Kansas City Royals

Kansas City Royals Fantasy Baseball Daily Bullpen Updates and Closer Depth Chart

Closer1st in line2nd in line2025 CloserUpdated
KCWill SmithJohn SchreiberJames McArthurJames McArthur3/12/24
(IL)

* = closer-by-committee

Previous updates:

March 10, 2024

Kansas City Royals – On Sunday, James McArthur retired all four batters faced, two via strikeout. He owns a 0.63 WHIP with eight strikeouts versus one walk over 6.1 innings. He’s featured by Manny Randhawa of MLB.com as part of the “culture change” in the Royals leverage ladder. After his arrival from Philadelphia, the team asked him to use his slider again, and his tweaked arsenal produced a 16.1 inning scoreless streak through the end of last season. He may not garner save chances early on, but he will be a factor in them as the year progresses. 

March 3, 2024

Kansas City Royals -During his spring debut, Will Smith fired a clean inning, striking out two. According to Anne Rogers of MLB.com, his delayed appearance was by plan since he was a part of three straight World Series championships. She also reported he will be incorporating a change-up into his arsenal during spring games.

March 1, 2024

Kansas City Royals – Anne Rogers posted her roster projection for MLB.com, which intimates Will Smith will open the year as the team’s “closer”. How long he keeps this role remains open for debate, but time will tell how this leverage evolves.

February 25, 2024

Kansas City Royals – In her Royals’ beat newsletter, Anne Rogers provides insight on the bullpen and potential roles for 2024. From our perspective, the team keeps mentioning Will Smith as the preferred save option, but trading for John Schreiber may result in shared save situations based on hitter handedness in late-inning lineup pockets. James McArthur may be the most talented reliever, but his small sample size will require him earning save chances as the season progresses.

September 24, 2023
Kansas City Royals – The Royals cannot be stopped. Having won 4 in a row and 8 of their last 9 they gave the ball to Taylor Clarke for the last 2 outs of the 8th in a 1 run game. He got out of the jam, and stuck around for the 9th to land his 3rd save on the year. James McArthur had thrown 19 pitches the day before and was resting, but everything is working for Kansas City right now. Expect this bullpen to continue to be flexible with a week remaining, but McArthur is still the best arm to own.

Hierarchy remains: *McArthur | Hernandez | Clarke.
* = closer-by-committee

September 23, 2023
Kansas City Royals – James McArthur pitched 1.2 scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts to pick up his second save.  McArthur has an ugly ERA because he gave up 7 earned runs in one inning in his first appearance of the season but he has reeled off nine straight scoreless outings and his WHIP on the season is under 1.00.  McArthur moves to the top of this hierarchy and could be worth a pickup for the last week of the season if you need some potential saves and strong ratios.

Updated hierarchy: *McArthur | Hernandez | Clarke.
* = closer-by-committee

September 20, 2023
Kansas City Royals – Don’t look now, but the Royals have won six of their last seven games! Four different relievers have picked up a save in that span, with Collin Snider earning his first MLB save on Tuesday. Carlos Hernandez faced the 9-1-2 hitters in the eighth and gave up a homer, walk and single before being pulled for James McArthur, who struck out all three hitters he faced to continue a September to remember. McArthur has retired 31 of the 32 hitters he’s faced in September, striking out 11 and walking zero. Hernandez has basically done the opposite, allowing at least one run in five of his six September outings. This still isn’t a bullpen to trust (especially with three games against Houston on the horizon) but McArthur looks to be the best arm to own in Kansas City.

Updated hierarchy: *Hernandez | McArthur | Clarke.
* = closer-by-committee

September 19, 2023
Kansas City Royals – James McArthur picked up his first career save on Monday, pitching a scoreless 9th inning after the Royals scored 4 runs against the scuffling Trevor Stephan. With a win, a hold, and now a save, all in the past week, we welcome McArthur to this hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: *Hernandez | Clarke | McArthur.
* = closer-by-committee

September 17, 2023
Kansas City Royals – Carlos Hernandez started the 9th inning with the Royals up 4 but quickly ran into trouble by allowing hits to the first three batters he faced.  Hernandez was then able to record a couple outs but after a walk to put the tying run on base, he was pulled in favor of Taylor Clarke.  Clarke retired the only batter he faced to record his second straight save.  We will leave Hernandez at the top of the hierarchy for now but we will watch this to see if Clarke becomes the preferred option to close out games.  

Updated hierarchy: *Hernandez | Clarke | Snider.
* = closer-by-committee

September 16, 2023
Kansas City Royals – With a 2 run lead and the 3-4-5 hitters coming up the Royals went with Carlos Hernandez in the 8th inning. This left the 9th to Taylor Clarke, who gave up a leadoff homer before striking out the side to earn his first save on the season. Kansas City only has 21 saves total on the year, so don’t expect too much more out of this bullpen with only a couple weeks left. 

Updated hierarchy: *Hernandez | Clarke | Cruz.
* = closer-by-committee

September 10, 2023
Kansas City Royals – Austin Cox hurt his knee trying to cover 1st base and was placed on the 60-day IL.  The Royals bullpen is a mess and they haven’t had any save chances in September so it’s probably best to just avoid this situation.

Updated hierarchy: *Hernandez | Clarke | Cruz.
* = closer-by-committee

August 15, 2023
Kansas City Royals – Committee leader Carlos Hernandez scuffled his way through the 8th inning on Monday, allowing the Mariners to plate a few inherited runs along with two of his own. Austin Cox wasn’t much better, surrendering the lead and blowing the save in the 9th. Nick Wittgren actually ended up with the win here after the Royals rallied in the bottom half thanks to a walkoff bunt, but there certainly isn’t any more clarity as to their late inning plans. We’ll continue to monitor.

Hierarchy remains: *Hernandez | Cox | Coleman.
* = closer-by-committee

August 5, 2023
Kansas City Royals – The Royals are in the midst of a 7 game winning streak, and last night turned the 9th inning over to rookie Austin Cox. Cox shut the door for the first save of his career. Cox started his career on a 6 game scoreless streak before running into a rough patch in early July, but now has 2 holds and a save in the last week. Carlos Hernandez pitched the 7th, facing Philadelphia’s 2-3-4 hitters, which is just enough to hold the top spot in this committee, but Cox jumps to 1st in line with last night’s performance.

Updated hierarchy: *Hernandez | Cox | Coleman.

* = closer-by-committee

August 1, 2023

Kansas City Royals – As expected, the Royals dealt closer Scott Barlow, sending him to the Padres. We expect Carlos Hernandez to lead a committee that includes Taylor Clarke and Dylan Coleman.

Updated hierarchy: *Hernandez | Clarke | Coleman.

* = closer-by-committee

July 31, 2023
Kansas City Royals – Our pick for the vulture save last night, Dylan Coleman, got the 8th inning, leaving the vulture save to Carlos Hernandez. Hernandez converted for his first career save. Hernandez has proven himself as a valuable handcuff for Scott Barlow, but with tomorrow’s deadline looming he may be a closer sooner rather than later.

Hierarchy remains: Barlow | Hernandez | Clarke.

July 31, 2023
Kansas City Royals – Our pick for the vulture save last night, Dylan Coleman, got the 8th inning, leaving the vulture save to Carlos Hernandez. Hernandez converted for his first career save. Hernandez has proven himself as a valuable handcuff for Scott Barlow, but with tomorrow’s deadline looming he may be a closer sooner rather than later.

Hierarchy remains: Barlow | Hernandez | Clarke.

July 25, 2023
Kansas City Royals – Carlos Hernandez got the 8th inning ahead of Scott Barlow, which has been a trend as of late. He moves up to the handcuff spot after another successful bridge.

Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Hernandez | Clarke.

July 1, 2023
Kansas City Royals — The Royals traded Aroldis Chapman yesterday to the Texas Rangers. Chapman had a resurgence in Kansas City, and quickly became an attractive trade piece for the Royals. The new handcuff for Scott Barlow is Taylor Clarke and the recently activated Amir Garrett returns to the hierarchy. It may not be too long before Barlow is shipped out as well, so keep an eye on the Royals bullpen as a possible source of cheap saves come trade deadline time.

Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Clarke | Garrett.

June 8, 2023
Kansas City Royals — Josh Staumont is headed to the IL with a neck strain, putting Taylor Clarke back into the hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Chapman | Clarke.

May 24, 2023
Kansas City Royals – As predicted in the Vulture Save Watch, Scott Barlow got Tuesday off and Aroldis Chapman converted the save opportunity in Barlow’s absence.

Hierarchy remains: Barlow | Chapman | Staumont.

May 7, 2023
Kansas City Royals – Josh Staumont pitched a perfect 8th inning, including two strikeouts, with the Royals down one. Staumont now has seven straight scoreless appearances and has only given up three hits against twelve strikeouts during that time.

Updated Hierarchy: Barlow | Chapman | Staumont.

April 26, 2023
Kansas City Royals – Taylor Clarke allowed one run but picked up a seventh-inning hold on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Josh Staumont hasn’t pitched since Friday and hasn’t seen much high-leverage work in his three outings since returning to Kansas City, so Clarke moves into the hierarchy for now.

Updated Hierarchy: Barlow | Chapman | Clarke.

April 15, 2023
Kansas City Royals – The Royals optioned Dylan Coleman to AAA last night and brought back Josh Staumont. Staumont immediately got the ball in the 7th inning with his team down by 7, so not the highest leverage return. However, he pitched a clean inning and the Royals don’t have a ton of back end bullpen options, so he jumps straight back into the hierarchy.

Updated Hierarchy: Barlow | Chapman | Staumont.

April 9, 2023
Kansas City Royals – As predicted in the Vulture Save Watch, Scott Barlow got the day off yesterday after pitching in two straight.  That left Aroldis Chapman for the save chance and he converted by pitching a perfect 9th inning with a pair of strikeouts.  Chapman has been great to start the season as he has worked four scoreless innings, including eight strikeouts and, more importantly, only one walk.  Scott Barlow has also been good in his first three appearances on the seaosn so Chapman isn’t challenging him quite yet but if he can keep it up, he could work this into a committee.

Hierarchy remains: Barlow | Chapman | Coleman.

March 26, 2023
Kansas City Royals – Josh Staumont was optioned to Triple-A Omaha.  Dylan Coleman will take Staumont’s spot on the hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Chapman | Coleman.

March 13, 2023
Kansas City Royals – Scott Barlow had a strong 2022 season as he led the Royals with 24 saves and had a solid ERA of 2.18 and a WHIP of 1.00.  Barlow should start the season as the closer, but there are question marks behind him.  Josh Staumont has looked dominant at times, but he battled injuries and serious control issues last season.  Speaking of control issues, the Royals signed veteran flamethrower Aroldis Chapman.  Chapman walked 28 batters in just over 36 innings last year, but the Royals will hope he can regain the form that saw him strike out 97 batters just a couple seasons ago.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: Barlow | Staumont | Chapman.
Holds candidates: Staumont, Chapman, Amir Garrett, Taylor Clarke.

October 4, 2022
Kansas City Royals – Taylor Clarke got a 10th inning save on Monday, after the rest of the Kansas City hierarchy had already pitched. It was his third of the season.

Hierarchy remains: Barlow | Coleman | Garrett.

September 23, 2022
Kansas City Royals — Brad Keller earned his first career save on Thursday, notching two strikeouts in a scoreless ninth inning against the Twins. Scott Barlow, Dylan Coleman and Amir Garrett had all pitched in back-to-back games and all were given the night off Thursday, so Keller won’t normally factor into the team’s late-inning plans.

Hierarchy remains: Barlow | Coleman | Garrett.

August 25, 2022
Kansas City Royals — The day after a 42-pitch outing, Josh Staumont hit the injured list with biceps tendinitis. The righty doesn’t believe the injury is serious. Now that Amir Garrett is done with his two-game suspension for throwing a drink at a fan, he should take over the seventh inning.

Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Coleman | Garrett.

August 10, 2022
Kansas City Royals – The Royals needed to use Scott Barlow to get out of an eighth-inning jam in game one of a doubleheader, so after Barlow protected their 4-1 lead, Dylan Coleman got the ball in the ninth. Coleman struggled, however, allowing two hits, giving up an RBI sac fly and hitting a batter. Jose Cuas, recalled from Triple-A on Tuesday when Taylor Clarke landed on the 15-day IL with a left oblique strain, recorded the final two outs for his first MLB save. We’ll move Coleman into Clarke’s spot on the hierarchy for now, though if Cuas gets another high-leverage look, he could quickly replace Coleman.

Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Staumont | Coleman.

July 25, 2022
Kansas City Royals – With Scott Barlow and Josh Staumont both appearing Saturday — and with the Royals perhaps looking to showcase an additional bullpen arm before the trade deadline — Taylor Clarke was tasked with the 9th inning of a two-run game. The hard-throwing righty converted, and has now allowed runs in just 2 of his past 17 appearances.

Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Staumont | Clarke.

July 17, 2022
Kansas City Royals – Josh Staumont returned from the IL and threw a scoreless 8th inning ahead of closer Scott Barlow with the game tied.  He should move right back into his set-up role.

Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Staumont | Coleman.

June 28, 2022
Kansas City Royals – Josh Staumont was placed on the IL, retroactive to 6/23, with a neck strain. We’ll give Dylan Coleman the edge for the 8th inning role for the time being.

Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Coleman | Clarke.

June 22, 2022
Kansas City Royals – Scott Barlow allowed a game-tying three-run homer to Shohei Ohtani in the ninth, which paved the way for Daniel Mengden to earn the save in the 12th, his first save since 2019.

Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Staumont | Clarke.

June 19, 2022
Kansas City Royals – Scott Barlow recorded the last four outs of a Royals 2-0 victory for his 8th save of the season.  Meanwhile, Josh Staumont hasn’t recorded a save in over a month.  This is clearly no longer a committee so we will kick the asterisk.

Hierarchy remains: Barlow | Staumont | Vizcaino.

June 10, 2022
Kansas City Royals – Arodys Vizcaino, who last appeared in the majors in 2019, joined the Royals at the end of May after posting a 1.76 ERA across 15.1 innings in AAA. He made his fifth major league appearance for Kansas City on Thursday and picked up an 8th inning hold. Welcome back to a Closer Monkey hierarchy, Arodys!

