August 15, 2019 Update: Be sure to check out all of the latest news, notes, and updates to the Fantasy Six Pack Closer Chart below!
As witnessed year-in and year-out, Relief Pitcher exemplifies the term “volatility” more than any other position in baseball. Injuries, repeated blown saves/ineffective outings, and deadline trades are just a few reasons for player movement at the position.
The Closer role is an even more-fluid position due to the influx of “Closer Committees” present throughout the league. Numerous MLB teams have adopted this philosophy, allowing for more flexibility in deploying their best pitchers during the later innings.
This season, we here at Fantasy Six Pack decided to have a little more fun with the Closer Chart. And, in an effort to stay true to our site’s namesake, we have altered the Job Security legend from previous seasons. Here is the breakdown of the new-and-improved levels of confidence from High to Low:
- Sober: Who got the keys to the Jeep? This guy does, and he is the clear Designated Driver of his team’s ninth-inning duties.
- Buzzed: This player has clearly had a few drinks, but is still standing strong at Last-Call.
- Drunk: This guy is blatantly sloppy and stumbling, and his Uber driver is en route to take him home from the party early.
- Hammered Wingmen: Two (or more) drinking buddies who simply cannot seal the deal on their own.
Pick-up a Sixer, and come drink-in all the frothy goodness of our 2019 Closer Chart. Stay tuned weekly for any, and all, relief pitching changes throughout the fantasy season.
Be sure to check out the rest of our Fantasy Baseball content for the latest news and notes to help you win your league. Stay frosty!
Fantasy Baseball Closer Chart
| Team | Temporary BAC Level (per Trade Deadline Disclaimer) | Current Closer(s) | Next Man Up | Looming Handcuff(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Diamondbacks | Hammered Wingmen | - Archie Bradley - Yoan Lopez | Yoshihisa Hirano | Stefan Crichton | Archie Bradley continues to get the Save chances ahead of Yoan Lopez in the Arizona bullpen. He recorded Saves on 8/9 and 8/12, but was saddled with a Blown Save/Loss on 8/14 after serving up a walk-off HR to Nolan Arenado. |
| Atlanta Braves | Hammered Wingmen | - Mark Melancon - Luke Jackson | Shane Greene | Chris Martin | Mark Melancon did not give up any earned runs in his first four appearances with Atlanta, initially propelling him to the top of this hierarchy. However, since 8/9, he has served up 6 ER in three appearances, putting Atlanta's revamped bullpen into full-on committee mode. |
| Baltimore Orioles | Hammered Wingmen | - Mychal Givens - Richard Bleier | Miguel Castro | - Shawn Armstrong - Paul Fry | The O's have only one Win in their last 10 games. In that Win, Givens got the final out of the 8th Inning, protecting Baltimore's 1-run lead, then immediately served up 3 ER in the 9th Inning to Blow the Save. Luckily, the O's got those three runs back in the bottom frame, sealing that lone Win for Richard Bleier. |
| Boston Red Sox | Buzzed | Brandon Workman | Matt Barnes | Josh Tayler | So much for the Nate-Eovaldi-to-Closer talk! Workman has been stellar, but now Eovaldi is getting stretched out to rejoin the Boston rotation. Enter Josh Taylor to the Holds discussion. |
| Chicago Cubs | Hammered Wingmen | - Pedro Strop - Rowan Wick | David Phelps | - Craig Kimbrel (IL) - B. Kintzler (IL) - Steve Chisek (IL) | The hits just keep coming to the Cubs bullpen, as Steve Chisek went on the IL on 8/10. But, both Chisek and Kimbrel could return early next week, while Brandon Kintzler could be back as early as 8/16. |
| Chicago White Sox | Sober | Alex Colome | Aaron Bummer | Evan Marshall | Things remain status quo for the White Sox, who continue to play above-.500 ball, but just aren't getting Save chances. |
| Cincinnati Reds | Buzzed | Raisel Iglesias | Michael Lorenzen | - Lucas Sims - Amit Garrett (SSPD) | Amir Garrett began serving an 8-game suspension on 8/12 for his involvement in the 8/1 brawl between Cincy/Pittsburgh. He should regain his role in high-leverage situations upon his return on 8/20. |
| Cleveland Indians | Sober | Brad Hand | Nick Wittgren | Oliver Perez | Oliver Perez re-enters the Cleveland hierarchy after continuing his dominance into August. Perez now has 4 Holds to only 1 ER in 4.0 IP (seven games) this month. |
| Colorado Rockies | Drunk | Scott Oberg | Brian Shaw | Wade Davis | Scott Oberg usurped the Closer role from Wade Davis back on 8/2, but he has given up 5 ER on 4 H and 2 BB in his last two outings. Could we see another change for Colorado soon? |
| Detroit Tigers | Sober | Joe Jimenez | Buck Farmer | Gregory Soto | Joe Jimenez has three-straight perfect outings, netting two Saves and a Win, with 0 H, 0 ER, and 0 BB, in 2.1 IP. |
| Houston Astros | Sober | Roberto Osuna | Ryan Pressly | - Will Harris - Joe Biagini | Roberto Osuna was on the unfortunate side of that Baltimore O's walk-off Win on 8/11, as noted above. But, he remains the go-to-guy for a strong Houston team. |
| Kansas City Royals | Sober | Ian Kennedy | Scott Barlow | Tim Hill | Kansas City has only three Wins this month, none of which have produced a Save opportunity for Ian Kennedy. |
