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With the trade deadline in the rear-view mirror, buyers and sellers have made the moves to thrust their team in their respective directions. While holds are even tougher to predict than saves, the players we’ll highlight today include some elite setup men that have proven to be closer candidates to target off the Waiver Wire for Week 20 of the fantasy baseball season.
The more likely a team is to win, the more likely a pitcher will be eligible to earn the holds that could be the difference between winning or losing in your fantasy league. Bear in mind, an effective relief pitcher highlighted today could find himself in a closer's role if the everyday closer is unavailable or recently ineffective.
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Week 20 Bullpen Targets
Tyler Thornburg, Milwaukee Brewers
4 Saves, 20 Holds, 2.03 ERA, 48.2 IP, 66 K, 0.90 WHIP
The Milwaukee Brewers closer is having a fantastic season. The ninth inning role was more than deserved. Opponents are hitting .163 against Thornburg and he is having a career year as his hits per nine innings (5.2) is considerably better than his career average (7.2) and his strikeouts per nine innings (12.2) is exceptionally high compared to his career average (8.8). Utilizing a 94.1 MPH fastball and 78.7 MPH curveball, Thornburg is becoming a great reliever that the Brewers can count on to close out games for them the rest of this year. His outstanding strikeout numbers give him a lot of value as a waiver wire pickup for any fantasy team.
Edwin Diaz, Seattle Mariners
8 Saves, 13 Holds, 1.85 ERA, 34.0 IP, 62 K, 1.15 WHIP
Since receiving the closer's role, rookie Edwin Diaz has been remarkable. Diaz has been efficient and effective in most of his save opportunities. He is perfect in eight opportunities and three of the save opportunities required less than 10 pitches. The power-pitching Diaz sports a 97.2 MPH fastball and and 86.7 MPH slider to hold opponents to a .229 batting average. In addition to calling the most pitcher-friendly ballpark home, Diaz generates batted balls at a 49.3% ground ball rate. It appears Diaz was made to be a closer and should be picked up off the waiver wire immediately.
Brandon Kintzler, Minnesota Twins
12 Saves, 1 Hold, 1.82 ERA, 39.2 IP, 24 K, 0.98 WHIP
Brandon Kintzler has established that he can close out games. Unlike most closers, Kintzler is not a strikeout pitcher. Kintzler utilizes a 92.7 MPH sinker to generate 63.5% ground balls on batted balls. Opponents are hitting .238 against him and he has blown one save since the beginning of June. His K/9 this year is at 5.4 so claim him off the waiver wire if you strictly need saves as strikeouts will be hard to find from the 31-year-old Kintzler.
Adam Ottavino, Colorado Rockies
1 Save, 4 Holds, 0.00 ERA, 15.0 IP, 17 K, 0.87 WHIP
One week ago, new Colorado Rockies closer Adam Ottavino secured his first save of the year in dominant fashion, striking out the Texas Rangers in order. Opponents are hitting .189 against Ottavino and his two-seam fastball. Ottavino reduced the speed on his fastball from 95.7 MPH to 93.5 and is generating ground balls at a great rate. In a normally very hitter-friendly ballpark like Coors Field, a 69.4% ground ball rate will work in the pitcher's favor everyday. Ottavino will likely not maintain this rate but strike when the iron is hot and pick up this reliever from the waiver wire.
Raisel Iglesias, Cincinnati Reds
1 Save, 6 Holds, 2.16 ERA, 58.1 IP, 64 K, 1.15 WHIP
Current Cincinnati Reds closer Tony Cingrani is holding down the fort in the ninth inning, but has not been without his bumps and bruises. Cingrani has blown five saves this year and the Reds will (obviously) not be contending in the near future. With an opportunity presented, Raisel Iglesias may see more than the one audition as the closer for the Reds that he locked down last week. Primarily using a 92.2 MPH fastball and 82.4 MPH slider, Iglesias strikes out just over a batter per inning at a 9.9 K/9 rate. Generating more ground balls (39.5%) like in 2015 (47.2%) will work to his benefit as he closes out games for the rebuilding Reds. If Cingrani blows more saves, look for Iglesias to seize the opportunity.
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