Updated hierarchy: *Barlow | Staumont | Vizcaino.
* = closer-by-committee

May 27, 2022
Kansas City Royals – Amir Garrett was placed in the injured list Thursday with no injury designation, which suggests it could be a COVID-19 situation. He could be active as soon as the next day or it could take a week or two if he tests positive and/or has symptoms. We’ll promote Collin Snider to the hierarchy in his place. He hasn’t been great (5.29 ERA, 1.47 WHIP), but he leads the team in holds (6).

Updated hierarchy: *S.Barlow | Staumont | Snider.
* = closer-by-committee

May 18, 2022
Kansas City Royals – Scott Barlow had pitched in two straight and three of four, so Josh Staumont tossed a perfect ninth inning to close out a 2-1 win in game two of Tuesday’s doubleheader with the White Sox.

Hierarchy remains: *S.Barlow | Staumont | Garrett.
* = closer-by-committee

May 14, 2022
Kansas City Royals – Josh Staumont was brought into a 4 run game in the 8th inning, but struggled with his command, issuing a pair of walks and an HBP before getting pulled for Scott Barlow. Barlow got the last out of the 8th and stuck around for the 9th to earn the save. Barlow has been the better option for the Royals in the last few weeks, and he’ll jump to the head of this committee, at least until the next save opportunity goes Staumont’s way.

Updated Hierarchy: *S.Barlow | Staumont | Garrett.
* = closer-by-committee

May 9, 2022
Kansas City Royals – Scott Barlow got the save in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader. Josh Staumont warmed up (but didn’t appear) in the nightcap, so he’s fine; this remains a committee.

Hierarchy remains: *Staumont | S.Barlow | Garrett.
* = closer-by-committee

April 29, 2022
Kansas City Royals — Just like Pittsburgh, KC features a tandem sharing save chances this season. It was Josh Staumont’s turn in the eighth inning Thursday, but he allowed the tying run on two hits. Scott Barlow pitched a clean ninth, and after the Royals took the lead in the 10th inning, Taylor Clarke struck out two in retiring the side for his first save. Amir Garrett (0.00 ERA) has also been effective this season, but if Clarke shows again that he’s a late-innings option, perhaps a hierarchy switch is in order behind Staumont and Barlow.

Hierarchy remains: *Staumont | Barlow | Garrett.
* = closer-by-committee

April 21, 2022
Kansas City Royals — It was Scott Barlow’s turn to grab a save in the Royals’ two-headed closer committee. Kansas City has two excellent ninth-inning options in Barlow and Josh Staumont.

Hierarchy remains: *Staumont | Barlow | Garrett.
* = closer-by-committee

April 20, 2022
Kansas City Royals — Josh Staumont recorded his second save in as many chances on Tuesday, with Scott Barlow pitching a perfect eighth inning. We’ll swap these two at the top of the hierarchy, but don’t be surprised if the Royals continue to mix and match with Staumont and Barlow in the final two innings.

Updated hierarchy: *Staumont | Barlow | Garrett.
* = closer-by-committee

April 17, 2022
Kansas City Royals — The Royals picked up their first save of the season and it was Josh Staumont who ended up getting the call.  Staumont struck out a pair in a perfect 9th inning, but it’s worth noting that Scott Barlow got the 8th inning with the 3-4-5 hitters due up.   Barlow has pitched well to start the season and we don’t think this one save is enough to switch up the hierarchy, but it shows that Staumont is still very much in the mix for saves.

Hierarchy remains: *Barlow | Staumont | Garrett.
* = closer-by-committee

March 22, 2022
Kansas City Royals — Manager Mike Matheny doesn’t always settle on “the guy” in the ninth inning, but Scott Barlow might force his hand to begin 2022. Barlow was strong in last season’s second half, netting 12 saves with a 1.71 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. The waters got muddied a bit, though, when longtime Reds reliever Amir Garrett, who fell out of favor last year when he got his chance to close for Cincinnati, was traded to KC. Josh Staumount, meanwhile, could be the team’s best relief pitcher, but Matheny could also choose to deploy him in the tightest spots in games. Consider this situation a committee to start.

Starting 2022 hierarchy: *Barlow | Staumont | Garrett.
* = closer-by-committee
Holds candidates: Staumont, Garrett, Jake Brentz, Dylan Coleman, Taylor Clarke.

September 11, 2021
Kansas City Royals — After rolling through their hierarchy earlier in the game, the Kansas City Royals called on the recently activated Greg Holland to close when they took a 2 run lead in the 11th inning. Holland looked like his former self, pitching a perfect inning with one strikeout. An extra-inning vulture save isn’t enough to think that Holland is threatening to take over the closer’s role right now, but it does get him back on the hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Staumont | Brentz.

September 10, 2021
Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland (5.79 ERA) was activated from the IL on Thursday, but we still need to see how he’s used before placing back into the hierarchy. Scott Barlow, Josh Staumont and Jake Brentz have pitched well in recent weeks.

Hierarchy remains: Barlow | Staumont | Brentz.

September 2, 2021
Kansas City Royals — Jake Brentz returned from the injured list after the minimum stay; he came in to pitch the seventh with a one-run lead, but gave it right up on a solo homer. We still like him to hold onto that seventh-inning role going forward.

Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Staumont | Brentz.

August 28, 2021
Kansas City Royals — Josh Staumont returned from the injured list after only one day, suggesting that his absence was a COVID-19 precaution. He got right back into the mix, picking up the win in extra innings last night.

Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Staumont | Davis.

August 27, 2021
Kansas City Royals – Josh Staumont went on the IL Thursday, though no reason was given. Domingo Tapia, who has three holds in his last three appearances, enters the hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Davis | Tapia.

August 24, 2021
Kansas City Royals – Jake Brentz was placed on the IL with a shoulder injury, though he isn’t expected to miss much time. Josh Staumont becomes the temporary handcuff for Scott Barlow.

Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Staumont | Davis.

August 18, 2021
Kansas City Royals – We thought both Scott Barlow and Jake Brentz would get Tuesday off after having pitched in two straight games, but Brentz worked his third consecutive day when he got the ninth inning with the Royals ahead of Houston, 3-1. Brentz issued two walks but also notched two strikeouts to secure the save.

Hierarchy remains: Barlow | Brentz | Staumont.

August 17, 2021
Kansas City Royals – Greg Holland was placed on the IL, cementing Scott Barlow’s spot at the top of this hierarchy for now. We’ll give Holland’s hierarchy slot to Jake Brentz, who has set up for Barlow each of the last two nights.

Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Brentz | Staumont.

August 9, 2021
Royals were left with Richard Lovelady — who is a totally real person that we’ve definitely heard of before — to pitch the 9th. Lovelady got the job done, picking up his first career save.

Hierarchy remains: *Barlow | Holland | Staumont.
* = closer-by-committee

August 6, 2021
Kansas City Royals — Jake Brentz earned his first career save, locking down the ninth on Thursday for the Royals. KC had already used Josh Staumont (sixth), Greg Holland (seventh) and Scott Barlow (eighth) in the game. Brentz has been solid this year (3.21 ERA, 54 Ks in 47.2 IP), but he’ll likely be behind this group in the saves pecking order moving forward.

Hierarchy remains: *Barlow | Holland | Staumont.
* = closer-by-committee

July 25, 2021
Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland got the call to try and protect a three-run lead, but he made a mess of things by allowing a two-run homer and then walking a couple of batters.  The Royals then tried to go back in time to 2016 and summoned Wade Davis from the pen to try and get the last out of the game.  Davis struck out the only batter he faced to pick up his second save of the season.  Nobody in the Royals bullpen has separated himself at this point but Davis still doesn’t crack the hierarchy.

Hierarchy remains: *Barlow | Holland | Staumont.
* = closer-by-committee

July 21, 2021
Kansas City Royals — After Scott Barlow maintained a 5-2 lead against the Brewers’ 3-4-5-6 hitters in the eighth inning, Greg Holland shut the door in the ninth to pick up the Royals’ first save since July 4. Barlow remains the most likely Royals reliever to collect a save, but as we saw on Tuesday, he may pitch earlier depending on matchups.

Hierarchy remains: *Barlow | Holland | Staumont.
* = closer-by-committee

July 21, 2021
Kansas City Royals — After Scott Barlow maintained a 5-2 lead against the Brewers’ 3-4-5-6 hitters in the eighth inning, Greg Holland shut the door in the ninth to pick up the Royals’ first save since July 4. Barlow remains the most likely Royals reliever to collect a save, but as we saw on Tuesday, he may pitch earlier depending on matchups.

Hierarchy remains: *Barlow | Holland | Staumont.
* = closer-by-committee

July 4, 2021
Kansas City Royals — We mentioned yesterday that Scott Barlow was likely to get the next save chance for the Royals and sure enough, after Greg Holland allowed a run in the 8th to make it a save chance, Barlow came out for the 9th.  He pitched a scoreless inning to pick up his fourth save of the season.  Barlow was recently named the Royals pitcher of the month for June and has a chance to run away with this job.

Hierarchy remains: *Barlow | Holland | Staumont.
* = closer-by-committee

July 3, 2021
Kansas City Royals — The Royals snapped a nine-game losing streak last night, and they used Greg Holland in the eighth and Scott Barlow in the ninth. With so many recent losses, there haven’t been many chances to shake out the committee pecking order. Holland was getting (and blowing) the bulk of the save chances a few weeks back, but last night’s usage suggests that Barlow — who has the best numbers of the top options — may have the inside track the next time the Royals win a game. 

Updated hierarchy: *Barlow | Holland | Staumont.
* = closer-by-committee

June 23, 2021
Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland picked up his fifth save of the season on Tuesday, with Scott Barlow securing the final two outs of the eighth inning. Josh Staumont hasn’t pitched since June 16, which is a little concerning given his previous IL stint.

Updated hierarchy: *Holland | Barlow | Staumont.
* = closer-by-committee

June 19, 2021
Kansas City Royals — After the Royals had the day off on Thursday, they used Scott Barlow in the 8th and then turned to Greg Holland for the 9th inning on Friday. Holland converted the save for his 4th of the year. This save comes right after he gave up 3 runs and took the loss pitching in the 7th inning on Wednesday, so to see him get this save chance, especially with a rested Josh Staumont, was surprising. Staumont has yet to pitch with a lead since returning from the IL, mostly because the Royals have lost 10 of their last 12, but he’s had a small dip in velocity since the injury as well. Based on last night’s usage, we will shift Holland back to the top of the committee, but Staumont isn’t worth dropping just yet.

Updated hierarchy: *Holland | Staumont | Barlow.
* = closer-by-committee

June 7, 2021
Kansas City Royals — Josh Staumont’s return saw him pitch the eighth with the Royals down a run, not exactly a low-leverage spot. We expect him to slide right back into his role as the top Kansas City reliever.

Updated hierarchy: *Staumont | Holland | Barlow.
* = closer-by-committee

June 4, 2021
Kansas City Royals — Scott Barlow was excellent Thursday, throwing two hitless innings to pick up his second save (his first came on April 15). He’s the league’s only pitcher with two six-out saves this season, and his season line is great — 1.86 ERA, 43 K in just 29 IP. Greg Holland hasn’t pitched since Monday, so perhaps it was no accident Barlow was out there with the game on the line Thursday. To be fair to Holland, though, Monday’s appearance was his third in three days, so perhaps extra rest was warranted. Mike Matheny will probably mix and match until his top option Josh Staumont makes his return (which could come soon). 

Hierarchy remains: *Holland | Barlow | Zimmer.
* = closer-by-committee

May 31, 2021
Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland converted the Royals’ first save chance since Josh Staumont landed on the IL. Kyle Zimmer (1.1 IP) and Scott Barlow (1.2 IP) each earned a hold to get the Royals to the ninth inning.

Hierarchy remains: *Holland | Barlow | Zimmer.
* = closer-by-committee

May 29, 2021
Kansas City Royals — Josh Staumont will spend at least the next week on the IL with a knee strain. Staumont had just started to break away from the pack in the Kansas City bullpen, so this injury will put the Royals back into a murky committee. We expect Greg Holland and his closing experience to have the first crack at saves, but Scott Barlow and Kyle Zimmer will both be in the mix.

Updated hierarchy: *Holland | Barlow | Zimmer.
* = closer-by-committee

May 28, 2021
Kansas City Royals — Josh Staumont went on the IL Friday with a knee strain. He is eligible to return June 4th, but may be out longer. Greg Holland, Scott Barlow and Kyle Zimmer will pick up the committee while he is out. 

Updated hierarchy: *Holland | Barlow | Zimmer.
* = closer-by-committee

May 26, 2021
Kansas City Royals – It was Kyle Zimmer, not Josh Staumont, who closed out Tuesday’s victory over the Rays, with Zimmer recording the final two outs of the ninth inning to earn his second save of the season. In fact, none of the Royals’ hierarchy members pitched on Tuesday, as lefty Jake Brentz threw a scoreless inning and a third ahead of Zimmer. Mike Matheny did say that some guys weren’t available, but it’s a little concerning that Staumont hasn’t pitched since Saturday and Greg Holland hasn’t pitched since Friday, even with the Royals in the middle of a three-game win streak. Matheny, who has a specific approach to how he navigates the late innings, clearly trusts Zimmer in important moments, and Zimmer is someone to stash in case he becomes a bigger factor in high-leverage spots.

Hierarchy remains: *Staumont | Holland | Barlow.
* = closer-by-committee

May 19, 2021
Kansas City Royals – The good news? Josh Staumont has the last two saves for the Royals after closing out Tuesday’s triumph. The bad news? His previous save was on April 28. Staumont remains the best option for saves in Kansas City at the moment, but that means the Royals need to start winning more close games.

Hierarchy remains: *Staumont | Holland | Barlow.
* = closer-by-committee

April 27, 2021
Kansas City Royals – The Royals went with Greg Holland in the 8th and Josh Staumont in the 9th, and Staumont earned his second save of the year. We’re shuffling the committee accordingly and will monitor this to see if this is now Staumont’s job to lose.

