Camilo Doval became the first closer to 30 saves this week. Devin Williams and Craig Kimbrel continue to shut things down on the mound. And Kevin Ginkel has put his name in the daily closer hat in Arizona. On the offensive side of things, CJ Abrams is running with the leadoff spot with seven steals in nine games. And the speedy Oswald Peraza rejoins the Yankees to cover third base after Josh Donaldson landed back on the injured list.
Tier 1: Untouchable
Felix Bautista - Baltimore Orioles
Bautista brought his ERA down to a pristine 1.00 across 45 innings after closing the door on the Dodgers on Wednesday for his 26th save. He’s struck out nearly two batters an inning with a total of 88. The 28-year-old has been far and away the best closer in baseball.
Tier 2: The Elite
Alexis Díaz - Cincinnati Reds
Camilo Doval - San Francisco
Giants
Devin Williams - Milwaukee Brewers
Josh Hader
- San Diego Padres
Ryan Pressly
- Houston Astros
Those walk problems Diaz displayed at the end of June seem to be behind him. He’s now gone nine consecutive appearances without issuing a free pass after locking down his 27th save against the Giants on Wednesday. He holds a 1.90 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 65 strikeouts across 42 2/3 innings.
Doval has been busy since the All-Star break, recording four saves in five days going into Wednesday’s action. He’s the first closer this season to reach 30 saves. And there are still over two months to go.
Williams moves ahead of his former teammate this week after converting a save on three consecutive days out of the break. His 41.4 percent strikeout rate in July is also the best in any month. Williams is up to 24 saves on the season with a 1.69 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 52 strikeouts across 37 1/3 innings. With the strikeouts on the rise, he’s also seen his walk rate improve to 12.6 percent on the year, right in line with where he has been over the last three seasons.
Hader went 2-for-3 in save chances this week, giving him 23 on the season after notching the save on Wednesday against the Blue Jays. His blown save on Sunday came on an unearned run as a hit allowed the starting runner on second to score before he finished the frame. The 29-year-old left-hander carries a 1.00 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 54 strikeouts across 36 innings. The Padres find themselves in fourth place in the NL West and could be a team to watch at the deadline. Hader is a pending free agent after the season, and there could be some trade speculation surrounding the closer over the next couple of weeks.
Pressly recorded a save on Friday, then struggled on a back-to-back in Saturday’s contest against the Angels, giving up three runs -- two earned -- on five hits. It broke an 11-game scoreless streak for Pressly. He then surrendered a solo homer on Wednesday in a non-save situation as the Astros held a four-run lead over the Rockies in the ninth. Still, Pressly has been solid this season, posting a 2.98 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and 47 strikeouts across 42 1/3 innings while converting 21-of-25 save chances.
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Tier 3: The Solid Options
Emmanuel Clase
- Cleveland Guardians
David Bednar
- Pittsburgh Pirates
Paul Sewald
- Seattle Mariners
Jhoan Duran
- Minnesota Twins
Jordan Romano - Toronto Blue Jays
Clase hasn’t seen a save chance coming out of the break. He made one appearance, striking out the side while working around a walk against the Pirates. He hasn’t been as consistent as he was over the last two seasons, with a 3.30 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts across 43 2/3 innings.
Bednar recorded his 18th save of the season on Wednesday against the Guardians. The 28-year-old right-hander is about to get more expensive for a Pirates team in last place in the NL Central, so he’s another closer to watch at the trade deadline. Dauri Moreta would be a reliever worth speculating on should Bednar be moved.
The Seattle situation stopped being a committee the moment Andrés Muñoz landed on the injured list early in the season. Sewald has run with the job, locking down two more saves this week to give him 19 on the year.
Wednesday’s save against the Mariners was the fourth for Duran this week. It’s exactly what fantasy managers want to see after frustrating usage for most of the year. He’s up to 16 on the season with a 2.11 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 49 strikeouts across 38 1/3 innings. The team keeping him in the ninth inning would make him one of the better closers, though that still seems unlikely.
Romano left the All-Star game with back tightness and was unavailable for the Blue Jays for most of the following week. While he was able to avoid a stint on the injured list, it could present some risk for Romano going into the second half.
