There aren’t too many huge changes in the closer rankings this week, so I guess you could say closer chaos took a brief hiatus over the last seven days. But even in a relatively quiet week, we saw two closers get hurt (Shane Greene and Ryan Tepera), another one return from the DL (Arodys Vizcaino), a couple dominating relievers emerge from committee situations (Seranthony Dominguez and Will Smith), and other committee situations continue to evolve.

In other words, there’s still plenty to dissect — so let’s get to it!

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Big Movers

Felipe Vazquez
This week was mostly devoid of big movers, but Vazquez gets a nice bump after another dominating week. His overall numbers still don’t look particularly great (3.57 ERA, 1.30 WHIP), but Vazquez was a top-five closer in standard 5×5 leagues last season and is beginning to pitch that way again. He is unscored upon in his previous 8 2/3 innings, with just four hits allowed and a ridiculous 16:0 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Arodys Vizcaino
Vizcaino is back from a short DL stint due to a sore shoulder, and he’s proven he can be a top-15 closer if he can stay healthy and effective. He will be worth watching closely over the next week or two, though. He’s only pitched one strikeout-less inning since returning, so I’ll want to see him make a few more effective appearances before I’m comfortable deeming him fully healthy.

It’s also worth noting that manager Brian Snitker has said he will be careful with Vizcaino’s usage going forward, so even if he remains healthy he will probably lose some save chances to A.J. Minter and/or Dan Winkler.

Will Smith
Smith has the Giants’ last three saves, and he is pitching well enough (1.07 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 12.43 K/9) that he could become a major fantasy asset if he can hold down the closer job. The Giants could eventually want to turn the job over the Mark Melancon if they fall out of playoff contention since it could improve the chances of offloading the two years and $28 million remaining on his contract. It’s also worth noting that Hunter Strickland — who excelled as the closer before breaking his hand — is due back sometime in August. But for now, Bruce Bochy seems to recognize that Smith is his most capable reliever, so Smith is the best bet for saves in San Francisco at the moment.

Random Musings

Bud Norris
I’m not including Norris among the injured closers or dropping him down the rankings — yet. He’s been unavailable for a couple days now because of a sore index finger, but his MRI came back clean, and the Cardinals are hopeful he will be available by Saturday. Any injury that affects pitching mechanics can’t be dismissed entirely, but this one sounds pretty minor. Still, Jordan Hicks has been lights out over the last month and could be a smart stash as a handcuff for Norris owners.

Seranthony Dominguez
Based on what we’ve seen from Phillies manager Gabe Kapler, it’s safe to assume that Dominguez will continue to cede more save opportunities to other relievers than most other teams’ closers do, but I am no longer considering this a committee. Dominguez has four saves in the Phillies’ last seven games, so his owners will hardly mind that Victor Arano got one, too. He is also putting up the kind of dominant ratios (1.88 ERA, 0.73 WHIP) that would have standalone value in many leagues even if he wasn’t getting saves. Like Hector Rondon, Dominguez is a bit further down the rankings than he would be if he were guaranteed a higher portion of his team’s save chances, but there’s still a lot to like here.

Joe Jimenez
Jimenez stepped into the Tigers’ closer job this week after Shane Greene landed on the DL with shoulder inflammation. Jimenez has been talked up as Detroit’s closer of the future for awhile, and now he’ll get his shot, at least temporarily. His numbers so far this season have been pretty good (2.85 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 10.10 K/9), and although he blew his first save chance as the closer, he converted his second one.

Greene’s MRI showed no structural damage, and the Tigers are optimistic that he’ll be back next week, so he’s worth holding onto in fantasy leagues. But it’s always possible Greene suffers a setback, and in his absence, the rebuilding Tigers should give Jimenez a long leash.

The Blue Jays
Ryan Tepera already looked as if he was losing his grasp on the closer job last week, but now it’s a moot point because Tepera is on the DL with elbow inflammation. Tyler Clippard and Seung-Hwan Oh are both candidates to earn saves until Roberto Osuna returns next month, with Clippard as the slight favorite at the moment. Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins has confirmed that Osuna will be the closer once his suspension is over, so Toronto is unlikely to name a full-time closer before then.

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Andrew Seifter is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive and follow him @andrew_seifter.