Updated hierarchy: *Staumont | Holland | Barlow.
* = closer-by-committee

April 25, 2021
Kansas City Royals — There has still been no reason given for Greg Holland’s IL stint but it was short-lived as Holland has been reinstated.  Holland did not pitch yesterday and instead, the Royals used Scott Barlow in the 8th and Josh Staumont in the 9th to protect a one-run lead.  Staumont struck out a pair to pick up his first save of the season.  We will move Holland back to the top of this committee as he leads the team in saves and has been most consistently used in the 8th inning or later.  However, Staumont is probably worth hanging onto if you can as he pitching the best of any Royals’ reliever right now and could continue to see some save chances.

Updated Hierarchy: *Holland | Staumont | Barlow.
* = closer-by-committee

April 24, 2021
Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland went on the IL yesterday, and the reasons are still undisclosed, although there’s some speculation that it’s a COVID placement and he could be back soon. Last night the Royals had a four-run lead and used Josh Staumont in the ninth inning. This wasn’t a save situation, but it was close, and Staumont now has a 0.90 ERA and appears to be the committee leader.

Hierarchy remains: *Staumont | Zimmer | Barlow.
* = closer-by-committee

April 23, 2021
Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland was placed on the injured list Friday for undisclosed reasons. The Royals, who lead the AL Central with 10 wins, have already had five pitchers get saves, with Holland leading with two. There’s no clear candidate to take over, but we like Josh Staumont, who has a 1.00 ERA in seven appearances. Other options are Kyle Zimmer, Scott Barlow, and old friend Wade Davis.

Hierarchy remains: *Staumont | Zimmer | Barlow.
* = closer-by-committee

April 16, 2021
Kansas City Royals — One of the cloudier bullpen situations in baseball got even murkier Thursday when Scott Barlow pitched the final two innings to earn his first save. He is now the fifth Royal to have a save over the first 11 games. There was little reporting after the game about the team’s closer situation, so a lot of uncertainty remains. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ What else do we say? 

Hierarchy remains: *Holland | Staumont | Zimmer.
* = closer-by-committee

April 15, 2021
Kansas City Royals — Josh Staumont’s immediate return from the injured list suggests a brief brush with COVID-19 that did not involve a positive test. He looked none the worse for wear, delivering two scoreless innings to pick up a hold.

Updated hierarchy: *Holland | Staumont | Zimmer.
* = closer-by-committee

April 14, 2021
Kansas City Royals – Another Royals reliever hit the IL this week, as Josh Staumont landed on the list with an undisclosed injury. That should mean even more high-leverage looks for Kyle Zimmer as well as the return of Wade Davis to the Royals hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: *Holland | Zimmer | Davis.
* = closer-by-committee

April 13, 2021
Kansas City Royals – Jesse Hahn was placed on the IL on Monday with a right shoulder issue. Look for Josh Staumont and Kyle Zimmer to get some more late inning action as a result.

Updated hierarchy: *Holland | Staumont | Zimmer.
* = closer-by-committee

April 12, 2021
Kansas City Royals – With the game in extra innings and with the rest of the Royals hierarchy having already pitched, Kyle Zimmer closed out the win for his first career save. Zimmer has been stellar so far this season and could find his way on to the hierarchy soon if the Royals start using him in higher-leverage spots more consistently.

Hierarchy remains: *Holland | Hahn | Barlow.
* = closer-by-committee

April 6, 2021
Kansas City Royals – Jesse Hahn, who saved three games and pitched extremely well for the Royals during the shortened 2020 campaign, picked up his first save of 2021 on Monday. Greg Holland, ostensibly the closer, hadn’t pitched since opening day, and he was getting loose in the bullpen throughout the 9th, but after allowing two men to reach, Hahn closed the door. We’ll slap a committee tag on here until we have more clarity about how the Royals will navigate the late innings.

Updated hierarchy: *Holland | Hahn | Barlow.
* = closer-by-committee

April 2, 2021
Kansas City Royals – In a wild Opening Day tilt with the Texas Rangers, Greg Holland was called into the game with the bases loaded in the eighth inning and KC clinging to a 13-9 lead. He stayed on to pitch the ninth after the Royals tacked on a run but ran into trouble, allowing a single, two walks and throwing a wild pitch. Wade Davis of all people came on to strike out Nick Solak and Nate Lowe to close things out to earn his first save with the Royals since 2016. Holland is likely the closer, but an old Royal (Davis) finding form in his return to KC wouldn’t be all that surprising. Remember Holland last year?

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Barlow | Staumont.

March 3, 2021
Kansas City Royals – The Royals re-signed Greg Holland, who went 6 for 6 in save opportunities last year before missing the end of the season with an oblique injury. The veteran Holland should get the first chance at closing out games but the Royals also have some intriguing options behind him. Scott Barlow recorded a couple of saves last year and struck out 39 batters in 30 innings. Flamethrower Josh Staumont was second in the league in strikeouts on pitches 99+ mph and Jesse Hahn had a microscopic 0.52 ERA last year.

Starting 2021 hierarchy: Holland | Barlow | Staumont.
Holds candidates: Barlow, Staumont, Jesse Hahn.

September 26, 2020
Kansas City Royals — The first save opportunity in Greg Holland’s absence went to Jesse Hahn, who lowered his ERA to 0.55 in the process. With just two games left in the season, the order of this committee will matter a lot less this weekend than how tired each guy is. As you’ll see below, we like Josh Staumont if the Royals need a save on Saturday.

Hierarchy remains: *Barlow | Hahn | Staumont.

September 25, 2020
Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland has been placed on the injured list with an oblique injury, ending his season. Ian Kennedy was recalled to the team, but isn’t likely to see the late innings. Instead we expect Scott Barlow and Jesse Hahn to compete for any remaining Royals save chances.

Updated hierarchy: *Barlow | Hahn | Staumont.

September 25, 2020
Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland was unavailable Thursday night with a right oblique injury that he suffered while warming up. He will be further evaluated. In his stead, Jake Newberry recorded the final four outs for his first save. Scott Barlow and Jesse Hahn pitched earlier in the game. With nothing to play for, Holland could be shut down for the year, so Barlow or Hahn may be attractive vulture save candidates this weekend.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Barlow | Hahn.

September 13, 2020
Kansas City Royals — The Royals again went with Greg Holland in a save situation yesterday and he pitched a scoreless 9th for his fifth save of the season.  Holland has recorded the last three Royals’ saves and also has not allowed an earned run in his last ten appearances.  Those two stats are enough for us to remove his asterisk.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Barlow | Hahn.

September 12, 2020
Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland grabbed his fourth save of the season on Friday and his second straight; we still think this is a committee, but Holland could be separating himself.

Hierarchy remains: *Holland | Barlow | Hahn.
* = closer-by-committee

September 9, 2020
Kansas City Royals — Three different Royals have recorded the team’s three saves since trading Trevor Rosenthal, with Scott Barlow doing the honors last night after Greg Holland tossed two perfect innings in the seventh and eighth. Barlow, Holland and Jesse Hahn have notched those three aforementioned saves, so we’ll put all three of them in our hierarchy and see how the next save chance plays out. One other name to keep an eye on is Kyle Zimmer, who struck out three in 1.2 IP on Tuesday to lower his ERA to 1.53.

Updated hierarchy: *Holland | Barlow | Hahn.
* = closer-by-committee

August 30, 2020
Kansas City Royals — As we alerted yesterday, the Royals have traded their closer, Trevor Rosenthal, to the Padres.  Although Josh Staumont throws a baseball really fast (and has been pretty good at pitching too), manager Mike Matheny hinted that he might go with the veteran Greg Holland.  Jesse Hahn, who Matheny also mentioned, got the first save in the post-Rosenthal era but it wasn’t very conventional.  The Royals started the 9th with a 6 run lead but after Ian Kennedy made a mess of things, Hahn came on to record the last two outs and pick up the save.  We will move Holland to the top of the committee based on Matheny’s comments

Updated hierarchy: *Holland | Staumont | Hahn.
* = closer-by-committee

August 29, 2020
Kansas City Royals — The Royals traded Trevor Rosenthal to the Padres on Saturday. We’ll move Josh Staumont to the top of the committee for now based on recent usage and some solid numbers (0.66 ERA, 17.8 K/9) this season.

Updated hierarchy: *Staumont | Barlow | Holland.
* = closer-by-committee

August 16, 2020
Kansas City Royals — Josh Staumont set up Trevor Rosenthal in game 2 of the Royals’ doubleheader yesterday.  Meanwhile, Greg Holland pitched in a losing effort in game 1.  Manager Mike Matheny had good things to say about the combination of Staumont and Rosenthal and we could see them together in the later innings more frequently moving forward.

Updated hierarchy: Rosenthal | Barlow | Staumont.

August 13, 2020
Kansas City Royals — Trevor Rosenthal got the call in a one-run game, and while he made it interesting with three walks, a key double play got him out of the jam for save #4. Rosenthal has been the top save option in Kansas City for the past 10 days (with one vulture chance going to Scott Barlow), so it’s time to kick his asterisk and see if Rosenthal can keep his career resurgence going.  

Hierarchy remains: Rosenthal | Barlow | Holland.

August 10, 2020
Kansas City Royals – With Trevor Rosenthal needing a day off, the Royals went to Scott Barlow for the save on Sunday. Barlow has gotten some higher-leverage inning over the past week and, after Sunday, has posted scoreless outings in 9 of his 10 appearances. We’ll bump him up the hierarchy accordingly.

Updated hierarchy: *Rosenthal | Barlow | Holland.
* = closer-by-committee

August 9, 2020
Kansas City Royals — Trevor Rosenthal struck out three on the way to his third save of the season.   Manager Mike Matheny said that he would still deploy his bullpen based on game-to-game matchups.  Rosenthal certainly looks like the guy but we will leave the committee tag for now based on Matheny’s comments.

Hierarchy remains: Rosenthal | Holland | Kennedy.
* = closer-by-committee

August 8, 2020
Kansas City Royals — Trevor Rosenthal continued his career renaissance, picking up his second save in a two-strikeout ninth on Friday. Meanwhile, last year’s closer, Ian Kennedy, has given up at least one run in each of his last four appearances, and is quickly sliding down the bullpen depth chart (and trade value meter).

Updated hierarchy: *Rosenthal | Holland | Kennedy.
* = closer-by-committee

July 31, 2020
Kansas City Royals – What’s old is new again. For the first time since 2017, Trevor Rosenthal has recorded a save in the majors, doing so Thursday with Mike Matheny’s Royals. Rosenthal, of course, was an extremely successful closer years ago with Matheny in St. Louis, so perhaps this is a trend to watch. Greg Holland, who earned the win Thursday, picked up the Royals’ first save this year, while 2019 closer Ian Kennedy, who pitched in the eighth inning, has yet to get one in 2020.

Updated hierarchy: *Kennedy | Holland | Rosenthal.
* = closer-by-committee

July 26, 2020
Kansas City Royals – Kansas City Royals’ fans may have felt a little nostalgic seeing Greg Holland strike out the side on Saturday night to pick up the save.  Manager Mike Matheny said that he wouldn’t have traditional bullpen roles this season and has kept his word so far.  On Friday, in a losing effort, Scott Barlow and Holland pitched the 5th and 6th innings.  Yesterday, Barlow got the 9th in a tie game and Holland converted the save opportunity in the 10th.  Ian Kennedy pitched two scoreless innings in the 6th and 7th with the game tied.  Holland certainly has closing experience but Kennedy was solid as closer last year so we will leave him at the top of the hierarchy and throw the committee label on there for now.

Updated hierarchy: *Kennedy | Holland | Barlow.
* = closer-by-committee

July 19, 2020
Kansas City Royals – The Royals traded away lefty reliever Tim Hill.  Also, manager Mike Matheny has said that he wants to move away from a designated closer and take an outside the box approach.  This is not good from a fantasy perspective and we will keep an eye on how it all plays out.

Hierarchy remains: Kennedy | Barlow | Holland.

February 24, 2020
Kansas City Royals – Ian Kennedy saved 30 games for the Royals last season and will return as the closer to start the 2020 season.    Scott Barlow pitched very well as Kennedy’s set-up man at the end of the season, posting an ERA of about 2.00 over the last two months of the season.  The Royals also signed a familiar face in free agency, bringing back former closer Greg Holland.  Lefty Tim Hill could see some time in the later innings and it looks like Glenn Sparkman may be moved to the bullpen.

Starting 2020 hierarchy: Kennedy | Barlow | Holland.
Holds candidates: Barlow, Holland, Tim Hill.

September 8, 2019
Kansas City Royals – The Vulture Save Watch correctly predicted that Ian Kennedy and Scott Barlow would get yesterday off and Tim Hill would get the save chance.  It wasn’t your normal save chance as Hill came on in the 8th with two runners on a 4 run lead, but a save is a save and anybody fortunate enough to have Hill in their lineup yesterday will certainly take it.

Hierarchy remains: Kennedy | Barlow | Hill.

August 26, 2019
Kansas City Royals – After Ian Kennedy blew the save in the 9th, the Royals regained the lead, and Jorge Lopez closed out the 10th for his first save of the season. Despite the bad outing, Kennedy has been mostly solid and shouldn’t lose the job any time soon.

Hierarchy remains: Kennedy | Barlow | Hill.

July 28, 2019
Kansas City Royals — Jake Diekman has been traded to the A’s.  Fellow lefty Tim Hill should take Diekman’s place in the later innings for the Royals.

Updated hierarchy: Kennedy | Barlow | Hill.

July 21, 2019
Kansas City Royals — The Royals designated Wily Peralta for assignment.  In his absence, Scott Barlow pitched a scoreless 7th inning for the hold ahead of Jake Diekman and Ian Kennedy.  Barlow has two holds in three appearances since coming back up.  Tim Hill and Barlow will likely combine to take Peralta’s spot at the back end of the Royals’ bullpen.

Updated hierarchy: Kennedy | Diekman | Barlow.

July 6, 2019
Kansas City Royals — Ian Kennedy couldn’t protect a two-run lead against the Nationals last night; he may have been feeling the effects of a 21-pitch outing on Thursday. When the Royals took the lead in the 11th, it was Wily Peralta who slammed the door for his second save. Kennedy had converted nine straight saves, so he’s safe in his role.  

Hierarchy remains: Kennedy | Diekman | Peralta.

