July 3, 2019 Update: First and foremost, we here at Fantasy Six Pack want to send our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and teammates of Tyler Skaggs. His untimely loss shocked players and fans on Monday, and he will be missed by many! May Tyler rest in peace, and may his family find comfort during this tragic time! #RIP45
Secondly, we want to wish all of our readers a Happy 4th of July! Because the holiday is upon us, we’re posting our usual mid-week Closer Chart Updates today. But, never fear! We will be back with more updates later in the week! Have a safe and happy holiday! #murica #fireworks #haveyouseenmyfingers
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 | BAC Level | Current Closer(s) | Next Man Up | Looming Handcuff(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Diamondbacks | Buzzed | Greg Holland | Yoshihisa Hirano | Yoan Lopez | Archie Bradley last recorded a Hold on 5/31, but with Greg Holland earning a Blown Save/Loss on 7/2, Bradley could find his way back into this hierarchy sooner rather than later. |
| Atlanta Braves | Buzzed | Luke Jackson | A.J. Minter | - Jacob Webb - Anthony Swarzak (IL) | Anthony Swarzak hit the IL on 6/30 with shoulder inflammation, and is out until after the All-Star break. |
| Baltimore Orioles | Hammered Wingmen | - Mychal Givens - Shawn Armstrong | Miguel Castro | Paul Fry | After two-straight 13-0 wins against Cleveland on 6/28 and 6/29, the Orioles have lost three-straight. The Saves are still very hard to come by for this team. |
| Boston Red Sox | Hammered Wingmen | - Matt Barnes - Brandon Workman | Ryan Brasier | - Marcus Walden - Nate Eovaldi (IL) | News came out on 7/1 that Boston is going to name Nate Eovaldi as the team's close upon his return from the IL later this month. |
| Chicago Cubs | Buzzed | Craig Kimbrel | Pedro Strop | - Steve Chisek - Brandon Kintzler | After notching his first Save of 2019 on 6/27, Craig Kimbrel was called on to pitch the 8th inning on 7/1. He only made matters worse by allowing three earned runs with the Cubs already down 10. There is still some rust for him to shake off, but he should be fine. |
| Chicago White Sox | Sober | Alex Colome | Aaron Bummer | - Evan Marshall - Jace Fry | Kelvin Herrera has given up two earned runs, and has not recorded a Hold in the last seven games. Meanwhile, Jace Fry has worked his way into the hierarchy, earning two Holds in that same span. |
| Cincinnati Reds | Hammered Wingmen | - Michael Lorenzen - Raisel Iglesias | Amir Garrett | David Hernandez | Michael Lorenzen still seems to be the favored option for Saves, ahead of Raisel Iglesias. But, both of them were saddled with three earned runs on 6/30. This bullpen is very shaky right now. |
| Cleveland Indians | Sober | Brad Hand | Nick Wittgren | Oliver Perez | After getting smoked on 6/25, Brad Hand has one Save and four strikeouts in his last two outings. |
| Colorado Rockies | Buzzed | Wade Davis | Scott Oberg | Brian Shaw | Wade Davis looked good on 6/29 pitching a perfect 9th inning with two strikeouts. Maybe this is a sign that he is finally getting back to normal? |
| Detroit Tigers | Sober | Shane Greene | Joe Jimenez | Victor Alcantara | Detroit has a 1-9 record in their last 10 games. The silver lining is that Alcantara recorded the Win, Jimenez recorded the Hold, and Greene recorded the Save in that game. Still, not many opportunities for Detroit lately. |
| Houston Astros | Sober | Roberto Osuna | Ryan Pressly | - Hector Rondon - Will Harris | After losing seven-straight from 6/16 to 6/22, Houston has gone 6-2 in their last eight games. But, they only have one Save in those six wins, and it just came on 7/2. Houston is still one of the most reliable bullpens in the MLB right now. |
| Kansas City Royals | Sober | Ian Kennedy | Jake Diekman | Wily Peralta | Wily Peralta has been brutal lately, netting as many earned runs allowed as outs (five each) in his last three outings. We're moving him down in the hierarchy until he bounces back. |