Tier 4: There’s Upside Here
Craig Kimbrel - Philadelphia Phillies
Raisel Iglesias
- Atlanta Braves
Carlos Estévez - Los Angeles Angels
Will Smith/Aroldis Chapman - Texas Rangers
Kenley Jansen
- Boston Red Sox
Pete Fairbanks
- Tampa Bay Rays
Kimbrel recorded a save on Tuesday, his 16th of the season. It was also his 16th consecutive scoreless outing as the veteran closer has been on an absolute roll. He’s down to a 3.15 ERA with a 0.95 WHIP and 60 strikeouts over 40 innings while going 16-for-16 in save chances.
The Rangers got three save chances since play resumed. Chapman actually got the first chance, recording his second save of the season. Smith got the following two chances, converting both to give him 17 on the year. While Smith can still be considered the primary closer, it appears Chapman will be in the mix for some save opportunities. There should be plenty of saves to go around on a good Rangers team to make both relievers viable in deeper leagues. Smith should remain startable in more shallow formats.
Jansen recorded a save on Friday on only three pitches, his 20th of the season. He made an appearance on Wednesday in a non-save situation, striking out one batter while working around a walk. The 35-year-old closer holds a 3.09 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and 38 strikeouts across 32 innings.
Fairbanks recorded a save on Saturday, his 10th of the season, then took the loss after giving up a run on Monday against the Rangers. He’s been getting a few more whiffs recently, giving him a strikeout per inning on the year. He’ll need to keep that up to realize his upside over the second half.
Tier 5: Just Getting By
Evan Phillips
- Los Angeles Dodgers
A.J. Puk
- Miami Marlins
Adbert Alzolay
- Chicago Cubs
Jordan Hicks - St. Louis Cardinals
Michael King
, Clay Holmes
- New York Yankees
Alex Lange
- Detroit Tigers
David Robertson
, Adam Ottavino - New York Mets
Kevin Ginkel/Scott McGough - Arizona Diamondbacks
Puk has had a rough go this month, giving up seven runs over 5 2/3 innings in July. He took the loss on Tuesday against the Cardinals. Meanwhile, Hicks recorded his eighth save of the season against the Marlins on Monday. The hard-throwing right-hander is a free agent following the season and could be on the trade block for St. Louis as we approach the deadline.
Lange earned his third save in the last week on Wednesday against the Royals, working around a hit, walk, and a hit batter for his 16th save. He’s an incredibly volatile and inconsistent closer with a 14.9 percent walk rate.
A new closer has emerged once again in Arizona. Ginkel recorded back-to-back saves against the Braves this week. It’s hard to trust anyone on the Diamondbacks for consistent saves. Andrew Chafin still leads the team with eight saves, while McGough and Miguel Castro have recorded seven.
Tier 6: If You Must
Justin Lawrence/Daniel Bard - Colorado Rockies
Scott Barlow
- Kansas
City Royals
Hunter Harvey/Kyle Finnegan - Washington Nationals
Trevor May
- Oakland A’s
Kendall Graveman/Keynan Middleton - Chicago White Sox
After giving Bard a save chance earlier in the week, which he blew, Lawrence recorded his sixth save of the season on Tuesday. He remains the only reliever worth rostering in deep leagues with a 2.57 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 51 strikeouts across 49 innings. And May recorded back-to-back saves on Tuesday and Wednesday against the Red Sox. He’s up to seven this season with a 4.91 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, and 21 strikeouts over 25 2/3 innings.
Injured
Liam Hendriks - Elbow Inflammation
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Steals Department
Another week of Ronald Acuña Jr. atop the steals leaderboard. Three steals since the break have him up to 44 on the season. Nationals’ shortstop CJ Abrams
deserves some recognition. He’s been running wild since taking over the leadoff spot. Abrams has seven of his 18 steals over his last nine games since he was moved to the top of the order. He’s also coming around with the bat, hitting .363 in July. After struggling at the plate early on, he’s on pace for double-digit homers and over 30 steals. Javier Báez swiped three bags since the break, giving him nine for the season. The Yankees recalled infielder Oswald Peraza after Josh Donaldson
landed on the injured list with a calf strain. He has two steals since his return to the majors and has hit leadoff for three consecutive games. Peraza is widely available in mixed leagues and could be picked up for teams looking to add some speed to their rosters. The 23-year-old should continue to start at third base for the Yankees.