July 1, 2019
Kansas City Royals – Wily Peralta has had a rough go of it lately, recording as many outs (5) as earned runs allowed (5) in his last three outings. So with the Royals protecting a 1-run lead, they went to Kevin McCarthy and Jake Diekman to bridge the gap to Ian Kennedy. We’ll adjust the hierarchy accordingly until Peralta figures things out.

Updated hierarchy: Kennedy | Diekman | Peralta.

June 26, 2019
Kansas City Royals – While it wasn’t a traditional vulture save, Ian Kennedy sure did steal a save last night after Brad Hand allowed five runs and recorded zero outs in last night’s ninth inning, proving he’s human after all. If only Terry Francona read our Vulture Save Watch and save Tyler Clippard for the ninth. If you had Ian Kennedy in your lineup, congrats on the unlikely save!

Hierarchy remains: Kennedy | Peralta | Diekman.

June 24, 2019
Kansas City Royals – Kevin McCarthy came on in the 7th inning with two runners on and the Royals up by 4 runs, escaping the jam by inducing a groundout. The Royals would tack on a run, and McCarthy stayed out for the 8th and 9th innings, earning his first save of the season.

Hierarchy remains: Kennedy | Peralta | Diekman.

June 14, 2019
Kansas City Royals — All of a sudden, Ian Kennedy is a save machine. He cashed in his third in six days on Thursday, getting the final out with two men on in a four-run game. Kennedy has three straight Royals saves, so it’s safe to kick his asterisk. He’s the guy in KC.

Updated hierarchy: Kennedy | Peralta | Diekman.

May 31, 2019
Kansas City Royals — The Royals have just 19 wins in 56 games, so save chances are few and far between. Yesterday, Ian Kennedy recorded the team’s first save since May 1! He got the last one too, and now has three, but he’s been sketchy in May (0-2, 8.10 ERA) after a strong start. With Wily Peralta (one save this year) in and out of the closer role, Kennedy seems like the man to own. Peralta pitched a scoreless seventh on Thursday. We’ll keep this in committee mode, but with Kennedy at the top.

Updated hierarchy: *Kennedy | Peralta | Diekman.
* = closer-by-committee

May 3, 2019
Kansas City Royals — After Ian Kennedy earned the first Royals save since April 13 on Wednesday, Wily Peralta was on the mound in a tie game in the ninth inning Thursday against the Rays. He allowed two runs for the second straight appearance, ballooning his ERA to 7.07 and WHIP to 1.71. Ugly. As recently as Monday, Ned Yost appeared to “remove the asterisk” for Peralta, essentially naming him closer, with Kennedy and Jake Diekman serving as setup men. Of course, this was before Peralta’s not-so-great week. Because those are the most recent comments from Yost about the situation, we’ll keep Peralta at the top, but Kennedy (1.15 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 21 Ks in 15.2 IP) is probably more rosterable at this juncture.

Hierarchy remains: *Peralta | Kennedy | Diekman.
* = closer-by-committee

April 19, 2019
Kansas City Royals — In yesterday’s update, we moved Wily Peralta a tick ahead of Ian Kennedy in the team’s hierarchy, as Kennedy appears to be the team’s fireman based on recent usage. Peralta has one save under his belt this season and could be in line for another chance today after Kennedy pitched part of the eighth and closed out the ninth Thursday with a five-run lead, giving him 57 overall pitches thrown over two straight outings.

Hierarchy remains: *Peralta | Kennedy | Diekman.
* = closer-by-committee

April 18, 2019
Kansas City Royals — KC is in true committee mode. Ian Kennedy came in with the score tied and got the sixth and part of the seventh. Jake Diekman spelled him, but loaded the bases with no one out in the eighth. Wily Peralta escaped with only one run allowed and stayed on for the ninth. When the Royals took the lead in the tenth, this left Scott Barlow to convert his first career save. Anything can happen with this group, but given today’s usage, we’ll edge Peralta ever-so-slightly ahead of Kennedy.

Updated hierarchy: *Peralta | Kennedy | Diekman.
* = closer-by-committee

April 14, 2019
Kansas City Royals — Wily Peralta pitched a perfect ninth inning for first save of the season yesterday.  Ian Kennedy pitched a perfect eighth inning with two strikeouts ahead of Peralta.  Kennedy got the ninth inning in the Royals’ win on Friday and even though it wasn’t a save opportunity the Royals clearly wanted to use their best pitchers to finish the game off and end their ten-game losing streak.  Kennedy has been the better pitcher so far this year and while Peralta is still in the mix for saves as evidenced by yesterday’s outing, we like Kennedy better and will leave him atop the committee for now.

Hierarchy remains: *Kennedy | Peralta | Diekman.
* = closer-by-committee

April 12, 2019
Kansas City Royals — Brad Boxberger’s run in Kansas City continues to be bumpy. After allowing a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning of a tie game on Wednesday, Boxberger was handed the keys to a ninth-inning save opportunity Thursday. He blew it, giving up two runs on three hits to the red-hot Mariners. Ian Kennedy had pitched in two of three, including a 34-pitch outing on Wednesday, so he likely was held out of Thursday afternoon’s game. And while the use of Boxberger in a tight spot is still notable, it’s difficult to imagine him getting (or converting) a save chance anytime soon. Plus, the Royals have lost 10 straight games, so perhaps this isn’t the bullpen situation you want to mess with anyway.

Hierarchy remains: *Kennedy | Peralta | Diekman.
* = closer-by-committee

April 10, 2019
Kansas City Royals — The Royals called up Richard Lovelady to help their struggling bullpen, and Lovelady shined in his big-league debut. He struck out the first two batters he faced as part of a 1-2-3 eighth inning in Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to Seattle. Given how bad the Royals’ bullpen has been this year, don’t be surprised if Lovelady works his way into some high-leverage situations soon.

Hierarchy remains: *Kennedy | Peralta | Diekman.
* = closer-by-committee

April 7, 2019
Kansas City Royals — The Royals called on Wily Peralta in the seventh inning last night to try and a one-run lead.  He got the first batter out but then he gave up a walk and a go-ahead grand slam.  Peralta has given up runs in three of his four appearances so far this season, and that could give Ian Kennedy a chance to pull away in this committee.

Hierarchy remains: *Kennedy | Peralta | Diekman.
* = closer-by-committee

April 5, 2019
Kansas City Royals — Brad Boxberger pitched well Thursday as he looks to eventually be relevant to the ninth-inning plans. He tossed a scoreless ninth inning and had two strikeouts with the Royals trailing 5-4. Yes, that performance lowers his ERA to 10.80, but it’s a start.

Hierarchy remains: *Kennedy | Peralta | Diekman.
* = closer-by-committee

April 3, 2019
Kansas City Royals — Ian Kennedy had a chance to earn his second save of the year on Tuesday, but he quickly allowed a double and a single that tied the game. Wily Peralta and Jake Diekman had already pitched, so Brad Boxberger got the 10th inning. He nearly got out unscathed after a leadoff single, but a walk and an RBI single with two outs ensured he picked up the loss. Boxberger actually lowered his ERA to 15.43, but it’s hard to think the Royals will turn to Boxberger ahead of Kennedy, Peralta or Diekman at this point.

Updated hierarchy: * Kennedy | Peralta | Diekman.
* = closer-by-committee

March 31, 2019
Kansas City Royals — One game after recording the first save of the season, Brad Boxberger entered in the seventh inning with the Royals up four and promptly gave three runs back.  That left converted started Ian Kennedy for the ninth and he converted his first career save.  The Royals have had success converting starters into relievers (see Wade Davis), and Kennedy could be the latest example.  After the game, manager Ned Yost said that he likes both Kennedy and Peralta in the ninth (no mention of Boxberger).  This looks to be a committee until somebody can establish himself as the man, but it seems Boxberger is already behind Kennedy and Peralta, and maybe even Jake Diekman.

Updated hierarchy: * Kennedy | Peralta | Boxberger.
* = closer-by-committee

March 29, 2019
Kansas City Royals — The Royals held a 5-0 lead in the ninth inning, but they sure made things interesting. Wily Peralta got the first shot in a non-save situation, allowing a single and a walk before inducing a pop-up and getting pulled. Jake Diekman set up a save chance for someone else by allowing a walk, a hit-by-pitch and a fielder’s choice groundout to make it 5-2. Kevin McCarthy made it 5-3, leaving Brad Boxberger to record the game’s final out for his first save as a Royal. Boxberger should be in line for a chunk of save chances moving forward, but Peralta and others promise to lurk until Boxberger can run away with the job.

Hierarchy remains: *Boxberger | Peralta | Diekman.
* = closer-by-committee

March 21, 2019
Kansas City Royals — It’s still unclear who will get the bulk of the saves between Brad Boxberger and Wily Peralta, but they’ll be joined in the bullpen by Ian Kennedy.

Updated hierarchy: *Boxberger | Peralta | Diekman.
* = closer-by-committee

February 18, 2019
Kansas City Royals – Manager Ned Yost has not named a closer, but instead has said that he will “think more in terms of high-leverage situation.”  Unfortunately for fantasy owners, that likely means a closer-by-committee, at least to start the season.  The Royals signed Brad Boxberger, who recorded 32 saves for the Diamondbacks last season, and also still have Wily Peralta, who went 14-for-14 in save chances last season.  Lefty Tim Hill could see time in the later innings, and it’s a possibility that the Royals try to find their next Wade Davis by converting a starter such as Ian Kennedy, Jorge Lopez or Heath Fillmyer.  We’ll put Boxberger at the top of the committee for now and continue to monitor the situation to see if anyone emerges as the clear closer.

Starting 2019 hierarchy: *Boxberger | Peralta | Hill.
* = closer-by-committee

Holds candidates: Peralta, Hill, Kevin McCarthy.

September 4, 2018
Kansas City Royals – After Wily Peralta got in trouble in the 9th inning, lefty Tim Hill came on and recorded the final two outs of the game to pick up his second save. Peralta has been solid for the Royals and should still be the main option for saves on most nights.

Updated hierarchy: Peralta | McCarthy | Hill. 

July 23, 2018
Kansas City Royals – Sunday brought another save for Wily Peralta, and he should be in the clear for all future opportunities, so long as he’s rested. We’re removing his asterisk. Also, if you like high-risk holds, sidearmer Tim Hill has a 5.59 ERA but has gotten 8th inning holds each of the past two nights.

Updated hierarchy: Peralta | Maurer | McCarthy.

July 22, 2018
Kansas City Royals – Wily Peralta bounced back last night with a perfect inning for the save.  Peralta is three for three in save chances and is close to kicking the asterisk.

Hierarchy remains: *Peralta | McCarthy | Maurer.
* = closer-by-committee

July 21, 2018
Kansas City Royals – With a four-run lead going into the 9th, the Royals brought out Wily Peralta to finish the game. Peralta stuggled, loading the bases before giving up back-to-back RBI groundouts. He then gave way to Brandon Maurer, who walked in another run but got a flyout to end the game and earn his first save of the year. Peralta had looked like he was ready to take the closer’s role for good, but we’ll see how the Royals proceed after last night’s struggles.

Hierarchy remains: *Peralta | McCarthy | Maurer.
* = closer-by-committee

July 10, 2018
Kansas City Royals – Wily Peralta was held back on Sunday, seemingly for a possible comeback that would require saving. He looks to be solidly at the front of this committee, but the Royals bullpen has not recorded a save since June 27, as the team is mired in a 10-game losing streak. If and when Peralta finally does notch another save or two, we’ll consider removing his asterisk.

Hierarchy remains: *Peralta | McCarthy | Maurer.
* = closer-by-committee

June 28, 2018
Kansas City Royals — Break up the Royals! After a 2-16 start to June, KC has won three of its last six, with the last two victories saved by wily Wily Peralta. A longtime Brewer, Peralta was summoned to shut down his old team after Tim Hill turned a four-run lead into a one-run lead without retiring a batter. Peralta’s velocity is up and his slider is, um, also up, but we’ve seen stranger relief renaissances before. Maybe the Royals are onto something here?

Hierarchy remains: *Peralta | McCarthy | Maurer.
* = closer-by-committee

June 26, 2018
Kansas City Royals — The Royals bullpen remains unstable, as Wily Peralta picked up his first career save on Monday in a 2-0 victory. After the game, Ned Yost said his plan all along was to use Peralta in the ninth, with Kevin McCarthy and Brandon Maurer slated for the seventh and eighth. Peralta doesn’t have the greatest MLB track record and wasn’t exactly lighting it up in the minors this season either (35.0 IP, 4.37 ERA, 39 K) prior to his arrival in Kansas City, but after Monday’s outing he’s moved himself to the top of this committee. We’ll see how long he stays there.

Updated hierarchy: *Peralta | McCarthy | Maurer.
* = closer-by-committee

June 24, 2018
Kansas City Royals — After starting pitcher Ian Kennedy went seven innings and the Royals had a one-run lead, manager Ned Yost turned to Wily Peralta for the eighth inning.  Peralta pitched a scoreless inning for the hold and was hitting 97-98 on the radar gun.  Brandon Maurer trotted out for the save chance in the ninth and after striking out the first batter, he gave up back to back singles and a sacrifice fly to allow the game-tying run to score.  Manager Ned Yost said he wanted to give Kevin McCarthy the night off.  This bullpen is very unsettled after the trade of Kelvin Herrera, but we still think Kevin McCarthy is the best reliever to own at this point.

Hierarchy remains: *McCarthy | Hill | Maurer.
* = closer-by-committee

June 23, 2018
Kansas City Royals — For the first time since trading closer Kelvin Herrera, the Royals won a game. They took the lead in the 9th inning and called upon Tim Hill to close out the victory. He pitched a perfect inning to earn the first save of his career. Hill was set to face the bottom of the Houston lineup in a tie game, and Ned Yost liked the matchups that part of the lineup presented, as two lefties and a switch hitter were due up in the ninth for Houston. Still probably wise to stay away from this bullpen if you’re looking for saves.

Updated hierarchy: *McCarthy | Hill | Maurer.
* = closer-by-committee

June 19, 2018
Kansas City Royals — After trading closer Kelvin Herrera to the Nationals, the Royals did not have a late lead in their game Monday, instead losing for the 13th time in 14 games. So we’re nowhere closer to knowing who may lead the team’s hierarchy. It’s probably a committee to start, but in a sea of bleh, we like Kevin McCarthy to get the first save chance. Brandon Maurer may also factor in, too.

