In this week’s Closer Report, Ryan Pressly’s time as Cubs’ closer may be nearing it’s end. Jhoan Duran puts together his best week with three of his five saves. Emilio Pagán is gaining trust and rising in the rankings with his production on the mound. All that and more as we break down the last week in saves.
Fantasy Baseball Closer Rankings
Tier 1: At the Top
Andrés Muñoz – Seattle Mariners
Mason Miller – Athletics
Josh Hader – Houston Astros
After picking up his 12th save of the season Saturday against the Rangers, Munoz was charged with a blown save Monday against the Athletics, allowing an unearned run on a walk and a hit in extra innings before striking out the side. He bounced back Wednesday, striking out two for his 13th save. The 26-year-old right-hander still has a clean 0.00 ERA with a 0.83 WHIP and a 25/8 K/BB ratio across 18 innings.
Miller labored a bit this week. After adding his tenth save of the season Thursday against the Rangers, he was charged with his first blown save and loss against the Marlins on Saturday, giving up a walk-off grand slam to Kyle Stowers. He then walked two batters in a scoreless inning of a tie game Monday against the Mariners. That’s four walks over his last two outings after walking two total over his first 12. Even the best can have a bad week.
Hader didn’t see any save chances this week. He got some work in on Wednesday with the Astros up by eight runs against the Brewers, striking out two in a scoreless inning. The 31-year-old left-hander remains at eight saves with a 1.69 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and a 22/4 K/BB ratio across 16 innings.
Tier 2: The Elite
Robert Suarez – San Diego Padres
Tanner Scott – Los Angeles Dodgers
Félix Bautista – Baltimore Orioles
Edwin Díaz – New York Mets
Suarez leads the majors with 14 saves after adding two more this week. He’s allowed just one run with an 18/4 K/BB ratio across 17 innings. The San Diego bullpen has done an incredible job shortening games with the best ERA in the majors.
It was a matchup week for the Dodgers as Scott worked a pair of scoreless eighth innings to record two holds, keeping him at eight saves for the season. Evan Phillips and Kirby Yates each locked down a save.
Bautista continues to make strides in his return this season. He converted his sixth save on Friday against the Royals for his eighth straight scoreless outing. Early walks as he was getting back into the swing of things inflated his walk rate, but Bautista has not issued a free pass over his last five appearances.
Díaz has been solid outside of two multi-run outings early in April. He worked around a pair of hits in a scoreless outing against the Cardinals on Sunday in a non-save situation, then closed out Monday’s contest against the Diamondbacks with a clean frame for his eighth save.
Tier 3: The Solid Options
Jhoan Duran – Minnesota Twins
Jeff Hoffman – Toronto Blue Jays
Emmanuel Clase – Cleveland Guardians
Ryan Helsley – St. Louis Cardinals
Raisel Iglesias – Atlanta Braves
Jose Alvarado – Philadelphia Phillies
Pete Fairbanks – Tampa Bay Rays
Duran worked back-to-back saves against the Red Sox, then struck out the side as he closed out the ninth inning against the Orioles on Wednesday to give him five saves. The 27-year-old right-hander has a 1.10 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and a 20/8 K/BB ratio across 16 1/3 innings.
Hoffman worked around a hit and a walk to convert his seventh save on Friday against the Guardians. The following two outings didn’t go so well. He then entered in the eighth inning of a tie game with one out and two runners on against the Angels on Tuesday. The 32-year-old right-hander struggled in the non-save situation, giving up three runs on a pair of homers while recording just one out. Hoffman was given a chance to bounce back on Wednesday, getting the ninth inning with a two-run lead. He loaded the bases and blew the lead on a walk-off bases-clearing double. Perhaps it’s just a rough stretch for Hoffman, who should still have quite a bit of leash on the closer role in Toronto.
