Welcome back to the third edition of the non-closer holds league report. As mentioned in prior weeks, this will be a ranking and report of relief pitchers who are most likely to be used as set-up men in hold situations.

Of course, there are many teams with extremely unclear closer situations. Due to this, we will avoid ranking relievers from SEA, MIN, and CIN. Yes, there are other teams with debatable closers – but SEA, MIN, and CIN are just a who’s-going-to-get-the-ball-today in the 9th.

This week, there was a massive closer mover as Ryan Pressly (RP – HOU) went down with an injury. Therefore, Hector Neris (RP – HOU) will no longer be ranked.

For the At-Risk Closer portion of this article, it appears Baltimore’s 9th inning duties have been turned over to Jorge Lopez (RP – BAL) (but that could change at any moment). Anthony Bender (RP – MIA) is still the man for the job in Miami, but he has been hit around a bit and could fall back in a setup role upon Dylan Floro’s (RP – MIA) imminent return. We will touch on these two as players to keep an eye on.

A Look Back At Last Week’s At-Risk Closer Report

Last week, I mentioned that I was confident that Camilo Doval (RP – SF) was the closer to own in San Francisco, but to also keep a sharp eye on Jake McGee (RP – SF) and Tyler Rogers (RP – SF) to potentially take over. Thankfully, Doval proved me right as Gabe Kapler has turned to him in consecutive save opportunities – regardless, I believe he is still at risk due to some command issues.

Tyler Duffey (RP – MIN) appears to be out as a 9th inning experiment.

Matt Barnes (RP – BOS), who had a challenging situation at the start of the year and will need some time to get back into form, might have lost his closer job before he even really had it.

The Tiers

Tier 1) Elite. Expected to contribute at a high level in ERA/WHIP/H/SV/K categories. Proven track record. Big arms.

Tier 2) Great. Those who aren’t quite at elite status but have a minor circumstance, lack of experience, or slight negative in their game keep them from the top.

Tier 3) Good. Will damage you here or there in one, maybe two categories (i.e., Rogers with Ks and likely overall regression) but have a proven track record or excellent team situation (Hudson with Dodgers).

Tier 4) Above Average. They might be as skilled as Tier 3 pitchers and will mostly get the job done from week to week, but could hurt ERA and WHIP with a few blow-up spots, or they might be in a very crowded pen or a poor situation.

Tier 5) Slightly Above Average. They are impactful MLB pieces and have actual pluses in their game, but might also have noticeable prior/recent statistical issues elsewhere or are simply in a lousy team situation.

Tier 6) Average. Sure, they are pretty helpful MLB pieces, but likely not too beneficial for fantasy purposes.

The Rankings

Extremely deep sleeper to keep an eye on: Drew Smith (RP – NYM)

He will bounce back: Robert Suarez (RP – SD)

Closers At Risk

We might have to take a different approach for this edition. Over the past week, many new closers settled into their role. Because I want to avoid calling anyone in Seattle’s bullpen a true closer, and I already mentioned Matt Barnes last week – I find myself digging for legitimate candidates for this segment. Yes, Aroldis Chapman (RP – NYY) could not throw a strike this past week, but it would take a lot more than two bad outings for Chad Green or Jonathan Loisiaga to take over. After Camilo Doval has settled into his role and Minnesota has yet to settle on any true closer – we will move forward with Jorge Lopez and Anthony Bender this week. Sure, they might be a bit of reach for the at-risk classification, but that happens when closers start to solidify their role.

RP Jorge Lopez – BAL

The Orioles are bad at baseball and won’t have many opportunities to close out games. However, we don’t really care about that – especially if you are save-needy. Jorge Lopez has inserted himself (out of nowhere) as the O’s closer. I am a little confused as to why former first-rounder Dillon Tate (RP – BAL) is not getting an equal or even full shot at the role, but they probably want to see what they have with Lopez as a reliever.

The 2011 2nd-round draft pick, Lopez – who was used as a starter last year – was one of the worst pitchers in baseball in 2021 with a 3-14 record, 6.07 ERA, and 1.63 WHIP. He allowed hard contact and was just not fit to start MLB games. However, he has looked way better this year, and the transition was an obvious one. Lopez is a high velocity, three-pitch pitcher who fits a reliever profile better than a starter. His sinker is averaging 98.0 mph, and he has used it well in tandem with his changeup.

However, it is strange that Tate, who has been used as a reliever during his MLB career – and has had some success – was not thrust into that role after Tyler Wells (SP – BAL) was named to the starting rotation. Tate has pitched well to the tune of a 1.42 ERA and minuscule 0.47 WHIP over 6.1 innings in 2022 and has a career FIP of 4.25 (not eye-popping, I know – but it is the Orioles) while allowing barely any home runs. Obviously, we can take the 2022 sample sizes with a grain of salt as this is probably a situation to avoid altogether – but it is one I wanted to draw your attention to. If Lopez blows a save in the next week or two, look for Tate to get some semblance of a shot.

RP Anthony Bender – MIA

Again, like Matt Barnes – this is unfair, but for the opposite reason. Bender has gotten a chance to close while Dylan Floro remains sidelined. Bender has excellent stuff and is – at times – filthy on the mound, but Floro is a good reliever in his own right. Bender did blow his first chance and has struggled a bit, but his pitch quality remains high, and he should find his form soon. Since Don Mattingly clearly preferred Floro in the 9th in 2021, this is a weak security role for Bender.

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Tyler Oringer is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Tyler, check out his archive.