Updated hierarchy: *McCarthy | Maurer | Hill.
* = closer-by-committee

June 18, 2018
Kansas City Royals – The Royals have dealt by far the team’s best reliever, closer Kelvin Herrera, to the Nationals. We will toss KC into committee mode to start, with Kevin McCarthy and Brandon Maurer probably having the best shots to close. There’s no real front-runner, so it’s anyone’s job to win.

Updated hierarchy: *McCarthy | Maurer | Hill.
* = closer-by-committee

June 16, 2018
Kansas City Royals – The Royals sent Jason Adam down to AAA, paving the way for the return of Brandon Maurer. Maurer has been bad this year (12.46 ERA) and his overall numbers in Omaha aren’t inspiring (5.48 ERA), but he is riding a 10-game scoreless streak, which helps to explain his call up. Maurer will try to right the ship in this stint, and he may hold some trade value for the floundering Royals if he can show real improvement.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | McCarthy | Maurer. 

May 28, 2018
Kansas City Royals – Brad Keller is getting the start on Wednesday, so we’ll remove him from the hierarchy until he returns to the bullpen. Rookie Jason Adam, who has struck out 12 hitters in 8.2 innings and got his first hold yesterday, moves into the late-inning crew. Adam may be worth watching as the trade market heats up for Kelvin Herrera.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | McCarthy | Adam. 

May 19, 2018
Kansas City Royals – Since Brian Flynn’s two-out vulture save on May 1, he has been relegated to long relief. In his place, Kevin McCarthy and Tim Hill have found themselves in higher leverage situations and have mostly delivered (as much as one can for a 14-30 team). Hill has been in more of a LOOGY role lately, so we will bump McCarthy, who picked up a seventh-inning hold last night, into the hierarchy for now. However, if you are scrapping for holds, Hill may be the better bet.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | Keller | McCarthy.

May 2, 2018
Kansas City Royals – After Kelvin Herrera blew his chance in the 12th, Brian Flynn finished the 13th inning to collect his first career save.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Keller | Flynn.

April 30, 2018
Kansas City Royals – Coming into Sunday’s game, Blaine Boyer had logged 8 innings this season, scattering 14 hits and walking 6 batters in support of a tidy 16.88 ERA. So, with Kelvin Herrera getting the day off after appearing in three straight, of COURSE it was Boyer who was tapped for the save against the White Sox. Normally we don’t offer this for saves of the 1-inning variety, but this save was just so unlikely that we’re giving away a year of Closer Monkey Premium to the first person who can prove, via screenshot, that they had Boyer in their active lineup yesterday.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Keller | Flynn.

April 29, 2018
Kansas City Royals – Brad Keller pitched the eighth inning ahead of closer Kelvin Herrera for the second straight game.  The Royals are still figuring out the best way to get the ball to Herrera, but we will move Keller back onto the hierarchy based on his recent usage.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | Keller | Flynn.

April 23, 2018
Kansas City Royals – Lefty Brian Flynn got a 2-inning hold on Sunday afternoon, pitching the 7th and 8th innings ahead of Kelvin Herrera. It’s unclear to us who would step in for Herrera if he were injured or unavailable, but Flynn’s 3.60 ERA on the season puts him near the front of the pack in Kansas City’s beleaguered bullpen.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | Hill | Flynn.

April 19, 2018
Kansas City Royals — Less than two weeks ago, Justin Grimm had three holds, a 2.08 ERA, and the inside track on the Royals’ setup job. In five appearances since, he has an ERA over 50 (a stratospheric 243.00 over his last two games) and a style aptly described on Twitter as fat guy in a 5K: “walk, walk, run, walk, run, shower.” On Wednesday, he faced seven batters, let six score, and was just a triple away from the reverse cycle. All this to say: he’s not setting up anymore. We’ll bump up rookies Tim Hill and Brad Keller, with the understanding that it could be weeks before the Royals can confirm it by having a lead to protect.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | Hill | Keller.

April 14, 2018
Kansas City Royals — The Royals sent Brandon Maurer down to Omaha after a disappointing start to his season. Manager Ned Yost said Maurer needed to get his confidence back, and that he had been “pressing” too much since spring training. Kevin McCarthy was called up to take his place, and pitched a scoreless inning last night after Justin Grimm was charged with a blown save. McCarthy, who closed for a few years in the minors, may find his way to the later innings eventually, but for now we expect lefty Tim Hill and 22-year-old Brad Keller to take on bigger roles.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | Grimm | Hill.

April 9, 2018
Kansas City Royals – Justin Grimm threw another scoreless inning last night, and has two eighth inning holds to his name so far this young season. Meanwhile, would-be set-up man Brandon Maurer, who followed Grimm into a tie game last night, had his second consecutive poor performance. Ned Yost insisted afterwards that it’s too early to be dissecting player performance, so instead we’ll just play this one by what’s actually happened so far: Grimm has been setting up and Maurer has not. And the way they’re both pitching, that seems exactly the way it should be.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | Grimm | Maurer.

April 4, 2018
Kansas City Royals – Justin Grimm retired all three hitters he faced in Tuesday’s eighth inning for his second hold of the season. That’s two more holds than Brad Keller, who has pitched well but has yet to pitch in a meaningful situation.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | Maurer | Grimm.

March 27, 2018
Kansas City Royals – Kelvin Herrera and Brandon Maurer are locked in to the 9th and 8th inning roles in Kansas City, but we’re still just throwing darts as to who will pitch before them. Our current best guess: Brad Keller, a 22-year-old Rule 5 acquisition who struck out 14 in 10 innings this spring. Justin Grimm could also challenge for the role.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | Maurer | Keller.

February 26, 2018
Kansas City Royals – The Royals’ bullpen, which was a major strength during their World Series runs, will be a big question mark going into 2018.  Kelvin Herrera started 2017 as closer, but finished the year with the highest ERA of his career and was removed from the role late in the season.  Still, Herrera is probably the best bet to start 2018 as the closer after the Royals lost Mike Minor and Joakim Soria in the off-season — if Herrera doesn’t get traded.  Brandon Maurer will also be an option to close after recording 22 saves last year between the Padres and Royals.  Don’t let the save numbers fool you on Maurer, though; he finished last year with an ERA over 6.50 — it was over 8 in his 26 games with the Royals.  Wily Peralta will be a guy to keep an eye on as the Royals could try to convert him from a starter into a late-inning guy like they did with Wade Davis and Luke Hochevar.

Starting 2018 hierarchy: Herrera | Maurer | Peralta.
Holds candidates: Maurer, Peralta.

September 29, 2017
Kansas City Royals — De facto closer Mike Minor plans on training in the offseason as if he’ll be a starting pitcher next year. He’s open to remaining in the bullpen, but he wants to have a key role either way.

Hierarchy remains: *Minor | Soria | Herrera.
* = closer-by-committee

September 27, 2017
Kansas City Royals — Joakim Soria looks to have reclaimed the eighth inning since coming off the DL. Kelvin Herrera pitched the seventh ahead of Soria in a 2-1 win on Tuesday, and may do more of the same to finish the season.

Updated hierarchy: *Minor | Soria | Herrera.
* = closer-by-committee

September 22, 2017
Kansas City Royals — Mike Minor picked up his second save of the season in a tight 1-0 win Thursday. Minor also had the Royals’ previous save in their now-historic win over the Indians last week. Given the usage, we’ll slide him ahead of Scott Alexander, who last had a save on Sept. 12, pitching in three losses since.

Updated hierarchy: *Minor | Alexander | Maurer.
* = closer-by-committee

September 16, 2017
Kansas City Royals — Mike Minor has been repeatedly mentioned as an option in the Royals’ closer committee, but it wasn’t until last night that he got his first save — by striking out the side to end the Indians’ historic winning streak. He’s been better than Brandon Maurer and Kelvin Herrera, so it only makes sense to slot him in with Scott Alexander as the save favorites.

Updated hierarchy: *Alexander | Minor | Maurer.
* = closer-by-committee

September 15, 2017
Kansas City Royals — Recently removed closer Kelvin Herrera got another chance to earn his job back Thursday, and he blew his second straight save chance since getting removed from the role, yielding a run in the ninth to tie the game and keep the Indians’ win streak alive. Brandon Maurer did the honors in the tenth, allowing the game-winning run. Given Herrera’s usage, we’ll slide him to the bottom of the hierarchy even though he blew his chance, because it seems Ned Yost is one of those “he’s got experience closing, so let’s use him as a closer” managers. As for Maurer, he has been dreadful since arriving in Kansas City. The fact that Ned Yost considered Herrera the best option for the ninth is concerning for Maurer. Scott Alexander likely benefits. He had pitched two straight heading into Thursday, so a night off makes sense. Expect him to get the next save chance.

Updated hierarchy: *Alexander | Maurer | Herrera.
* = closer-by-committee

September 13, 2017
Kansas City Royals — With his bullpen “running on fumes,” Ned Yost tabbed Scott Alexander for the save on Tuesday. It was a shaky save, but Alexander got the job done. Brandon Maurer had pitched the day before, and it’s likely that Yost wanted to try and rest him. Maurer and Alexander are the clear 1-2 in the Royals’ bullpen, and Yost has now shown trust in both relievers to close games.

Hierarchy remains: *Maurer | Alexander | Minor.
* = closer-by-committee

September 10, 2017
Kansas City Royals — Brandon Maurer pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up the first save since Kelvin Hererra’s demotion.  Mike Minor pitched 1.2 scoreless innings ahead of Maurer and got the win.  Maurer should get the majority of save chances, and could have a chance to kick the asterisk if he can pitch well down the stretch.

Hierarchy remains: *Maurer | Alexander | Minor.
* = closer-by-committee

September 9, 2017
Kansas City Royals — The Royals announced Friday afternoon that Kelvin Herrera was being removed from the closer’s role, and his performance in that night’s game didn’t cause any regrets. Brought in with the team down a run, he gave up two extra-base hits that eventually yielded two more runs. As we told you yesterday, Ned Yost mentioned Brandon Maurer, Mike Minor, and Scott Alexander as potential replacements. We still think Maurer is the favorite, but Alexander has an impressive 15-game scoreless streak going, and has become a bit of a specialist at finishing innings that other pitchers have started, earning three saves in the process. Mike Minor has been a reliable eighth-inning arm, and has put up solid numbers, but he seems to be behind Maurer and Alexander for the moment.

Updated hierarchy: *Maurer | Alexander | Minor.
* = closer-by-committee

September 8, 2017
Kansas City Royals — Kelvin Herrera is being “bumped” from the closer’s role for now, in favor of a committee starring Brandon Maurer, Mike Minor, and Scott Alexander.

Updated hierarchy: *Maurer | Minor | Alexander.
* = closer-by-committee

September 6, 2017
Kansas City Royals – Just when it seemed like Brandon Maurer was settling in, the righty got banged around to the tune of 5 hits (1 HR) and 3 earned runs on Monday before giving way to Scott Alexander, who got the game’s last out and picked up his third save of the season. In Maurer’s defense, this was his fifth appearance in the last seven days, and he was mostly sharp. His fastball touched 98 mph, and he got to two strikes on five of the seven hitters he faced. But with Kelvin Herrera likely out another day or two, look for Alexander and/or Mike Minor to share closing duties with Maurer for the next couple days.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Maurer | Minor.

September 4, 2017
Kansas City Royals – Kelvin Herrera will be out for a few days, and the Royals will mix and match in his absence as they attempt to keep their season alive. On Sunday, that meant a 9th inning opportunity for Brandon Maurer, who converted for his first Kansas City save. Maurer had a rough stretch in early August, but has only allowed one run in his last seven appearances.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Maurer | Minor.

September 3, 2017
Kansas City Royals — The Royals are not overly concerned about Kelvin Herrera’s injury.  He will likely miss a few games, but he should be back closing shortly.  Brandon Maurer and Mike Minor should take care of any save chances while Herrera is resting.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Maurer | Minor.

September 2, 2017
Kansas City Royals — For the second time in 10 days, Kelvin Herrera was pulled from a game in a save situation with forearm tightness. Both times it’s been Scott Alexander converting the unorthodox save, giving him two more than Herrera in that time period. Alexander has been solid this year and has now gone 11 straight appearances without a run, but he hasn’t seen consistent high-leverage use, and Mike Minor and Brandon Maurer had already pitched last night. We’ll keep an eye on Herrera’s “day-to-day” status — the last time he was pulled, he was held out for five days. We expect Brandon Maurer to be first in line for any save chances in the meantime.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Maurer | Minor.

August 24, 2017
Kansas City Royals — The Royals got some good news Wednesday, as Kelvin Herrera is not expected to miss any time due to Tuesday’s forearm tightness. While Herrera remains as closer, it is worth noting that Ned Yost said if Herrera does need some rest, whoever gets the ball instead will “depend on the situation.”

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Maurer | Minor.

August 23, 2017
Kansas City Royals — Kelvin Herrera got two quick outs with a one-run lead in the ninth but, after a bloop triple, he walked the bases loaded, then left with an injury on a 2-0 count. Lefty Scott Alexander got the unenviable task of converting the super-high-leverage save, and he rose to the occasion with a groundout to short. If Herrera’s injury — which Ned Yost described as “forearm tightness” — causes him to miss time, Brandon Maurer has the experience to take over, but his 20 saves come with a gross 6+ season ERA and a whopping 2.34 WHIP since the trade. Two factors potentially working in Maurer’s favor: his three major competitors — Mike Minor, Ryan Buchter, and Alexander — are all lefthanded, and Yost isn’t exactly known for progressive bullpen management. We will monitor the news today and alert you if Herrera hits the DL but, for now, we think it’ll be Maurer.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Maurer | Minor.

August 22, 2017
Kansas City Royals — Joakim Soria is on the 10-day DL because of a left oblique injury, which means Brandon Maurer should see the majority of the eighth-inning chances for the Royals. Mike Minor will slide back into his former hierarchy role while Soria gets healthy.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | Maurer | Minor.

July 29, 2017
Kansas City Royals — Joakim Soria pitched the eighth inning ahead of Kelvin Herrera last night. This was his fourth straight eighth-inning appearance and his sixth straight scoreless appearance. While Brandon Maurer is still in the late-inning mix, it appears that Soria remains the primary setup man in KC.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | Soria | Maurer.

