Evan Phillips has picked up where he left off last season, and it’s great to see Dave Roberts hand over the closer reigns to him despite being reluctant to do so at the beginning of the season. Over his past five outings (since returning from paternity leave), Phillips has allowed just one hit and two walks, while striking out 8 and tacking on 3 saves to bring him up to 5 on the year. Brusdar Graterol continues to work in a setup role, which is best suited for him giving his low Whiff/K rates.
Notes
- Raisel Iglesias returned this past weekend and was thrown right into a save situation. Iglesias looked great in the outing, throwing 10 of 13 pitches for strikes and striking out two, showing no ill effects from his time off. While Iglesias should be rostered in all leagues, I think it’s safe to drop A.J. Minter in 12-14 team mixed save only formats.
- With Pete Fairbanks now on the shelf, Jason Adam has taken over as the Rays closer, and already has 4 saves this month. Fairbanks stay is expected to be a minimum one, but this being the Rays, there’s no assurance Fairbanks gets that closer role back, especially with how Adams has looked in May.
- It’s clear that the Mets don’t view David Robertson as their closer, and rather their top high leverage option. That’s ok, but it will ultimately limit his value in save only formats. He and Adam Ottavino each picked up a save this past week, a trend that we should expect to continue moving forward.
- It’s been a rough week for Marlins closer A.J. Puk, and while he certainly has his defense to blame for some of it, there had been some warning signs leading up to the meltdowns. I still like Puk the most in this bullpen (Huascar Brazoban is intriguing though)
- Clay Holmes appears to be out as the Yankees closer and while I think I’d hold on to him in deeper holds leagues, Michael King should be the reliever rostered in most leagues now. He’s still not pitching on back to back days (leading to an Ian Hamilton save this weekend) but King has gotten over his slow start and looks like the reliever he was last season once again with just one hit and two walks allowed over his past 6.2 IP, while striking out 9.
- Andrew Chafin had a rough outing Saturday, failing to secure a save after the Diamondbacks came from behind in the ninth. Despite the 4.26 ERA, Chafin has only allowed runs in 2 of his 16 appearances this season and should continue to see save chances. However, the team did turn to Miguel Castro for a save chance on Sunday (which didn’t go so well) and turned to Joe Mantiply to finish last nights game. We may be headed back to a strict committee here, but I still like Chafin and his strikeout upside the most.
- Four Cubs relievers have now picked up saves on the season, with only Brad Boxberger adding a second save. But Boxberger shouldn’t be in the late innings mix here, and we may finally have some sort of semblance of roles here with Adbert Alzolay and Mark Leiter Jr. (who both earned saves this past week) in a co-closer matchup based situation, while Michael Fulmer sticks in a setup role.
- Reynaldo López returned this weekend and picked up a save, somewhat surprisingly considering how poorly he has has pitched and how strong Keynan Middleton has looked (even converting a save chance himself last week). It’s not really important, as Liam Hendriks has started his rehab stint and should return by the end of the month.
- Pierce Johnson continues to function as the Rockies’ full time closer, and based on usage, it doesn’t seem like Daniel Bard will be returning to that role anytime soon. For now, it’s just a situation to steer clear of completely, as Bard’s velocity is still down almost 4 MPH and Johnson’s fastball still remains a liability.
- Just when Kyle Finnegan started to earn some trust, he has another epic meltdown and we are at the point where the only potential closer here I’d be comfortable rostering is Hunter Harvey.
EDIT 5/10: José Alvarado has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his left elbow and was removed from the list. Expect a committee between Craig Kimbrel, Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto.
And if you want more daily reliever updates, please check out our Reliever Ranks series
Watch List
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mark Leiter Jr. | CHC | Could become “lefty” compliment to Alzolay in closer role. |
| 2. | Joe Mantiply | ARZ | Chafin and Castro both bombed this weekend… |
| 3. | Hunter Harvey | WAS | Best WAS reliever, but how valuable can he be, even in closer role? |
| 4. | Adam Ottavino | NYM | Even in timeshare, becomes a valuable mixed-league reliever. |
| 5. | Jonathan Hernández | TEX | Smith is not very good anymore and could work himself out of role. |
| 6. | Brusdar Graterol | LAD | Could still remain in mix for saves despite Phillips dominance. |
| 7. | Ian Hamilton | NYY | Hamilton picked up a save with King not ready to work back-to-backs. |
| 8. | Aroldis Chapman | KC | Barlow has been pitching much better than Chapman lately. |
| 9. | Giovanny Gallegos | STL | Could still cut into Helsley’s save totals, as long as he is healthy. |
| 10. | Huascar Brazoban | MIA | Puk has allowed 6 hits, 4 ER over 1.2 IP in May so far… |
| Rank | Pitcher | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Devin WilliamsT1 | - |
| 2 | Félix Bautista | - |
| 3 | Josh Hader | - |
| 4 | David Bednar | - |
| 5 | Emmanuel Clase | - |
| 6 | Jordan Romano | - |
| 7 | Raisel Iglesias | +UR |
| 8 | Alexis DíazT2 | - |
| 9 | Paul Sewald | - |
| 10 | Evan Phillips | +6 |
| 11 | Jhoan Duran | -1 |
| 12 | Kenley JansenT3 | -1 |
| 13 | Ryan Pressly | -1 |
| 14 | Ryan Helsley | -1 |
| 15 | Camilo Doval | +4 |
| 16 | Jason Adam | +4 |
| 17 | David Robertson | -3 |
| 18 | Alex LangeT4 | - |
| 19 | A.J. Puk | -4 |
| 20 | Carlos Estévez | +2 |
| 21 | Scott Barlow | +2 |
| 22 | Michael KingT5 | +UR |
| 23 | Andrew Chafin | -6 |
| 24 | Adbert Alzolay | +UR |
| 25 | Craig Kimbrel | +UR |
| 26 | Reynaldo López | +UR |
| 27 | Will SmithT6 | -2 |
| 28 | Pierce Johnson | +UR |
| 29 | Kyle Finnegan | -5 |
| 30 | Zach Jackson | - |
Where would Hendriks slot into your rankings upon his return?