| Los Angeles Angels | Sober | Hansel Robles | Ty Buttrey | Cam Bedrosian | The Angels have not seen any Save chances in their last seven games, but Ty Buttrey finds his way back into the LAA hierarchy with two Holds in his last 3.0 IP. |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Sober | Kenley Jansen | Joe Kelly | Pedro Baez | The Dodgers have gone 9-1 in their last 10 games, but Jansen only has one Save in that span. LAD just continues to dominate without leaving their Closer much "closing" to actually do! |
| Miami Marlins | Sober | Jarlin Garcia | Jose Quijada | Ryne Stanek | Ryne Stanek was activated from the IL on 8/6, and immediately worked in the 8th Inning. He could be Miami's answer to their Closer situation, so stay tuned. |
| Milwaukee Brewers | Sober | Josh Hader | Matt Albers | - Drew Pomeranz - Junior Guerra | Matt Albers continues to see the Save chances when Hader needs a rest. Meanwhile, Drew Pomeranz and Junior Guerra have worked their way into relevance for Milwaukee's bullpen in August. |
| Minnesota Twins | Hammered Wingmen | - Taylor Rogers - Sergio Romo | Sam Dyson | Ryne Harper | Sam Dyson was activated from the IL on 8/13 and pitched a perfect 8th Inning ahead of Sergio Romo, who notched the Save. Look for Romo to continue to see more usage as the Twins continue to monitor innings for Rogers down the stretch. |
| New York Mets | Hammered Wingmen | - Justin Wilson - Seth Lugo - Edwin Diaz | Robert Gsellman | Brad Brach | The Mets won 15-of-16 games from 7/25 to 8/10! But, Edwin Diaz started to falter during that run, giving up 5 ER in only 3.2 IP, followed by two more earned runs in 1.0 IP on 8/11, when they lost to division rival Washington. ON 8/12, Seth Lugo took over as the lead Closer, but then he was blasted for 5 ER in just 0.1 IP on 8/14. Now, it looks like Justin Wilson is the newest leader in a very, clouded 9th Inning. |
| New York Yankees | Sober | Aroldis Chapman | Zack Britton | Adam Ottavino | Things remain status quo for the Yankees hierarchy. |
| Oakland Athletics | Sober | Liam Hendriks | Joakim Soria | - Yusmeiro Petit - Jake Diekman | Both Joakim Soria (4 ER) and Yusmeiro Petit (1 ER) were tagged for runs on 8/14, while Jake Diekman (1 ER) was hit-up on 8/13. Moral of the story, everything after Hendriks is questionable! |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Buzzed | Hector Neris | Nick Pivetta | - Mike Morin - Juan Nicasio | Juan Nicasio has only pitched 1.0 IP in the last week, while Mike Morin has pitched 3.0 IP in that same span, and has earned two Holds. |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Sober | Felipe Vazquez | Keona Kela | Kyle Crick | Keona Kela pitched a clean inning on 8/14, his first game back from the 10-game suspension he served for his role in the 8/1 brawl with Cincy. Kyle Crick gets bumped down after giving up a total of seven earned runs while Kela was suspended. |
| San Diego Padres | Sober | Kirby Yates | Andres Munoz | Craig Stammen | Andres Munoz has overtaken Craig Stammen as San Diego's Next Man Up, for now, as Stammen continues to struggle. |
| San Francisco Giants | Sober | Will Smith | Tony Watson | Reyes Moronta | San Fran has won 4-of-6, including taking 3-of-4 against the fading Phillies. Will Smith has locked-down both of the Save opportunities in those four Wins. |
| Seattle Mariners | Hammered Wingmen | - Anthony Bass - Cory Gearrin | Sam Tuivailala | Austin Adams (IL) | Seattle has only two Wins in their last 11 games, neither of which brought a Save opportunity to this committee bullpen. |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Sober | Carlos Martinez | Andrew Miller | Giovanny Gallegos | Giovanny Gallegos (finally) enters the St. Louis hierarchy after pushing his scoreless streak to 16.1 IP. He has not given up an ER since taking the Loss on 7/2, and has six Holds, two Wins and a staggering 19 K's in that span! Our sincere apologies to Giovanny for not adding him to our Closer Chart earlier! |
| Tampa Bay Rays | Hammered Wingmen | - Emilio Pagan - Jose Alvarado | Diego Castillo | - Colin Poche - Chaz Roe | Jose Alvarado finally returned from the IL on 8/13, and was immediately put into high-leverage work. He should continue in this trend as long as he stays healthy. |
| Texas Rangers | Sober | Jose Leclerc | Shawn Kelley | - Jesse Chavez - Brett Martin | As expected, Shawn Kelley was activated from the IL on 8/7. After pitching only 0.1 during Seattle's doubleheader with Cleveland on 8/7, he has given up a combined 5 ER in his last two outings (1.2 IP). Leclerc is the only RP to own from this bullpen right now. |
| Toronto Blue Jays | Drunk | Ken Giles | Derek Law | - Justin Shafer - Tim Mayza | Ken Giles is still the lead guy for Saves in Toronto, but his continued health concerns, and the emergence of Derek Law could lead to a change sooner rather than later. |
| Washington Nationals | Sober | Sean Doolittle | Daniel Hudson | - Hunter Strickland - Roenis Elias (IL) | Looks like Fernando Rodney is back out of the main hierarchy for Washington, for now. But, all of the Nats relievers have been solid lately, so he could be back "in" at some point down the stretch. |
