New Cubs closer Rowan Wick had himself a great week but it’s worth mentioning that of his three saves, two came against the Nationals and one against the Reds, two lineups that are very thin (to put it nicely). Before you go rushing out to add Wick, remember he still has a WHIP of 1.65 on the season to go with a disappointing .338 xwOBA and 24% Whiff rate but that said, he isn’t in a committee to close out games so he does have value for those of you in roto leagues looking to bolster your save totals. For those in head-to-head or points leagues, I’d leave him on the wire and prefer some of the options in the next tier such as Alexis Díaz, Jonathan Hernández, or Garrett Whitlock.
Notes
- After recording just one save in July despite appearing in ten games, Camilo Doval appears to be back on track in August with four saves already while not allowing a run yet. I still don’t love how many walks he is giving up but the strikeouts help balance that out and as long as the closer role is his, Doval should remain a top 15 or so closing option the rest of the way.
- The Royals make it tough for him to get consistent save chances but when called upon Scott Barlow has been super efficient this year, in perhaps his best season to date. He’s only allowed two or more earned runs in 2 of the 51 games he’s appeared in this season and he currently has the third most saves amongst all relievers over the past two months (12).
- It may be too early to tell, but it appears that Seranthony Domínguez is in fact staying in the closer role for the Phillies despite the team trading for David Robertson at the deadline. I remember this being a dilemma back at the start of the 2019 season as well, but right now it looks like Seranthony is the favorite (as it should be). Robertson has been great this season as well, but there’s no reason to remove Domínguez from the role because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
- We are approaching a breaking point here with Clay Holmes who hasn’t technically been removed from the closer role just yet, but one would think it’s a foregone conclusion. Holmes has been terrible over his last 11 IP while converting just one save (12 hits, 11 ER, 12/11 K/BB ratio) whereas former closer Aroldis Chapman on the other hand has been lights out over his last 9.1 IP (3 hits, 0 ER, 10/1 K/BB ratio). (EDIT: Holmes was placed on the IL 8/17)
| Rank | Pitcher | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edwin DíazT1 | - |
| 2 | Liam HendriksT2 | +2 |
| 3 | Devin Williams | - |
| 4 | Josh Hader | -2 |
| 5 | Emmanuel Clase | - |
| 6 | Ryan PresslyT3 | - |
| 7 | Jordan Romano | - |
| 8 | Kenley Jansen | - |
| 9 | Ryan Helsley | - |
| 10 | Paul Sewald | +1 |
| 11 | Félix Bautista | +1 |
| 12 | Camilo Doval | +5 |
| 13 | Scott Barlow | +5 |
| 14 | Seranthony Domínguez | +6 |
| 15 | Jorge López | -2 |
| 16 | Daniel BardT4 | -2 |
| 17 | Gregory Soto | -2 |
| 18 | Craig Kimbrel | -2 |
| 19 | Rowan Wick | +9 |
| 20 | Tanner Scott | -1 |
| 21 | Alexis DíazT5 | +2 |
| 22 | Jonathan Hernández | -1 |
| 23 | Garrett Whitlock | -1 |
| 24 | Aroldis Chapman | +UR |
| 25 | Jason Adam | +UR |
| 26 | Wil Crowe | -2 |
| 27 | Kyle Finnegan | - |
| 28 | A.J. Puk | -3 |
| 29 | Ryan Tepera | - |
| 30 | Ian Kennedy | - |
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Scott Effross | NYY | share closer role with Chapman? |
| 2. | Giovanny Gallegos | STL | still splitting save chances with Helsley? |
| 3. | Carl Edwards Jr. | WAS | splitting the role with Finnegan? |
| 4. | Brooks Raley | TB | could be LH complement to Adam |
| 5. | Steven Okert | MIA | Scott continues to struggle in the role |
| 6. | David Robertson | PHI | Seranthony the head of the committee? |
| 7. | José Leclerc | TEX | working way into a committee role? |
| 8. | John Schreiber | BOS | could see some chances with Houck out |
| 9. | Dany Jiménez | OAK | RH compliment to Puk? |
| 10. | José Quijada | LAA | LH compliment to Tepera? |
Photo by Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)