MLB Closers and Saves Report Week 21

It's Week 21 already - major league rosters are about to balloon with September call ups, fantasy leagues are about to enter into the playoffs, and football is about to dominate the fantasy sports landscape. But there were still important things going on this week in baseball! The Cardinals lost their closer, the Rockies may […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report Week 20

The playoffs are coming! Fantasy baseball life comes at you fast, and even though we can all probably remember drafting our teams, it's already almost playoff time. With the trade deadline well behind us (despite some intriguing post-deadline deals still going on), teams have their bullpens more or less set. Injuries, however, are unpredictable. You've […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report Week 19

After a flurry of news coming around the trade deadline, this was a much quieter week. There were saves, holds, blown saves, wins, and losses, but there weren't bullpen-significant trades. Some new closers have solidified their roles, some committees are forming and others are dissolving. We're hitting the home stretch in fantasy leagues, with playoffs […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report Week 18

The trade deadline came and went, and it was a wild one. While the biggest splash arguably came at the last second (Darvish to the Dodgers), there were plenty of smaller splashes throughout the day. It was a pitching-dominated deadline, with few significant position player trades happening at all. While there may still be some […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report Week 17

The deadline is coming! The deadline is coming! While trades can still be made in August, the bigger deals will be made before Monday's non-waiver trade deadline. We already had some big moves covered in last week's Closers and Saves Report, but we had some minor deals go through this week that affected a few […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report - Week 16

The trade deadline is still over 10 days away. And yet, we've already seen a few big trades, two of which impact a few bullpens around the league. There are certainly more changes coming, and it seems teams might not wait until July 31st for the usual "oh-my-goodness-let's-refresh-Twitter-every-few-seconds-throughout-the-day" madness. Ryan Madson, Sean Doolittle, Tommy Kahnle, […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report - Week 15 (Trade Deadline Preview Edition)

The All-Star Break came and went, and now everyone knows the name Aaron Judge. Some people now know the name Justin Bour as well. It was a fun break from "real" baseball, and now that the All-Star Game doesn't "count" it seemed like the players all had more fun, especially Nelson Cruz. With the All-Star Game […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report - Week 14

With the Fourth of July now behind us, some great closers will be declaring their independence from their not-great teams soon. That should throw the fantasy world for a nice little spin. It's still early in July though, and the deadline doesn't come until the 31st. Closers will keep closing, setup men will keep setting […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report - Week 13

Another rather busy week in bullpens this week, as the Angels stayed confusing, the Giants made a strange decision, and the Rays and Cardinals showed a possible changing of the guard. While all of baseball takes a moment to spare a thought for Bartolo Colon, whose career might be over after nine teams and two […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report - Week 12

After a few relatively quiet weeks in bullpens across the league, week 11 gave us a little more to talk about, with some relievers heading to the disabled list while others came back from it. Giants closer Mark Melancon earned his first save in what likely seemed like a few decades for his fantasy owners. There […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report - Week 11

Week 11 saw Cleveland Indians super-reliever Andrew Miller's ERA skyrocket from 0.29 to 1.60. He's not a closer, but his strikeouts and multiple-inning outings make him worthy of a fantasy roster spot in some mixed leagues. This was the first week in a long time that Miller's owners saw anything but strikeouts on his line. […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report - Week 10

This was an interesting week in the world of bullpens, as no closers outright lost their jobs, but a couple of teams saw the beginning of what might lead to a significant changing of the guard. Also, Craig Kimbrel is incredible and on an ever better pace (by most markers) than Eric Gagne was in […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report - Week 9

Another quiet week in the world of bullpens, and few fantasy owners will complain about that. After a whirlwind of moves to start the season that lasted through most of April and May, it's been oddly comforting to have two weeks straight where bullpens allow us to relax. But, as always, it wasn't a completely quiet week, […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report - Week 8

It was a fairly quiet week for bullpens this week, especially given the frenzy of moves we've seen in the early going. Still, a few key things did happen and there were some great performances to discuss, so let's take a look at this week's news. Here we go.Be sure to check all of our […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report - Week 7

