clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Closer Report for Week 6

Ray offers up his closer rankings for Week 5 of the MLB season, along with who is first and second in line behind the current closer for each team. And there are some sleepers too!

David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

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)


Fantasy Rundown

If you are looking for more fantasy baseball coverage, make sure you check out Fantasy Rundown, where you can find links to all of the best fantasy coverage on the internet.