With a new week upon us, three veteran closers are struggling. In his last nine appearances since the start of June, Aroldis Chapman has allowed at least a run in four games, resulting in a 2.25 WHIP with 10 strikeouts versus five walks across his last eight innings. It’s a small sample, but it has affected his season-to-date ratios. Through 28 games, he has posted a 1.28 WHIP, with a 2.36 ERA, 3.11 SIERA, and 2.91 xERA. He has been pitching with a hamstring issue. Hope lies in his batted ball data:
He’s produced more ground balls this year, and the poor contact outweighs the good, which should encourage contenders as the deadline nears.
Things are not as rosy for Pete Fairbanks. He’s allowed at least a run in his last four games and in seven of his last ten. Since June 6, he’s posted a 1.758 WHIP with 11 strikeouts and five walks, while giving up 10 runs (nine earned) over 9.2 innings. On the season, his ERA has risen to 7.27 with a 3.53 SIERA, a 4.46 xERA, and a 1.46 WHIP through 26 innings. For comparison’s sake, his batted ball data:
There have been no reports indicating that his closer role is in jeopardy; however, the spike in allowed good contact, combined with more elevated contact, has affected him. His 10.2 percent walk rate also works against him. More traffic with spotty command yields runs during high-leverage events. If he starts pitching in lower leverage to get back on track, the team could return to its roots of matchups in the late innings, but Michael Petersen could be an intriguing stash option for those in deeper leagues.
Last but not least, Kenley Jansen rose from the ashes and secured his tenth save on Sunday in Detroit. He’s been in A.J. Hinch’s doghouse based on recent results. He was used in the seventh inning during an eventual loss on July second, and suffered his fourth loss on June 28, allowing four runs (three earned) at the top of the tenth against Houston. In 25 games this year, he has a 4.98 ERA, 4.38 SIERA, 3.67 xERA, and 1.20 WHIP. He’s allowing less contact, but it’s mitigated by a 13.3 percent walk rate, his highest since 2010. Staying with the theme, his batted ball data through games played on July 5:
He may need a change of scenery or more consistent usage patterns. But if the walk rate does not decrease, reaching 500 saves gets more challenging.
Because teams continue using matchup-based approaches and managed workloads, 181 relievers have already recorded a save this season, well ahead of the pace from the two previous seasons:
When assessing the rankings, understand that they remain fluid as sample sizes grow. They are a mix of in-season results and rest-of-season potential. Rankings should be part of a fantasy player’s toolkit, not the sole source of evaluation. This week may look different. I have continued to use updated SGPs (standard gains points) for the season and the last two weeks, with an eye on rest-of-season potential.
Each category will have an updated leaderboard featuring the leaders for the season and the last 14 days, based on games played through July 5.
Stock Up for Saves
- Tyler Wells (BAL): Though his manager maintains save situations will be matchup-dependent, he has recorded the first two saves since Ryan Helsley was placed on the 15-day injured list. He has been scoreless in 10 of his last 11 appearances, posting a 0.698 WHIP with 17 strikeouts and 3 walks over 14.1 innings.
- Keider Montero (DET): In his last two relief outings, he has recorded a save and a win while logging five scoreless innings. Can he make the Jacob Latz jump into a larger-leverage role, or will he continue to be a stream option for those protecting ratios, accumulating vulture wins and ancillary saves?
- Grant Taylor (CHW): He can be frustrating, especially when he’s not attacking hitters with his fastball. However, if he’s going to share save chances with Sean Newcomb and work in shorter bursts, his fantasy stock will improve.
- Jordan Romano (COL): Not for the risk-averse, and there is an arc to his results. He has a solid start with a new team, then struggles, and loses his grip on the ninth inning. But saves are saves for those in deep leagues, and he appears to be the flavor of the week for the Rockies.
