanner Scott return as closer when he comes off the IL in a week or two. For now, expect manager Dave Roberts to simply play the matchups at will.
PHI
Closer Jhoan Duran exited Friday’s game after taking a line drive off his ankle. X-rays came back negative, and there’s hope that Duran isn’t on the shelf for long. In the meantime, the infamous Waiver Relief duo of Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering should share the ninth inning in Philly. Neither is worth ranking for saves assuming Duran returns quickly, but I’ll throw them both on the watchlist just in case.
TEX
As Robert Garcia’s season continues to fall apart, Phil Maton has stepped in as closer in Texas. Maton’s off to a rough start in the role, with a pair of blown saves and five earned runs allowed in his two chances. I believe Maton will be fine, but Shawn Armstrong has been Texas’s best reliever all season and is poised to take over if Maton continues to falter. For now, Maton takes just a small hit in my closer rankings, and Armstrong enters the watchlist.
WAS
On Thursday we saw the first sign of a matchup-based approach to saves in Washington. Jose A. Ferrer pitched the eighth inning to the heart of the Phillies’ order, led off by the left-handed hitting Bryce Harper. Cole Henry took the ninth, picking up his first save of the season. Ferrer did pick up a two-inning save on Saturday, though again he stayed in for the ninth to face Harper.
Ferrer remains the favorite for saves here, but the pecking order is more fluid than expected. Henry’s rising status and SP eligibility make him worth watching, but it’s unlikely he sees enough save chances to be viable in all but the deepest of roto leagues.
Closer Rankings (<75%-rostered Yahoo)
- David Bednar – NYY (74%)
- Cade Smith – CLE (58%)
- Bryan Abreu – HOU (50%)
- Randy Rodríguez – SF (47%)
- Daniel Palencia – CHC (60%)
- Dennis Santana – PIT (32%)
- Phil Maton – TEX (19%)
- Kyle Finnegan – DET (75%)
- Will Vest – DET (53%)
- Jose A. Ferrer – WAS (8%)
- Riley O’Brien – STL (3%)
- JoJo Romero – STL (29%)
- Victor Vodnik – COL (3%)
- Keegan Akin – BAL (10%)
- Calvin Faucher – MIA (27%)
- Justin Topa – MIN (5%)
- Sean Newcomb – ATH (2%)
- Elvis Alvarado – ATH (<1%)
- Cole Henry – WAS (<1%)
- Alex Vesia – LAD (24%)
The Watchlist: Shawn Armstrong (TEX), Matt Strahm (PHI), Orion Kerkering (PHI)
IL Stash: Tanner Scott (LAD)
Holds – Risers
Edwin Uceta – TB (8%)
Edwin Uceta was one of my earliest recommendations as a holds-league pickup, and it’s fair to say that hasn’t exactly panned out. Uceta struggled to the tune of a 5.77 ERA backed by a 5.14 FIP through early July. However, Uceta’s last month has finally seen the results match the potential. Since July 12th, Uceta has thrown 18 innings, striking out 29 batters while walking just four. He notched four wins and two holds in the process. I’m comfortable saying that Uceta has once again become a top 5-10 arm in holds leagues the rest of the way.
Erik Sabrowski – CLE (2%)
Since his callup on June 27th, Erik Sabrowski has become one of the Guardians’ best high-leverage arms. Across 17 innings, Sabrowski has allowed just two earned runs with a whopping 23 strikeouts and piddling .222 wOBA allowed. The walks (10) are a concern, but otherwise Sabrowski looks like the real deal. With Cade Smith stepping into the closer role, Sabrowski is now Cleveland’s #2 setup man behind only Hunter Gaddis. Sabrowski is nearing the top-30 RPs in holds leagues.
Eduard Bazardo – SEA (1%)
A sub-1% Waiver Relief recommendation from a few weeks ago, Eduard Bazardo is making a name for himself in a loaded Mariners bullpen. In his last 30 days, Bazardo has put up a 2.13 ERA, 0.63 WHIP, and 15:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio, netting four holds and two wins. It ain’t easy to crack a high-leverage mix that includes Andrés Muñoz, Matt Brash, and Gabe Speier, but Bazardo has more than found a place for himself. He’s a top-50 name for holds leagues going forward.
Holds – Fallers
Ryan Helsley – NYM (78%)
Ryan Helsley’s fantasy relevance took a drastic hit in being traded to the Mets, making the change from closer to setup man. While he still figured to be a quality option for holds, even that has come into question. Helsley has surrendered five earned runs and allowed eight baserunners in his last three appearances, raising his season-long WHIP to 1.50. While things still look alright below the surface (25.7% strikeout rate, 3.43 SIERA), Helsley’s name recognition is doing the heavy lifting for his fantasy value. There are likely better RPs available on waivers, and especially if you can swap Helsley out for someone like Garrett Cleavinger, Gabe Speier, Bennett Sousa, etc., it’s a no-brainer.
Camilo Doval – NYY (35%)
Upon his trade to the Yankees, I immediately declared Camilo Doval as droppable, and little more than “a decent option” for holds leagues. That may have been generous, as since donning the pinstripes, Doval has allowed 12 baserunners and seven runs (four earned) across 5.2 innings.
Similar to Helsley, Doval carries some clout from his past role as closer. In actuality, he’s easily droppable for any name above him on this list, and other guys like Pierce Johnson, Caleb Thielbar, and Danny Coulombe.
Yariel Rodríguez – TOR (5%)
I’ve got a bit of extra love for Yariel Rodríguez, a guy I was early to the party on as an SPRP darling and upper-tier holds candidate. Alas, the party may be dying down, as Rodríguez has allowed seven earned runs across his last five appearances. I’m not completely out on Rodríguez just yet, but it’s hard to keep the faith when this happens to a guy who’s never pitched a full season in the bigs.
There are many viable SPRP replacements here, and if you can nab a high-end one like Louis Varland or Shawn Armstrong it’s an easy swap. As far as those who have recently overtaken Rodríguez, names like Jared Koenig, Reid Detmers, and Tyler Holton come to mind.