| Los Angeles Angels | Buzzed | Hansel Robles | Ty Buttrey | Cam Bedrosian | LA still has not recorded a Save since 6/18, going 6-6 in their last 12 games. |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Sober | Kenley Jansen | Pedro Baez | Julio Urias | Kenley Jansen's last Save came on 6/25, with the Dodgers only going 3-3 since then. Urias has been used more in long-relief recently, as well. |
| Miami Marlins | Sober | Sergio Romo | Nick Anderson | - Jose Quijada - Tayron Guerrero (IL) | Tayron Guerrero was placed on the IL on 6/28, but was cleared to begin a throwing program on 7/2. Whether or not he'll be ready to return after the All-Star break is still to be determined. |
| Milwaukee Brewers | Buzzed | Josh Hader | Jeremy Jeffress | Junior Guerra | Jeffress was brought in to get the Save on 7/1 after Hader struggled in the 8th inning. Hader is still the lead guy, but this bullpen situation now bears monitoring. |
| Minnesota Twins | Buzzed | Taylor Rogers | Blake Parker | Trevor May | Rogers recorded Minnesota's last Save on 6/26, as the Twins have lost 4-of-5 since then. |
| New York Mets | Sober | Edwin Diaz | Seth Lugo | Jeurys Familia | The Mets activated both Jeurys Familia and Justin Wilson from the IL on 7/2, and Familia should get thrown back into late-inning work right away. |
| New York Yankees | Sober | Aroldis Chapman | Zack Britton | - Adam Ottavino - Tommy Kahnle | The Yankees have only played four games since 6/25, when they last recorded a Save, due to playing in London over the weekend. |
| Oakland Athletics | Buzzed | Liam Hendriks | - Lou Trivino - Joakim Soria | - Yusmeiro Petit - Blake Treinen (IL) | Liam Hendriks continued to make the most of his opportunity in the Closer role, earning his third Save on 7/2. However, Blake Treinen is expected to be activated on 7/3, so Hendriks should return to more of a setup role. |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Sober | Hector Neris | Juan Nicasio | JD Hammer | Philly is 5-2 in their last seven games, with Neris earning two Saves in that span. Juan Nicasio also has five-straight Holds dating back to 6/22, so we've bumped him to Next Man Up. |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Sober | Felipe Vazquez | Kyle Crick | - Francisco Liriano - Keone Kela (IL) | Pittsburgh last recorded a Save on 6/22, even though they have a 6-3 record since their last Save. |
| San Diego Padres | Sober | Kirby Yates | Craig Stammen | Luis Perdomo | Kirby Yates hasn't earned a Save since 6/28, as the Padres have gone 1-3 since that game. |
| San Francisco Giants | Sober | Will Smith | Tony Watson | - Reyes Moronta - Sam Dyson | San Fran is 4-1 against division rivals in their last five games, but they haven't recorded a Save since 6/25. |
| Seattle Mariners | Hammered Wingmen | - Roenis Elias - Austin Adams | Anthony Bass | - Cory Gearrin - H. Strickland (IL) | Austin Adams continues his dominance, extending his scoreless streak to 11 innings on 7/2. |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Hammered Wingmen | - Carlos Martinez - John Gant | Andrew Miller | Dominic Leone | Jordan Hicks had Tommy John surgery on 6/26, and will be out the rest of the season. We're putting this bullpen back into committee status for now. |
| Tampa Bay Rays | Hammered Wingmen | - Jose Alvarado - Emilio Pagan | Chaz Roe | - Adam Kolarek - Diego Castillo (IL) | Jose Alvarado notched the Save on 7/1, his first since returning from the restricted list on 6/29. |
| Texas Rangers | Buzzed | Shawn Kelley | Chris Martin | Jose Leclerc | Shawn Kelley netted the last Rangers Save on 6/27, as Texas has lost three-straight. |
| Toronto Blue Jays | Sober | Ken Giles | Joe Biagini | Daniel Hudson | Daniel Hudson has recorded two of the last three Wins for Toronto, but Giles has not earned a Save since 6/22. |
| Washington Nationals | Sober | Sean Doolittle | Wander Suero | Fernando Rodney | Sean Doolittle has two Saves and a Win in his last 3.1 IP, and newly-acquired Fernando Rodney also notched a Save on 6/28. |
