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Who needs a summer solstice? All-Star voting is now open, and that should be the true sign that summer has started. Closers aren't election-eligible, but plenty will be in Arlington, Texas for the game on July 16. There will even be some top-tier setup men. Maybe even a middle reliever sneaks his way in there! It's always fun to see what final All-Star Game rosters look like.
Also fun? Fantasy baseball. Sometimes. Maybe not this week for me, but hopefully for you! We have a closer injury, some closer history, and plenty of other closer and bullpen news to look at. So how about we stop waxing poetic about the All-Star Game and get down to it? Read on, and remember to check back on Sunday for any weekend updates.
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 2024 baseball season.
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Sunday Quick Hit Closer Updates
-Andres Munoz was reportedly available for Saturday's game, but the Mariners didn't end up with anything close to a save situation in what ended up being an 8-4 loss to the Royals. Still, it's good news for Seattle and good news for fantasy managers rostering Munoz.
-Meanwhile, temporary fill-in closer for the Mariners Ryne Stanek had a rough outing this weekend, blowing his second save and taking his first loss.
-Mason Miller has been excellent almost all year, but one thing he hadn't done yet was earn a win. He did that this weekend, moving his record to 1-0.
-Ryan Helsley continued his league leading pace, saving his 21st game of the season this weekend. The Cardinals only have 30 wins, but Helsley has recorded a save in 21 of them.
-Yohan Ramirez earned a save for the Dodgers in an extra inning game. Ryan Phillips is still very much the closer in Los Angeles, but Ramirez surely enjoyed his first major league save since 2022.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Saves
Yimi Garcia, Toronto Blue Jays (Rostered in 46% of leagues)
Blue Jays closer (for now) Yimi Garcia makes our waiver wire pickup list for the second week in a row. Garcia is the unquestioned closer for Toronto right now and should keep that role at least until Jordan Romano returns from his elbow injury.
The most recent reports state that Romano has received an anti-inflammatory injection but has yet to resume throwing, so it could be a while. Garcia has recorded either a win, save, or hold in eight of his last 11 appearances and has a solid 2.16 ERA and 33:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He gave up two runs in one inning on Thursday, but held on for the save. He should be rostered in pretty much every league right now, but is rostered in fewer than half. Go get him!
Here are the top 10 highest ranking single-pitch tjStuff+ grades from the past week of the 2024 MLB Season. Only pitches which resulted in whiffs or called strikes are shown.
1) Yimi Garcia vs Jorge Mateo
Sweeper
135 tjStuff+ pic.twitter.com/JPK6jM2tgN— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) May 20, 2024
Ryne Stanek, Seattle Mariners (Rostered in 13% of leagues)
Mariners closer Andres Munoz is dealing with a back strain and may miss some time. For now, it does not appear to be a serious issue, as he is not expected to require a trip to the injured list. But back injuries can linger and easily get worse, so Stanek is worth keeping an eye on.
Stanek has been operating as the primary setup man for the Mariners ahead of Munoz, and he should get any save chances whenever Munoz is unavailable. Stanek has been solid all season, posting a 3.52 ERA with 10 holds, four saves, and three wins. He's available in most leagues right now and might be a good idea for anyone rostering Munoz and waiting to see how he recovers.
Ryne Stanek's Splitter was the Highest Grading tjStuff+ Pitch from yesterday pic.twitter.com/ZaLvDBIyaf
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) June 1, 2024
More Bullpen and Closer News
St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals as a team haven't been great this year, as they're sitting at 29-31 with a -45 run differential (but only 0.5 games out of a Wild Card spot because the National League is kind of bad this year!). But the Cardinals bullpen? It has been great. Ryan Helsley, Andrew Kittredge, and JoJo Romero find themselves all over most leverage leader boards.
This week, Helsley became the first closer to reach 20 saves this season. He, Kittredge, and Romero have combined for 56 SOLDS (saves + holds), which is more than 20 other entire teams. Helsley leads the league in saves (20), Romero leads the league in holds (19), and Kittredge is in third place (17). The "Cardinals Devil Magic" this year seems to be coming out of the bullpen in the late innings. All three guys should be rostered in leagues where holds count.
Ryan Helsley, 102mph Fastball and 82mph Curveball, Overlay. pic.twitter.com/Dri3SEOH4l
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 5, 2024
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox placed setup man Chris Martin on the injured list this week with anxiety. First, a quick shout-out to MLB for designating anxiety as a legitimate issue worthy of a spot on the injured list. Second, shout-out to Chris Martin and the Red Sox, here's hoping he is able to find ways to deal with it and come back strong.
On the mound side of things, Martin's IL stint leaves Justin Slaten and Greg Weissert as the most likely holds candidates, both pitching ahead of closer Kenley Jansen. They've both been solid this year and should continue to have holds league value going forward.
Short Relief - Other Bullpen News
-Michael Kopech has six losses and five saves so far this season. He's shown elite swing-and-miss stuff, but his control has been an issue and the White Sox simply don't have that many leads for him to come in and save.
-Mason Miller appears to be human, but is still really, really good at pitching. His current 1.51 FIP means that "Mason Miller Negative FIP Watch" can probably be brought to an end.
-Hector Neris just keeps getting away with it! He has a 5.02 xERA and a 20:19 K:BB ratio, but a 2.74 ERA with six wins and eight saves.
-Just avoid the Rockies bullpen. We keep trying to figure it out, and just when it looks like we have, the guy we think is closing blows a save and then it's someone else the next day. Rockies bullpen advice: Don't.
-David Bednar had a slow start to the season, but he's now gone eight straight outings without allowing a run.
-Ryan Helsley remains our league leader with his 20 saves, followed by Emmanuel Clase with 19, and then Clay Holmes with 18 and Robert Suarez with 17.
-JoJo Romero (19), Hunter Harvey (18), and Andrew Kittredge (17) are the top three holds guys, with Austin Adams (15) trending up.
-Matt Strahm (0.70) is the only pitcher with 10+ innings pitched to have a FIP under 1.00.
-It's been a really, really good season for relief pitchers so far. The following guys have all pitched at least 20 innings and have ERAs under 1.00: Emmanuel Clase (0.30), Justin Martinez (0.42), Robert Suarez (0.69), Matt Strahm (0.72), Brennan Bernardino (0.72), Kirby Yates (0.84), and Jeff Hoffman (0.98).
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