We gotta do it quick this week. I didn't get back from Washington, D.C., until like 3:30 Sunday morning, then Sunday was Mother's Day and I had to bring people silly dang food all day, and I didn't get home until 9. Now, as I write this, it's 10:30, and if I can get this knocked out in reasonable time, I can go meet a potential new ladyfriend for a couple late drinks. I love y'all, but that's a way better option.
So this week, I'm not going to do a whole big look-at-the-history thing, if for no other reason than, you know, above, and I currently don't have any great ideas anyway, so it would take me far too long to make something happen.
Hope y'all forgive me. The laziness stops now. I'll still offer some player thoughts and the like. As always, two lists of Closer Rankings: a Right-Now list and a Rest-Of-Season list. Without further ado:
Right-Now Rankings
Rank | Player | Team | Last Weeek | Thoughts |
1 | Aroldis Chapman | CIN | 1 | |
2 | Andrew Miller | NYY | 5 | You could make a really good argument that the Yankees and Royals have four of baseball's top five relievers. |
3 | David Robertson | CWS | 3 | Gave up his first runs of the season Sunday, bringing his WHIP from 0.58 to 0.77. That's ... still really good. |
4 | Greg Holland | KCR | 12 | He'll be fine, but no strikeouts in his first two appearances off the DL. |
5 | Craig Kimbrel | SDP | 2 | Ultimately, I'm not really worried about him, but I could see the Padres giving him a couple get-yourself-rigth days. |
6 | Joakim Soria | DET | 4 | |
7 | Drew Storen | WAS | 7 | |
8 | Trevor Rosenthal | SLC | 8 | |
9 | Huston Street | LAA | 6 | |
10 | Koji Uehara | BOS | 9 | |
11 | Glen Perkins | MIN | 10 | |
12 | Zach Britton | BAL | 11 | He blew a save two weeks ago Saturday. Since, he's gone 3.2 innings with three baserunners, four strikeouts and no runs. Good, solid, never going to blow you away. |
13 | Jonathan Papelbon | PHI | 13 | On a better team, Papelbon would still easily be a top-10 closer. |
14 | Francisco Rodriguez | MIL | 14 | Five games in May: five innings, 10 strikoeuts, three baserunners, no runs. Rodriguez has had a weird, weird career. |
15 | Brad Boxberger | TAM | 18 | |
16 | Jeurys Familia | NYM | 17 | |
17 | Mark Melancon | PIT | 21 | He's started to look a lot better of late. Will the warmer weather help him? |
18 | Hector Rondon | CHC | 16 | |
19 | Kenley Jansen | LAD | NR | Looks like he might be activated this week. I think he'll get his job back right away. You just might not get it from the week's start. |
20 | Brett Cecil | TOR | 28 | He's looked good since getting the Toronto job back. I think he keeps it. |
21 | Santiago Casilla | SFG | 24 | |
22 | Fernando Rodney | SEA | 23 | |
23 | Tyler Clippard | OAK | 25 | As much as the A's have struggled, Clippard hasn't had much of a chance to accrue numbers. |
24 | Neftali Feliz | TEX | NR | As the Rangers start to play a little better, the value on Feliz looks better as well. |
25 | Chad Qualls | HOU | NR | Okay, what's going on with Luke Gregerson? Is he on the 15-day DL or just the family emergency list? Not even Google has enough answers for me. Either way, it's Qualls for now. |
26 | Cody Allen | CLE | 27 | In 12 appearances, Allen has given up at least a run in six. He's given up four runs twice. He's given up runs in four of his last six games. Totally untrustworthy. |
27 | Wade Davis | KCR | 22 | If saves weren't a fantasy category, he and the next guy would both be, what, top five? |
28 | Dellin Betances | NYY | 26 | |
29 | Steve Cishek | MIA | 19 | I don't know what's happened to him. Another bad outing or two and the job goes to A.J. Ramos, but for now I still have to rank Cishek as the guy in the gig. |
30 | Jim Johnson | ATL | NR | With some back spasms, Jason Grilli is on the shelf for a few days. Johnson will get the saves for the first part of the week. |
Rest-Of-Season Rankings
Rank | Player | Team | Last Week | Thoughts |
1 | Aroldis Chapman | CIN | 1 | |
2 | Andrew Miller | NYY | 5 | |
3 | Craig Kimbrel | SDP | 2 | |
4 | David Robertson | CWS | 3 | If the guy who thought I gave Robertson no love a few weeks ago reads this ... sorry, man. Still think he's good, just not the best. |
5 | Greg Holland | KCR | 6 | |
6 | Joakim Soria | DET | 4 | |
7 | Drew Storen | WAS | 8 | |
8 | Kenley Jansen | LAD | 10 | Yeah, I think he'll be fine. |
9 | Huston Street | LAA | 7 | |
10 | Trevor Rosenthal | SLC | 9 | |
11 | Glen Perkins | MIN | 11 | Nothing changes in this tier, as these guys are all solid without the extreme upside of the top bunch. |
12 | Koji Uehara | BOS | 12 | |
13 | Zach Britton | BAL | 13 | |
14 | Francisco Rodriguez | MIL | 16 | |
15 | Jonathan Papelbon | PHI | 15 | I'd love to see someone like Toronto or something figure out a way to afford Papelbon. His skill needs to contend. |
16 | Sean Doolittle | OAK | 20 | We're within a couple weeks or so of his return, which will make the struggling A's much happier. |
17 | Mark Melancon | PIT | 23 | |
18 | Brad Boxberger | TAM | 21 | I'm no longer buying in on Jake McGee getting saves unless I hear otherwise. |
19 | Jeurys Familia | NYM | 18 | He's given up a hit in four straight outings. That isn't much, but I do think we've seen his best stretch of the season. |
20 | Hector Rondon | CHC | 17 | |
21 | Fernando Rodney | SEA | 24 | |
22 | Brett Cecil | TOR | 29 | |
23 | Santiago Casilla | SFG | 26 | The Giants always seem to get wins for relievers. Seven for Jean Machi last year, four already for Casilla this year. I don't think there's anything to that, but it's interesting. |
24 | Jason Grilli | ATL | 19 | |
25 | Luke Gregerson | HOU | 22 | Whenever Gregerson is back from whatever list he's on, he'll be the closer. |
26 | Wade Davis | KCR | 25 | |
27 | Steve Cishek | MIA | 14 | This is evidence I sort of -- but not confidently -- think Cishek gets things worked out. |
28 | Dellin Betances | NYY | 28 | |
29 | Neftali Feliz | TEX | NR | |
30 | Cody Allen | CLE | 27 |
Now, if you'll let me Good Will Hunting at you for a moment, I gotta go see about a girl.