Fantasy Baseball Closer Report Week 13: Scott McGough is Getting Saves for the Diamondbacks
Despite how hard it is to manage the fantasy baseball saves and holds categories, new closers inevitably emerge throughout the long baseball season. Stay active on your fantasy baseball waiver wire and you will find those crucial saves available. There are two such closers that we’ll talk about in this week’s article, and we’ll also identify a few middle relief pitchers who can contribute to the fantasy baseball holds category and help your fantasy team’s ratios in this week’s fantasy baseball bullpen report.
Unless otherwise noted the statistics quoted in this article are accurate as of Wednesday morning June 28th, 2023.
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Arizona Diamondbacks
Fantasy managers who speculatively selected Scott McGough in preseason drafts, and incredibly had the ability to stash him, are finally being rewarded for their patience. Some fantasy baseball managers were hoping that with his success as a closer in Japan’s Central League (69 saves in his previous two seasons) McGough might start the season as the Diamondbacks’ closer. However, with McGough slumping early on, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo opted to use a committee approach in utilizing his bullpen. At times it appeared that Andrew Chafin would grab hold of the closer’s job and at other times it appeared that it was Miguel Castro’s job to lose. Lately McGough seems to be the reliever that Lovullo trusts the most in late inning high leverage situations. McGough has recorded the Diamondbacks’ last four saves and he’s riding a streak of 19 consecutive scoreless innings. Opposing hitters have a .115 BAA him and McGough has struck out 27 batters during that time frame. Given Lovullo’s managerial style, Chafin and Castro will probably have opportunities to close out games for the Diamondbacks, especially if McGough starts to slump again. If he does end up relinquishing his role as the Diamondbacks’ closer, he can still provide fantasy value in leagues that track both saves and holds. McGough has six saves and 12 holds on the season and as this article is being written he’s available in 45% of Yahoo! fantasy baseball leagues.
Washington Nationals
When we last covered the Washington Nationals’ bullpen in week 8, we mentioned that Kyle Finnegan, the team’s closer at the time, had worked through some control issues earlier in the season and that Hunter Harvey would probably be the reliever to replace Finnegan if the Nats decided to make a change to their bullpen configuration. Well, it appears that Harvey has replaced Finnegan as the Nationals’ closer and both Harvey and Finnegan have adapted well to their new roles. Beginning in June, the Nationals have predominantly been using Finnegan in the seventh and eighth innings of ball games and during that time he’s pitched 10 innings across eight appearances, and he’s recorded two holds and struck out eight batters while walking just one. Finnegan has a 0.90 ERA in those eight games and opposing hitters have a .194 BAA him. In Harvey’s last 11 appearances he’s saved three games, held two others and he’s pitched to a 2.53 ERA. With Carl Edwards Jr. Jr. currently on the IL another Nationals reliever to keep an eye on is Mason Thompson. The Nats have been turning to him in the sixth and seventh innings of games recently and in Thompson’s last 11 appearances he has a 0.87 ERA, and has recorded five holds and struck out 10 batters in 10.1 innings pitched. Unfortunately, he’s also walked seven batters during that time span.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies have been one of those teams that use a loose closer by committee approach to managing their bullpen. Seven different Phillies relievers have recorded at least one save this season, but manager Rob Thomson does tend to have his favorites that he calls upon to close out games for him. Early in the season it seemed to be Jose Alvarado. He saved five games for the Phillies in April and Craig Kimbrel notched three saves during the same time frame. Alvarado hit the IL due to left elbow inflammation on May 8th and he didn’t rejoin the team until June 9th. While Alvarado was sidelined Kimbrel recorded six of the Phillies’ seven saves (Gregory Soto recorded the other) and even though Alvarado has been reinstated, Kimbrel has yet to relinquish his role as the Phillies’ closer. The Phillies are still turning to Kimbrel in the ninth inning and Alvarado is now being used predominantly in the eighth inning of games. Alvarado’s only save since he was reinstated from the IL, came in the 10th inning of a game in which Kimbrel had already pitched a scoreless ninth inning. With his 405 career saves it makes sense for the Phillies to rely on Kimbrel to close out most of their games, but Alvarado will still be used often in high leverage late inning situations.
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:
Josh Sborz, Texas Rangers
Nine of Sborz’s last 10 relief appearances have been multiple inning efforts. In those appearances Sborz has pitched 16.1 innings and he has struck out 22 batters while walking just two. He has pitched to a 0.55 ERA and Sborz has recorded six holds in those 10 appearances. Sborz is widely regarded as the next man up should Rangers closer Will Smith be unavailable.
Jake Diekman, Tampa Bay Rays
One team’s trash can sometimes become another team’s treasure. That’s the best way to describe the 36-year-old Diekman who discovered the fountain of youth in Tampa Bay after being DFA’ed by the White Sox after posting a 7.94 ERA and 2.118 WHIP in his first 13 appearances of the season. In 19 appearances for the Rays Diekman has pitched 16 innings and has struck out 22 batters. He also recorded five holds and has a 2.25 ERA and 0.938 WHIP in those 19 appearances.
Lucas Erceg, Oakland A’s
There hasn’t been too much that has gone right for the Oakland A’s this season, but Erceg has been lighting it up of late, and as this article is being written he hasn’t given up a run in his last 10.2 IP. Erceg has struck out 13 batters during that time frame and he’s also won a game and recorded a hold in three others. He was a bit wild early in the season but has limited the number of walks he’s issued, and he hasn’t given up a home run in the 20 innings he’s pitched this season.
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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.