Reynaldo Lopez, Andres Munoz, Dany Jimenez all secure saves on busy Opening Day for relievers

March 31, 2023

Chicago White Sox — As Chicago awaits the potential return of Liam Hendriks later this year, their ninth inning situation appears a bit cloudy. Reynaldo Lopez got the first crack on Opening Day, yielding a run on a colossal home run by Yordan Alvarez. Aaron Bummer secured the last two outs of the seventh inning and Kendall Graveman tossed a scoreless eighth to set things up. Let’s slide Lopez, who had a lot of hype in the fantasy baseball industry this spring, to the top given the usage to start 2023, but he isn’t cemented into any role just yet.

Updated hierarchy: *Lopez | Graveman | Bummer.
* = closer-by-committee

Seattle Mariners — It appears we have a committee in Seattle. The Mariners trotted out Matt Brash for the seventh inning, Paul Sewald for the eighth and Andres Munoz for the ninth on Thursday. Munoz allowed a couple of baserunners but escaped the jam to register the save. We’ll leave Sewald atop the hierarchy for now, but if Munoz sees another save or two, it will be a different story. 

Updated hierarchy: *Sewald | Muñoz | Castillo.
* = closer-by-committee

Oakland A’s — It wasn’t a traditional setup for the A’s on Opening Day. They were down 1-0 in the eighth inning when presumed closer Trevor May pitched a clean frame. After Oakland scored two runs to take the lead, Dany Jimenez came on for the ninth to secure the save. It would appear to be a committee now. We’ll see what happens next!

Updated hierarchy: *May | Jimenez | Jackson.
* = closer-by-committee

Chicago Cubs — The Cubs had a 4-run lead late on Opening Day, and deployed their late-inning arms with Brad Boxberger in the eighth and Michael Fulmer in the ninth. Both pitched scoreless frames. We gave Boxberger a razor-thin edge to start the year, but for now let’s swap this pair in the hierarchy and we’ll continue to monitor the usage moving forward.

Updated hierarchy: *Fulmer | Boxberger | Alzolay.
* = closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies — After placing Daniel Bard on the injured list so he can deal with anxiety issues, the Rockies held a 5-run lead on Opening Day, so committee leaders Pierce Johnson and Brad Hand were not used. This situation is very fluid so stay tuned.

Hierarchy remains: *Johnson | Hand | Lamet.
* = closer-by-committee

St. Louis Cardinals — Ryan Helsley allowed only nine earned runs and held a 9-1 record in 2022, but he’s currently sitting at an 18.00 ERA and an 0-1 record in 2023 after he allowed two earned runs on 24 pitches to blow the save and take the loss Thursday. To make matters worse for the Cardinals, presumed setup man Giovanny Gallegos was not available on Opening Day as he deals with a tweaked back. He is listed as day-to-day, so the injury doesn’t seem to be serious.

Hierarchy remains: Helsley | Gallegos | Hicks.

Minnesota Twins – Jhoan Duran picked up his first save of 2023, pitching a clean ninth inning Thursday in a 2-0 win. His main competition for the closer gig, Jorge Lopez, pitched the last two outs of the seventh inning.

Hierarchy remains: *Duran | Lopez | Thielbar.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Mets – With Edwin Diaz likely out for the entire season, the Mets turned first to David Robertson, who secured the save with a clean ninth inning. Will he get the next shot?

Hierarchy remains: *Robertson | Ottavino | Raley.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Adam Ottavino (NYM) – David Robertson got the first shot on Opening Day, and Adam Ottavino did not appear. Will it be Ottavino’s turn in Game 2?
2. Kendall Graveman (CWS) – Reynaldo Lopez nailed down the save in the first game, but his hold on the ninth inning is no sure thing, especially after allowing a long home run. Graveman looked great in the eighth and could be in line for the team’s second save opportunity.

Tomorrow
1. Hunter Harvey (WAS) – Kyle Finnegan looked rough on Opening Day, allowing three runs (two earned) on 23 pitches. The Nats are off Friday, but could Finnegan need more rest Saturday, or, perhaps, would Hunter Harvey (who pitched a scoreless eighth inning in the opener) get a chance because of Finnegan’s early struggles?

A tour of league bullpens this Opening Day

March 30, 2023

Miami Marlins — Skip Schumaker has tabbed a closer committee of A.J. Puk, Dylan Floro, and Tanner Scott to start the season, with Matt Barnes and his lower K rate relegated to the middle innings. We’ll move Floro to the top of the committee if only because he’s the only righty of the three, and has by far the best career numbers against righthanded batters.

Updated hierarchy: *Floro | Puk | Scott.
* = closer-by-committee

Arizona Diamondbacks — All-Star lefty Joe Mantiply (shoulder fatigue) will join Mark Melancon on the injured list to start the season. Torey Lovullo is promising a “fluid” approach to the ninth, but 33-year-old rookie Scott McGough, owner of 69 saves over the last two seasons for the Yakult Swallows of the Japanese league, looks like the top option. Lefty Andrew Chafin, Miguel Castro, and Kevin Ginkel will also  be in the mix, with rookie Carlos Vargas a long-term option.

Updated hierarchy: *McGough | Chafin | Castro.
* = closer-by-committee 

Chicago White Sox — Good news here, as Liam Hendriks’s fight against cancer is going so well that the team has elected to place him on the 15-day IL instead of the 60-day IL, auguring a potential return as early as June. Garret Crochet (Tommy John surgery) could also rejoin the team as early as May.

Hierarchy remains: *Graveman | Kelly | Bummer.
* = closer-by-committee

Chicago Cubs — Brandon Hughes, the Cubs’ only lefty reliever, is expected to start the season on the IL due to knee inflammation. Chicago’s bullpen is not full of great late-inning options. Brad Boxberger and Michael Fulmer are still battling to close, and we still give the edge to Boxberger after Fulmer was rocked for five runs in the ninth over the weekend. Adbert Alzolay leads the rest of the pack for a spot in the seventh.

Updated hierarchy: *Boxberger | Fulmer | Alzolay.
* = closer-by-committee

San Diego Padres — Robert Suarez (arm stiffness) will join Drew Pomeranz on the injured list to start the year, leaving the seventh inning to the likes of Steven Wilson, Nabil Crismatt, and lefty Tim Hill.

Updated hierarchy: Hader | Garcia | Wilson.

St. Louis Cardinals — Genesis Cabrera will start the season in the minors, leaving Jordan Hicks and his 104.6 mph fastball as the Cardinals’ best option for the seventh inning.

Updated hierarchy: Helsley | Gallegos | Hicks.

Baltimore Orioles — Mychal Givens left a simulated game on Sunday with pain in his left knee and is expected to start the season on the injured list. Bryan Baker haunted the hierarchy last year in his rookie season and should slide right in again.

Updated hierarchy: Bautista | Perez | Baker.

Pittsburgh Pirates — Yerry de los Santos has been optioned to AAA Indianapolis, returning Duane Underwood Jr. to the Pirate hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Bednar | Crowe | Underwood.

Raisel Iglesias will begin the season on the IL

March 25, 2023

Atlanta Braves – Raisel Iglesias will begin the season on the IL with a shoulder injury.  Manager Brian Snitker mentioned AJ Minter as the likeliest option to close so we will slide him to the top of the hierarchy for now.  Joe Jimenez and Collin McHugh could also be in the mix while Iglesias is out.

Updated hierarchy: Minter | Jimenez | McHugh.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Brusdar Graterol is working on secondary pitches to go with his 100 mph fastball, and if he can find some success there, he could turn into a dominant closer.  We will slide him up one spot to first in line and see if he can put it all together this season.

Updated hierarchy: *Phillips | Graterol | Vesia.
* = closer-by-committee

Cincinnati Reds – Lucas Sims is expected to begin the season on the IL with a back injury.  Reiver Sanmartin and veteran Hunter Strickland could see more time in the later innings while Sims is out.

Updated hierarchy: Diaz | Farmer | Sanmartin.

Chicago Cubs – The Cubs have one of the closest battles going for the closer’s spot between Brad Boxberger and Michael Fulmer. As we enter the last week before the season, both Boxberger and Fulmer have yet to allow a run in spring, although Fulmer has a better WHIP and more strikeouts. As we noted in our season preview we think Fulmer is the best season long option, but Boxberger has been a steady and reliable reliever who we still think gets the first chance out of the gate. This situation is worth closely monitoring as the Cubs have generally tried to stick with a primary closer once they find someone they think can handle the job. 

Hierarchy Remains: Boxberger* | Fulmer | Hughes.
* = closer-by-committee

Arizona Diamondbacks – Some bad news out of camp for the Diamondbacks as Mark Melancon will miss months with a shoulder injury. This opens the door for Scott McGough to join the hierarchy. McGough has been solid in spring training and is coming off a 38 save season in Japan. Arizona isn’t a hotbed of fantasy value for any reliever, but if you’re in the committee there is always a chance that you snag a save on any given day.  

Updated Hierarchy: *Chafin | Mantiply | McGough.
* = closer-by-committee 

New York Mets – Since Edwin Diaz’s unfortunate injury, the Mets have been asking themselves how they will replace the league’s best closer from last year. While Adam Ottavino and David Robertson are the best options on the team currently, there had been some speculation that the Mets might try to trade for an established closer (maybe Edwin’s brother Alex?), although owner Steve Cohen recently threw some cold water on those rumors. The emerging consensus seems to be that David Robertson will have the first crack at saves, as he has a bit more closing experience compared to Ottavino. We will adjust the hierarchy accordingly, but as we noted in the season preview, this situation could move quickly as the Mets see a championship window and won’t be content to wait for the a bullpen battle to work itself out. 

Updated Hierarchy: *Robertson | Ottavino | Raley.
* = closer-by-committee

Boston Red Sox — In a scary moment, Kenley Jansen felt lightheaded and  walked off with a trainer after facing his first batter of the game last night. After the game Jansen said that he did not believe it was related to any heart issues, and was just the result of dehydration. He expects to pitch again this weekend, and continues to be on pace to start the season as the Red Sox closer. Hopefully this is nothing but a blip on the radar, and Jansen returns with no ill-effects tomorrow.  

Hierarchy Remains: Jansen | Martin | Schreiber.

Top 30 Relievers for Holds Leagues

March 24, 2023

As baseball teams move more toward the ace-reliever model, holds are becoming a more popular scoring option for fantasy leagues. This list is for players who are not currently the closer for their team (although many may rise to that role over the season), but are still worth targeting in leagues which reward holds.  Current closers don’t appear on this list because anyone listed as a closer will likely be drafted anyway. Committees are always hard to judge on lists like this, but everyone in a committee takes a tiny hit in value here as some of their appearances will be save ops.

Tier I
James Karinchak
AJ Minter
Andres Munoz
Jorge Lopez

Normally this tier is for elite players who are completely blocked by an elite closer, but that list would be so short this year, that we expanded this tier to include several players who are likely to take over as closers as the year goes on. As long as they are set-up men, they are going to rack up holds, but don’t be surprised if they make the leap into the closers spot.

Tier II
Brusdar Graterol
Cionel Perez
Adam Ottavino
Erik Swanson
Jason Adam
Seranthony Dominguez
Geovanny Gallegos
David Robertson
Bryan Abreu
Andrew Chafin

The 2nd tier is a place for solid options who have a single question mark. That question mark is usually either a prominent role in a closer committee or regression/injury concerns. Expect a lot of holds out of this tier, but with a bit more variance than in tier 1.

Tier III
Yimi Garcia
Joe Kelly
Aaron Bummer
Rafael Montero
Joe Jiminez
Colin McHugh
Michael King
Joe Mantiply

The 3rd tier is where you’ll find a mix of less than elite options who still have potential for 20+ hold seasons either due to how their team uses the bullpen (Toronto/Atlanta), or by being a lower leverage option on a good team.

Tier IV
Taylor Rogers
Wil Crowe
Jose Cisnero
Caleb Theilbar
Matt Moore
John Schreiber
Matt Bush
Colin Poche

The 4th tier are mostly targets specifically for their value in providing saves/holds, and who may not help much in ratios. Think the stolen bases specialists of relievers. Here you’ll find some lefty specialists and also relievers on bad teams who are still likely to be involved in the late innings anytime their team does have a lead.