Fantasy Baseball Closer Report August 31: Jimmy Herget Getting Save Opportunities
Even though there’s only about a month left to the fantasy baseball season, if you’re still looking for saves (and who isn’t) new closers continue to emerge. The Padres, Angels, A’s, and Astros all have new relievers who’ve been closing out games recently that are widely available on league waiver wires. We’ll let you know who they are, and as we often do in this column, we’ll identify a couple of under the radar relievers who can sometimes provide better weekly fantasy production than some ordinary starting pitchers. Don’t forget to utilize our Closer Grid throughout the week. It’s a great resource for identifying bullpen closers, handcuffs, and sleepers.
(The statistics quoted in this article are accurate as of the morning of 8.30.2022)
Fantasy Baseball Weekly MLB Saves Leaders
Eight relievers had two saves last week including:
Adam Ottavino, Mets
With Mets manager Buck Showalter using closer Edwin Díaz in the eighth inning against the heart of his opponents’ batting order on two occasions last week Ottavino was able to pick up two saves. Ottavino remains Diaz’s handcuff and an excellent source for holds (17 on the season).
Daniel Bard, Rockies
Entering Tuesday’s action, Bard was tied for having the fourth most saves (27) in baseball this season. He has a 1.64 ERA in his last 32 appearances dating back to May 18th.
Emmanuel Clase, Guardians
Clase entered Tuesday’s action with 30 saves, the most in baseball. He hasn’t given up a run in 52 of his 57 appearances this season.
Félix Bautista, Orioles
Bautista has seven saves and a 1.32 ERA since taking over as the Orioles’ closer on August 2nd.
Fantasy Baseball Weekly MLB Holds Leaders
Eight relievers had two holds last week including:
John Brebbia, Giants
Brebbia has had a solid season, posting a 6-1 won/loss record, picking up 15 holds, and pitching to a 2.63 ERA.
José Alvarado, Phillies
Alvarado, who has 21 career saves, has pitched to a 1.50 ERA and struck out 17 batters in his last 12 innings of work, spanning 13 appearances. He has 14 holds on the season.
MLB Bullpens To Take Note Of
Los Angeles Dodgers
According to Bill Plunkett, Dodgers beat writer for the Orange County Register, Craig Kimbrel’s days as the teams’ closer could be numbered. Plunkett told Chris Russo on his Sirius XM radio show on Tuesday that Blake Treinen, who is expected to be reinstated from the IL, Brusdar Graterol and even Dustin May, could be potential replacements for Kimbrel. The Dodgers have plenty of live arms in their bullpen including Evan Phillips, who has a sparkling 1.22 ERA, 16 holds and two saves on the season, and Alex Vesia (14 holds and 1 save). For what it’s worth, Kimbrel was unavailable after throwing 32 pitches on Monday, and Jake Reed picked up his first career save for the Dodgers against the Mets on Tuesday night.
Los Angeles Angels
Jimmy Herget picked up two saves for the Angels last week and now has four on the season. He has a 0.56 ERA, three saves and a hold since the Angels traded Raisel Iglesias to the Braves. José Quijada has two saves during that time-frame, but Herget has been more effective than Quijada this season and is only rostered in 3% of Yahoo fantasy baseball leagues.
Houston Astros
As we warned might happen, Ryan Pressly was placed on the IL due to neck spasms retroactive to August 22nd. This is an issue that has been bothering Pressly on and off for the past couple of weeks. Rafael Montero picked up two saves since Pressly hit the IL. Should Montero be unavailable Héctor Neris would be next in line for save opportunities. Pressly is expected to be reinstated once he’s eligible to come off the IL, but the fact that this has been a reoccurring issue is a bit concerning.
Oakland A's
With Dany Jiménez’s 2022 season over due to a right shoulder strain and Zach Jackson hitting the IL due to right shoulder inflammation, A.J. Puk is the last man standing. Puk, who is rostered in just 18% of Yahoo fantasy baseball leagues, will likely get the majority of save chances with Jackson sidelined. Should Puk be unavailable, Domingo Acevedo, Sam Moll or even Austin Pruitt (he’s back) could be called upon to close out games for the A’s.
San Diego Padres
Padres manager Bob Melvin has confirmed that Nick Martinez is currently his preferred closer and that Josh Hader would continue to work in low-leverage spots for the time being. Entering Tuesday’s action, Martinez hadn’t given up a run in his last 16 innings of work. He saved four games and held another during that time frame. Hader, who gave up six earned runs to the Royals on Sunday, has an 8.82 ERA in his last 16.1 IP.
Middle Relievers Who Should Be On Your Radar in Deep Leagues
With starting pitchers averaging 5.2 innings per start so far this season, in some instances you might get similar, or even better production by using a top middle relief pitcher instead of a mediocre starting pitcher in a given week. The following are examples of two middle relievers who often make multi-inning relief appearances and might have deep league fantasy value based on their recent performance.
Justin Lawrence, Rockies
Lawrence’s overall 4.74 ERA is underwhelming, but in his last four outings spanning 5.2 IP he’s struck out nine batters and pitched to a 1.59 ERA.
Chase De Jong, Pirates
De Jong pitched 5.1 scoreless innings last week, striking out six batters. Overall, De Jong has a 2.01 ERA and 0.95 WHIP on the season.
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Player News
Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.
José Soriano allowed three runs over five innings while not factoring in the decision Thursday against the Blue Jays.
Soriano left with a 4-3 lead, but it was erased quickly after his departure. The 26-year-old was not exactly dominant in his outing with eight hits allowed and four free passes, but he did strike out six to help balance things out a smidgen. Soriano takes an even ERA of 4.00 into a scheduled start against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday. There should be better options for that one.