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David A Marcillo looks at Week 11 closer performances around MLB for 2018, including bullpen changes. He identifies fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and adds for saves.
Another week, another flurry of bullpen activity, some of it which left us with some answers and others which left us with even more questions. A veteran closer in the NL East stepped down from his role while a veteran closer in the NL West returned from a long DL stint, but didn't get his inning back.
Meanwhile, in the AL Central, another veteran staked his claim to the ninth inning while a younger arm in the AL West did the same. A rookie in the NL East made some waves and a solid setup man in the AL East may have moved his way up.
All that and more in this week's Closers and Saves Report, so let's dive into the news, the best performers, and any suggested moves for your fantasy team this week:
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Bullpen News for Week 11
Chicago White Sox
The White Sox bullpen has been a struggle most of the season, but all of a sudden the group has looked strong for a few games. Rising to the top has been Joakim Soria. Soria was the team's closer earlier this season, but lost his job on May 18. Since then, he's thrown 8 1/3 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts and seems to have reclaimed some of the ninth inning. It's still a committee in Chicago, but Soria appears to be the head of it and could take over the job for himself if he continues his success. He's not a high-upside guy and the White Sox won't win enough for him to pile up significant save numbers, but he's worth a look in deeper leagues and for any owners struggling for saves.
Los Angeles Angels
Another former closer who struggled to kick off the season is Los Angeles Angels reliever Blake Parker. Parker served as the team's closer in stints last season and was expected by some to return to that role this season. A disastrous Cactus League and a slow start to the regular season left him pitching in lower leverage situations while other Angels relievers worked in the ninth inning. Recently though, Parker has been much better and has been showing the stuff that made many think he'd be the closer all season. In his last 15 2/3 innings, Parker has given up just two earned runs. He's earned four saves and seems to be the head to the committee in Anaheim, at least for now. A few more good outings and Parker could take over the role all to himself, moving guys like Justin Anderson and Jim Johnson down into setup roles.
Toronto Blue Jays
Another bullpen that's been a committee for a while, the Blue Jays pen may have a member coming out on top as well. Ryan Tepera has been pitching well lately while most of the rest of Canada's favorite bullpen has been struggling. He's had several solid outings, including a five out, three strikeout performance to close out a game earlier in the week. While no official closer has been named yet, it would be a slight surprise to see anyone other than Tepera out there in any upcoming save situations.
Miami Marlins
Brad Ziegler was removed from the closer's role and Kyle Barraclough was promoted to it at the end of last week. Barraclough converted his first save chance as Miami's closer and should be solid enough to be worth owning in deeper formats. He has some concerning control issues and can occasionally be prone to a big inning, but he should record enough strikeouts to have some value. His biggest issue will be getting save chances, since the Marlins won't end up with too many late inning leads. Meanwhile, many thought Ziegler and his pushing-8.00 ERA would be relegated to mop-up duty, but manager Don Mattingly went ahead and threw him into the eighth inning of a close game. Ziegler escaped with a hold, but it showed us a lot more about Mattingly than about Ziegler.
San Francisco Giants
Giants reliever Mark Melancon is back from the disabled list, but with Hunter Strickland (SF's "closer of the future" for seemingly 30 years now) performing well, it may not be Melancon in the ninth inning any time soon. Strickland's leash may have gotten a little shorter with the return of Melancon, but it seems like Strickland will have to lose the job through his performance, it won't be taken from him.
Philadelphia Phillies
Phillies manager Gabe Kapler has shown that he doesn't really need to have a full-time closer, preferring instead to put his relievers in spots where they can best succeed. Still, someone needs to close out games in Philly, and rookie Seranthony Dominguez seems to be rising to the occasion. He had his first real bump in the road this week, but he still has excellent numbers over all and has been getting more and more significant innings late in games. He could be as close to a closer as the Phillies will have for a while, and his numbers are good enough to be worth a look in deeper formats.
Roster Moves of the Week
Adds
Blake Parker, Los Angeles Angels- Parker hasn't officially been named the closer in Anaheim, but he seems to have risen to the top of the committee and may be a few good outings away from taking over full time. He'd be worth owning in all formats if that were to happen, so get an early jump and see if he's available.
Kyle Barraclough, Miami Marlins- "Bear Claw" was in the adds list last week, but he's still available on a lot of waiver wires and is worth owning at least in deeper leagues. He has the upside to be a solid fantasy closer, he'll just need some help from the rest of his team to actually have leads to save.
Seranthony Dominguez, Philadelphia Phillies- Seranthony Dominguez looks to be quickly moving up the Phillies bullpen depth chart and could end up closing games consistently soon. He's worth a look in NL-only now, but should be someone to keep an eye on in all formats.
Ryan Tepera, Toronto Blue Jays- Basically what was said about Blake Parker above applies to Ryan Tepera here as well. He's worked his way into head-of-the-committee status and could take over the job outright if his success continues. He's worth owning in all formats if he's closing full time, so now could be the time to scoop him off the wire.
Joakim Soria, Chicago White Sox- Soria was the closer earlier this season and struggled so badly he was removed from the role. Since then, he's been excellent and has worked his way back into it. He won't see many save chances and has decent at best strikeout numbers, but he should have some value in deeper leagues.
Drops
Brad Ziegler, Miami Marlins- The Marlins can't seem to get rid of Ziegler, but you sure can.
*All relievers from the Angels, Blue Jays, and White Sox not mentioned in the "Adds" section*- these bullpens all seem to have a committee member rising to the challenge and likely being named closer soon. That eliminates the value of guys like Justin Anderson in Los Angeles of Anaheim, Nate Jones in Chicago of the American League, and Seung Hwan Oh in Toronto of Canada.
Best of the Week
Aroldis Chapman, New York Yankees- 2 1/3 IP, 5 K, 3 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.43 WHIP
For the second week in a row, Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman makes his way onto the Best of the Week list. This week, he only tossed 2 1/3 innings, but struck out five batters and earned three saves while allowing just one hit.
Joakim Soria, Chicago White Sox- 4 1/3 IP, 7 K, 2 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.46 WHIP
A member of the White Sox bullpen makes the Best of the Week list for the first time this season, with Joakim Soria recording two saves this week. He struck out seven batters and allowed only two hits in four games.
