Elvis Alvarado

Athletics right-handed reliever Elvis Alvarado was called upon to close things out in Saturday's game against the division-rival Houston Astros, and he was able to get the job done to earn his third save of the season. Alvarado struck out two in a clean ninth inning, while Hogan Harris worked a scoreless eighth inning for a hold. The next day, Harris was called upon in the ninth and recorded his team-leading 13th save of the year against the Astros. On the year, Alvarado is 4-3 with a 4.29 ERA (4.63 FIP) and 1.19 WHIP with 51 strikeouts and 19 walks in 42 relief innings in his second year in the big leagues with the A's. The Athletics have mostly used Harris to close out ballgames this year, but they are not exactly settled on one guy for the ninth inning, so Alvarado could see more save opportunities down the stretch in a lost season for the team. Alvarado should only be pursued off the waiver wire in the deepest of fantasy leagues by managers who are desperate for saves. He's currently rostered in only 1% of Yahoo leagues.