Another week gone by, and another few bullpens shaken up. It seems to be the theme of the season, at least early on: managers are not afraid to make changes in the ninth inning and leashes for closers are getting shorter and shorter. It has resulted in the fantasy-abhorred closer-by-committee thing happening a few more […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report - Week 6

Now this is a story all about how bullpens got flipped turned upside down this week. Injuries and demotions made for a pretty wild week for closers and other relievers, certainly sending fantasy players scurrying to the waiver wire after making drops or DL moves. Time to jump in and take a look at the Week […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report - Week 5

We are through the first month of the season, and bullpens are starting to figure out their real identities. Some teams have stuck with closers through early-season struggles, others are on their second or third closers already. It was a crazy month of April, with nearly one third of closers fighting for their jobs, due […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report - Week 4

Week 3 gave us a flurry of bullpen moves so naturally, week 4 was mostly quiet, with nothing Earth-shattering really going down in any team's bullpen. There were still a few important things happening, and of course there were some great performances to discuss, so let's carefully jump in so we can avoid the DL. […]

MLB Closers & Saves Report - Week 3

After a relatively quiet start to the season, bullpen-wise at least, this week brought a few important ninth inning changes. Some might be temporary, some might be more permanent, but all will be critical to fantasy players over the next few weeks. Let's take a look at what happened in the bullpens around Major League […]

MLB Closers Report - Week 3

It's been a wild start to the season, with bees, cats, and squirrels all already playing a part in Major League games. But what about that other strange animal that plays a much bigger part in baseball and especially in fantasy? I'm talking about closers. It's been a wild first few games for them too. […]

The Latest Bullpen Updates You Need to Know for Your Drafts

We're less than a week away from Opening Day and on the verge of a huge fantasy draft weekend. It's finally time for baseball season to be in (don't say "full swing" don't say "full swing") full effect! Many fantasy leagues have already drafted, but there is still a waiver wire to scour and buy-low/sell-high […]

Closer Hot Seats and Setup Men Who Want To Sit In Them

"Closer" can more or less be considered a starting role in fantasy baseball. It's not a starting role in the sense that the player actually starts every game, nor does he start in a regular rotation, but he has a set role that his manager uses him in. The whole point of trying to convince you […]

Mid-March Bullpen Updates for Closers & Saves

We're almost halfway through March and we have about as much clarity at the back end of some bullpens as we had in December. While many bullpens are set in stone, there are still a few heated competitions happening across Grapefruit and Cactus League play as managers try to decide who to hand the ball […]

2017 MLB Closer Depth Chart: American League West

Let's head out west for the final early-Spring Training MLB Closer Depth Chart article. The American League West has many intriguing arms, but very few set roles. As Spring Training and the World Baseball Classic move along, there will (hopefully) be more clarity in terms of eighth and ninth inning roles out west, but for […]

2017 MLB Closer Depth Chart: American League Central

The American League Central features the AL Champion Cleveland Indians, then a pair of if-everything-goes-right possible contenders in the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals, and rounded out by the rebuilding Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox. Of course, the "good" teams have good fantasy options, but there is some value to be drawn from […]

2017 MLB Closer Depth Chart: American League East

The American League East has a lot of well known teams and a lot of well known closers. Ninth-inning arms from this division are likely to be among the first closers drafted in fantasy baseball drafts this season. Also, the AL East is the only division where every single team has a locked-in closer with […]

2017 MLB Closer Depth Chart: National League West

The National League West is another top-heavy division, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants again sure to make things interesting all the way to the end of the season. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies would need tons of things to go right to have a chance to compete, and the lowly […]

2017 MLB Closer Depth Chart: National League Central

The National League Central features the 2016 World Series Champions and baseball's darlings, the Chicago Cubs. But there are two other solid teams as well in the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals. The Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds are likely in for long 2017 seasons, but that doesn't mean they are devoid of talent […]

2017 MLB Closer Depth Chart: National League East

It's still early to talk baseball. Spring Training hasn't started yet. The Super Bowl buzz hasn't even died down. But it's never too early to talk about baseball, especially when it comes to the critical, sometimes-obnoxious category of saves and the closers who earn them. Today we are here to discuss the MLB closer depth chart […]