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It's nearly the end of week 3 for fantasy baseball, and nearly 10 closers have either lost their jobs or appear on the verge of losing their job.
Below we'll highlight the names you should be aware of right now. If your league counts saves, then staying on top of the current closer situations around MLB is a great way to give your team an edge all season. Hit that waiver wire, and grab those free saves whenever they appear.
Editor's Note: Bookmark our MLB Closers & Saves Depth Charts for the latest look at all the current closers, setup men, longshots and relief pitcher waiver wire adds.
Waiver Wire Saves & MLB Bullpen Report for 4/23/2015
Miguel Castro (RP, Toronto Jays)
Castro is now 3-for-4 in save opportunities this season after getting the last four outs to beat the Orioles on Wednesday. The 20-year-old never pitched above A-ball coming into 2015, but has impressed in the early going with a 1.04 ERA and 6/4 K/BB ratio in 8 2/3 innings. Castro is owned in just 59% of ESPN leagues but is clearly the closer in Toronto, making him a worthwhile add in all leagues. With Brett Cecil still not impressing, and Aaron Sanchez in the rotation, the job is Castro's to lose.
Tony Watson (RP, Pittsburgh Pirates)
Watson tossed two scoreless innings to record his first save of the season in Wednesday's game against the Cubs. Pirates closer Mark Melancon was unavailable last night after he suffered his first blown save on Tuesday. Melancon has been shaky all year and he continues to show diminished velocity on his fastball which is down nearly 3 MPH. That is a significant amount of velocity loss, especially for a closer who was as dominant as Melancon. Manager Clint Hurdle has said he's sticking with Melancon as his closer for now, but Watson is looming and could have the job soon if Melancon doesn't bounce back from his poor start to the season. Pick up Watson now as a flier, and you might have a high-end closing commodity by the time April ends.
We touched on this earlier in the week, but Davis is the guy to own in KC with Greg Holland on the DL. Holland's pectoral strain is minor and he should return as soon as he's ready to come off the DL, but Davis is a dominant reliever who should be owned for his rate stats and saves potential until Holland is healthy.
Pedro Strop (RP, Chicago Cubs)
Hector Rondon is 3-for-4 in save situations this season with a 2.25 ERA. He also pitched very well last year for the Cubs, so he will likely be their closer as long as he's healthy. If Rondon were to ever get hurt Pedro Strop figures to be a great replacement in the ninth inning. Strop has allowed no runs and just two hits so far in 7 innings this season with an awesome 10/2 K/BB ratio. He was also an outstanding reliever in 2014, compiling a 2.21 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 71 strikeouts in 61 innings. Even if he's not getting saves, Strop has been nearly unhittable out of the Cubs bullpen dating back to last season and he can still be a fantasy asset, particularly for owners looking to boost their K/9.
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