Pat Neshek Picks Up Third Save

Philadelphia Phillies reliever Pat Neshek picked up his third save of the season Friday night against the New York Mets. With Seranthony Dominguez having the night off, the veteran reliever was summoned to close out the ninth after another fantastic performance from Aaron Nola. Neshek would allow one hit but ultimately close out the game, […]

Kenley Jansen Says He Feels Great

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen (heart) threw again on Friday and said he felt "great." He's hoping to be cleared to pitch on Monday. The Dodgers and fantasy owners desperately want Jansen back. The LA bullpen has struggled in his absence, most notably Scott Alexander in the ninth inning. Until Jansen returns, pitcher Kenta […]

Steven Wright Close To Rehab Assignment

Boston Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright (knee) has already thrown a few bullpen sessions and could be nearing a rehab assignment. He went on the 10-day disabled list on June 26 after having a cartilage restoration procedure on his left knee last May. When the knuckleballer does return, it'll be in a relief role. He […]

Jerry Blevins A Trade Option

The New York Mets have spoken with several teams regarding relief pitcher Jerry Blevins, who hasn't allowed a run with a .301 opponent's OPS in his last 11 outings. However, nothing appears to be imminent. The Dodgers come to mind as a team that could use some relief help without closer Kenley Jansen (heart). Blevins, […]

Hunter Strickland To Come Off DL Saturday

San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Hunter Strickland (hand) will come off the disabled list when he's eligible on Saturday. With Will Smith filling in so well in the closer's role in Strickland's absence, there's a good chance that Strickland will return to a setup role. That's not good for his fantasy value, but there's also […]

Blake Parker (RP, LAA) - Week 21 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 46% of leagues ANALYSIS: Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Blake Parker appears to be the man to own for saves in Los Angels for the remainder of the season. He has held off Cam Bedrosian, Kenyan Middleton, and Jim Johnson for saves throughout the season and […]

Trevor Cahill (RP/SP, OAK) - Week 21 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 36% of leagues ANALYSIS: Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Trevor Cahill is having a very solid year in 2018, bouncing back from a rough 2017 season in which he finished with a 4.93 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, and an eye-popping 1.71 HR/9.  The 30-year-old had a rough close to 2017, […]

Jose Leclerc (RP, TEX) - Week 21 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 29% of leagues ANALYSIS:  Texas Rangers relief pitcher Jose Leclerc appears to be making the most of a change to the closer's role. With both Keone Kela and Jake Diekman shipped off to contenders at the non-waiver trade deadline, Leclerc has seen his fantasy value sky rocket. The […]

Brandon Maurer Still Has Value?

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Brandon Maurer has been on quite the run recently. After throwing a shutout inning against the Blue Jays on Thursday, Maurer has now thrown clean innings in seven of his last eight appearances. Dating back to July 28, Maurer has eight innings pitched while only allowing five hits and one […]

Glenn Sparkman Serviceable In First Start

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Glenn Sparkman got his chance on Thursday, and he looked fine over the course of the four innings he pitched. Sparkman allowed two earned runs and struck out three while facing 17 batters, but he wasn't given credit for the team's win since he didn't go five innings. There's nothing […]

Wade Davis Locks Down 33rd Save

Colorado Rockies closer Wade Davis has been nothing if not exciting this season, but he continued to steam towards an overall successful season by racking up his 33rd save of the year on Thursday. Davis has been a roller coaster in 2018, regularly mixing meltdowns in with his successful saves, but in the long run, […]

Seung Hwan Oh Vultures Win In Atlanta

Colorado Rockies reliever Seung Hwan Oh has gotten back into his groove, and Thursday's scoreless eighth inning ended up landing him a surprise win. Oh relieved starter Jon Gray with the Rockies trailing 3-2, and he shut down the top of the dangerous Braves order to keep the game where he inherited it. Colorado then […]

Holds Leagues - Waiver Wire Pickups and Adds for Week 21

While holds are even tougher to predict than saves, the players we’ll highlight today include some elite setup men to target off the waiver wire in Week 21. One-inning middle relievers are the constant sources for holds and specialists can manage to secure a hold even with one out. However, while specialists can get many […]

Week 21 MLB Closers and Saves Report

The buzz around preseason football means we are making our way closer and closer to fantasy baseball playoffs! While parity can be an issue in some fantasy leagues, once you make the playoffs, you're facing off against some pretty solid owners. We're sure you loyal Rotoballer readers are well on your way to another playoff […]

Week 21 Waiver Wire: H2H Category Streamers

I like to consider myself a pioneer of the streaming approach. I won a league about seven years ago by completely ignoring saves and just stacking up the starts each week. While streaming is undoubtedly more directly associated with pitching, there's plenty of value in streaming for offense as well. Maybe you have a stacked […]