Clase is getting on track with three saves in four days this week, bringing his total to eight. He’s still putting too much traffic on the bases, but it’s mostly due to an incredibly inflated .436 BABIP. The 27-year-old right-hander has still shown excellent control and is getting a healthy amount of whiffs. He’ll be worth monitoring after the shoulder concern that emerged a couple of weeks ago, but things are looking better at the moment.
Helsley is also allowing too many baserunners. He worked a pair of scoreless outings for two saves this week, but has allowed at least one hit in each of his last five appearances. The underlying numbers don’t look as encouraging for the 30-year-old right-hander as his swinging-strike rate is down six percent from last season.
Iglesias has seen an uptick in strikeouts over his last few outings, collecting seven over his last three appearances. He struck out the side for the save against the Dodgers on Sunday, then fell in line for the win with two strikeouts in a scoreless inning against the Reds on Tuesday.
Alvarado worked a clean inning to pick up his sixth save on Friday against the Diamondbacks, then gave up four runs and took the loss against Arizona on Sunday. Still, there’s no one else challenging Alvarado for regular save chances in the Phillies’ bullpen, especially with right-hander Orion Kerkering underperforming.
Fairbanks worked two perfect outings against the Yankees for a pair of saves. He’s up to eight with a 1.88 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and a 13/6 K/BB ratio across 14 1/3 innings. Behind Fairbanks, Edwin Uceta has made ten scoreless appearances since he last allowed a run, recording six holds.
Tier 4: Here for the Saves
Luke Weaver – New York Yankees
Trevor Megill – Milwaukee Brewers
Aroldis Chapman – Boston Red Sox
Ryan Walker – San Francisco Giants
Emilio Pagan – Cincinnati Reds
Kenley Jansen – Los Angeles Angels
David Bednar – Pittsburgh Pirates
Kyle Finnegan – Washington Nationals
Carlos Estévez – Kansas City Royals
Will Vest/Tommy Kahnle – Detroit Tigers
Shelby Miller/Kevin Ginkel – Arizona Diamondbacks
Luke Jackson – Texas Rangers
Operating as the Yankees’ closer, Weaver struck out two in a clean inning against the Rays on Friday. He was then tasked with cleaning up the eighth inning after Devin Williams allowed three runs against the Padres on Monday. Weaver wasn’t able to keep the Padres off the board as he allowed a run in and was charged with the blown save. Both relievers bounced back on Wednesday, with Williams picking up the win in extra innings, working around a walk to strike out the side.
Megill struck out two in a non-save situation against the Cubs on Sunday, then worked a scoreless ninth to record his fourth save of the season Tuesday against the Astros. The 31-year-old right-hander has been excellent outside of a three-run outing against the Diamondbacks on April 12.
Chapman gave up a solo homer before holding on to record his fifth save against the Rangers on Wednesday. The 37-year-old left-hander holds a 2.19 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and an 18/4 K/BB ratio across 12 1/3 innings. Justin Slaten may not be pushing Chapman for save chances anytime soon, with six runs allowed over his last three outings.
Things are getting dicey for Walker in San Francisco. He pitched a clean outing with one strikeout for a save against the Rockies on Saturday. Walker then blew the save chance against the Cubs on Tuesday with a two-run lead. He bounced back on Wednesday, working around a hit to earn his seventh save. The 29-year-old right-hander’s inconsistencies come with diminished stuff as he’s struggled to miss bats. Still, manager Bob Melvin is giving Walker every chance to get right before finding another option for the ninth inning. Camilo Doval has been effective in a setup role despite a sharp decline in strikeouts himself.
Pagán gave up a run against the Braves on Tuesday to take his first blown save of the season before recovering with a scoreless outing for the save on Wednesday. He’s now 9-for-10 in opportunities with a 2.60 ERA, 0.63 WHIP, and a 20/4 K/BB ratio across 17 1/3 innings.
Jansen allowed his first runs of the season in an outing against the Tigers on Friday. Unfortunately, Detroit would bring in six against him, including three homers to inflate Jansen’s ERA to 5.79. He bounced back the following day with a two-out save for his seventh of the year.
