Believe it or not, this is the last column before the Major League Baseball trade deadline! Given the uncertainty with the current state of baseball and the complicated business side of things, this will most likely be a relatively quiet trade deadline. Nonetheless, relievers are always hot commodities, so it remains likely we will see more trades involving closers or bullpens. Shortly after publishing last week's column, we saw Brandon Workman officially get moved, but unlike in our prediction, he's been instilled as the closer for the Phillies. We also saw Keone Kela, another reliever we identified as a trade candidate, land on the injured list with a shoulder injury. The remaining relievers on the list from last week remain top candidates to watch as the August 31st trade deadline creeps closer, including Trevor Rosenthal and Mychal Givens.
Around The League:
-As mentioned, the Red Sox dealt Brandon Workman to the Phillies last weekend along with teammate Heath Hembree. Matt Barnes got the first save for the Red Sox, but he struggled when given the chance. Ryan Brasier is most likely the next in line and with that, suddenly 2020 looks a lot like the beginning of 2019 for Boston. Barnes remains the most talented, but he continues to struggle when given the opportunity to close games.
-The same night Workman got dealt, Keone Kela left with a forearm injury that eventually landed him on the disabled list. Richard Rodriguez will serve as closer as long as he is out (or if he gets traded, which seems unlikely now that he's injured). Rodriguez has been solid this season with a 37% strikeout rate and just a 2% walk rate, although he did struggle in his first appearance since being named closer. Nonetheless, he should be universally owned even though the Pirates aren't generating a lot of closing chances right now.
-Detroit is using a closer-by-committee after Joe Jimenez's struggles (seriously - our trade candidates list last week apparently was a kiss of death for these guys!). Buck Farmer has been the best reliever for the Tigers this season, Farmer lives with his fastball / change-up combination, which has a great 12 MPH disparity. This season he hasn't been generating nearly as many strikeouts as in previous year and part of that is because he's falling behind in the count - just a 43% first strike percentage compared with a career 62% mark. This has logically caused his contact rate to soar to 81% since batters know he'll be coming back into the strikezone later in the count. Farmer isn't a great option right now. Really, no Detroit reliever is overly valuable in fantasy.
-Former Red Sox phenom Daniel Bard has bounced around the league for the last several seasons, but seems to have settled in nicely in Colorado. Bard has been extremely impressive this year - posting a 12.1% SwStr%, which is a level we haven't seen from him since his rookie season in 2009. Most importantly, he's keeping runners off the basebaths with a great 5% walk rate and when the ball is in play, he's inducing groundballs at a 52% clip. He's got the stuff to hang onto the job for awhile.
-Toronto is still hoping regular closer Ken Giles will be able to return soon and he threw a successful side session on Friday. He'll advance to throwing to live hitters and hopefully will be activated before the completion of the regular season. In the meantime, Jordan Romano has risen to the role and appears to be the team's top option. His insane 19% SwStr% absolutely supports his elite 37% strikeout rate and his 58% groundball rate limits the damage. Speaking of limiting the damage, his also comes with a 58.87% contact percentage - are you kidding me!?
-The Cardinals placed Andrew Miller on the disabled list, meaning Giovanny Gallegos once again has a chance to prove he's the best closer on the team (we think so). Gallegos has immense strikeout upside - flashing a 16% swinging strike rate in 2019 and posting a 25% SwStr% through 5.2 innings this year - but his best characteristic is a low walk rate. He's got elite potential if he can run away with the job.
-The Giants removed Trevor Gott from the closer role last week after he blew back-to-back save chances. The team has yet to have had a save chance, but based on history, Tony Watson is our pick to take over as closer. Watson is working on seven straight scoreless appearances and while his strikeout rate it down, he's still inducing groundballs roughly half the time. Watson is a fine speculative pick and might still be able to be picked up since there hasn't been anything definitive from the team regarding the role.
Closer Grid:
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Believe it or not, this is the last column before the Major League Baseball trade deadline! Given the uncertainty with the current state of baseball and the complicated business side of things, this will most likely be a relatively quiet trade deadline. Nonetheless, relievers are always hot commodities, so it remains likely we will see more trades involving closers or bullpens. Shortly after publishing last week's column, we saw Brandon Workman officially get moved, but unlike in our prediction, he's been instilled as the closer for the Phillies. We also saw Keone Kela, another reliever we identified as a trade candidate, land on the injured list with a shoulder injury. The remaining relievers on the list from last week remain top candidates to watch as the August 31st trade deadline creeps closer, including Trevor Rosenthal and Mychal Givens.
Around The League:
-As mentioned, the Red Sox dealt Brandon Workman to the Phillies last weekend along with teammate Heath Hembree. Matt Barnes got the first save for the Red Sox, but he struggled when given the chance. Ryan Brasier is most likely the next in line and with that, suddenly 2020 looks a lot like the beginning of 2019 for Boston. Barnes remains the most talented, but he continues to struggle when given the opportunity to close games.
-The same night Workman got dealt, Keone Kela left with a forearm injury that eventually landed him on the disabled list. Richard Rodriguez will serve as closer as long as he is out (or if he gets traded, which seems unlikely now that he's injured). Rodriguez has been solid this season with a 37% strikeout rate and just a 2% walk rate, although he did struggle in his first appearance since being named closer. Nonetheless, he should be universally owned even though the Pirates aren't generating a lot of closing chances right now.
-Detroit is using a closer-by-committee after Joe Jimenez's struggles (seriously - our trade candidates list last week apparently was a kiss of death for these guys!). Buck Farmer has been the best reliever for the Tigers this season, Farmer lives with his fastball / change-up combination, which has a great 12 MPH disparity. This season he hasn't been generating nearly as many strikeouts as in previous year and part of that is because he's falling behind in the count - just a 43% first strike percentage compared with a career 62% mark. This has logically caused his contact rate to soar to 81% since batters know he'll be coming back into the strikezone later in the count. Farmer isn't a great option right now. Really, no Detroit reliever is overly valuable in fantasy.
-Former Red Sox phenom Daniel Bard has bounced around the league for the last several seasons, but seems to have settled in nicely in Colorado. Bard has been extremely impressive this year - posting a 12.1% SwStr%, which is a level we haven't seen from him since his rookie season in 2009. Most importantly, he's keeping runners off the basebaths with a great 5% walk rate and when the ball is in play, he's inducing groundballs at a 52% clip. He's got the stuff to hang onto the job for awhile.
-Toronto is still hoping regular closer Ken Giles will be able to return soon and he threw a successful side session on Friday. He'll advance to throwing to live hitters and hopefully will be activated before the completion of the regular season. In the meantime, Jordan Romano has risen to the role and appears to be the team's top option. His insane 19% SwStr% absolutely supports his elite 37% strikeout rate and his 58% groundball rate limits the damage. Speaking of limiting the damage, his also comes with a 58.87% contact percentage - are you kidding me!?
-The Cardinals placed Andrew Miller on the disabled list, meaning Giovanny Gallegos once again has a chance to prove he's the best closer on the team (we think so). Gallegos has immense strikeout upside - flashing a 16% swinging strike rate in 2019 and posting a 25% SwStr% through 5.2 innings this year - but his best characteristic is a low walk rate. He's got elite potential if he can run away with the job.
-The Giants removed Trevor Gott from the closer role last week after he blew back-to-back save chances. The team has yet to have had a save chance, but based on history, Tony Watson is our pick to take over as closer. Watson is working on seven straight scoreless appearances and while his strikeout rate it down, he's still inducing groundballs roughly half the time. Watson is a fine speculative pick and might still be able to be picked up since there hasn't been anything definitive from the team regarding the role.
Closer Grid:
