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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 24 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 24 Bullpen Targets
Kevin Siegrist, St. Louis Cardinals
2 Saves, 15 Holds, 2.91 ERA, 55.2 IP, 59 K, 1.11 WHIP
Cardinals closer Seung-Hwan Oh has been dealing with some injuries so his availability is day-to-day at best. With the Cardinals in the thick of a postseason race, they will need another player to close out games and Kevin Siegrist is that player. Opponents overall have a .190 batting average but left-handed batters (.224) are faring better than right-handed batters (.175). Siegrist uses a 93.2 MPH fastball and an 85.0 MPH changeup to strikeout over a batter per inning. Health is the only thing holding Oh back but until he is given the clean bill of health, pickup Siegrist, who is valuable to the playoff aspirations of the Cardinals and any fantasy team to possess him.
Hunter Strickland, San Francisco Giants
3 Saves, 17 Holds, 3.24 ERA, 58.1 IP, 53 K, 1.13 WHIP
The San Francisco Giants are hanging onto a Wild Card spot so closer Santiago Casilla and his eight blown saves can not be relied on to secure wins. Enter Hunter Strickland. The power-pitching Strickland has briefly secured saves since being given the closer title and his stuff backs up the opportunity. Opponents are hitting .222 against Strickland this year. Strickland throws his two-seam fastball at 96.7 MPH and his slider at 84.2 MPH to generate 47.9% ground balls in an already pitcher-friendly ballpark. The Giants will count on him and it is rare to see the Giants come up short, look for them to fight for the division the rest of the year.
A.J. Ramos, Miami Marlins
36 Saves, 2 Holds, 3.02 ERA, 56.2 IP, 66 K, 1.32 WHIP
With Fernando Rodney struggling lately, A.J. Ramos has received the last four save opportunities for the postseason-contending Miami Marlins. The 91.9 MPH fastball and 80.1 MPH slider has not generated a discernible difference in his fly ball (37.1) and ground ball (37.9) rates. Reclaiming his closer role, Ramos has struck out more than a batter per inning and has kept the ball in the ballpark, allowing one home run this year. Ramos could find himself closing Marlins wins for the remainder of the year so he will have value on a postseason fantasy run.
Raisel Iglesias, Cincinnati Reds
3 Saves, 7 Holds, 2.18 ERA, 70.1 IP, 74 K, 1.14 WHIP
The Cincinnati Reds have two capable closers in Tony Cingrani and Raisel Iglesias. This week, Iglesias receives our spotlight as he has received a decent amount of saves since August. Sporting a 92.7 MPH fastball and 82.9 MPH slider, opponents are hitting .215 against Iglesias. The Reds are primarily looking to determine what assets they have for the future. Iglesias has proven to be reliable lately and should see many save opportunities as the season wraps up.
Jake Diekman, Texas Rangers
4 Saves, 24 Holds, 3.42 ERA, 50.0 IP, 56 K, 1.08 WHIP
While Sam Dyson has a firm grasp on the closer job on the Texas Rangers, his outings of late have been six outings of 17 or more pitches, potentially making him unavailable the following day. When you are a division-leading team like the Rangers, save opportunities are frequent. If Dyson is unavailable, Jake Diekman has been seen closing out games. Opponets are hitting .186 against Diekman this year. Diekman is not a must-have pickup for your playoff fantasy team but if Dyson has another few rough outings, look to see if Diekman is doing well.
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