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Closer Rankings: Down the home stretch

This week is a quick look through the closer rankings, because I'm sleepy, y'all.

By Daniel Kelley
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

This will be quick this week. It's 1:30 in the morning and I've been doing little but writing about football since, like, Tuesday. A few quick thoughts:

  • Said it before, I'll say it again: If your league isn't Holds+Saves instead of just Saves, your league isn't as good as it could be.
  • Koji Uehara is gone from the rankings. So is Rafael Soriano. So is Joaquin Benoit. I don't feel at all secure that Benoit is coming back from his injury at all, and Uehara's and Soriano's struggles are too significant and long-lasting for (a) Washington to risk, or (b) Boston to bother with.
  • Jenrry Mejia, Chad Qualls and their New York/Houston teammates are gone as well, because guessing who will do what in those bullpens has been very sad and not-fun.
  • I'm really tired.

Now, this week's closer rankings:

Closer Rankings

Rank Player Team Last Week Thoughts
1 Craig Kimbrel ATL 1 No one expects there to ever be another Mariano Rivera, but hypothetically, say that's the path Kimbrel is on: Does it tarnish Rivera's legacy if he's immediately supplanted?
2 Greg Holland KAN 3 Bumped up despite missing a few games with triceps tightness; I expect him to be fine.
3 Aroldis Chapman CIN 2 Only downgraded because the Royals give Holland more save chances than the Reds give Chapman.
4 David Robertson NYY 5 Pitched three times in the last week without ever having a save opportunity. Interesting.
5 Zach Britton BAL 9 Has had one blowup a month all season; can he avoid it in September?
6 Kenley Jansen LAD 4 Lack of consistency is what's keeping him from the Kimbrel/Holland/Chapman triumvirate.
7 Jonathan Papelbon PHI 12 Has pitched in 60 games. Has allowed runs in only seven of them.
8 Mark Melancon PIT 10 The team has started using him in multi-inning outings. Whether it's desperation or strategy, it's interesting.
9 Huston Street LAA 6 Gave up two runs Friday. Has allowed hits in five straight, multiple hits in three straight. Rough patch.
10 Jake McGee TAM 13 Gotta wonder if the Rays would have had a better season if they just hadn't bothered with Grant Balfour early on.
11 Glen Perkins MIN 8 One strikeout in his last six games, four runs in that time. And not many save chances lately.
12 Cody Allen CLE 11 Blown two of his last three save chances, ERA climbed back above 2. He's approaching a career-high in usage, could be tiring.
13 Trevor Rosenthal SLC 18 Good patch again. Scoreless in his last five outings.
14 Francisco Rodriguez MIL 14 A 2.95 ERA, but a 4.16 FIP. That's ... foreboding.
15 Santiago Casilla SFG 15 August was his worst month of the year, and his ERA only made it up to 1.79. Good season.
16 Steve Cishek MIA 17 I just keep wondering why they didn't trade him. What do teams think closers have in their magic pockets?
17 Hector Rondon CHC 22 Super under-the-radar, but hasn't allowed a run in a month, and only three earned runs since late June.
18 Addison Reed ARI 20 Has pitched much better of late -- no runs since August 8.
19 Fernando Rodney SEA 16 His walk rate of 3.5 per 9 is actually the second-lowest of his career.
20 Wade Davis KAN NR One run allowed since April 23. 0.17 ERA in 53 IP since. Triple insane.
21 Neftali Feliz TEX 24 He hasn't been what Joakim Soria was in Texas, but he's been passable for a bad team.
22 LaTroy Hawkins COL 21 A strikeout per inning since the start of July.
23 Joe Nathan DET 26 Hasn't blown a save since August 9. Hasn't been exactly good since, but at least mostly gets the job done.
24 Kevin Quackenbush SDP 25 Twelve strikeouts, three walks in his last seven innings (six games).
25 Sean Doolittle OAK NR Could be back from injury as early as Monday.
26 Eric O'Flaherty OAK 23 We thought we'd get a feel for Oakland's interim closer in the last couple weeks, but then they totally stopped winning games.
27 Drew Storen WAS NR Seems the likely option to get saves over Tyler Clippard with Soriano being terrible.
28 Casey Janssen TOR 27 The Blue Jays seem determined to stick with him despite a 7.71 ERA since the start of August.
29 Edward Mujica BOS NR Likely the beneficiary of Uehara being shut down (maybe?) despite not being the best pitcher in that bullpen.
30 Jake Petricka CWS NR Whatever, I gotta list 30 people.