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Not much has changed in my closer rankings below. I moved a few closers up, including Marlins closer A.J. Ramos, Giants closer Santiago Casiila, Mariners closer Steve Cishek and Phillies closer Jeanmar Gomez. Other closers dropped, including Braves closer Arodys Vizcaino among others.
Here is a look at a couple bullpen situations:
Reds
Yes, we are still talking about the Reds bullpen, and for good reason. We still don't know who their closer is and we are six weeks into the season. Their best reliever might be in Triple A. That's right, Jumbo Diaz was sent down to AAA a few weeks ago and has pitched well in seven appearances, saving two games and striking out more than 15 batters per nine innings. One guy to keep on your radar is pitching prospect Michael Lorenzen. He has failed as a starter and is currently on the disabled list. I was listening to an interview with Hal McCoy from the Dayton Daily News on SiriusXM Fantasy radio one day last week and he thinks Lorenzen will eventually land the closer role in Cincy, so if you can stash him, grab him before he returns from the DL.
After I wrote this, Cingrani converted his second consecutive save opportunity, giving up just a hit in preserving the Reds one run lead in the ninth inning last night vs the Pirates. Blake Wood set him up, so we might just know the pecking order in the back of the Reds bullpen now.
Phillies
Who thought Jeanmar Gomez would last THIS long in the closer role? Not I. He is currently tied for first with Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen with 11 saves already. Set up guy Hector Neris might be the Phillies best reliever right now, and could have the job once Gomez implodes or is traded. Neris leads all relievers in strikeouts with 28 in his 20 innings or work, utilizing a splitter that is virtually unhittable.
Blue Jays
It might just be a matter of time before Drew Storen loses his job as Roberto Osuna's set up guy. Stolen has had a real tough start to the 2016 season, as he has given up 11 earned runs, including 3 home runs, in his 11 innings of work so far this season. Osuna has a firm grip on the closer role for the time being.
Rank |
Tm |
League |
Name |
Second Option |
Third Option |
Sleeper |
1 |
LAD |
NL |
Kenley Jansen |
Pedro Baez |
Joe Blanton |
|
2 |
BOS |
AL |
Craig Kimbrel |
Koji Uehara |
Carson Smith |
|
3 |
NYY |
AL |
Aroldis Chapman |
Andrew Miller |
Dellin Betances |
|
4 |
KCR |
AL |
Wade Davis |
Kelvin Herrera |
|
Joakim Soria |
5 |
NYM |
NL |
Jeurys Familia |
Addison Reed |
Hansel Robles |
|
6 |
BAL |
AL |
Zach Britton |
Darren O'Day |
Mychal Givens |
Brad Bach |
7 |
STL |
NL |
Trevor Rosenthal |
Seung Oh |
Kevin Siegrist |
|
8 |
CHW |
AL |
David Robertson |
Nate Jones |
Jacob Petricka |
|
9 |
MIA |
NL |
A.J. Ramos |
David Phelps |
Kyle Barraclough |
|
10 |
SFG |
NL |
Santiago Casilla |
Hunter Strickland |
Josh Osich |
Sergio Romo (DL) |
11 |
OAK |
AL |
Ryan Madson |
Sean Doolittle |
John Axford |
|
12 |
PIT |
NL |
Mark Melancon |
Tony Watson |
Neftali Feliz |
Arquimides Caminero |
13 |
CHC |
NL |
Hector Rondon |
Pedro Strop |
Justin Grimm |
|
14 |
MIL |
NL |
Jeremy Jeffress |
Tyler Thornburg |
Michael Blazek |
Will Smith (DL) |
15 |
HOU |
AL |
Luke Gregerson |
Ken Giles |
Pat Neshek |
|
16 |
WAS |
NL |
Jonathan Papelbon |
Blake Treinen |
Shawn Kelley |
|
17 |
SEA |
AL |
Steve Cishek |
Joel Peralta |
Nick Vincent |
Zych (DL), Benoit (DL) |
18 |
TEX |
AL |
Shawn Tolleson |
Sam Dyson |
Jake Diekman |
Keone Kela (DL) |
19 |
TOR |
AL |
Roberto Osuna |
Drew Storen |
Brett Cecil |
|
20 |
CLE |
AL |
Cody Allen |
Bryan Shaw |
Zach McAllister |
Trevor Bauer |
21 |
PHI |
NL |
Jeanmar Gomez |
Hector Neris |
David Hernandez |
Andrew Bailey |
22 |
DET |
AL |
Francisco Rodriguez |
Mark Lowe |
Justin Wilson |
|
23 |
COL |
NL |
Jake McGee |
Chad Qualls |
|
Miguel Castro (DL) |
24 |
ARI |
NL |
Brad Ziegler |
Daniel Hudson |
Tyler Clippard |
|
25 |
ATL |
NL |
Arodys Vizcaino |
Jason Grilli |
Jim Johnson |
|
26 |
SDP |
NL |
Fernando Rodney |
Brandon Maurer |
Kevin Quackenbush |
|
27 |
TBR |
AL |
Alex Colome |
Enny Romero |
Erasmo Ramirez |
Brad Boxberger (DL) |
28 |
MIN |
AL |
Kevin Jepsen |
Trevor May |
Ryan Presley |
Glen Perkins (DL) |
29 |
LAA |
AL |
Joe Smith |
Fernando Salas |
Jose Alvarez |
Huston Street (DL) |
30 |
CIN |
NL |
Tony Cingrani |
Blake Wood |
Ross Ohlendorf |
Jumbo Diaz (Minors) |
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