Emmanuel Clase 2024 Player Outlook: Consensus Top-Three Fantasy Reliever Bids For Three-Peat As Saves Leader
3 months agoCleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase was dealt arguably the most favorable hand of all relief pitchers in 2023, riding the wave of an MLB-high 81 save opportunities presented by his team. For the second consecutive season, Clase led the major leagues in saves by converting 44 of his 47 chances. The extreme volume wasn't all good for Clase, however, blowing an MLB-worst 12 saves. The hard-throwing Dominican right-hander also followed up an amazing 2022, which saw him take home the AL Reliever of the Year Award on a 1.36 ERA and 0.73 WHIP, with a strong but lesser 3.22 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 64:16 K:BB over 72 2/3 innings. It was always going to be an uphill battle for Clase to mirror his 2022 dominance, but on top of his ERA taking a significant tumble, his 21.2% strikeout rate also paled in comparison to his prior 28.4% clip. With the two-time All-Star's cutter-slider combination only yielding average swing-and-miss stuff, Clase enters 2024 appearing far more reliant on limiting traffic on the bases (5.3% walk rate) as well as his infield defense (56.6% ground-ball rate). The Guardians traded for Scott Barlow, who has closing experience, from the San Diego Padres in November to add some bullpen competition, but Clase is surely getting first dibs on ninth-inning work in Cleveland to start the campaign. Clase is a consensus top-three reliever off fantasy draft boards alongside Devin Williams and Josh Hader and a threat to three-peat as the big-league saves leader, but his noticeable fall-off from one year to the next probably means managers should wait until the top 50 picks have passed before spending one on him.