July 25, 2017
Kansas City Royals – The resurgent Royals, who were looking like sellers a month ago, put together a scorching month and have transitioned to buyers, acquiring Brandon Maurer, Ryan Buchter, and Trevor Cahill from the Padres. Maurer will be the new set-up man for Kelvin Herrera, while Buchter will help Joakim Soria bridge the gap to the 8th.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | Maurer | Soria.

July 20, 2017
Kansas City Royals — Before Wednesday’s game, Ned Yost mentioned that Kelvin Herrera had been ill, with a 102-degree fever and a sore throat. Yost called on Herrera anyway, only to see the closer give up the go-ahead home run, then leave the game with a trainer. After the game, Yost announced that Herrera was still ailing, not injured. Herrera himself said that he “ran out of energy.” The Royals won the game off Justin Wilson in the ninth, marking two blown saves for Nationals trade targets in the same inning. Joakim Soria remains the handcuff here.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Soria | Minor.

July 4, 2017
Kansas City Royals – As predicted in yesterday’s Vulture Save Watch, Joakim Soria got the call for the Royals in the ninth and converted his first save of the season.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Soria | Minor.

June 20, 2017
Kansas City Royals – Mike Minor got into a bit of a mess in the 8th inning last night, allowing two hits and a walk before getting himself out of it with a big strikeout. It was the lefty’s 8th hold on the season, and it came against the Red Sox, a team that might be employing him by the end of July. If Minor is traded, then from a fantasy perspective, it’s unlikely that he’ll be very interesting for the remainder of 2017. But if he stays in Kansas City, there’s a good case to be made that he, and not Joakim Soria, should inherit the closer role from Kelvin Herrera, should Herrera be dealt. We’ll keep an eye on his usage going forward.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Soria | Minor.

June 9, 2017
Kansas City Royals — Kelvin Herrera had another disastrous outing Thursday, getting charged with four runs while recording one out after entering a 1-1 game. His numbers now look quite ugly (5.55 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 7 HR allowed), but reports this week suggest there’s interest on the trade market (no word on whether that has changed given the recent struggles). Either way, Joakim Soria could be worth a speculative add as Royals fans wonder why they can’t get nice closers like Greg Holland or Wade Davis.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Soria | Minor.

May 11, 2017
Kansas City Royals — It’s been quite a while since we’ve talked about Kansas City, and Peter Moylan has had two five-run meltdowns to run his ERA to 7.62. The latest came last night in a blowout loss. Former first-round pick Mike Minor has been out of the league with injuries since 2014, but he seems to have hit his stride in relief, and could continue to get higher-leverage opportunities.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | Soria | Minor.

April 14, 2017
Kansas City Royals – Kelvin Herrera finally picked up his first save of the season Thursday for the three-win Royals. He’s clearly the guy moving forward, but how many chances he gets is a bit up in the air. Peter Moylan, meanwhile, has been impressive, striking out five in 4.2 scoreless innings to start the season.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | Soria | Moylan.

February 27, 2017
Kansas City Royals – Wade Davis was traded in December, and all of a sudden the dominant bullpen trio of Greg Holland, Wade Davis, and Kelvin Herrera (HDH) that helped the Royals win a World Series just two years ago, was down to just one H.  Herrera saved 12 games last year, and he should continue the Royals’ recent tradition of stellar closers.  Veteran Joakim Soria will look to bounce back from a down year in 2016, which saw him rack up eight losses and eight blown saves.  Young lefty Matt Strahm is projected as a starter long term, but after pitching well in relief last season, he will start 2017 in the bullpen.

Starting 2017 hierarchy: Herrera | Soria | Strahm.

September 25, 2016
Kansas City Royals — Kelvin Herrera picked up his twelfth save of the season on Saturday.  Wade Davis hadn’t pitched in a week so the Royals sent him out there in the eighth inning when they were down two and it didn’t look like there would be a need for the bottom of the ninth.  The Royals ended up scoring five runs in the top of the ninth and that left Herrera to pitch the bottom of the ninth.  Although Herrera has been great, Wade Davis is still the closer in Kansas City.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Herrera | Soria.

September 4, 2016
Kansas City Royals — Ned Yost originally said he wanted to stay away from Wade Davis on Saturday, but Davis ended up coming on to get the last two outs of the 9th for the save, striking out both batters he faced.  Davis wanted to pitch on Saturday after blowing the save in his return on Friday.  The Royals will likely be cautious with Davis and try to avoid overworking him.  However they are in the middle of a playoff push so he should still see plenty of save chances, and for Royals fans and fantasy owners, hopefully lots of “Salvy Splashes.”

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Herrera | Soria.

September 3, 2016
Kansas City Royals — Wade Davis was activated from the DL on Friday, and Ned Yost immediately threw him into the fire. After the Royals took a one-run lead, Davis got a save opportunity in his first action since July. He promptly hit the first batter he faced, and after a double and a two-run single, Davis was on the hook for the loss. It seems as though Yost trusts Davis to return to the closer role immediately, but there is reason to believe that Herrera may split the save opportunities down the stretch. When Davis entered the game last night the Royals bullpen was coming off two straight extra-inning games. Kelvin Herrera was also perfect in save opportunities while Davis was out, and Yost said after the game that he would avoid using Davis in back-to-back games for now. With as good as Davis has been, and given the clear save opportunity yesterday, he goes to the top spot in the hierarchy. However, don’t drop Herrera just yet. In a tight playoff race, he will certainly get chances down the stretch.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Herrera | Soria.

August 27, 2016
Kansas City Royals — The scoreless streak for the Royals bullpen came to an end at 41.1 innings on Friday night. Peter Moylan gave up two singles to start the ninth, and Kelvin Herrera couldn’t keep the inherited runners from scoring. This was the longest such streak since one by the 1966 A’s, also in Kansas City. Meanwhile, Wade Davis should be back next week.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Soria | Strahm.

August 25, 2016
Kansas City Royals — While the Royals extended their bullpen’s scoreless innings streak to 34.2, Wade Davis pitched a scoreless rehab inning in 102-degree Arizona heat.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Soria | Strahm.

August 24, 2016
Kansas City Royals – The Royals’ bullpen is on fire right now, having thrown a club record 32 scoreless innings. A big part of that has been rookie southpaw Matt Strahm, who has compiled a streak of nine straight scoreless innings. That included a clean seventh inning on Tuesday, which lowered his ERA to 0.96. He has also struck out 17 of the 35 batters he has faced, and while Strahm still may end up in the starting rotation next season, for now he’s an important piece of a red-hot ‘pen.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | Soria | Strahm.

August 19, 2016
Kansas City Royals – Righty Joakim Soria has cleared waivers and is able to be traded to any club. It’s no surprise that he cleared after he signed a $25 million deal in the offseason. His numbers don’t seem to meet the expectations that came with the contract.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Soria | Moylan.

August 15, 2016
Kansas City Royals – Chris Young picked up a three inning save yesterday, lowering his ERA to 6.03. Did you have him in your lineup? If so, here’s another chance to win Closer Monkey Premium for a year! Just send us a screenshot as proof and we’ll sign you up.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Soria | Moylan.

July 31, 2016
Kansas City Royals – Following an MRI on his elbow, Wade Davis is headed to the DL. Kelvin Herrera will close in his place. There’s no word yet on how much time Davis will miss, but the team’s Twitter said he had a flexor strain, which sounds less ominous than what could have been.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | Soria | Moylan.

July 31, 2016
Kansas City Royals — Closer Wade Davis went back to Kansas City on Saturday night for an MRI on his sore right arm.  He has not been placed on the DL but this is not a good sign for Davis, who just returned from the DL a few weeks ago.  We will continue to monitor his status.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Herrera | Soria.

July 29, 2016
Kansas City Royals — The Royals have made closer Wade Davis available in trades, but they’re apparently attempting to attach Ian Kennedy (who is owed $62.5 million after this season) in any Davis deal. The Dodgers and Nationals are supposedly interested, though. In related KC reliever news, Luke Hochevar was placed on the disabled list with a shoulder condition.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Herrera | Soria.

July 17, 2016
Kansas City Royals — Wade Davis did indeed return from the DL on Saturday, making his first appearance since June 30. It was a non-save situation in the ninth, but Davis felt “free and easy,” despite also saying the ball felt a little erratic.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Herrera | Soria.

July 16, 2016
Kansas City Royals — Closer Wade Davis should be activated from the DL on Saturday morning. One of the best relievers in the game, Davis will likely resume closing immediately, bumping Kelvin Herrera and Joakim Soria back in line. For all the speculation about Davis’s replacement, the Royals managed to record just one save in his absence.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Herrera | Soria.

July 10, 2016
Kansas City Royals — Kelvin Herrera recorded his first save of the year yesterday.  Herrera pitched a perfect ninth, while Soria pitched a scoreless eighth inning.  It appears Ned Yost will go with the reliever pitching better over closing experience at this point so we will move Herrera to the head of the committee.  However, it may be short lived as Wade Davis threw back-to-back days pain free, and will assume the closer’s role as soon as he returns.

Updated hierarchy: *Herrera | Soria | Hochevar.
* = closer-by-committee

July 8, 2016
Kansas City Royals — Would-be closer Joakim Soria pitched the eighth inning with a 2-0 deficit and allowed a Nelson Cruz homer. This certainly did not lend any clarity on the Royals closing situation, especially after Kelvin Herrera’s recent rough outings.

Hierarchy remains: *Soria | Herrera | Hochevar.
* = closer-by-committee

July 7, 2016
Kansas City Royals — There wasn’t a save chance for KC on Wednesday, but it’s noteworthy that Kelvin Herrera came out for the eighth in a tie game. Herrera struck out the side, but also allowed two runs on three hits to take the loss. This only strengthens our belief that Ned Yost will give Joakim Soria the first shot to close.

Hierarchy remains: *Soria | Herrera | Hochevar.
* = closer-by-committee

July 6, 2016
Kansas City Royals — Wade Davis hit the DL on Tuesday with a right forearm strain. Manager Ned Yost refused to commit to a replacement, saying he will “mix and match” depending on who is available. Kelvin Herrera is the best choice to take over Davis’ role, but Joakim Soria has closer experience and Yost’s trust, so we’ll put Soria at the top of the committee for now.

Updated hierarchy: *Soria | Herrera | Hochevar.
* = closer-by-committee

July 5, 2016
Kansas City Royals — Wade Davis hit the DL on Tuesday with a right forearm strain. There’s no official word yet who will close in his stead. Although Kelvin Herrera has fantastic numbers and the best stuff, Joakim Soria has closer experience and Ned Yost’s trust. We think Soria will get the call — but we also think that’s a mistake.

Updated hierarchy: Soria | Herrera | Hochevar.

June 3, 2016
Kansas City Royals — Joakim Soria — and not Kelvin Herrera — came out in the ninth in place of Wade Davis, who was unavailable (as the Vulture Save Watch predicted). Soria blew the save and lost the game, giving up a game-tying triple and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth. (Hey, Cleveland needs to smile about something.) It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that Soria got the ninth — Herrera was called in to face the 4-5-6 hitters in the eighth (he didn’t fully get the job done, allowing an earned run). But at the same time, it’s not like the Indians are the 1927 Yankees or the 2016 Red Sox. Soria has pitched really well of late (scoreless outings in 14 of his last 15; 1.35 ERA in May) and deserved a shot. Despite the tough performance (though some say he got jobbed thanks to bad defense), we’ll slide him up in our Royals hierarchy for now.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Soria | Herrera.

May 2, 2016
Kansas City Royals – For the sixth consecutive appearance, Kelvin Herrera finished off the 8th inning for the Royals. And while we’re counting, that’s now 13 straight scoreless outings to start the year for hard-throwing righty (17 Ks in 12.1 IPs). Joakim Soria has the experience, but is off to a rocky start so far, and we now think Herrera will get the first nod should anything happen to superstar closer Wade Davis.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Herrera | Soria.

April 23, 2016
Kansas City Royals — With Joakim Soria struggling, the Royals used Luke Hochevar in the seventh and Kelvin Herrera in the eighth, in a two-run game. Soria has earned enough goodwill to keep his slot through this one snub, but we’ll be watching to see who gets the next high-leverage eighth.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Soria | Herrera.

April 20, 2016
Kansas City Royals — Joakim Soria has allowed a run in each of his last two outings. On Tuesday, he couldn’t get out of the eighth inning and was booed off the mound, paving the way for Kelvin Herrera to get the final two outs of the frame. Herrera has yet to allow an earned run and may get some more looks in the eighth if Soria continues to struggle.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Soria | Herrera.

April 15, 2016
Kansas City Royals — After describing some early-season dead arm this week, Wade Davis offered a bit of relief for fantasy owners by picking up the save Thursday. He hasn’t allowed a run all season and, if he can shake the mechanical issues, should get plenty of save opportunities for the reigning World Series champs.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Soria | Herrera.

April 14, 2016
Kansas City Royals – As predicted in the Vulture Save Watch, Wade Davis was unavailable after a 33-pitch outing last night. Joakim Soria got the call in the 9th inning, and needed only five pitches to record his first save of the year and his first save for the Royals since his days as the “Mexicutioner.” Davis has been battling a bit of dead arm, but he says that is normal for this part of the year, and he should be ready to go when needed.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Soria | Herrera.

February 29, 2016
Kansas City Royals – The Royals won the World Series on the strength of their bullpen last year and bring back several key members, including closer Wade Davis, who has been pretty good the past two seasons.  They also added former closer Joakim Soria, who should share set-up duties with Kelvin Herrera.  Veteran Luke Hochevar also returns and should see time in the later innings.

Starting 2016 hierarchy: Davis | Soria | Herrera.
Holds candidates: Soria, Herrera, Hochevar.

October 3, 2015
Kansas City Royals – Greg Holland underwent a successful Tommy John surgery; he will miss all of 2016. Adjust Wade Davis’s dynasty value accordingly — he’s now one of the top stoppers to own going into next season.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Herrera | Madson.

October 2, 2015
Kansas City Royals — Wade Davis had a sore back on Thursday, so Ned Yost went with Ryan Madson for the save on Thursday night.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Herrera | Madson.

