A Closer Look - April 21, 2018

In what is quickly becoming a trend, it was yet another relatively quiet week on the closer front. The "big" spend in FAAB last weekend was undoubtedly Bud Norris, but with some uncertainty still surrounding his role as of Sunday, he went for pennies on the dollar for what he is actually currently worth across most of the National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC) FAAB leagues. As we look towards the week ahead, it's more speculating, more chasing and more praying for a situation to break our way. Blown Saves This Week: Kenley Jansen - 1 Jeurys Familia - 1 Shane Greene - 1 Blake Treinen - 1 Hunter Strickland - 1 Save Leaders This Week: Wade Davis - 3 Edwin Diaz - 3 Bud Norris - 3 Brad Hand - 2 Aroldis Chapman - 2 Chris Devenski - 2 Josh Hader - 2 Brad Boxberger - 2 Keynan Middleton - 2 Around The League: -The biggest news in the world of closers this week involves a team that has been a thorn in the side of fantasy owners all season. Houston Astros AJ Hinch explained to reporters that current/former(?)/default closer Ken Giles has been dealing with tightness in his back, which is why he hasn't been available to pitch this week. Giles added that he expects to be ready to throw again this weekend, but the news only further complicates the situation. Chris Devenski and Brad Peacock still figure to get saves, depending upon the matchup and Hinch's comfort level with Giles, but Hinch has maintained that Giles will still end up with the most saves between any of the pitchers in his bullpen. - As we mentioned in the opener, the Cardinals continue to give headaches to fantasy owners. Bud Norris did get three saves this week, but Greg Holland looked much better in his outing against the Cubs on Thursday and the team activated fellow reliever Luke Gregerson earlier this week. We'd expect Mike Matheny to wait at least a couple more clean appearances from Holland before he is thrown back into the mix, but don't be surprised if Luke Gregerson starts to take away some of Norris' opportunities moving forward. Norris is still the chair of the committee, but it remains a fluid situation. - Brewers closer Josh Hader was finally given the opportunity to strut his stuff in the ninth inning and he proved to be a more than formidable force for the Brewers. With a strikeout rate that's elite, Hader would easily be considered among the upper echelon in terms of value, should he start saves to his already impressive ratio statistics and before-mentioned strikeouts. For what it's worth, Hader received the day off on Wednesday, which led to a converted save by Jacob Barnes. Nonetheless, if we were betting money on one player in this bullpen to end up with more saves by the time injured closer Corey Knebel returns, it would be Josh Hader. -Oakland closer Blake Treinen blew yet another ninth inning lead earlier this week, something we warned about in last week's closer handcuffs section for Santiago Casilla. To reiterate, Treinen has absolutely elite "stuff" and has been an extremely effective middle reliever, but he has struggled in the pressure of the 9th inning so far in his career playing for Oakland and Washington. Casilla, on the other hand, has a proven track record of success in the 9th inning for San Francisco. Even though he's not the highlighted handcuff of the week in this week's article, he is our top recommended add on the waiver wire for those of your speculating saves. -The other handcuff of the week last week, Joe Jimenez, also saw his team's closer blow a save as Detroit's Shane Greene was credited with a loss in that one. Greene was very good for the Tigers down the stretch in 2017, which has earned him a bit of a leash to begin this year, although Jimenez remains what most people around the organization tag him as the "closer-of-the-future". This situation doesn't feel nearly as turbulent as Oakland, Milwaukee or St. Louis, but a few more bad outings could change that narrative quickly. -Speaking of turbulence, it wouldn't be a complete rundown of the state of closing situations if we didn't talk about Kenley Jansen and the Dodgers. Depending upon what you want to think or believe, you're either in the "sky is falling" boat (aka The Chicken Little boat) or the "elite will be elite" boat (aka The Cream Always Rises" boat. For those of you who refuse to spend big investments on closers in the draft, you'll likely point to former failures like Eric Gagne or Francisco Rodriguez - closers who were top of the world one season and suffered swift and immediate demises the next as cases to support your feelings. For those of you who did invest heavily on closers, you might be using examples like Craig Kimbrel as examples of pitchers who hit a few bumps in the road, but managed to regain their status as the game's elite. There's no right or wrong way to feel at this point. It does, however, probably mean it's time to crown a new closer in the top spot. In fact, in my rankings, I'm bumping Jansen completely out of the first tier, leaving Chapman number one and raising Kimbrel to number two. I do think Jansen will work it out, but the fact remains that he's not pitching like a number one right now and he needs to be ranked accordingly. I also don't think we're talking about a Gagne situation with Jansen. Instead, I believe it's more of a 2017 Aroldis Chapman problem. Jansen, like Chapman, pitched deep into the post-season in the year before, which added both extra innings and less rest time for this season. Also like Chapman, Jansen's velocity is also down a tick or two. As much as it might sting, a disabled list stint might be the best solution for Jansen's woes and something his fantasy owners should actually welcome, not dread. Handcuffs To Watch: Want to see all of our rankings and handcuffs to own? Become a subscriber of our season manager! Click here for more details. http://www.fantistics.com/salesbaseball.php3 Closer Rankings & Handcuffs: Want to see all of our rankings and handcuffs to own? Become a subscriber of our season manager! Click here for more details. http://www.fantistics.com/salesbaseball.php3