Closing Time 6/5: Ranking the Top 30 Closers Every Tuesday

[closing_time list_id=”21243″ season=”2018″ include_stats=”1″]

 

It only took two-plus months, but Brad Ziegler’s reign as Marlins closer has finally come to an end. He only has one blown save to his credit on the season, however, the 7.88 ERA and 1.71 WHIP to go with a 0-5 record weren’t helping his cause. Kyle Barraclough will now be working the 9th and while he is a significant upgrade, the biggest problem with this situation is just how many potential save situations the Marlins have left this season. Still, Barraclough is worth the add in most standard leagues if you could use some help with saves and strikeouts.

• In committee news, it looks like while Blake Parker does have the upper hand, Justin Anderson is still hanging around, as he (barely) picked up a save Sunday. While Parker should see the majority of chances, it’s probably best to stay away from this situation outside of deeper leagues. It should only be a matter of time before Seranthony Dominguez is named closer in Philadelphia. He continues to be stellar, whereas Hector Neris was bad again this week, even in non-save situations as he allowed 9 hits over 2.1 innings (3 hits and a run in each of his three outings).
• On the injury front, Mark Melancon returned on from the 60-day DL last Friday, and while the early returns have been positive (struck out the side in order in his first appearance), I wouldn’t expect to see him start closing again until the end of the month at the earliest. Zach Britton has looked amazing in his rehab so far and should be on track to return June 15th as long as this week goes without a setback.
• Sean Doolittle, Aroldis Chapman, Brad Hand, Craig Kimbrel and Brandon Morrow all tied for the weekly lead in saves with 3. It’s nice to see Morrow’s usage starting to trend up without a hitch as he is now at past the 20 innings mark. It’ll be worth keeping an eye on how he holds up once he gets into the 40+ innings range.