Fantasy Baseball Closer Report Week 11: Trevor May Snagging Saves For The A's
It’s been a very active week for fantasy baseball managers seeking to remain competitive in the saves categories in their leagues as two prominent closers unexpectedly hit the IL within a day of each other. The Cleveland Guardians also made a surprise move that altered the potential path for saves in their bullpen and the Colorado Rockies are keeping everyone on their toes with the way that they’re managing their bullpen usage. As always, we’ll cover all the bullpen usage news that you need to know about and identify some middle relief pitchers who should be on your radar in this week’s fantasy baseball bullpen report.
Unless otherwise noted the statistics quoted in this article are accurate as of Wednesday morning June 14, 2023.
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Fantasy Baseball MLB Bullpen Updates
St. Louis Cardinals
Ryan Helsley was placed on the IL after experiencing what Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol called “a little bit of a feeling” in his right forearm. Marmol further added that this wasn’t the first time Helsley has dealt with similar discomfort. Helsley’s overall average velocity has been consistent with his career norms, but his 2023 K/9 decreased (from 13.08 to 11.88) and his BB/9 increased (from 2.78 to 3.96) compared to last season. Marmol told reporters that Giovanny Gallegos, Jordan Hicks and Chris Stratton would all see more work in late inning high leverage situations. Gallegos, who leads the Cardinals in saves, is likely to see the majority of save opportunities moving forward but Hicks has 20 career saves and based on Marmol’s managerial style, should see some save opportunities as well. Hicks does have some interesting splits to take note of. Right-handed hitters have a .215 BAA him, but he has been awful when pitching at home, giving up 13 of the 14 runs scored against him when pitching at Busch Stadium. Lefty hitters have a .209 BAA Stratton who has 11 career saves.
Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians bullpen has been one of fantasy baseball’s most stable over the past two seasons. Emmanuel Clase is unquestionably one of baseball’s top closers and the Guardians bullpen also featured one of baseball’s best set-up men in James Karinchak. Karinchak had three saves, eight holds and a sparkling 2.08 ERA last season but his performance has suffered this season. The Guardians think that baseball’s new pitch clock is a big part of Karinchak’s struggles this season. He’s had control issues, walking 6.18 BB/9 compared to 4.85 last season. His strikeout rate has also taken a hit this season dropping to 12.36 K/9 from 14.31 last season. Like many pitchers Karinchak has also had issues holding runners on this season because of the new rule limiting the number of pick-off attempts a pitcher can make. There’s a good chance that Karinchak will be back in the bigs before long, but the Guardians are lucky to have a deep bullpen. Trevor Stephan can immediately step in and take over the Guardians’ set-up role. He’s having another great season with two saves, 10 holds and a 2.54 ERA. Eli Morgan is another Guardians reliever to keep an eye on. He’s been used in more late inning high leverage situations of late and is pitching to a 1.65 ERA while saving one game and recording three holds so far this season.
Colorado Rockies
Last week we suggested that after recording back-to-back saves on June 2nd and 3rd, it appeared that Justin Lawrence had replaced Pierce Johnson as the Colorado Rockies’ new closer. Manager Bud Black confirmed that Johnson would no longer be the Rockies’ closer last Friday, but he didn’t officially name a replacement. He noted that Lawrence and Jake Bird would be in the mix for saves moving forward, but over the past week Johnson and Matt Carasiti were the two Rockies relievers who recorded saves for the team. With both their saves coming in extra inning contests neither Johnson nor Carasiti need to be rostered in fantasy baseball leagues right now. It appears the Rockies are still trying to figure out how to best utilize their relievers, but despite his generous walk rate, Lawrence seems to be their best reliever to speculatively add if you’re desperate for potential saves.
Chicago White Sox
The White Sox got some bad news and some good news with regards to Liam Hendriks. The bad news is that Hendriks, who bravely conquered stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma and made his triumphant season debut on May 30th, was placed on the IL due to right elbow inflammation. The good news is that no structural damage to the elbow has been discovered and that he may be able to return to action after a minimal stay on the IL. Those rostering Hendriks in dynasty leagues will also be happy to know that the partially torn UCL that Hendriks has been mostly ignoring for the past 15 years looked better than it did last year at this time. Expect the White Sox to continue to roll out Kendall Graveman for most of their save opportunities with Joe Kelly and Reynaldo Lopez pitching in high leverage late inning situations as well.
Oakland A's
Break up the A’s. Trevor May saved three games for the surging A’s last week, who as this article is being written have a seven-game winning streak, but those saves come at a price. May posted an 8.10 ERA and a 2.100 WHIP in four appearances last week. The A’s are playing better but there still won’t be too many wins to save in Oakland and if rostering May is going to crush your ratios, then you should avoid doing so.
Middle Relievers Who Should Be On Your Radar
The following are a few relievers who provide good ratios, can be good resources for holds, and occasionally make multiple inning appearances. They might be worth streaming in place of mediocre starting pitchers:
Keegan Akin, Baltimore Orioles
Akin is yet another quality reliever working out of the Orioles’ bullpen. He has a 1.50 ERA in his last nine appearances spanning 12 IP and while he gave up 14 hits during that time frame, he also struck out 14 batters and walked just one.
Alex Vesia, Los Angeles Dodgers
Vesia is a much better pitcher than his season long 6.61 ERA and 2.388 WHIP would lead you to believe. He had a 2.19 cumulative 2.19 ERA in his last two seasons and seems to be finding his rhythm as this season progresses. He pitched to a 2.70 ERA over the past week, striking out seven batters and walking just one while pitching 3.1 innings across three appearances.
Jose Soriano, Los Angeles Angels
Soriano, who only made his career debut on June 3rd, has already recorded four holds in his first five appearances. He’s pitched six scoreless innings the season, striking out eight batters and walking just two.
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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.