Adam Ottavino has been named the Rockies’ closer, and thus far has been dominant.
Christopher Carelli brings you this week’s closer report, scoping out the ever-changing MLB pitching landscape. Christopher also manages the FantasyPros Closer Depth Charts.
The role of a Major League Baseball closer is a tenuous one. Where situations seem to be stable, a few poor outings can change things in a hurry. This season’s first closer to be released of his duties due to poor performance is 42-year-old LaTroy Hawkins of the Colorado Rockies.
Hawkins tossed four innings resulting in a 12.27 ERA and two blown saves before being removed from the position. Rafael Betancourt was initially expected to have the most opportunity folowing Hawkins’ demotion, but it was not to be. Before Tuesday night’s game, Rockies manager Walt Weiss named Adam Ottavino the closer going forward per a tweet from MLB.com’s Thomas Harding.
Ottavino was successful in his first two opportunities and has pitched brilliantly this season; racking up 12 strikeouts in six innings without allowing a run.
View top available closers in your league 
Closer news around the league
Note: All statistics and ownership values are accurate through games played on 4/16/15. Ownership values represent a consensus of ESPN and Yahoo! leagues.
Boston Red Sox
Koji Uehara is back with the Red Sox after spending time on the disabled list with a strained hamstring. Uehara converted his first save attempt Tuesday, striking out a pair of batters without allowing a baserunner in his inning of work.
Uehara saw limited action this spring so there could be rust over the first few outings despite his clean appearance Tuesday.
Edward Mujica was struggling in Uehara’s absence and can be pushed to the curb for the time being. He offers little to fantasy owners in a set up role.
Cleveland Indians
Indians closer Cody Allen was roughed up Saturday allowing three walks, three hits and four earned runs in two-thirds of an inning against division rival Detroit. Allen entered the game in the visitor’s half of the ninth with the score tied 5-5.
Allen bounced back Wednesday with a scoreless inning, including two strikeouts to earn his second save of the season.
Allen probably has a long rope, with Bryan Shaw and Scott Atchison being next in line should Allen completely come apart or be injured.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Joel Peralta (24 percent owned) has assumed the lead for ninth-inning chances for the Dodgers after Chris Hatcher meltdowns in two separate games which skyrocketed Hatcher’s ERA to 31.45 at one point. It now stands at 13.50.
Peralta has yet to allow a run through four innings of work. He has a win, two saves and four strikeouts. His WHIP is a shiny 0.46.
Peralta should remain the top choice for manager Don Mattingly in his committee approach until Kenley Jansen returns from his stint on the disabled list. Jansen is still looking for a mid-May return to the team. He has yet to throw from the mound.
Miami Marlins
Steve Cishek is off to a poor start, allowing five earned runs in two innings (three appearances). He’s given up four hits and two walks during this time. Cishek worked his first clean inning Wednesday in a non-save situation.
A.J. Ramos is off to a much better start (1.35 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and eight strikeouts in seven innings). If Cishek continues to falter, this might be a situation to keep an eye on.
New York Mets
Jenrry Mejia was suspended 80 games for violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drug policy. He was found with Stanozolol, an anabolic steroid that is more commonly known under the name Winstrol, in his system.
Mejia is unlikely to be considered for the closer role upon his return, and the Mets have suggested he might not have a roster spot for that matter when the suspension is over.
Jeurys Familia (31 percent owned) takes over ninth-inning duties, and quite possibly could be the better pitcher of the two anyway. Familia already has four saves under his belt along with a 3.18 ERA and 0.71 WHIP. He has seven strikeouts in six innings of work.
Bobby Parnell, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, continues his rehab process with hopes of returning to the club by the end of April or early May. It remains to be seen if Parnell will take over the closer role he maintained in 2013, or if he’ll slot in behind Familia. Certainly Familia’s performance at that time would be the major factor in any decision the Mets make here.
New York Yankees
The closer picture is becoming more clear in the Bronx as the Yankees have gone to Andrew Miller for each of their save opportunities this season. Miller has notched two saves and struck out six batters across four innings of work.
Dellin Betances has continued to look shaky in his appearances. Despite not allowing an earned run in four innings, Betances currently holds a 2.31 WHIP, mostly due to six walks.
