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Congrats to all already-crowned fantasy champs, good luck to all in the fantasy finals, and what in the world are you doing to all looking ahead to the finals next week. (Full transparency, I messed up badly in one of the leagues I commish, setting the championship matchup for the actual final week of the season. Yikes.)
If you're still playing fantasy, then every little statistic likely matters right now. One save can easily be the difference between a win and a second-place finish. And you know what they say about second place... "Hey, that's not bad, most leagues usually still pay out something for that." That's the common expression, right?
Be sure to also keep an eye on our Fantasy Baseball Closer Depth Charts for saves, holds, and bullpens. They will be updated daily or sometimes even more often throughout the 2023 baseball season.
Chicago White Sox - Bullpen and Closer News
The White Sox bullpen hasn't done much in the fantasy baseball world this season. The team's leader in saves, Kendall Graveman, has eight. Kendall Graveman hasn't played for the White Sox since July 27. As a team, they've combined for just 26 saves. The team's current saves leader (Gregory Santos with five) landed on the IL this week with elbow inflammation and won't pitch again this season.
That leaves Aaron Bummer and Bryan Shaw in line for saves as the season winds down. Shaw has two saves and three holds so far, and Bummer has yet to record a save but has 14 holds. Neither guy has a particularly impressive ERA (although Shaw's 4.62 is certainly better than Bummer's 7.11). Bummer is due for plenty of positive regression though, as his xERA is only 3.54, closely matching his 3.56 FIP. Shaw might find himself in the ninth more often, but Bummer misses more bats and has the higher upside. He doesn't always even need to throw it near the plate:
Risers: Aaron Bummer, Bryan Shaw
Fallers: Gregory Santos
Chicago Cubs - Bullpen and Closer News
The Chicago team having a much better season also had some bullpen motion this week. Mark Leiter Jr. appeared in the sixth inning of a game the Cubs were already losing and made everything worse, allowing three more runs to score. With Adbert Alzolay and now Michael Fulmer injured, the next Cubs save chance (and maybe more after that) would seemingly go to Julian Merryweather.
Merryweather has one save and a 3.09 ERA in what has been a really nice bounce-back season a year after posting a 6.75 ERA for the Blue Jays. He misses plenty of bats (32.6 K%) and should be a solid relief option for the final week of the regular season.
EDIT: yikes 😬 (Merryweather got one out on Thursday night, but allowed three runs on two hits and two walks)
Risers: Julian Merryweather
Fallers: Mark Leiter Jr.
Short Relief - Other Bullpen News
-Jason Adam came off the injured list this week and should slot right back in as one of the top setup options for the Rays.
-Giovanny Gallegos landed on the IL this week, further cementing Ryan Helsley as the clear closer option in the Cardinals' bullpen.
-Scott McGough also went to the IL this week, leaving more holds chances for Miguel Castro and Kevin Ginkel.
-Elvis Peguero was placed on the injured list this week, so we can expect more Brewers holds chances from Abner Uribe.
-Andres Munoz pitched a high-leverage eighth inning this week, which left Justin Topa the ninth inning and the save. Munoz is definitely "the guy" in Seattle, but sometimes "the guy" is needed slightly earlier.
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