🖥 TAP TO SAVE 50% WITH CODE NEW
X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

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 to injuries, suspensions, or poor performance.

Let's take a look at how the month wound down with Week Five's Closers and Saves Report

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball draft tools and resources:

 

Bullpen News for Week 5

Oakland Athletics

Death, taxes, and Sean Doolittle on the disabled list. Those are the only sure things in life. The A's lefty landed on the DL this week with a shoulder strain, his third in three years. The early news is that Doolittle could be out for a while. He had worked his way into the closer-by-committee along with Santiago Casilla. Casilla will likely take over full time now, boosting his fantasy value quite a bit. Ryan Dull, Ryan Madson, and John Axford (once he returns from his injury) may be saves candidates as well, but Casilla should see the highest increase of opportunities in Doolittle's absence. He should be picked up in mixed leagues where he isn't owned.

Washington Nationals

Nationals closer Shawn Kelley was always seen as a relatively high upside closer, but with injury risks attached. He's been unavailable the last few games not because of an injury, but because of an illness. While his former committee-mate, Koda Glover, has been on the disabled list, Kelley has only made one appearance. He had a chance to cement himself in the closer role in D.C., but instead it seems the team may return to a Kelley/Glover committee once the latter is ready to return.

Baltimore Orioles

Brad Brach was amazing for a few weeks and would possibly be a top-10 closer if given the chance. However, an established top-10 closer, Zach Britton, returned from the disabled list and pushed Brach down to his familiar setup role. Brach is still absolutely a must-own in leagues that count holds, but can't be considered more than Britton's handcuff in standard leagues. Brach will provide nice ratios, but outside of AL-only and very deep mixed leagues, his spot could be taken by someone with more potential for saves.

St. Louis Cardinals

Cardinals closer Seung Hwan Oh got off to a slow start this season, but seemed to be putting things together lately. He had a rough extended outing a few nights ago (even though the runs he allowed were unearned) so Trevor Rosenthal picked up his third save this week with a brilliant inning. His re-emergence is certainly making Oh's owners nervous, but "The Final Boss" is safe in his ninth inning spot for now, and should continue to have a rather long leash. Rosenthal is definitely the next man up though, and makes for a strong handcuff to Oh.

 

Roster Moves of the Week

Adds

Santiago Casilla, Oakland Athletics - Casilla is now the unquestioned closer in Oakland. He was formerly sharing the ninth inning with Sean Doolittle, but with Doolittle landing on the disabled list this week, Casilla will be taking over on his own. He's only owned in 34% of fantasy leagues right now, so take a look at that waiver wire.

Drops

Sean Doolittle, Oakland Athletics - Sometimes, the injury bug bites at random and other times it buzzes around the same player year after year. A's reliever Sean Doolittle has missed significant time in each of the last two seasons due to a shoulder strain. That's exactly what landed him on the DL this week, and he's expected to miss an extended period of time again, making it three straight years. He's droppable in most formats now, since he'll miss enough time that he'd have to work his way back into the closer hierarchy, and that's assuming none of the current A's relievers run away with the role.

Brad Brach, Baltimore Orioles- With closer Zach Britton back from the disabled list, Brach's run as an excellent closer comes to an end. He's absolutely worth hanging onto in holds leagues and should be considered for a roster spot in deeper leagues for Britton owners, but in standard leagues, he can be dropped. He'll still provide good ratios, but Britton will take all of the Orioles save chances.

 

Best of the Week

Craig Kimbrel, Boston Red Sox- 4 IP, 7 K, 3 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.25 WHIP

Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel only allowed one hit this week on his way to four saves. He added seven strikeouts for good measure. He was just on the outside of the top tier of closers when the season started, but he's busted that door down and is sitting comfortably in that top tier once again.

Cody Allen, Cleveland Indians- 3 IP, 5 K, 3 SV, 0.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP

Indians closer Cody Allen allowed more base runners than his fantasy owners would have liked this week, walking two and allowing three hits, resulting in a bloated WHIP. But he and Kimbrel were the only closers to record three saves, and he ultimately did not allow a run despite all the base runners. Allen has been excellent this year and is working his way up the fantasy closer ranks.

Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers- 3.1 IP, 10 K, 2 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.30 WHIP

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen recorded 10 outs this week. Every single one was a strikeout. He had three one-inning appearances where he struck out the side and one appearance where he faced one batter and struck him out. He only saved two games, but his fantasy owners certainly won't complain about seeing those strikeouts pile up for the top-tier closer.

