Blown Saves
*Top 10
*Note: I track blown saves that happened by guys who were brought into finish the game. Such as guys in the closer role, or other pitchers who were brought in late in the game. A guy who picks up a “blown save,” for example, in the 6th inning is very irrelevant in my opinion, when tracking fantasy assets. corey knebel
| Player | BS YTD | Player | BS last 7 days | |
| Roberto Osuna (R) (R) | 10 | Corey Knebel (R) (R) | 1 | |
| Jim Johnson (R) (R) | 8 | Kelvin Herrera (R) (R) | 1 | |
| Santiago Casilla (R) (R) | 6 | Matt Belisle (R) (R) | 1 | |
| Fernando Rodney (R) (R) | 6 | Álex Colomé (R) | 1 | |
| Álex Colomé (R) | 6 | Shane Greene (R) (R) | 1 | |
| Tony Watson (L) (L) | 5 | A.J. Ramos (R) (R) | 1 | |
| Brandon Kintzler (R) (R) | 5 | |||
| Corey Knebel (R) (R) | 5 | |||
| Kelvin Herrera (R) (R) | 5 | |||
| 13 tied with | 4 |
Who’s Hot?
Wade Davis (R) (R) (97% owned) easily had his best week of the season this week; finishing with three saves in three chances. He also had six strikeouts across 4.1 shutout innings. Wade Davis (R) (R) has quietly been one of the more dominant closers in the league this year. Consistency has been the key for him, with not a lot of highs or lows. He has not allowed a run to score against him in his last six appearances and continues to be a valuable asset for both the Cubs and fantasy players. Davis has hung around the five-to-eight range of the closing ranks for the majority of the season, and that is what should be expected of him over the final stretch run of the season. YTD stats: 53.2 innings, 32 saves, 69 K, 2.01 ERA.
Ken Giles (R) (R) (93% owned) had another solid week, as he continues to pitch well down the stretch run of the season. This week he pitched four times and converted on both of his save chances. He also had seven strikeouts across four shutout innings. Giles has posted shutout appearances in 15 of his last 16 outings. His season ratios now sit at a crisp 2.41 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 12.37 K/9. Giles has electric stuff, and he has finally put it altogether to have a strong campaign start to finish. He can be trusted for the remainder of the season and is now sitting just outside of the top-10 of the closing ranks. YTD stats: 59.2 innings, 32 saves, 82 K, 2.41 ERA.
Who’s Cold?
A.J. Ramos (R) (80% owned) was rocked this week to the tune of five earned runs in just 2.2 innings pitched. He also blew his only save chance, his first blown save as a member of the Mets. His WHIP was an atrocious 4.13 this week and fantasy owners in playoffs probably hate him right about now. Jeurys Familia (R) (R) is out-pitching Ramos as of late, and there is a chance that the club will want their former closer to get back into that role before the end of the year, to prepare for next season. For now, Ramos ranks pretty low on the closing ranks, and is hard to trust down the stretch run. YTD stats: 57.1 innings, 27 saves, 70 K, 4.08 ERA.
Shane Greene (R) (R) (46% owned) continues to be shaky as the Tigers closer. This week, he blew his only save chance and gave up one earned run in 2.1 innings pitched. He only has one save in the month of September and hasn’t provided fantasy owners with much of anything. Hopefully contending fantasy teams are not having to rely on Greene for fantasy playoffs. Green has had a strong (and unexpected) season for the Tigers this year, but the club is struggling to win any games; so the save chances just aren’t there right now. He ranks in the bottom half of the closing ranks, mainly due to lack of opportunities for saves. YTD stats: 64.0 innings, 7 saves, 70 K, 2.67 ERA.
Who’s Hot, Who’s Cold Season Leader Board
This table shows who has made the most appearances in these sections.
| Hot Total | Cold Total | |||
| Kenley Jansen (R) (R) | 6 | Roberto Osuna (R) (R) | 4 | |
| Greg Holland (R) (R) | 5 | A.J. Ramos (R) (R) | 4 | |
| Craig Kimbrel (R) (R) | 5 | Mark Melancon (R) (R) | 3 | |
| Corey Knebel (R) (R) | 5 | Brandon Kintzler (R) (R) | 3 | |
| Raisel Iglesias (R) (R) | 3 | Héctor Neris (R) | 3 | |
| Roberto Osuna (R) (R) | 3 | 8 tied with | 2 | |
| Edwin Díaz (R) | 3 | 15 tied with | 1 | |
| Fernando Rodney (R) (R) | 3 | |||
| Ken Giles (R) (R) | 3 | |||
| 5 tied with | 2 | |||
| 13 tied with | 1 |
Middle Relievers of Note
Joe Musgrove (R) (R) (10% owned) has gone from a struggling starter to a key piece in the Astros bullpen. He picked up two saves this week, one being multiple innings and the other being a game where Giles was given the night off as rest. The fact that he was used in that game shows that he is picking up steam in the backend of games. He isn’t worth owning in any format, but given the two saves he picked up this week, he is a person to monitor. YTD stats: 108.0 innings, 5 holds, 97 K, 4.83 ERA.
Holds
*Top 10
| Player | HLD YTD | Player | HLD last 7 days | |
| Taylor Rogers (L) (L) | 29 | Anthony Swarzak (R) (R) | 3 | |
| José Ramírez (B) | 27 | Ryan Madson (R) (R) | 3 | |
| Nick Vincent (R) (R) | 27 | Luis Garcia (L) (R) (L) (R) | 3 | |
| Anthony Swarzak (R) (R) | 25 | Francisco Liriano (L) (L) | 3 | |
| Tommy Hunter (R) (R) | 25 | Steven Okert (L) (L) | 3 | |
| Archie Bradley (R) (R) | 24 | Jerry Blevins (L) (L) | 2 | |
| Jacob Barnes (R) (R) | 24 | Andrew Miller (L) (L) | 2 | |
| Bryan Shaw (R) (R) | 24 | Pat Neshek (R) (R) | 2 | |
| C.J. Edwards (R) (R) | 23 | C.J. Edwards (R) (R) | 2 | |
| 3 more tied with | 23 | 16 more tied with | 2 |
Recently Overworked
This highlights the bullpens that have been seeing both heavy usage and struggling over the last 7 days.
| Team | ERA | IP |
| Orioles | 6.23 | 34.2 |
| Tigers | 7.84 | 31.0 |
| Blue Jays | 5.33 | 25.1 |
| Angels | 6.57 | 24.2 |
| Mets | 6.93 | 24.2 |
| Athletics | 5.55 | 24.1 |
*Ownership percentages are based off Yahoo
Be sure to check out the Closer Grid which has regularly updated rankings. Also feel free to shoot me any questions on Twitter @JustinVreeland