So long as Miller is performing the way he has to date, he’ll get the multitude of chances in manager Joe Girardi’s two-headed monster situation. The question is whether Girardi will eventually have to name Miller the man if Betances continues to struggle with his command.
Tampa Bay Rays
Brad Boxberger is getting the most opportunities in Tampa, and he’s doing well in the role thus far. Boxberger is 4-for-4 in save chances, owns a 3.38 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and eight strikeouts in his five innings of work.
That said, Kevin Jepsen got the call in the ninth-inning Tuesday night and Ernesto Frieri has also nabbed a save this season. Manager Kevin Cash’s exclamation that this was a committee situation seems to be true, but Boxberger will likely be the most called upon until Jake McGee returns. Boxberger should be owned in more than the 69 percent of leagues he’s accruing stats for now.
McGee threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Monday and is set to pitch in a simulated game Thursday according to Josh Vitale of the Charlotte Sun via Twitter.
Injury updates
- John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reported Oakland Athletics reliever Sean Doolittle could begin working on the mound next week. He is expected to be back with the team sometime in May, most likely the latter part of the month. Tyler Clippard is holding down the fort for the A’s in Doolittle’s absence.
- Joe Nathan, who is on the DL due to a grade one elbow flexor strain, is not expected to “pick up a ball” until the time of this writing or over the weekend according to Jason Beck of MLB.com. He is resting for the time being. Joakim Soria has saved three games in as many chances with Nathan on the shelf.
Interesting tidbits
- Forty different players have earned a save so far this season.
- Jason Grilli (still just 52 percent owned), who was not a closer until Craig Kimbrel was traded, is tied for the MLB lead in saves with four.
- Only Aroldis Chapman, David Robertson, Greg Holland and Kimbrel are universally owned in both Yahoo and ESPN fantasy leagues.
Top performers: 4/10/15 – 4/16/15
- Joakim Soria – 4 IP, 4 SV, 4 K, 2.08 ERA, 0.46 WHIP
- Jeurys Familia – 4 IP, 4 SV, 4 K, 2.45 ERA, 0.55 WHIP
- Craig Kimbrel – 3 IP, 3 SV, 3 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP
- David Robertson – 3 IP, 2 SV, 7 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP
- Adam Ottavino – 4 IP, 2 SV, 9 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.23 WHIP
Seeing Soria’s numbers makes it hard to believe that Detroit will put Nathan straight back into the role, but that seems to be the plan. It’s a situation which bears monitoring when Nathan does eventually return. In my view, Soria is worth stashing because either Nathan will suffer another injury or succumb to poor performances. Soria is the better pitcher right now.
Familia, as discussed above, could pitch well enough to hold onto the role straight through the season. Parnell’s return, does not necessarily mean Familia will give back the job especially if he is pitching like this.
New uniform and the same results for Kimbrel. The man is more or less automatic.
Robertson also seems very comfortable in his new home. He gets to wear a beard and he’s dominating hitters so far this year.
Ottavino might run with this job and never come back. He’s hot and owned in under 10% of leagues (ESPN and Yahoo! consensus) at the time of this writing. Get on the wire and grab him if he is still available in your league.
Spec picks for upcoming schedule
Trevor Rosenthal vs. Cincinnati Reds (4/17 – 4/19) – Rosenthal (5 IP, 3 SV, 7 K, 1.93 ERA and 0.86 WHIP) owns the Reds. He’s allowed current Reds’ players just seven hits in 54 at-bats (.130 AVG).
Koji Uehara vs. Baltimore Orioles (4/17 – 4/20) – Uehara has fared well against current Orioles. He’s allowed nine hits in 66 at-bats (.136 AVG). Uehara also pitches well at Fenway Park – 87.2 IP, 24 SV, 4 BS, 107 K, 2.16 ERA and 0.74 WHIP.
Huston Street vs. Oakland Athletics (4/20 -4/23) – Street, has seven saves in as many chances against the A’s. He owns a 0.96 ERA and 0.86 WHIP with nine strikeouts in 9.1 innings pitched against the Angels’ division rival.
We welcome any comments and suggestions you have to make the report as useful as possible for your fantasy team’s needs.
Christopher Carelli is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Christopher, check out his archive and follow him @Chris_Carelli. He is also the founder of Yankees Unscripted which is devoted to narrative-free coverage of the New York Yankees.
