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Fantasy Baseball Closer Report: Week 21

Fantasy Baseball Closer Report: Week 21

First, the good news — there are fewer closer committees throughout MLB than there were even a week or two ago. Unless you’re in a league that allows you to own an entire team’s bullpen, that’s useful, at least in terms of knowing who to consider picking up.

But the fact you should only consider picking these guys up, rather than desperately rushing out to grab them, gets us to the bad news. Newly-minted closers Ken Giles, Mychal Givens, Trevor Hildenberger, and Koda Glover may hurt your ratios more than they help your saves totals. So the question becomes, “How badly do you need those precious saves?”

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Here’s this week’s rankings:

Team (Closer) Current Rank Previous Rank +/-
Mariners (Edwin Diaz) 1 1  –
A’s (Blake Treinen) 2 2  —
Yankees (Aroldis Chapman) 3 3  —
Red Sox (Craig Kimbrel) 4 4  —
Pirates (Felipe Vazquez) 5 5  —
Reds (Raisel Iglesias) 6 6  —
Cardinals (Bud Norris) 7 7  —
Padres (Kirby Yates) 8 8  —
Braves (A.J. Minter) 9 9  —
Cubs (Pedro Strop) 10 13  +3
Giants (Will Smith) 11 11  —
Rangers (Jose Leclerc) 12 23 +11
Diamondbacks (Brad Boxberger) 13 10  -3
Indians (Committee) 14 15  +1
Phillies (Committee) 15 16  +1
Brewers (Committee) 16 17  +1
Astros (Hector Rondon) 17 12  -5
Rays (Sergio Romo) 18 18  –
Tigers (Shane Greene) 19 19  –
Royals (Wily Peralta) 20 20  —
Angels (Blake Parker) 21 26  +5
Rockies (Wade Davis) 22 22   —
Twins (Trevor Hildenberger) 23 28  +5
Nationals (Koda Glover) 24 14  -10
Orioles (Mychal Givens) 25 30  +5
Blue Jays (Ken Giles) 26 25  -1
Marlins (Committee) 27 24  -3
Dodgers (Committee) 28 21  -7
Mets (Committee) 29 27  -2
White Sox (Committee) 30 29   -1

 

Big Movers

Jose Leclerc
Last week, I mentioned that Leclerc would quickly ascend the closer rankings if the Rangers committed to him as their closer — and that’s exactly what has happened. Leclerc converted three straight save chances over a four-game stretch this week, removing any doubt about manager Jeff Banister’s intentions. Leclerc’s season-long numbers (1.97 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 13.2 K/9) are fantastic, but it is worth pointing out that his walk rate (3.94 BB/9) is still on the high side, and his 2.4 percent HR/FB rate suggests that he has been extremely fortunate to allow so few long balls this season. Still, Brad Boxberger-like production is a reasonable expectation for Leclerc, and indeed the two are back-to-back in the rankings.

Hector Rondon
You’d have to feel for Rondon if he ends up losing the closer job in Houston because he’s done very little to deserve that fate. But Rondon has blown two consecutive saves, and he has Roberto Osuna breathing down his neck. Osuna was an All-Star closer as recently as 2017 and has settled in rather nicely since returning from suspension, so there’s little doubt he’s up to the task of closing if that is the direction A.J. Hinch wants to go down the stretch and into the playoffs. Given the PR hit the Astros were willing to take to go out and get Osuna, it’s pretty clear that they love his talent.

Blake Parker
I’ve spoken many times in this space about my lack of faith in Mike Scioscia anointing a full-time closer, but Parker has now collected 12 saves this season compared to only four for Justin Anderson. So while I do still expect to see Anderson pick up the occasional save, the balance of ninth inning power has shifted far enough in Parker’s favor that I am reluctantly dropping the committee label from this situation. Now the Angels need to create some more save opportunities — they’ve only provided two saves for fantasy owners (both by Parker) since the All-Star break.

Koda Glover
It’s been a disappointing season for the Nationals, and the team’s imploding bullpen has been pouring salt on the wound as of late. Sean Doolittle was having a terrific year before going down in early July with what was eventually discovered to be a stress reaction in his foot. There is still no timetable for his return, but the hope is that he’ll be back with the team for most if not all of September.

In the meantime, the Nationals have gone back to Koda Glover, who flamed out in his audition to be the team’s closer last season. Glover is a talented pitcher, but has an ERA over 5.00 through his first 40+ Big League innings. He could be worth adding if you need saves, but it remains to be seen whether he can be better this time around. He gave up two runs in the 10th to pick up a loss on Saturday, so the early results aren’t promising.

Trevor Hildenberger
Perhaps I’m a bit generous describing Hildenberger as the Twins’ closer since manager Paul Molitor insists the closer role is still in flux. But Hildenberger collected three straight saves this past week before Taylor Rogers earned one of his own by bailing out Matt Magill. It’s possible Rogers will see more opportunities against lefty-heavy lineups, but Hildenberger is the best bet for saves in Minnesota right now, especially with Addison Reed’s continued struggles. The bigger issue is whether Hildenberger is good enough to hold down the job and not kill his fantasy owners’ ratios. We’ll see!

Mychal Givens
Speaking of killing fantasy owners’ ratios, Givens has struggled this season to the tune of a 4.73 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. He’s picked up each of the Orioles’ three saves since Brad Brach was traded, so there’s no doubt Givens is the closer in Baltimore. Again, it’s just a question of whether he’ll do more to help or hurt you, especially when you factor in that the Orioles don’t project to be creating too many save chances the rest of the way.

Los Angeles Dodgers
Kenley Jansen remains on the disabled list with an irregular heartbeat, but the Dodgers are now hopeful that he will return much sooner than his initial four-to-six week timetable — perhaps as early as Monday. In Jansen’s absence, the Dodgers’ bullpen has quickly devolved into a mess, with Scott Alexander struggling in back-to-back ninth-inning appearances and Kenta Maeda taking a loss while pitching the ninth inning of a tie game. Maeda may be the best option by default if Jansen has a setback, but Dodgers fans are certainly hoping it doesn’t come to that.

Random Musings

Will Smith
Smith has been effortlessly cruising along as the Giants’ closer, so much so that manager Bruce Bochy quickly confirmed he would remain the closer with Hunter Strickland back from the disabled list. It’s possible Bochy reconsiders if Smith hits a rough patch or the Giants are eliminated from playoff contention, but for now, Smith owners can continue to confidently slot him into their lineups.

Ken Giles
Giles has all three of the Blue Jays’ saves since he was acquired from the Astros, as Toronto manager John Gibbons looks to get Giles back on track in an otherwise lost season north of the border. Giles’ 6.03 ERA has been an absolute killer for his fantasy owners (many of whom probably no longer own him), but strangely he is the only pitcher in baseball with at least 10 saves who has yet to blow one, as the Toronto Sun recently noted. So I guess Giles’ fantasy owners need to hope that Gibbons doesn’t use him in non-save situations?

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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.

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