Saves Leaderboards
Updated RP Rankings for Saves
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Jhoan Duran |
| 2 | Mason Miller |
| 3 | Josh Hader |
| 4 | Louis Varland |
| 5 | Jacob Latz |
| 6 | Cade Smith |
| 7 | Andrés Muñoz |
| 8 | Bryan Baker |
| 9 | David Bednar |
| 10 | Trevor Megill |
| 11 | Tanner Scott |
| 12 | Raisel Iglesias |
| 13 | Riley O’Brien |
| 14 | Paul Sewald |
| 15 | Aroldis Chapman |
| 16 | Devin Williams |
| 17 | Alex Lange |
| 18 | Tyler Wells |
| 19 | Emilio Pagán |
| 20 | Yoendrys Gómez |
| 21 | Kirby Yates |
| 22 | Caleb Kilian |
| 23 | Jacob Webb |
| 24 | Grant Taylor |
| 25 | Keider Montero |
| 26 | Kenley Jansen |
| 27 | Jordan Romano |
| 28 | Sean Newcomb |
| 29 | Clayton Beeter |
| 30 | Pete Fairbanks |
| 31 | Luke Weaver |
| 32 | Garrett Whitlock |
| 33 | Dennis Santana |
| 34 | Gregory Soto |
| 35 | Mason Montgomery |
| 36 | Carmen Mlodzinski |
| 37 | Kevin Kelly |
| 38 | Hogan Harris |
| 39 | Mark Leiter Jr. |
| 40 | Abner Uribe |
| 41 | Didier Fuentes |
| 42 | Adrian Morejon |
| 43 | Andrew Morris |
| 44 | Tyler Alexander |
| 45 | Aaron Ashby |
| 46 | Bryan King |
| 47 | PJ Poulin |
| 48 | Chad Patrick |
| 49 | Evan Phillips |
| 50 | Andrew Kittredge |
| 51 | Elvis Alvarado |
| 52 | Orion Kerkering |
| 53 | Victor Vodnik |
| 54 | Bryan Hudson |
| 55 | Ryan Zeferjahn |
| 56 | Erik Miller |
| 57 | Jeff Hoffman |
| 58 | Dylan Lee |
| 59 | Brandyn Garcia |
| 60 | Juan Morillo |
Stock Up for SOLDS
- Garrett Whitlock (BOS): Understanding SOLDS are reliant on teams doing well, he has racked up five holds over the last two weeks with a 26.1 K-BB percentage.
- Andrew Morris (MIN): He has two wins and two holds over the previous 14 days, with a 0.55 WHIP and a 20 K-BB percentage. However, he gets by with a low whiff rate while avoiding hard contact. Can this continue?
SOLDS Leaderboards
Updated Rankings for SOLDS
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Jhoan Duran |
| 2 | Mason Miller |
| 3 | Louis Varland |
| 4 | Dylan Lee |
| 5 | Josh Hader |
| 6 | Jacob Latz |
| 7 | Bryan Baker |
| 8 | Cade Smith |
| 9 | Andrés Muñoz |
| 10 | Trevor Megill |
| 11 | Luke Weaver |
| 12 | Kevin Kelly |
| 13 | Adrian Morejon |
| 14 | Tanner Scott |
| 15 | David Bednar |
| 16 | JoJo Romero |
| 17 | Bryan King |
| 18 | Eduard Bazardo |
| 19 | Raisel Iglesias |
| 20 | Abner Uribe |
| 21 | Riley O’Brien |
| 22 | Garrett Whitlock |
| 23 | Michael Petersen |
| 24 | Alex Vesia |
| 25 | Grant Taylor |
| 26 | Didier Fuentes |
| 27 | Aroldis Chapman |
| 28 | Fernando Cruz |
| 29 | Alex Lange |
| 30 | Emilio Pagán |
| 31 | Yoendrys Gómez |
| 32 | Hunter Gaddis |
| 33 | Aaron Ashby |
| 34 | Devin Williams |
| 35 | Orion Kerkering |
| 36 | Tyler Rogers |
| 37 | Gabe Speier |
| 38 | Tyler Wells |
| 39 | Jacob Webb |
| 40 | Paul Sewald |
| 41 | Garrett Cleavinger |
| 42 | Caleb Kilian |
| 43 | Daniel Lynch IV |
| 44 | Peyton Gray |
| 45 | Tyron Guerrero |
| 46 | Brooks Raley |
| 47 | Anthony Bender |
| 48 | Keider Montero |
| 49 | Steve Okert |
| 50 | Pete Fairbanks |
| 51 | Brandyn Garcia |
| 52 | Andrew Morris |
| 53 | John King |
| 54 | Hogan Harris |
| 55 | Kenley Jansen |
| 56 | Evan Phillips |
| 57 | José Alvarado |
| 58 | Yennier Cano |
| 59 | Huascar Brazobán |
| 60 | Bryan Hudson |
| 61 | Brock Burke |
| 62 | Ryan Zeferjahn |
| 63 | Seranthony Domínguez |
| 64 | Ryan Rolison |
| 65 | Dylan Smith |
| 66 | Kevin Ginkel |
| 67 | Tejay Antone |
| 68 | Jeff Hoffman |
| 69 | Sam Bachman |
| 70 | Erik Sabrowski |
| 71 | Trent Thornton |
| 72 | Victor Vodnik |
| 73 | Jonathan Loáisiga |
| 74 | Clayton Beeter |
| 75 | George Soriano |
Stock Up for Holds
- Tyron Guerrero (BOS): He has recorded four holds in the last two weeks and a 0.75 WHIP across 5.1 scoreless innings.