Adam Kolarek With First Save Thursday Versus The Yankees

Tampa Bay Rays reliever Adam Kolarek earned his first save of his career Thursday versus the Yankees. He came into a jam as the bases were loaded with no one out in the ninth inning. He would record three straight outs without allowing any runs to earn his career milestone. Kolarek is a rookie pitcher […]

Hector Neris Strikes Out Side In Blowout Defeat

Philadelphia Phillies reliever and former closer Hector Neris made his second consecutive appearance Thursday afternoon in the first game of a doubleheader against the New York Mets. The 29-year-old, who lost the closer role and posted a 6.90 ERA en route to being demoted in June, eventually posted a 1.45 ERA with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. […]

Taylor Cole Starting on Thursday

Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Taylor Cole will get the start against the Texas Rangers on Thursday. He struggled during his first career start versus the Athletics, giving up three runs on three hits in just 1 1/3 innings. Cole has been solid out of the bullpen this season, but he's not worth adding in […]

Daniel Hudson Expected to Be Activated on Friday

Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Daniel Hudson (forearm) is expected to be activated off the disabled list on Friday. That would be the earliest that Hudson would be eligible to come off the shelf. Hudson has been sidelined since August 7 with tightness in his right forearm. He's pitched well for the Dodgers this season, […]

Angels Call Up Ty Buttrey

The Los Angeles Angels have recalled right-hander Ty Buttrey from Triple-A Salt Lake. Buttrey was acquired from the Red Sox in the Ian Kinsler trade last month, and will make his major league debut with the Angels. He posted 71 strikeouts in 48.0 innings at Triple-A this season, with a 2.25 ERA. Unless he slips […]

Kevin Newman Promoted, Jordy Mercer To Disabled List

Pittsburgh Pirates infield prospect Kevin Newman has been promoted to the majors on Thursday. Newman's promotion is among a flurry of roster moves the Pirates have made, which included Jordy Mercer (calf) being placed on the 10-day disabled list. They also recalled outfielder Jordan Luplow, optioned catcher Jacob Stallings, and designated right-hander Casey Sadler for […]

Edwin Diaz Generating A Ton Of Whiffs

Seattle Mariners closer Edwin Diaz, who leads baseball with 47 saves and who has a decent shot of breaking the single-season record of 62 set in 2008 by Francisco Rodriguez, has a 40.7 percent swing-and-miss rate, which is the best among 335 relievers who have generated at least 300 swings. He has struck out 103 […]

Tommy Kahnle Recalled, Luis Cessa Optioned

New York Yankees relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle has been recalled and has joined the team on Thursday. The move comes after Luis Cessa — who started against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday — was optioned to Triple-A. Cessa had a poor showing against the Rays in a spot start in place of the injured […]

Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 20)

A handful of intriguing rookies made their MLB debuts this past week, with two of the top 100 prospects according to MLB Pipeline joining The Show. Save for Jansen, I do not really foresee any of the recently promoted prospects being impact players, at least for fantasy, down the stretch, so it still remained a […]

Wilmer Font Likely Done For 2018

Tampa Bay Rays reliever Wilmer Font (lat) is likely done with pitching in the majors in 2018. The lat strain has proved to be more severe than they hoped and so he is still recovering. With the Rays unlikely to be a playoff team, there is not much emphasis for them to hurry Font along. […]

Seranthony Dominguez Locks Up 11th Save

Philadelphia Phillies closer Seranthony Dominguez entered Wednesday night’s game in the eighth inning after reliever Pat Neshek ran into trouble. With the Phillies holding a three-run lead, the rookie closer managed to escape the eighth. Later, he would retire the side in order in the ninth for his 11th save of the season. This was […]

Sonny Gray Ineffective Out Of Bullpen

New York Yankees reliever Sonny Gray was passed over in favor of Luis Cessa when CC Sabathia’s injury opened up a spot in the rotation. It was the latest embarrassment for the former Cy Young finalist, although he would later come on in Tuesday’s game. After Cessa couldn’t complete four innings, Gray would be the […]

Bud Norris Earns a Save on Wednesday

St. Louis Cardinals closer Bud Norris picked up his 23rd save on Wednesday, tossing a perfect ninth inning to close out a 4-2 victory over the Washington Nationals. Norris didn't issue a walk or record a strikeout, but he threw 7-of-11 pitches for strikes, inducing two fly outs. Norris dropped his ERA to 3.14 and […]

Cody Allen Earns a Hold With Two Perfect Innings

Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Cody Allen earned a hold on Wednesday, pitching two perfect innings with four strikeouts. Allen worked the seventh and eighth innings, with Brad Hand coming in to earn the save in the ninth. While it was a strong outing for Allen, owners in standard leagues won't be happy to see him […]

Brad Hand Earns the Save on Wednesday

Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Brad Hand earned a save on Wednesday, tossing a scoreless inning despite allowing two hits and a walk. It was Hand's 28th save of the season and he dropped his ERA to 2.68. More significantly, Cody Allen, who was working as Cleveland's closer before Hand was acquired, worked the seventh and […]