September 25, 2015
Kansas City Royals — Former All-Star closer Greg Holland is out for the year with what’s being called a “significant” tear in his right UCL, meaning Tommy John surgery is the likely option. Manager Ned Yost believes that Holland suffered the tear last August, meaning that he pitched through the World Series and most of this year with it. The Royals reportedly asked him to get his elbow checked repeatedly, but he refused until recently. Holland will be out for a good chunk of 2016, too, so Wade Davis is your man for now if you’re in a dynasty league.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Herrera | Madson.

September 23, 2015
Kansas City Royals — Manager Ned Yost announced on Tuesday that Wade Davis will close for the Royals for the remainder of the season and the playoffs. Greg Holland will miss time with elbow soreness, and Yost doesn’t have a defined role for him right now. In the meantime, Yost said that Kelvin Herrera will get the 8th inning, with Ryan Madson, Luke Hochevar and Danny Duffy likely to all get some time in the 7th.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Herrera | Madson.

September 22, 2015
Kansas City Royals – Wade Davis will close for the Royals for the remainder of the season and the playoffs, Ned Yost announced this afternoon. Greg Holland has some elbow soreness, and has been far less effective than Davis this season overall. If Davis is unowned in your league, grab him now, as he’s a top 5 closer the rest of the way.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Holland | Herrera.

September 21, 2015
Kansas City Royals – Danny Duffy picked up a four-inning save in Sunday’s blowout; he does not factor in to the Royals usual late-inning plans.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

September 19, 2015
Kansas City Royals — It wasn’t long ago that Greg Holland and Jamaal Charles would have welcomed being compared to each other, but sic transit gloria Missouri. Serious concerns over Holland’s velocity and reliability deepened Friday night after an extra-inning blown save that included a bases-loaded walk; although Ned Yost was silent after the game (“I’m done talking about Greg right now. I’m not saying anything more about Greg tonight”), the conventional wisdom is that Wade Davis will be the team’s new closer before they return to Kansas City next week. We’ll let you know if and when Yost decides to announce a move.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

September 12, 2015
Kansas City Royals — Kelvin Herrera is pitching again, and he got a key strikeout to close out the seventh inning with a one-run lead on Friday. Although he later got touched for three earned runs in a ten-run eighth, it was due to an error and an infield single that set up a grand slam — and when Franklin Morales relieved Herrera, Morales pitched even worse. We think Herrera keeps the seventh inning role going forward.

Updated hierarchy: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

September 2, 2015
Kansas City Royals — It was reported on Tuesday that Kelvin Herrera and Alex Rios both have chickenpox and will miss at least two weeks, which is bad news for the Royals and bad news for Herrera owners who were hoping for some late-season holds. Franklin Morales had two holds in Tampa last weekend, and more importantly, escaped virus-free. We’ll slide him into Herrera’s spot for now.

Updated hierarchy: Holland | Davis | Morales.

August 30, 2015
Kansas City Royals — Wade Davis recorded his thirteenth save of the season yesterday, and lowered his ERA under 1.00 in the process.  Greg Holland pitched the previous two games, including a save on Friday, so he was given the night off on Saturday.  Holland is still the closer in Kansas City but Davis will continue to see save chances when Holland is rested.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

August 28, 2015
Kansas City Royals — Pitching for the first time in five days, Greg Holland struggled again Thursday, allowing two runs and three hits after coming into the game with a four-run lead. He has been battling “cranky arm,” which seems like just the latest explanation for his up-and-down season. Until he’s placed on the DL or removed from the closer role, Holland will continue to see high-leverage work for the first-place Royals.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

August 26, 2015
Kansas City Royals — After being kept out of a save situation on Sunday, Greg Holland was also held out of last night’s game, and is experiencing a “cranky” arm. The ever-reliable Wade Davis got the save in his place. Holland has been solid this year despite four blown saves, but Davis has been nearly unhittable and Holland’s grumpy old arm may be signaling a bit of unrest at the back end of one of the best bullpens in the majors. Holland will keep his spot for now based on his track record, but we will be monitoring this situation closely.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

August 24, 2015
Kansas City Royals – Ned Yost wanted to give Greg Holland the day off on Sunday, so Wade Davis picked up his 11th save of the year after the Royals rallied against Junichi Tazawa. If there is even a single middle reliever owned in your league, it should be Davis.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

August 20, 2015
Kansas City Royals — Wade Davis continued his dominant season in picking up a save last night. He did give up a hit and a walk, but got Joey Votto to swing through a pitch to end the game. Greg Holland had just thrown 23 pitches in an extra inning game on Tuesday, so this was probably just a normal day off for the Kansas City closer, but his overall numbers this season are down from his untouchable 2014. His command has slipped a bit, and he has lost some velocity on his fastball. Holland is still one of the best relievers in baseball, and we would be more concerned for his job if Davis hadn’t also been slipping a bit in the past two weeks. Despite all this, Ned Yost has only gone to Davis when Holland was injured or unavailable, and the Royals have the best record in the major leagues, so look for them to stick with what got them there.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

August 14, 2015
Kansas City Royals — It can’t get worse than how the Royals’ top two relievers performed Thursday night. Wade Davis, who has been unhittable all year, allowed two runs. To put it into context, Davis has now only allowed five earned runs all season (0.96 ERA), but three have come in his last three games. Davis hurt KC, but the Royals still had a 5-3 lead. Enter Greg Holland, who allowed two two-run doubles without recording an out to fork over the lead. He has now allowed 7 earned runs over his last 7 IP, ballooning his ERA from 2.60 to 4.15 (his WHIP now rests at 1.47). Holland isn’t in danger of losing his job yet, but he has to be feeling the heat for the first-place Royals.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

August 12, 2015
Kansas City Royals — Luke Hochevar earned a 2.2-inning save on Tuesday night. If you started him on your fantasy team and you can prove it with a screenshot, we’ll let you sponsor tomorrow’s email for free! NOTE: Offer does not apply to fantasy teams owned by Luke Hochevar. While we’re here, we should mention that Wade Davis has a stiff back and hasn’t pitched since last Thursday.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

July 28, 2015
Kansas City Royals — Quick, who has more saves since July 19 — Joe Blanton or Aroldis Chapman? If you guessed Chapman, you’re wrong! If you guessed Blanton, well, you’re also wrong. They’re tied. They both have two. I guess this exercise was stupid.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

July 20, 2015
Kansas City Royals — In perhaps the most unlikely save of 2015, Joe Blanton got the last three outs of a 3-run Royals victory on Sunday. Save for Blanton, virtually the entire Kansas City bullpen had pitched on both Friday and Saturday, and rather than make someone go three straight, Ned Yost opted for Blanton. He does not factor in to Kansas City’s usual late inning plans.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

July 19, 2015
Kansas City Royals – Ryan Madson earned his first save since 2011 in an extra innings win for the Royals yesterday.  Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, and Greg Holland had all pitched earlier in the game, with Holland blowing the save in the 9th.  Madson has been a great comeback story this year with an ERA under 2.00, and could challenge Kelvin Herrera for the 7th inning role if he continues to pitch well.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

June 29, 2015
Kansas City Royals – Greg Holland got the day off after pitching twice in a row, so Wade Davis picked up his 9th save of the year.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

June 19, 2015
Kansas City Royals — The last time we saw Greg Holland, he couldn’t record an out, and Wade Davis, the Robin to his Batman, was called on to convert the save. Holland returned with a vengeance Thursday night, earning the save while striking out two. Davis backed him up with a clean eighth.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

June 16, 2015
Kansas City Royals – Royals closer Greg Holland made a mess of the 9th inning against the Brewers last night, giving up four hits and three runs without recording an out before getting yanked. Uber-handcuff Wade Davis bailed out Holland for his 8th save of the year. Royals manager Ned Yost blamed himself for Holland’s struggles, noting that he has not used Holland in six games. For his part, Holland said he has never felt better, though he’s still got some really ugly ratios (13 Ks vs 10 BBs) this season.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

May 26, 2015
Kansas City Royals – In his first appearance since May 14, Greg Holland had a discouraging outing against the Yankees, allowing two runs while only recording one out. It was a blowout, and many closers are notoriously ineffective without the context of a save situation to jack up their adrenaline, but Holland wasn’t throwing as hard as usual. As we alluded in last week’s Hot Seat column, it might be time to buy some Wade Davis shares.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

May 21, 2015
Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland is feeling better after dealing with a stiff neck on Tuesday and is once again ready for regular duty in the ninth inning.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

May 20, 2015
Kansas City Royals –Wade Davis picked up his seventh save of the season in the absence of Greg Holland, who woke up with a stiff neck and was unavailable on Tuesday. Doesn’t seem too serious, but Wade Davis may get another chance if Holland is still not 100%.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

May 14, 2015
Kansas City Royals — Kelvin Herrera returned from his six-game suspension on Wednesday, allowing one hit in a scoreless ninth inning. He will slide back into his usual seventh-inning role.

Updated hierarchy: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

May 13, 2015
Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland proved he is indeed human on Tuesday as he blew his first save chance since July 24. The Royals retook the lead in the 10th, however, and Holland stayed on to earn the win.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Madson.

May 8, 2015
Kansas City Royals — Reliever Kelvin Herrera’s combined suspensions were reduced to six games, a penalty he began serving on Thursday. He’s eligible to return next Wednesday. In the meantime, Luke Hochevar returned from the disabled list after a rough rehab assignment and pitched a scoreless sixth inning against Cleveland. Comeback kid Ryan Madson pitched the seventh inning, though, so he gets the edge in our hierarchy for now, with Herrera out and Hochevar (who hasn’t pitched on two straight days all season) still working his way back. Oh, and did we mention that Greg Holland got his first save since returning from the DL? It truly was a busy night for the Royals ‘pen.

Updated hierarchy: Holland | Davis | Madson.

May 6, 2015
Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland will be activated from the disabled list on Wednesday and rejoin a bullpen that had done its part without its closer. While Ryan Madson moves off our hierarchy for the moment, he will still be an important part of the Royals’ late-inning plans, especially with a ruling on Kelvin Herrera’s pair of suspension appeals due any day.

Updated hierarchy: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

April 28, 2015
Kansas City Royals — Even with Greg Holland’s injury, the Royals have had the best bullpen in the majors this season — and a substantial part of that has been the work of Ryan Madson, out of baseball since 2011 with a series of arm injuries and not even expected to make the Opening Day roster. Madson now has 11 strikeouts in eight appearances, and will continue to get important innings for Kansas City.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Herrera | Madson.

April 24, 2015
Kansas City Royals — On Saturday, injured closer Greg Holland will be evaluated by team doctors, who will decide when he can begin a throwing program. Holland has not thrown a baseball since feeling discomfort in his pectoral muscle, but said he “feels a lot better.” He’s eligible to return from the DL on May 3, but it will take longer if his evaluation goes poorly. Wade Davis has done a fine job filling in for Holland, and he picked up the save Thursday night after a wild night in Chicago, where a bench-clearing brawl led to five ejections.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Herrera | Frasor.

April 22, 2015
Kansas City Royals — Kelvin Herrera was suspended five games for Sunday’s nastiness, and he will appeal that suspension, a process that is estimated to take two weeks to complete. Herrera will be available during the appeal, which is good news for the Royals as they try and get Greg Holland back off the DL.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Herrera | Frasor.

April 21, 2015
Kansas City Royals – An MRI revealed that Greg Holland suffered a low-grade strain to his right pectoral muscle. As expected, Holland’s injury is not serious and should not have him sidelined for very long. Wade Davis will get saves in his absence, especially now that Kelvin Herrera may be suspended following his foray into headhunting on Sunday.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Herrera | Frasor.

April 18, 2015
Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right pectoral strain.  The injury does not appear to be serious, but Holland will be rested for about a week.  Wade Davis will take over closing duties in his absence, with Kelvin Herrera handling the 8th inning.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Herrera | Frasor.

April 11, 2015
Kansas City Royals — After initially saying that Greg Holland would be available, Ned Yost changed his mind and said that “common sense” dictated that Holland not pitch on three straight days so early in the season. Pitching coach Dave Eiland was apparently behind the decision. In Holland’s absence, Wade Davis struck out the side to earn an early vulture save.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

March 6, 2015
Kansas City Royals – The Royals bullpen was one of the main reasons for their successful 2015 season. Closer Greg Holland combined with Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera to form arguably the best relief tandem in baseball. All three guys will return in 2015 and, if that wasn’t good enough, they’ll also get Luke Hochevar back. Hochevar missed all of 2014, but was a dominant set-up man in 2013. Tim Collins was in line to be the Royals’ lefty specialist, but he was pulled from Wednesday’s spring training game and may need Tommy John surgery. Rookie phenom Brandon Finnegan may wind up in the bullpen as a result.

Starting 2015 hierarchy: Holland | Davis | Herrera.
Holds candidates: Davis, Herrera.

September 17, 2014
Kansas City Royals — Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera came into Tuesday night with the two longest scoreless streaks in the major leagues, a combined 62 2/3 innings that started way back on June 27. Both streaks were snapped in the eighth inning of a 7-5 Royals loss. Kansas City used eight relievers; Davis and Herrera were the only ones to be scored on.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

September 13, 2014
Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland returned to the mound last night for the first time since September 3rd.  It was not a save situation but Holland did strike out the side.  Barring any setbacks with Holland’s triceps, he should immediately return to closing games.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

September 11, 2014
Kansas City Royals — With Greg Holland remaining unavailable, Wade Davis picked up another save on Wednesday.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

September 9, 2014
Kansas City Royals – Greg Holland had a successful side session on Monday and has a good chance of being available if needed on Tuesday, according to manager Ned Yost.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

September 8, 2014
Kansas City Royals – With Greg Holland getting some extra rest to recover from a minor triceps injury, Wade Davis picked up his second save in the past three days. Holland actually said before the game that he was available, but it seems Ned Yost decided to play it safe; Holland should be back in short order.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

September 6, 2014
Kansas City Royals — Super set-up man Wade Davis picked up his first save of the season yesterday.  Davis struck out both batters that he faced with the tying run on second base.  Greg Holland got the day off, as he has a minor triceps issue, and if he misses more time, Davis should continue to see the save chances.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

September 3, 2014
Kansas City Royals — The Royals went super deep for the vulture save on Tuesday, giving their top three guys the night off and tabbing Aaron Crow, fresh off a one-week procedural stint in the minors, for the honors.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

August 3, 2014
Kansas City Royals — Since picking up a save a little over a week ago, Aaron Crow has given up 5 runs (4 earned) in 2.2 innings and the Royals used him in the 5th yesterday in a game they were losing.  Meanwhile, Kelvin Herrera pitched the 7th inning ahead of Wade Davis and Greg Holland on Wednesday and Friday nights and seems to has re-established himself as the best option behind those two guys.

