Fantasy Baseball Closer Report Week 21: Bullpen Mates Gaining on Carlos Estevez
As we head into the final stretch of a long and grueling fantasy baseball season, even those baseball players who keep themselves in tip top physical condition can start to wear down. That could be especially true for a typical baseball closer who must be almost perfect every time he takes the mound in a save situation. There are a few closers that we’ll cover in the next section of this article that have been underperforming of late. Fantasy managers rostering these slumping closers should be regularly heading over to our closer grid and familiarizing themselves with some of the top setup men in fantasy baseball.
Unless otherwise noted all stats quoted in this article are accurate as of the morning of August 23rd, 2023.
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Fantasy Baseball MLB Bullpen Updates
San Francisco Giants
Camilo Doval, the San Francisco Giants reliever who has been one of baseball’s best closers this season, has a 13.50 ERA in his last four appearances. That includes an appearance on Wednesday in which he didn’t record an out and gave up two walks, a home run and three earned runs. The velocity on his pitches still tops out at just under 100 MPH and he’s probably just going through a slump, but should Doval be unavailable for any period of time Tyler Rogers, who has 18 career saves, would likely be the next man up in the Giants’ bullpen. Heading into Wednesday's action Rogers had a 2.69 ERA, two saves and 25 holds on the season. Tyler’s brother Taylor Rogers is also having a very good season and has closer experience as well. Taylor has a 2.74 ERA, one save and nine holds on the season and has 82 career saves.
Los Angeles Angels
In his first 37 games of the season, Los Angeles Angels closer Carlos Estevez pitched to a 1.75 ERA and had converted all 21 of his save opportunities. He also won three games and held two others. However, in his last 13 games beginning on July 16th Estevez has regressed a bit. He saved five games during that time span but, Estevez has posted an 8.36 ERA and he’s blown two saves. Should Estevez be unavailable, Matt Moore and Reynaldo Lopez would most likely be the pitchers that the Angels call upon in save situations. Moore, who’s been used almost exclusively in the seventh and eighth innings of late, has had a tremendous season. He has pitched to a 1.58 ERA and has 19 holds on the season. Moore has five career saves, all converted while he was with the Rangers last season. Lopez has been on fire since he got traded to the Angels from the Chicago White Sox. He has 10 strikeouts and just one walk in 6.2 IP for the Angels. Lopez has also held three games and saved another for his new team.
Minnesota Twins
Jhoan Duran, closer for the Minnesota Twins, has pitched to a 2.77 ERA while saving 23 games on the season. His stuff is electric, and he averages 101.8 MPH on his fastball. However, as of Wednesday morning he had given up at least one run in five of his last ten appearances and posted a 5.79 ERA during that time frame. He also gave up three of his season long six home runs allowed in those 10 appearances. Emilio Pagan has 31 career saves and has been very effective of late. The Twins have been utilizing him in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings and in his last 19 appearances he’s pitched to a 1.00 ERA, while recording seven holds. Griffin Jax is also regarded as a reliever who can be used in high leverage late inning situations in the Twins bullpen should Duran be unavailable. The Twins have mostly handed him the ball in the seventh and eighth innings this season and while he hasn’t been perfect this season, he has recorded 19 holds.
None of the top closers discussed in the previous paragraphs are in any immediate danger of losing their closing jobs, but if you’ve been relying on them for saves all season long it makes sense to at least add their handcuff to your watch list.
The following are a couple of other relievers who’ve caught our eye that you should be aware of. They don’t have a direct path to saves yet but they’ve increasingly been used in late inning high leverage situations.
Abner Uribe, Milwaukee Brewers
Uribe has been impressive in his debut season, pitching to a 1.08 ERA. He has four holds this season and Uribe has also recorded a save (in a 10-inning game). Most of Uribe’s appearances have come in the seventh inning.
Gabe Speier, Seattle Mariners
Andres Munoz is firmly entrenched as the Mariners’ closer, and the M’s have a couple of solid arms behind him in Matt Brash and Justin Topa. However, Speier has also found himself being used in late inning high leverage situations lately. At 28 years old Speier has been around for a while, but he’s really pitched well of late. In his last 14 appearances Speier has struck out 17 batters while walking just two while pitching to a 0.75 ERA. He’s also recorded a save and four holds during that time frame.
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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.