Fantasy Baseball: Chasing saves after the MLB trade deadline
It may be the stretch run for fantasy baseball, but there are still players that can help. Let’s look at some potential candidates to earn saves over the rest of the year.
If you’re in a fairly standard fantasy baseball league like most, chasing the saves category is always a task. If you’re not on top of things when it comes to monitoring the waiver wire and free agent market, managers can often find themselves with a single closer on the roster after everything gets shuffled up at the trade deadline.
Many teams have a rotating carousel to begin with, but 2016 has been especially frustrating. Hector Rondon, Cody Allen and Jonathan Papelbon owners know this to be true. Rondon and Allen owners especially, as they were supplanted in spite of doing perfectly fine jobs this season. And it’s worth noting as well that Allen is the latest Tribe pitcher to have saved a game, adding to the blur of so many bullpens dynamics.
Or how about the decline of Trevor Rosenthal? He is one of a multitude of closers to have landed on the DL in 2016. Add to that list prominent names like Wade Davis, Huston Street, Craig Kimbrel and now A.J. Ramos. Even back ups are going down, like Cam Bedrosian for the Angels.
Houston has been a gong show all year, with preseason favorite Ken Giles getting off to a horrific start. Five Astros players have recorded at least one save in 2016. The same goes for the Rockies, while six Reds players have picked up a save.
Yessir, chasing saves is normally a frustrating endeavor, but it has been especially such this season. If you are desperate to start racking them up, here are five names waiting in the wings who could start seeing an opportunity to close games before September. They might be worth stashing.
Next: Number 5
5. Brad Ziegler – BOS
Craig Kimbrel is by no means in jeopardy of a demotion in the bullpen, but he has looked a bit shaky since returning from his left knee injury that required surgery.
He was supposed to miss 3-6 weeks and made it back onto the field at the lower end of taht time table, but may have rushed it. Kimbrel was pulled from a save opportunity on August 9 after walking four batters while recording only two outs against the Yankees.
The Red Sox traded for Brad Ziegler at the deadline for insurance. If Kimbrel ends up back on the DL, Ziegler will be next in line with Koji Uehara also on the shelf for the time being.
Even still, Kimbrel has not been his normal dominant self in Boston this year. Having recorded ERA’s of 2.10, 1.01, 1.21, 1.61 and 2.58 dating back to 2011, this is the first time in the right-handers career it looks like his mark will be above 3.00 at the end of the regular season. Welcome to the American League East, Mr. Kimbrel.
If manager John Farrell wants to rest Kimbrel and his knee on occasion, you could see Ziegler get some save chances in the near future. The clubs confidence in him has to be high. He’s posted a 0.87 ERA in 11 appearances since coming over from Arizona.
Next: Number 4
4. Jason Grilli – TOR
The Toronto Blue Jays have been adamant all season long about protecting their young and talented arms. Aaron Sanchez and Roberto Osuna are being watched carefully.
Osuna is pitching at a near elite level when he comes into close out games, but back-to-back appearances on consecutive days are not all too common.
Jason Grilli was acquired at the very end of May and he has two saves under his belt. He’s been dominant too since coming over from Atlanta, having gone 3-1 with a 1.90 ERA with 33 punch outs in 23.2 innings pitched.
Osuna is still the main guy here, but if the Blue Jays find themselves in four to five save situations in a given week, Grilli could get the call. He’s even besting Osuna in a couple of stat categories right now too, like BAA (.154 vs .181) and K/9 (12.55 vs 11.05).
Toronto is going to try and roll with a six man rotation for the remainder of the regular season as well. That means Sanchez will not be moved to the pen, so there’s no risk of him getting a chance to close out ball games instead of Osuna, or for the sake of this article, Grilli.
Next: Number 3
3. Ryan Buchter – SDP
The San Diego Padres continued to sell off assets acquired during their loud offseason following the 2014 campaign.
A roster stripped of talent has little value to anyone playing fantasy baseball. Wil Myers and closer Brandon Maurer are worth rostering, though you should lower your expectations when it comes to Maurer.
He’s first in line for saves at the moment, but Ryan Buchter is nipping at his heels and appears to be better tooled for the job. Buchter has a 2.66 ERA, has held opposing hitters to a .168 batting average so far this year and boasts a K/9 of 11.7 compared to Maurer’s 10.2.
Buchter’s numbers are superior in every way compared to San Diego’s current closer. With the Padres’ season figuratively over, the club has nothing to lose by trying Buchter in the ninth inning to see how he handles situations moving forward.
Next: Number 2
2. Ryan Dull – OAK
Ryan Dull, a 5-foot-9 right-hander, uses a mixture of a 91 mph fastball, a slider and a change-up to get the job done.
The 26-year-old first cracked a big league roster last year with the Athletics. He threw 17 innings and has vastly improved during his turn in the A’s bullpen this season.
Dull sports a 5-3 record with a 2.18 ERA and a 3.52 FIP. His whiff rate is not incredible, but his command is above average, as he does not walk a lot of hitters. Having surrendered only 10 free passes in almost 60 IP this season, his K:BB ratio equates to 5.70.
Veteran Ryan Madson has been struggling as of late in the closer’s role. His 2.60 K:BB ratio is far less impressive than Dull’s, and Madson’s ERA since the beginning of July is 4.91 with three blown saves in 11 opportunities.
Like San Diego, this squad is also destined for an early offseason. Madson is 35 and likely will not be a high impact arm for much longer in his MLB pitching career. It’s time the A’s give Dull a shot to finish games off.
Next: Number 1
1. Raisel Iglesias – CIN
If this post were written up a few weeks ago, Edwin Diaz of the Seattle Mariners unmistakably would have been in the one spot. Now, it’s Reds pitcher Raisel Iglesias who gets the nod.
Tony Cingrani has not been terribly effective since being thrust into the closer’s role. On the year, he is successfully closing games out at a lower rate than 75 percent, with five blown saves in 18 opportunities thus far.
Further hurting Cingrani is his inflated ERA of 3.91 and a K/9 rate four total points lower than last year’s 10.5.
Iglesias is in many ways the top arm the Reds have on the club or in the system right now. Management is not quite sure where to use him, though following a return from the disabled list Raisel went on the record saying his desire is to be the teams closer.
He could be back in the rotation next year, but for now, there’s no harm in using him as the closer. Cincinnati is currently buried at the bottom of the NL Central standings.
Next: Top 5 players to make or break postseason
Iglesias is a superior option to Cingrani, and manager Bryan Price is obviously aware of this. Igelsias notched his first career save on Tuesday, August 9, versus the Cardinals, working a perfect ninth with a strikeout to preserve the win. Given that, it’s now a safe bet to add him in all formats and assume Cingrani has been relegated to setup duties.