- Luke Weaver (NYM): Even though his hold volume remains below that of his peers, his minuscule 0.20 WHIP, with eight strikeouts and no walks over his five outings, is beneficial.
Holds Leaderboards
Updated RP Rankings for Holds
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Dylan Lee |
| 2 | Luke Weaver |
| 3 | Eduard Bazardo |
| 4 | Bryan King |
| 5 | Abner Uribe |
| 6 | Michael Petersen |
| 7 | Garrett Whitlock |
| 8 | Kevin Kelly |
| 9 | Adrian Morejon |
| 10 | JoJo Romero |
| 11 | Orion Kerkering |
| 12 | Mason Montgomery |
| 13 | Brandyn Garcia |
| 14 | Didier Fuentes |
| 15 | Fernando Cruz |
| 16 | Alex Vesia |
| 17 | Garrett Cleavinger |
| 18 | Peyton Gray |
| 19 | Steven Okert |
| 20 | Tyler Rogers |
| 21 | Tyron Guerrero |
| 22 | Gabe Speier |
| 23 | Brooks Raley |
| 24 | Hunter Gaddis |
| 25 | Andrew Morris |
| 26 | Aaron Ashby |
| 27 | Erik Sabrowski |
| 28 | Ryan Zeferjahn |
| 29 | Brock Burke |
| 30 | Tejay Antone |
| 31 | Daniel Lynch IV |
| 32 | Keider Montero |
| 33 | Brent Headrick |
| 34 | John King |
| 35 | Erik Miller |
| 36 | A.J. Minter |
| 37 | John Schreiber |
| 38 | Anthony Bender |
| 39 | Jose A. Ferrer |
| 40 | Huascar Brazobán |
American League Only RP Rankings
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Louis Varland |
| 2 | Josh Hader |
| 3 | Cade Smith |
| 4 | Bryan Baker |
| 5 | David Bednar |
| 6 | Jacob Latz |
| 7 | Andrés Muñoz |
| 8 | Aroldis Chapman |
| 9 | Ryan Helsley |
| 10 | Alex Lange |
| 11 | Yoendrys Gómez |
| 12 | Kirby Yates |
| 13 | Kenley Jansen |
| 14 | Hogan Harris |
| 15 | Elvis Alvarado |
| 16 | Mason Barnett |
| 17 | Grant Taylor |
| 18 | Will Vest |
| 19 | Garrett Whitlock |
| 20 | Bryan Hudson |
| 21 | Andrew Morris |
| 22 | Jakob Junis |
| 23 | Seranthony Domínguez |
| 24 | Bryan Abreu |
| 25 | Tyler Alexander |
National League Only RP Rankings
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Jhoan Duran |
| 2 | Mason Miller |
| 3 | Tanner Scott |
| 4 | Trevor Megill |
| 5 | Raisel Iglesias |
| 6 | Pete Fairbanks |
| 7 | Paul Sewald |
| 8 | Devin Williams |
| 9 | Riley O’Brien |
| 10 | Emilio Pagán |
| 11 | Jimmy Herget |
| 12 | Jacob Webb |
| 13 | Caleb Kilian |
| 14 | Gregory Soto |
| 15 | Clayton Beeter |
| 16 | Adrian Morejon |
| 17 | Abner Uribe |
| 18 | Antonio Senzatela |
| 19 | Trent Thornton |
| 20 | Caleb Thielbar |
| 21 | Orion Kerkering |
| 22 | Carmen Mlodzinski |
| 23 | Chase Petty |
| 24 | PJ Poulin |
| 25 | George Soriano |
Thanks for being a part of the Closer Monkey community. Stay safe and be well.
Statistical Credits: