Welcome to our weekly Hot Seat column! Each week — usually on Mondays — we’ll update this space to give you an easy-to-reference guide on who might be closest to losing their jobs. Note that this isn’t necessarily a ranking of the best closers; rather, it’s a guide to job security.

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Latest update: April 25, 2016

It’s been a pretty solid year for bullpens so far, with only a few obvious and horrifying exceptions. Cincinnati’s a disaster and Oakland is unpredictable, but aside from Kevin Jepsen stumbling toward Glen Perkins’s pending return, ninth innings are looking better throughout the league. Arodys Vizcaino appears to have some more breathing room in Atlanta, and Shawn Tolleson had a three-save week. By right, Jake McGee’s five-run debacle on Sunday should have dropped him a tier, but without any sort of viable replacement in the queue, his leash is just as long. At the top, Kenley Jansen’s outstanding performance, combined with the parade of mediocres behind him at Chavez Ravine, moves him to the #1 position.

Hottest: In a committee or on the verge of losing their job right now.
30. Tony Cingrani/Caleb Cotham (Handcuffs: J.J. Hoover, Ross Ohlendorf)
29. Ryan Madson (Handcuff: Sean Doolittle)

Hot: Guys who could be in danger after their next blown save.
28. Kevin Jepsen (Handcuff: Trevor May; DL return: Glen Perkins)

Warmish: Two blown saves in a row and these players might be in trouble.
27. Alex Colome
26. Arodys Vizcaino
25. Francisco Rodriguez
24. Jeanmar Gomez
23. Santiago Casilla
22. Shawn Tolleson
21. Fernando Rodney

Cool: These players would have to blow 3 consecutive saves for their jobs to be in jeopardy.
20. Jake McGee
19. Jeremy Jeffress
18. Roberto Osuna
17. Steve Cishek
16. Hector Rondon
15. Luke Gregerson
14. Jonathan Papelbon
13. Mark Melancon
12. A.J. Ramos
11. Huston Street
10. David Robertson
9. Craig Kimbrel
8. Brad Ziegler
7. Cody Allen
6. Andrew Miller
5. Jeurys Familia
4. Trevor Rosenthal

Sub-zero: These players would have to blow 4+ consecutive saves for their jobs to be in jeopardy.
3. Zach Britton
2. Wade Davis
1. Kenley Jansen

Hottest – In a committee, or on the verge of losing their job right now

30. Jean Machi (cuff: Junichi Tazawa)
29. Bruce Rondon (cuff: Alex Wilson)
28. Sean Doolittle (cuff: Drew Pomeranz)
27. Kevin Jepsen (cuff: Glen Perkins)

Jean Machi is pitching just like you’d expect from a guy with 12 years in the minors and a 1.40 WHIP to show for it. Fortunately for the Red Sox, area fans have been juuuust a little distracted lately. The Tigers bullpen is awful. Kevin Jepsen is pitching well, but you know he’ll be back in the eighth inning as soon as Old Man Perkins can roll out of bed without experiencing “spasms.”

Hot – Guys who could be in danger after their next blown save

26a. Roger Goodell (cuff: Tod Lieweke)

Several straight blown leads and self-inflicted meltdowns have placed the Ginger Hammer in a precarious position. There’s no real reason to think that his bosses — who, after all, are still rollin’ in it — are feeling any real pressure to make a change, but they  might be wise to give him some lower-leverage, touchdown celebration work in the weeks to come, to clear his head.

Warmish – Two blown saves in a row and these players might be in trouble

26. Greg Holland
25. Brad Boxberger
24. Brad Ziegler

Hadn’t heard anything bad from Holland lately, but it turns out he just hasn’t pitched since August 28. Boxberger keeps blowing saves and picking up losses, while Alex Colome looks great as a reliever behind him. A banged-up Brad Ziegler is in free-fall, with 7 runs and 11 hits against him this past week.

Cool – These players would have to blow 3 consecutive saves for their jobs to be in jeopardy

23. John Axford
22. Santiago Casilla
21. Luke Gregerson
20. AJ Ramos
19. Arodys Vizcaino
18. Francisco Rodriguez
17. Tom Wilhelmsen
16. Hector Rondon
15. Huston Street 
14. Jeurys Familia
13. David Robertson
12. Mark Melancon
11. Shawn Tolleson
10. Ken Giles
9. Roberto Osuna
8. Cody Allen
7. Kenley Jansen

A bunch of guys move up a rung this week. Sure, the Giants aren’t winning much, but Santiago Casilla has allowed no runs and only two hits in four weeks (six appearances). Four saves in one week keeps Tom Wilhelmsen movin’ on up too. Kenley Jansen also had a good week; Tolleson, Melancon, and K-Rod did not.

Sub-zero – These players would have to blow 4+ consecutive saves for their jobs to be in jeopardy

6. Aroldis Chapman
5. Zach Britton
4. Jonathan Papelbon
3. Trevor Rosenthal
2. Andrew Miller
1. Craig Kimbrel

Hottest – In a committee, or on the verge of losing their job right now

30. Sean Doolittle (cuff: Drew Pomeranz)
29. Junichi Tazawa (cuff: Jean Machi)
28. Bruce Rondon (cuff: Alex Wilson)

-Sean Doolittle is ostensibly still the most likely reliever in the A’s bullpen to be closing by the end of the year, but his return to the majors thus far has included two seventh inning appearances where he’s allowed runs. So Drew Pomeranz is still worth holding on to. Junichi Tazawa has been awful — the best thing going for him is the lack of any other decent arms in the Boston bullpen. Similarly, the best thing going for Bruce Rondon is that the Tigers are out of the playoff hunt and are giving him a longer leash to see if he can win the job. But he’s been unconvincing at best, thus far, while Alex Wilson continues to get outs.

Hot – Closers who could be in danger after their next blown save

27. Greg Holland (cuff: Wade Davis)
26. John Axford (cuff: Scott Oberg)
25. Glen Perkins (cuff: Kevin Jepsen)
24. Santiago Casilla (cuff: Sergio Romo)

-Holland is kinda hurt and definitely not the pitcher that Wade Davis is at this point. Axford would be in more trouble if there was even a single reasonable alternative in the Colorado bullpen. Perkins is coming off injury and Kevin Jepsen pitched very well in his absence, while Casilla continues to just kinda make us nervous.

Warmish – Two blown saves in a row and these players might be in trouble

23. Tom Wilhelmsen
22. Luke Gregerson
21. Brad Boxberger

-Tom Wilhelmsen has posted three efficient saves in six days since taking over the job and has already earned himself a leash. Gregerson has been decent lately, but the bullpen behind him is excellent. Boxberger had a better outing on Thursday after a rough stretch.

Cool – These players would have to blow 3 consecutive saves for their jobs to be in jeopardy

20. Brad Ziegler
19. AJ Ramos
18. Hector Rondon
17. Arodys Vizcaino
16. David Robertson
15. Francisco Rodriguez
14. Jeurys Familia
13. Huston Street
12. Roberto Osuna
11. Kenley Jansen
10. Cody Allen
9. Ken Giles
8. Mark Melancon
7. Shawn Tolleson
6. Aroldis Chapman

-The fact that Brad Ziegler and his 1.46 ERA ranks last in this category shows how solid all of these guys are. Aroldis Chapman tops this section of the list after proving himself healthy and should re-enter Sub-zero as long as he doesn’t have a setback. Shawn Tolleson drops into this category after a blown save and with the recent additions to the Texas bullpen (Sam Dyson, Jake Diekman) pitching exceptionally well.

Sub-zero – These players would have to blow 4+ consecutive saves for their jobs to be in jeopardy

5. Zach Britton
4. Jonathan Papelbon
3. Trevor Rosenthal
2. Andrew Miller
1. Craig Kimbrel

-Not much to be said about the pitchers in this group, who are all locks to close for the rest of the season, barring injury.