Huston Street was the latest closer to go down with injury

A couple of milestones, an injured closer, a full-blown committee, and a vote of confidence. Quite a few things happened in major league bullpens this week, let’s take a look.

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Closer News From Around The League

• San Francisco Giants
  Giants closer Santiago Casilla has been in the league since his 2004 rookie season with the Oakland A’s. He’s put together a 37-21 record with a 3.14 ERA in 512 games. In 504 2/3 innings, he’s notched 448 strikeouts while allowing 432 hits. More strikeouts than hits is always a nice stat to see on a pitcher’s line. This week, the 35-year-old closer reached a nice milestone, saving his 100th game on Monday with a four-out save over the San Diego Padres. Casilla isn’t the most exciting closer, but he’ll get his saves and won’t hurt in ERA or WHIP. He’s even striking guys out at a higher clip than usual this season.

• Seattle Mariners
  Another closer reached the 100-save milestone this week, with Mariners ninth-inning man Steve Cishek logging his 100th save on Monday over the Houston Astros. Cishek’s career started much later than Casilla’s, as Cishek’s debut came in 2010 with the (then) Florida Marlins. He’s tossed 323 innings in 320 games, compiling an 18-21 record with a 2.76 ERA. Cishek has struck out 341 hitters and allowed just 272 hits. He had excellent years in 2013 and 2014 with the Marlins before completely falling apart in 2015, leading to the Marlins shipping him off to the St. Louis Cardinals. He was signed as a free agent by the Seattle Mariners before this season and has allowed just one run in his first ten innings pitched. Cishek, like Casilla, won’t be the most exciting guy on a roster, but assuming he goes back to his 2014 form, he should get plenty of saves and won’t hurt in other categories either.

• Minnesota Twins
  Twins closer Glen Perkins remains on the disabled list, although he has reportedly “seen improvement” with his strained left shoulder. Still, he has yet to resume throwing, so his return to the mound is still far away. In his place, Kevin Jepsen has been getting save opportunities, as he did last season. Jepsen has been less than stellar, posting a 4.66 ERA and 1.24 WHIP while saving just two games. He blew back-to-back save chances this week, which led to manager Paul Molitor giving Jepsen a vote of confidence, reaffirming that Jepsen is still his closer. Another bad week and Molitor may be forced to change his mind, however. Next in line for saves is likely Trevor May, who has 20 strikeouts in only 12 1/3 innings this season. It’s a situation to keep an eye on, as May could be a great fantasy closer.

Injury Updates

Los Angeles Angels closer Huston Street will require a stint on the disabled list to recover from an oblique strain. It’s an injury that can take more than a month to recover from, so his replacement, Joe Smith, needs to be added in all fantasy leagues. Smith saved his first game of the season and Wednesday and will be given the chance to save many more in Street’s absence. His strikeout rate this season is half of his career rate, so he’s someone to keep an eye on in case his effectiveness suffers from his lack of swings and misses. Still, any full-time closer is worth a roster spot, so grab Smith now before the Street owner does.

Blowups and Breakdowns

New Colorado Rockies closer Jake McGee had a rough day on Sunday, retiring only two of the eight batters he faced. He allowed five runs on five hits and a walk, taking the loss at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers. A scoreless inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates in his next outing helped a bit, but McGee’s ERA stands at 8.10 with his peripherals not really looking much better. Still, his career 2.91 ERA/2.66 FIP and 10.88 K/9 show that he’s more likely than not to be a valuable closer despite pitching in the hitter’s heaven that is Coors Field. He’s a nice buy-low candidate.

Top Performers from April 21 – April 28

• Jeurys Familia (NYM): 4 IP, 3 K, 4 SV, 2.25 ERA, 1.00 WHIP
  Familia was the only closer with four saves this week, and he did it by saving every game he appeared in. In his four innings, he allowed one run on three hits and a walk. The Mets had another save this week, but it went to Addison Reed on Familia’s day off.

• A.J. Ramos (MIA): 4 IP, 5 K, 3 SV, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP
  Ramos appeared in four games this week but his three saves actually came in three consecutive days. He was excellent in every opportunity, allowing no runs on just two hits and two walks. Like the Mets, the Marlins also had another save chance that went to a different pitcher due to their closer having a day off. In Ramos’ place (and due to the ejection of setup man David Phelps) Jose Urena recorded a five-out save in Wednesday’s game.

• David Robertson (CWS): 4 IP, 7 K, 2 SV, 2.25 ERA, 1.25 WHIP
  White Sox closer David Robertson only recorded two saves this week and did allow a run on three hits and two walks, but his seven strikeouts led all closers by two. Robertson has always flirted with elite status, and with a rising White Sox team around him, this may be the year he solidifies himself as a member of the top tier.

• Kenley Jansen (LAD): 3 IP, 4 K, 3 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP
  Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen allowed just a hit and a walk this week, saving three games and striking out four. He’s having another excellent year and needs to be considered one of the top closers in the game.

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David A. Marcillo is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from David, check out his archive and follow him @DavidMarcillo77.