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Week three in fantasy baseball saw a few blown saves and some more domination, but not much changed in the closer world. Managers are patient to make moves early on in the season, but when they do we need to be on top of the action. Below are some of the more important bullpen story lines as of April 27th 2015.
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 4/27/2015
David Robertson, White Sox
We'll start things off with the most dominant closer. While he’s owned pretty much everywhere it’s good to keep an eye out for the hottest closers in case someone decides to make things interesting with a trade. Robertson made four appearances over the past week, striking out nine batters in only four innings. He has yet to give up a run in his seven appearances and is averaging two strikeouts per inning.
Right now he’s completely confusing hitters. According to Fangraphs, he's holding batters to an incredible 55.6% contact rate at all pitches swung at. Compare that with Huston Street who has also been incredible this season, whose opposing hitters are making contact 77.1% of all swings. Early season domination for Robertson.
Allen finished up an impressive 2014 season with 24 saves and a great 2.07 ERA. Coming into this year he had high expectations but did not have the best week. In his first appearance of the week he was a disaster, giving up four runs on six hits while only recording one out. This was his second four run implosion on the early season. He bounced back with a clean save the following night but then gave up another run on two hits and a walk in his third appearance of the week.
While manager Terry Francona is standing behind Allen, I would definitely keep an eye on his struggles. There is not much closing experience with guys like Scott Atchison and Nick Hagadone as the setup men, but a couple more bad outings could give Allen owners a scare.
Brad Boxberger and Jake McGee, Rays
Boxberger had a great week, facing the minimum amount of batters in each of his three appearances. He was a little shaky to start the season but seems to be getting into a nice groove. He’s still only 70% owned in Yahoo leagues but I would keep an eye on the progress of reliever Jake McGee who is coming back from injury at some point.
There has been no official announcement but it’s possible he comes back in the next week or two, which could drop Boxberger’s stock. If McGee is announced as the closer right away, be quick to drop Boxberger and grab McGee if you can. He’s only 63% owned and is a strikeout pitcher who had a great 2014.
Miguel Castro, Blue Jays
Castro has given up a run in three of his last four appearances, two of which have resulted in blown saves. I would definitely monitor this situation as he seems to get into trouble in almost every outing. Manager John Gibbons came out and supported Castro but this could just be a public vote of confidence to try and help Castro get out of this slump.
If he continues to get into jams, don't be surprised if the torch is passed to fellow 20 year old Roberto Osuna, who has been impressive so far this season as a setup man. With the lack of a dominant closer, the Blue Jays reliever situation should be one to monitor all season.
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