Closers in flux

Tony Watson continues to pitch his way out of the closer role for the Pirates. He picked up two blown saves this week, and now has five on the season. He has yet to have been demoted, although that could happen as soon as later today. It has become clear to everyone, including the Pirates, that current set-up man Felipe Rivero is the much more dominant reliever of the two. I have highlighted just how good Rivero is a few times, so we will keep it brief this time, his current ratios stand at a 0.58 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, and a 9.87 K/9. If/when Rivero takes over the closer gig he will likely be among the best in baseball at closing out games. Pick him up if you still can.

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.

PlayerBS YTD PlayerBS last 7 days
Tony Watson5 Tony Watson2
Francisco Rodriguez4 Brandon Kintzler1
Jim Johnson4 Corey Knebel1
Sam Dyson3 Jose Alvarez1
Roberto Osuna3 Jim Johnson1
Brad Brach3 Carlos Torres1
Fernando Rodney3 Ken Giles1
Brandon Kintzler3   
10 tied with 2   

Who’s Hot?

A.J. Ramos (79% owned) is finally starting to look like himself of last year. He pitched three times this week, converted all three of his save chances, and only allowed one runner to reach base against him. He also had five strikeouts across 3.1 shutout innings.  He now has six straight scoreless outings dating back to May 26, and has five saves during that time. For now he remains near the bottom of the closing ranks, but he could work his way back into the middle-tier. YTD stats: 20.2 innings, 9 saves, 27 K, 3.92 ERA.

Raisel Iglesias (88% owned) continues to pitch lights-out for the Reds at the end of games. This week he made three apparences, converted both of his save chances, and also picked up a win. He also had five strikeouts across four shutout innings. He has not given up a run since April 23, a run that spans 19 innings. This guy is the real deal, and is an upper-tier closer. YTD stats: 30.1 innings, 11 saves, 36 K, 0.59 ERA.

Kenley Jansen (98% owned) had another stellar week for the Dodgers and fantasy owners. Like Iglesias, he converted both of his save chances and also picked up a win. He also had six strikeouts across 4.1 shutout innings. Jansen is piling up great ratios with his ERA now at 1.11, a WHIP of 0.66, and a K/9 that sits at a ridiculous 15.16. Perhaps the most impressive part of his season so far is the fact that he has still yet to walk a batter in his 24.1 innings of work. Jansen is of course amongst the elite of the closing ranks. YTD stats: 24.1 innings, 10 saves, 41 K, 1.11 ERA.

Who’s Cold?

Ken Giles (94% owned) had a disaster week for the Astros and for fantasy owners. He made four appearances and converted just one of his two save chances. He gave up runs in all but one of his outings and in total surrendered four runs across four innings. Giles has struggled to find meaningful appearances lately with the Astros blowing out teams regularly, but he did not make the most of his chances either. His ratios are not pretty to this point in the season, but pitching for the best team in baseball keeps him in the middle-tier of the closing ranks. YTD stats: 24.1 innings, 15 saves, 29 K, 4.07 ERA.

Matt Bush (75% owned) is seeing his first run of struggles as the Rangers closer. He pitched just two times this week, but neither outing went well. His first appareance he came in to finish out a game holding a 10-5 lead, he surrendered three runs before closing the door. His second appearance he came in to hold the score tied 3-3, and while the run he gave up was unearned it was still a messy outing in which he took the loss. Fantasy owners will like to see a strong outing from Bush his next time out to ease some worries. Right now he remains just below the middle-tier of the closing ranks. YTD stats: 21.2 innings, 6 saves, 24 K, 2.49 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
Greg Holland4 Francisco Rodriguez2
Craig Kimbrel4 Roberto Osuna2
Raisel Iglesias3 Kelvin Herrera2
Kenley Jansen2 A.J. Ramos 2
Roberto Osuna2 Brandon Kintzler 2
Brandon Kintzler 2 Addison Reed2
Ken Giles1 Mark Melancon1
Aroldis Chapman1 Sam Dyson1
David Robertson1 Seung-Hwan Oh1
Seung-Hwan Oh1 Joaquin Benoit1
Matt Bush1 Jim Johnson1
Wade Davis1 Fernando Rodney1
Cody Allen1 Brad Brach1
Edwin Diaz1 Tony Watson1
Dellin Betances1 Ken Giles1
Koda Glover1 Matt Bush1
A.J. Ramos1   

Middle Relievers of note

Pedro Strop (5% owned) has really come on of late after a sluggish start to the season. His ERA sat at an ugly 7.20 after giving up two earned runs on April 15, but since then he has pitched 16.1 innings and allowed just two earned runs total, dropping his ERA to a crisp 2.66. This should come as no surprise, as Strop has been one of the premier bullpen guys in the MLB since joining the Cubs in 2013. He does not have much upside for saves, but is worth an own in Holds leagues. He will provide solid ratios, and opposing hitters haven’t managed a BAA above .187 against him since he became a Cub. YTD stats: 20.1 innings, 7 holds, 23 K, 2.66 ERA.

Chris Devenski (64% owned) could have easily been on spotlight earlier in the season; given how successful he has been all season. But with the baseball world placing so much focus on him in the early going, I chose to focus my attention on other guys. The guy has been absolutely incredible to this point, and as of late has been even better for Holds leagues players. He has picked up three holds in the past nine days and continues to be used in high leverage situations. His ratios and usage make him a must own in all formats. YTD stats: 35 innings, 8 holds, 53 K, 2.57 ERA.

Blake Parker (4% owned) has pitched extremely well for the Angels to this point in the season, and is providing nice ratios for fantasy owners. It comes as a bit of a surprise as he hasn’t had relatively any success since 2013, and he will turn 32 this season. But his numbers are great on all fronts, as he carries a 2.30 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, .198 BAA, and 13.17 K/9. Given his success it is a bit shocking how low his own% is, but that will likely start to see an uptick in the coming days/weeks. YTD stats:  27.1 innings, 7 holds, 40 K, 2.30 ERA.

The full 2016 breakdown for these 3 guys can be found in the chart below.

 TEAMGWSVHOLDSIPHERHRBBSOERAWHIPBAAK/9
Pedro StropCHC54202147.12715415602.850.890.16311.41
Chris DevenskiHOU48415108.179264201042.160.910.2068.64
Blake ParkerNYY/SEA1711017.117918154.671.500.2507.79

Holds

*Top 10

PlayerHLD YTD PlayerHLD last 7 days
Adam Ottavino15 David Phelps4
Taylor Rogers14 James Hoyt3
Felipe Rivero13 Jacob Barnes3
Andrew Miller13 Chris Devenski2
Arodys Vizcaino12 Archie Bradley2
Will Harris12 Ryan Madson2
Alex Wilson11 Will Harris2
Matt Bowman11 Joe Kelly2
Heath Hembree11 Taylor Rogers2
Corey Knebel11 9 more tied with2

 

*Ownership percentages are based off Yahoo