My name is Matt, (Hi Matt!) and I’m addicted to saves. The symptoms you’re feeling if you own Grilli, Tolleson, and/or anyone on the Phillies are perfectly natural, concern is warranted. Doolittle owners knew what they were getting into and hopefully they are sufficiently invested in Madson depending on their reliance on saves. K-Rod owners, times are tough but I’m pretty sure the velocity loss isn’t a concern yet and everything will be ok. Normal order of business elsewhere.
I broke things down into more specific tiers and made some general tweaks this week and as time goes on I’ll track trends and add more detail. I’m make sure I don’t overlap too much with the Tuesday holds piece but you can easily cross reference that + the speculative tier to determine next in line heaven forbid injury strikes, or if you want to gamble on a rest day vulture.
Tiers 1-3 have the it factor, you know what I mean jellybean. Tier 4A/B contain reliable finishers and ratio improvers. Guys in 5A wouldn’t surprise us if they did their job all season but flaws do exist. 5B = strong arms who don’t have as firm of a grasp on save opps. Tier 6A/B, well you might have to put her down eventually. Finally, tier 7A/B you’ll find your lotto tickets.
TIER 1
1A. Kenley Jansen (Los Angeles Dodgers)
1B. Wade Davis (Kansas City Royals)
3. Craig Kimbrel (Boston Red Sox)
TIER 2
4. Jeurys Familia (New York Mets)
5. Zach Britton (Baltimore Orioles)
TIER 3
6. Aroldis Chapman (New York Yankees)
7. Mark Melancon (Pittsburgh Pirates)
8. David Robertson (Chicago White Sox)
9. Trevor Rosenthal (St. Louis Cardinals)
TIER 4A
10. Cody Allen (Cleveland Indians)
11. Hector Rondon (Chicago Cubs)
12. Roberto Osuna (Toronto Blue Jays)
TIER 4B
13. A.J. Ramos (Miami Marlins)
14. Jonathan Papelbon (Washington Nationals)
15. Francisco Rodriguez (Detroit Tigers)
16. Huston Street (Los Angeles Angels)
17. Arodys Vizcaino (Atlanta Braves)
18. Brad Ziegler (Arizona Diamondbacks)
TIER 5A
19. Glen Perkins (Minnesota Twins)
20. Santiago Casilla (San Francisco Giants)
21. Jake McGee (Colorado Rockies)
22. Jeremy Jeffress (Milwaukee Brewers)
23. J.J. Hoover (Cincinnati Reds)
TIER 5B
24. Alex Colome (Tampa Bay Rays)
25. Luke Gregerson (Houston Astros)
26. Ken Giles (Houston Astros)
27/28. Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller (New York Yankees)
TIER 6A
29. Shawn Tolleson (Texas Rangers)
30. Sean Doolittle (Oakland Athletics)
31. Steve Cishek (Seattle Mariners)
32. Fernando Rodney (San Diego Padres)
TIER 6B
33. Jason Grilli (Atlanta Braves)
34. David Hernandez, Dalier Hinojosa (Philadelphia Phillies)
TIER 7A
35. Ryan Madson (Oakland Athletics)
36. Sam Dyson (Texas Rangers)
37. Keone Kela (Texas Rangers)
TIER 7B
38. Kevin Jepsen (Minnesota Twins)
39. Hunter Strickland (San Francisco Giants)
40/41. Tony Zych, Joaquin Benoit (Seattle Mariners)
42. Kevin Quackenbush (San Diego Padres)
43. Drew Storen (Toronto Blue Jays)