Bednar didn’t see any save chances this week. He took the loss on Saturday against the Padres with one run allowed. The 30-year-old right-hander has been much better since returning on April 19, giving up two runs with a 10/1 K/BB ratio over eight innings. Despite no save chances, Bednar and Dennis Santana’s recent usage suggests Bednar will be getting the save chances. Santana was used in the seventh and eighth innings in his two appearances this week.
Finnegan added three more saves to his total this week, giving him 12 with a 3.07 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and a 15/7 K/BB ratio across 14 2/3 innings. Another reliever getting it done despite not having the best skills, Estévez converted two saves. He allowed a run on three hits on Wednesday against the White Sox before holding on for his 11th save to go with a 2.65 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and a 15/9 K/BB ratio across 17 innings. His control has been better with no walks issued over his last six outings.
No save situations for the Tigers. Beau Brieske was activated off the injured list, but Vest and Kahnle remain the two relievers in the mix for save opportunities. Kahnle got the eighth inning in a tie game against the Rockies on Wednesday before Vest took the ninth and tenth to earn the win in extra innings.
The Diamondbacks are another likely committee situation. However, Miller got the save chance last Thursday against the Mets and converted his first of the season. He later pitched the ninth with a four-run lead on Tuesday and appears to have the leg up on save chances with Justin Martinez on the injured list.
Jackson has gone two weeks without a save now, but did bounce back with a clean outing, striking out two against the Mariners on Sunday after giving up four runs in his previous outing.
Tier 5: Bottom of the Barrel
Ryan Pressly – Chicago Cubs
Jesus Tinoco/Calvin Faucher – Miami Marlins
Zach Agnos – Colorado Rockies
Steven Wilson/Jordan Leasure/Cam Booser – Chicago White Sox
Pressly surrendered nine runs without recording an out on Tuesday against the Giants in extra innings. It was only a matter of time for regression to strike as he had more walks than strikeouts going into Tuesday’s outing, raising his ERA from 2.08 to 7.62. Pressly can’t possibly retain his closer role for long with the skills he’s displayed. It may be time for the team to turn to Porter Hodge, who’s been excellent outside of a six-run outing on April 18 that is weighing heavily on his 4.50 ERA on the season.
Both Tinoco and Faucher remain at two saves each. Faucher was charged with a blown save Tuesday against the Dodgers. Like the following situations, it’s not worth chasing the saves here outside the deepest of leagues.
Agnos has the last two saves for the Rockies. He’s struck out only one batter over 7 1/3 scoreless innings. Good luck keeping that up in Coors Field.
The White Sox bullpen as a whole still just has one save as we enter the middle of May. Booser got the ninth inning on Tuesday against the Royals but blew the save chance.
Relievers On The Rise/Stash Candidates
The Giants recalled 23-year-old left-hander Kyle Harrison from Triple-A Sacramento this week. Harrison was underwhelming as a starter for San Francisco last season, posting a 4.56 ERA over 24 starts. He came into the season flashing better velocity in the minors and was off to a great start with a 3.46 ERA and a 38/8 K/BB ratio over 26 innings across six starts. Harrison was hoping to compete for a spot in the Giants’ starting rotation during spring training, but fell behind as he recovered from an illness that caused him to lose roughly 15 pounds. Now, the team plans on utilizing him out of the bullpen, likely as a multi-inning reliever similar to Hayden Birdsong. Bob Melvin did go to Harrison to close out Tuesday’s game against the Cubs in the 11th inning, and he struck out two in a clean frame. Another reliever debuting this month was Cincinnati’s Luis Mey. The 23-year-old right-hander has struck out seven batters to one walk with one run allowed over four innings so far. He’s already worked his way into some high-leverage spots, pitching the seventh inning in a one-run game against the Braves on Wednesday. Mey has excellent strikeout upside in a prototypical late-inning profile as he generates whiffs on both his high-velocity sinker and his slider.
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