 

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Adds




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

George Kittle

Suffered Torn Achilles on Sunday
Aaron Holiday

is Moving into Starting Five
Aaron Gordon

is Available on Sunday
Christian Braun

is Downgraded to Out
Jamal Murray

is Unavailable on Sunday
Omarion Hampton

Active for Wild-Card Round Against Patriots
Kristaps Porzingis

Won't Play on Sunday
Kevin Porter Jr.

is Available to Play on Sunday
Christian Braun

Downgraded to Questionable on Sunday
Tyler Herro

to Suit Up on Sunday
Norman Powell

Ruled Out for Sunday's Game
Victor Wembanyama

Cleared for Sunday
George Kittle

Ruled Out After Non-Contact Achilles Injury
Cole Perfetti

Contributes Two Assists in Sunday's Win
Carl Grundstrom

Misses Sunday's Practice
Jrue Holiday

Cleared to Suit Up Versus New York
Las Vegas Raiders

Raiders Request Interview With Ejiro Evero
Josh Hart

Returning on Sunday Night
Travis Konecny

Hurt at Sunday's Practice
Thatcher Demko

Lands on Injured Reserve
Colin Miller

Injured Versus Devils
Bryan Rust

Remains Out Sunday
Morgan Geekie

Won't Play Sunday
Los Angeles Rams

Mike LaFleur to Interview With Raiders and Cardinals
Aaron Rodgers

Steelers Open to Re-Signing Aaron Rodgers?
Matthew Stafford

X-Rays Come Back Negative
Mark Stone

Extends Goal Streak With Empty-Netter
Nikita Kucherov

Has Four-Point Outing Saturday
David Pastrnak

Records Six Assists in Big Win
Stefan Noesen

to Have Knee Surgery
Carter Hart

Out Week-to-Week
Thatcher Demko

Exits With Injury Saturday
MacKenzie Gore

Yankees Pursuing Trade for MacKenzie Gore
Philip Broberg

Suffers Upper-Body Injury Saturday
Alex Bregman

Cubs Sign Alex Bregman to Five-Year, $175 Millon Contract
Chet Holmgren

Available Sunday
Dennis Schröder

Dennis Schroder Suspended for Three Games for Attempting to Strike Another Player
Kristaps Porzingis

May Return Sunday
Zaccharie Risacher

to Miss Second Consecutive Game Sunday
Kevin Porter Jr.

Considered Probable for Sunday
Aaron Gordon

Likely to Play Sunday
Christian Braun

Considered Probable for Sunday
Spencer Jones

May Miss Another Game Sunday
Jamal Murray

Iffy for Sunday's Action
Freddie Freeman

Withdraws from World Baseball Classic
Chandler Stephenson

Jaden Schwartz Replaces Chandler Stephenson in Kraken Lineup
Brandon Saad

Won't Play This Weekend
Shea Theodore

Returns to Golden Knights Lineup Saturday
Jaccob Slavin

Returns Against Kraken
Travis Konecny

Ruled Out Saturday
Brad Marchand

Misses Saturday's Game
Corey Perry

Available Saturday
Max Kepler

Receives 80-Game PED Suspension
CFB

Cam Coleman Visiting Alabama on Friday
Omarion Hampton

Expects to Play Sunday Night
CFB

Eric Singleton Jr. Enters Transfer Portal, Trending to Land at Florida
CFB

NCAA Denies Trinidad Chambliss a Sixth Year of Eligibility
Omarion Hampton

Questionable for Wild-Card Weekend
Kyle Tucker

Mets Remain in Mix for Kyle Tucker
Ketel Marte

Will Remain With Diamondbacks
Rashee Rice

to be Reviewed Under League's Conduct Policy
Daniel Jones

Colts Plan to Re-Sign Daniel Jones
Davante Adams

Off the Injury Report, Will Play Against Carolina
Bo Bichette

Phillies to Meet With Bo Bichette
Rome Odunze

Will Return for Wild-Card Game on Saturday
CFB

DJ Lagway Commits to Baylor
Miami Dolphins

Dolphins Fire Head Coach Mike McDaniel
Sam LaPorta

Plans to be Back for Training Camp
Owen Caissie

Shipped to Miami as Centerpiece of Trade
Edward Cabrera

Cubs Officially Acquire Edward Cabrera From Marlins
Rome Odunze

Plans to Play on Saturday
Edward Cabrera

Cubs Finalizing Deal to Acquire Edward Cabrera From Marlins
New York Giants

Giants "All-In" on Hiring John Harbaugh
CFB

Jackson Arnold Signs with UNLV
CFB

Sam Leavitt Scheduled to Visit Tennessee
New York Giants

John Harbaugh Expected to be Favorite to Become New Giants Head Coach
Baltimore Ravens

John Harbaugh Won't Return as Ravens Head Coach
Bo Bichette

Unlikely to Return to Toronto?
Jordan Love

Ready to Start in Wild-Card Game Against Bears
CFB

Jadan Baugh Staying with Florida for Junior Season
Washington Commanders

Commanders "Mutually" Parting Ways With OC Kliff Kingsbury
CFB

Byrum Brown Officially Commits to Auburn
CFB

Austin Simmons Signing with Missouri