Well, guys, this is it. Our final closer report of the season. It’s been a blast writing this article each week  – and by “a blast,” I mean a hand-wringing, pull your hair out sort of endeavor as we tried to figure out who would still be standing in the ninth inning the following week.

But as we hit the home stretch of the fantasy baseball season and start finishing our prep for the fantasy football season, there’s not much more we can do. The White Sox are apparently done trading relievers. Mike Scioscia will never give us clarity on his bullpen. And Craig Kimbrel and the Red Sox are simply never going to be able to unseat Kenley Jansen and the Dodgers in the top spot.

But dry your eyes, and let’s have some fun with this last one. After all, every single situation outside of the top three has a different ranking from last week. So there’s still plenty to discuss. Let’s not waste any more time gabbing!

Bookmark our Closer Depth Chart for updated coverage throughout the season

 
The Big Movers

There’s no reason to have any remote concerns about Sean Doolittle’s grip on the Nationals’ closer job. Doolittle has been nails since coming over to Washington, with a 2.25 ERA, a 0.87 WHIP, and 12 successfully converted save opportunities entering Thursday night. While, of course, it’s conceivable that Doolittle will slip up and Brandon Kintzler will take the job, there’s simply nothing to suggest that’s likely to happen. With his role secure and his situation fantastic, Doolittle, and with him the Nationals, continue their upward climb.

One of the most surprisingly stable and elite closing situations until this point, the Rockies finally take a tumble this week. After Greg Holland converted his 34th save opportunity on August 4 against the Phillies, his ERA stood at 1.56. After his last seven appearances, it now stands at 3.69. He’s blown three saves in that span and allowed multiple runs four times. Look, Holland’s season was utterly ridiculous prior to his rough streak now, but the truth is, there have been warning signs for awhile. Holland’s peripherals were excellent in April and other-worldly in May, but they’ve taken a downturn since. From June 1 through August 4, before Holland ran into trouble, he had just a 1.74 ERA. But his FIP was 3.08, his xFIP was 4.55, and he was walking more than five batters per nine innings. In other words, he’s been far outperforming the metrics since June, and this little rough patch is mostly the metrics fighting back! Holland converted the save on Thursday and still has the job, but his grip is far less secure than it was even last week.

The Orioles and Zach Britton take a similar drop, and not just because Britton FINALLY blew a save chance. Britton has a balky knee, and although an MRI revealed no structural damage, the team is still discussing whether to place him on the disabled list. Britton just isn’t right this season – he has a 1.74 WHIP (largely due to an 11.3% walk rate), and a strikeout rate of just 16.5%, after averaging about 30% the last two years. Although pretty much every AL team is still in the hunt for the Wild Card, the Orioles are definitely on the outside looking in, and they won’t want to push Britton. There’s a better than average chance that he ends up on the disabled list to get rid of the swelling in his knee, and that leaves the situation very much in limbo.

Random Musings

Just when I thought I was out, Edwin Diaz pulls me back in. No, I don’t trust Diaz at all, but, as we know, nearly every closing situation is muddled. Diaz has now converted three save opportunities in a row, including a three-strikeout performance on Wednesday. With the Mariners in the thick of the Wild Card race, they can’t afford to sit idly by if the youngster runs into another rough patch. But for now, he looks to have righted the ship, and so he and the Mariners move up a bit into a more respectable range.

So, full disclosure – I have no idea what to do with the Royals and Kelvin Herrera. I was all set to run for the hills when Herrera asked out of Tuesday’s game with forearm tightness, but he was apparently available to pitch on Thursday! Forearm tightness is literally the worst thing you can hear for a pitching injury (except maybe when Joel Zumaya hurt his wrist playing Guitar Hero – that was like SUPER annoying), but it’s doubtful that the Royals would push Herrera if they didn’t think he was healthy. Since, as far as I know, the Royals have not enlisted the help of the Mets’ team doctors, Herrera is likely fine. But, still, the Royals move down a tad.

Kudos to Brad Ziegler, man. When he returned from the disabled list after a lengthy layoff and was handed the keys to the closer job, he had a 6.52 ERA. After 10 straight scoreless appearances and eight saves, that number is down to 4.85 and dropping fast. While we were all stashing Kyle Barraclough, Ziegler has locked down the job and should hold it for the rest of the season. Given how hot the Marlins have been, Ziegler should provide quite a bit of value going forward.

You know who’s going to get the next save chance for the Yankees? Cool, me neither. Certainly, I thought Dellin Betances would have and hold the role until Aroldis Chapman found his form. But then, in that MMA fight that the Yankees and Tigers called a baseball game on Thursday, Joe Girardi muddied up the waters. After Tommy Kahnle was ejected for throwing at Miguel Cabrera with two outs in a tied game in the sixth inning, Girardi brought in Chapman, who allowed a single and then retired the next hitter. He then brought in Betances in the seventh, who hit James McCann in the head and was ejected. He then brought in Robertson, who let the game slip away. So . . . um. It’s possible that Girardi brought in Betances, who obviously throws hard, to hit McCann, in which case Girardi is a) very dumb, and b) should be suspended for a long time. But if not, then I have no idea what his plan was or why he would be bringing Betances into the game in the seventh inning. With no clue who gets the next save chance, the Yankees take a drop in the ranks.

I can’t tell if I love having Alex Claudio on my team or hate it. On the one hand, although he’s the closer, Jeff Banister basically uses him whenever it’s the most critical time to do so, which is often not the ninth inning. On the other hand, because he throws so few pitches per inning, Claudio is usually on the mound for multiple innings, and since he pitches in only close games, he always is a threat to get a win or a save no matter when he enters. Given his excellent ratios, I’ll go with love. But I wouldn’t be mad if Banister decided to be less progressive in his thinking and just held Claudio back for the ninth inning once in awhile!

Juan Minaya has emerged from the dumpster fire that was the Chicago White Sox closer’s role, and he’s done a darn fine job since taking over, converting three consecutive save opportunities entering Thursday. Minaya is not a special pitcher, but anyone with a closer’s job is worth owning. Given that the White Sox are certainly not anywhere close to being in contention, it makes sense for them to see what Minaya can do with the role. Absent multiple blowups, it’s a good bet that he’ll hold the job all season.

Finally, Jeurys Familia is set to be activated this weekend, which likely means we’re looking at the last few days of A.J. Ramos holding down the Mets’ closer’s role. Ramos has just three saves with the Mets, so it’s not exactly like you were excited about owning him anyway. But if you do, don’t drop him just yet. Familia was obviously struggling before going on the DL, and he had taken a significant step back in 2016, too. It’s not a great situation by any means, but take a wait and see approach for now.

Good luck with the rest of your season, friends. Take home some championships!

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Dan Harris is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Dan, check out his archive or follow him on Twitter at @danharris80.