Updated hierarchy: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

July 26, 2014
Kansas City Royals — With Greg Holland and Wade Davis unavailable after pitching three days in a row, the Royals went to Aaron Crow to protect a two run lead in the 9th.  Crow pitched a scoreless inning to pick up his second save of the season.

Updated hierarchy: Holland | Davis | Crow.

July 17, 2014
Kansas City Royals — Our first Royals update in 3 1/2 months doesn’t even come with a hierarchy change. New Royal Jason Frasor was the main set-up man in Arlington, but with Wade Davis dominating and Kelvin Herrera still topping 100 on the radar gun, he’ll be back in the pack in KC.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

July 15, 2014
Kansas City Royals – Greg Holland is second in the AL in saves with 25, and Wade Davis has been terrific ahead of him in the eighth. The Royals are in second place in the division and will be going all out to get to the playoffs in 2014. TRADE DEADLINE BUY/SELL: None

April 2, 2014
Kansas City Royals — Ned Yost has picked $4.8 million man Wade Davis as the team’s official set-up guy with Luke Hochevar out for the year. Davis and Aaron Crow had a rough time on Monday, however, and what seemed like a strength for Kansas City now appears very shaky indeed. Hierarchy change: Wade Davis to Set-up, Kelvin Herrera to 2nd in line.

March 13, 2014
Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland has been fantastic over the past few years, and if the Royals continue their improvement, his stock could rise even further. He did get a high number of save opportunities last year. Ranked #4 in our preseason closer rankings.

March 9, 2014
Kansas City Royals – Greg Holland solidified himself as an elite closer last year, finishing the season with over 100 Ks and a WHIP under 1.  Luke Hochevar was a solid set up man last year but he will have Tommy John surgery and miss the entire season.  Kelvin Herrera should step in as the primary set up man, with Aaron Crow also seeing some time in the later innings.  Starting 2014 hierarchy: Closer – Greg Holland, Set-up – Kelvin Herrera, 2nd in line – Aaron Crow.

September 8, 2013
Kansas City Royals – Luke Hochevar got the call in the 7th inning yesterday, and stayed on to finish off the 8th.  In recent weeks, the converted starter has seized control of the 8th-inning job in Kansas City, as he’s been more consistent than Kelvin Herrera.  Also seeing late-game innings lately for the Royals is Will Smith, who picked up his 4th hold yesterday, but the lefty hasn’t cracked our hierarchy yet.  Hierarchy change: Luke Hochevar to Set-up, Kelvin Herrera to 2nd in line.

September 2, 2013
Kansas City Royals – Aaron Crow, who spent the better part of two months as a rock-solid 8th inning man, has fallen out of favor over the last few weeks in Kansas City.  He hasn’t been particularly awful — despite a few recent hiccups, he still sports a 3.09 ERA for the year — but he hasn’t gotten a hold in over two weeks, as the Royals have been more apt to use Kelvin Herrera and Luke Hochevar to bridge the gap to Greg Holland.  The flame throwing Herrera has long been the organizational favorite to hold the set-up role, while Hochevar has revitalized his career in the bullpen and got the call in the 8th last night.  Hierarchy change: Kelvin Herrera to Set-up, Luke Hochevar to 2nd in line.

August 9, 2013
Kansas City Royals
 — Luke Hochevar got the last out of the eighth and stayed on for the ninth after the Royals scored two, earning a four-out save. Hochevar’s numbers are excellent, but the Kansas City bullpen is packed. No hierarchy change.

July 20, 2013
Kansas City Royals
 — Kelvin Herrera was recalled on Friday and got the last two outs in the 8th in a one run game.  Herrera had 17 strikeouts, and only 2 walks, in 11.2 scoreless innings at Triple-A Omaha.  He should immediately factor into the late inning plans for the Royals.   Hierarchy change: Kelvin Herrera to 2nd in line, replacing Tim Collins.

July 17, 2013
Kansas City Royals — Although there’s a strong case that Kansas City should flip Greg Holland now, at the height of his value, the three years of team control remaining suggest that he’ll remain a Royal for a while. TRADE DEADLINE BUY/SELL: None.

June 26, 2013
Kansas City Royals — Kelvin Herrera was sent to Omaha on Tuesday; fans of the mercurial righthander are advised to turn their tickets in and get their money back at the door. Ned Yost says that Herrera will pitch in a starting role at the AAA club, in the hope that he can “slow the game down” and start threading the needle again with all of his pitches. Yost added that Herrera’s eighth-inning role, truly the heart of matters, would be filled by Aaron Crow and lefty Tim Collins going forward. Hierarchy change: Tim Collins to 2nd in line, replacing Kelvin Herrera.

June 20, 2013
Kansas City Royals – Kelvin Herrera took an ugly loss on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, he was sent out to pitch the 7th inning of a game the Royals were losing.  He didn’t have a great outing then, either, giving up a run on a hit and a walk.  Until Herrera straightens himself out, Aaron Crow will likely get any save opportunities on days when Greg Holland is unavailable.  Hierarchy change: Aaron Crow to Set-up, Kelvin Herrera to 2nd in line.

June 6, 2013
Kansas City Royals – After five appearances in the minors in which he allowed two hits and no runs in 4.2 innings, Kelvin Herrera returned to the bigs and on Wednesday was immediately thrust back in to his old 8th inning role.  He pitched a clean inning, and another solid outing or two will re-secure his status as the the go-to guy behind Greg Holland.  Hierarchy change: Kelvin Herrera to Set-up, Aaron Crow to 2nd in line.

May 25, 2013
Kansas City Royals – Kelvin Herrera was sent to the minors earlier this week to sort himself out.  Luke Hochevar and Tim Collins are likely to share the 7th inning role ahead of set-up man Aaron Crow.  Hierarchy change: Luke Hochevar to 2nd in line, replacing Kelvin Herrera.

May 21, 2013
Kansas City Royals – After Kelvin Herrera surrendered his eighth home run in his last 14 innings on Sunday, Ned Yost announced Herrera’s demotion from the setup role. Hierarchy change: Aaron Crow to Set-up, Kelvin Herrera to 2nd in line.

May 14, 2013
Kansas City Royals — Luke Hochevar earned the first save of his career on Monday night, pitching three innings in a blowout of the Angels. No hierarchy change.

April 11, 2013
Kansas City Royals – Kelvin Herrera picked up his second save of the season on Wednesday, striking out three Twins in the process.  Greg Holland had the night off after a heavy workload on Tuesday, and remains on the Hot Seat, especially given how impressive Herrera has been in the early going.  No hierarchy change.

April 9, 2013
Kansas City Royals – Aaron Crow picked up a save on Monday, pitching a clean 9th inning.  Greg Holland and Kelvin Herrera had both pitched on back to back days and three of the past four, and were both getting a night off.  No hierarchy change.

April 8, 2013
Kansas City Royals – Greg Holland had another rough outing on Sunday, one day after blowing the save and taking the loss against the Phillies.  After putting several runners on, Holland had to be pulled for Kelvin Herrera, who cleaned up the mess and earned his first save of the year.  The job still belongs to Holland for now, but Herrera, a fireballer who already has 7 Ks in 3.1 innings this season, could challenge for it if Holland continues to struggle.  Greg Holland to Hot Seat.

February 24, 2013
Kansas City Royals – Starting 2013 hierarchy: Closer- Greg Holland, Set-up- Kelvin Herrera, 2nd in line- Aaron Crow.

September 30, 2012
Kansas City Royals – Kelvin Herrera picked up a save in the 14th inning on Saturday. Greg Holland blew the save in the 9th, but his job is not in jeopardy. No hierarchy change.

September 23, 2012
Kansas City Royals – As predicted in yesterday’s Vulture Save Watch, Kelvin Herrera got the save for the Royals on Saturday. Greg Holland had pitched in three straight and got the night off. No hierarchy change.

August 31, 2012
Kansas City Royals – With Greg Holland getting the night off after two high-leverage saves in a row, the Royals went to flamethrower Kelvin Herrera for the save. Herrera allowed two runners to reach, but got the job done and lowered his ERA to 2.49 on the year. He’ll likely be the man the Royals turn to if Holland needs any time off in the future. Hierarchy change: Kelvin Herrera to Set-up, Aaron Crow to 2nd in line.

July 31, 2012
Kansas City Royals – The Royals have traded closer Jonathan Broxton to the Cincinnati Reds, where he will serve as a set-up man. Greg Holland will inherit the closer job in Kansas City, said Royals manager Ned Yost, though Aaron Crow will be nipping at Holland’s heels if he struggles. Hierarchy change: Greg Holland to Closer, Aaron Crow to Set-up, Kelvin Herrera to 2nd in line.

July 22, 2012
Kansas City Royals – Aaron Crow pitched the 8th inning with the Royals up by 2 runs, then stayed on for the 9th after the Royals stretched their lead. Despite earning his second save of the year, he’s still behind Greg Holland on the Royals depth chart. No hierarchy change.

July 15, 2012
Kansas City Royals – Greg Holland has re-taken the lead as the Royals go-to set-up man, an important spot to watch, given the likelihood that Jonathan Broxton will be dealt. Holland helped to finish off the 7th, and then pitched the 8th inning for the second night in a row, earning the win. Hierarchy change: Greg Holland to Set-up, Aaron Crow to 2nd in line.

July 13, 2012
Kansas City Royals – Jonathan Broxton is likely to move by the break, and will likely see his value drop if he goes to a contender that plugs him in to a set-up role. Certain to benefit, however, is Aaron Crow, or possibly Greg Holland, who would inherit the closer job if Broxton moves. TRADE DEADLINE BUY+: Aaron Crow. BUY: Greg Holland. SELL+: Jonathan Broxton.

June 28, 2012
Kansas City Royals – Aaron Crow finished the 8th inning yesterday, keeping the game tied and eventually earning a win when the Royals scored in the bottom half. On Tuesday, he pitched the 8th inning with the Royals ahead by 2 runs. Greg Holland has struggled over the past two weeks, allowing 11 baserunners in his last 3.1 innings. Hierarchy change: Aaron Crow to Set-up, Greg Holland to 2nd in line.

June 16, 2012
Kansas City Royals – Aaron Crow pitched the 8th inning on Friday, three days after being summoned in a close game in the 7th. After Jonathon Broxton and Greg Holland, the Royals bullpen is pretty fluid, with Crow, Kelvin Herrera, and Tim Collins all being used in the 6th and 7th innings. But recently, it’s been Crow who has seen the majority of the late-innings work. Hierarchy change: Aaron Crow to 2nd in line, replacing Kelvin Herrera.

June 4, 2012
Kansas City Royals – For the second time in three games, Kelvin Herrera pitched the 7th inning for the Royals, earning a hold ahead of Greg Holland and Jonathon Broxton. In 29 innings, Herrera now has a 3.10 ERA with 25 Ks and 4 BBs. Hierarchy change: Kelvin Herrera to 2nd in line, replacing Aaron Crow.

May 15, 2012
Kansas City Royals – Greg Holland returned from the DL over the weekend and resumed his 8th inning duties. Hierarchy change: Greg Holland to Set-up, Aaron Crow to 2nd in line.

May 3, 2012
Kansas City Royals – Tim Collins has been used in some tight spots lately, and he recorded the win on Wednesday after getting 2 outs in a tie game in the 8th inning. Hierarchy change: Tim Collins to 2nd in line, replacing Jose Mijares.

April 23, 2012
Kansas City Royals- Greg Holland was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a “stress reaction” in his ribs. Although the ensuing bone scan showed no fracture, he might be three weeks away from returning to the Royals pen. Lefty José Mijares will likely move to 2nd in line, but young fireballer Jeremy Jeffress could move up quickly if he can harness his stuff. Hierarchy change: Aaron Crow to Set-up, José Mijares to 2nd in Line.

April 11, 2012
Kansas City Royals- Aaron Crow picked up the save last night in a rain-shortened game that only went 7 1/2 innings. No hierarchy change.

April 7, 2012
Kansas City Royals- The Royals, up 4 runs in the 8th inning, went to Greg Holland first. Jonathon Broxton pitched the 9th in a non-save situation and will close for the foreseeable future. Hierarchy change: Jonathon Broxton to Closer, Greg Holland to Set-up.

April 4, 2012
Kansas City Royals- Joakim Soria is out for the year, meaning Greg Holland and Jonathan Broxton will fight it out in the early season for save opportunities. The Royals have not declared a closer yet, but Holland has the early edge based on how they’ve been used in spring training. Should they both falter, Aaron Crow will get a shot. Starting 2012 hierarchy: Closer- Greg Holland, Set-up- Jonathan Broxton, 2nd in line- Aaron Crow. Holland begins the season on the Hot Seat.

Sept. 25, 2011
Kansas City Royals- With Joakim Soria out with a hamstring pull, Royals manager Ned Yost has said that he is likely done pitching this year. Greg Holland came in for the save again, and it is safe to say he will get the rest of the chances this year. Hierarchy change: Greg Holland to Closer, Aaron Crow to Set-up, Tim Collins to 2nd in line

Sept. 18, 2011
Kansas City Royals- Nate Adcock picked up the save last night against the White Sox, pitching three innings in a 10-3 blowout. No hierarchy change.

Aug. 30, 2011
Kansas City Royals- Blake Wood picked up a vulture save for the Royals last night. He entered the game with a runner on in the 8th, and pitched 2 scoreless innings. No hierarchy change.

Aug. 26, 2011
Kansas City Royals- Although Greg Holland gave up 2 runs last night, his strong work over the last month (5 holds and 1 save since August 7) has vaulted him over Aaron Crow into the Royals’ set-up role. Hierarchy change: Holland to Set-Up, Crow to 2nd in line.