X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Join the Best Live Fantasy Chat Community!

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Pickups & Streamers
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

MLB Closers and Saves Targets for Week 8

Last week was a whirlwind of bullpen news, exciting performances, and disappointing outings. This week was less whirlwind and more light breeze. There were still great performances, along with some terrible ones. There was a new committee formed. There was a solid closer who had to hear the three dreaded letters: UCL.

Even in a week where "not much happens" in bullpens across the league, a lot still happens. One of MLB Closer and Saves Report's favorite under-the-radar setup men, Drew Steckenrider, got lit up by the Braves. Another MLB Closer and Saves Report favorite, Cam Bedrosian, failed to take his chance to claim a full-time ninth inning role. The White Sox White Sox'd, the Braves Braves'd (which, now that they held the best record in the NL for a few days might start to mean something different), and the Dodgers Dodger'd. It was a week of mostly expected results, but that doesn't mean some things didn't go down.

Let's take a look at the news, the best performers, and any suggested moves for your fantasy team in this week's MLB Closers and Saves Report:

Featured Promo: Get any full-season MLB and DFS Premium Pass for 50% off. Exclusive access to our Team Sync platform, Premium articles, daily Matchup Rating projections, 15 lineup tools, DFS cheat sheets, Research Stations, Lineup Optimizers and much more! Sign Up Now!

 

Bullpen News for Week 8

Los Angeles Angels

On Sunday, Angels closer Keynan Middleton hurt his elbow. It seemed minor, perhaps nothing to really worry about. Then, reports came out with those three dreaded letters: UCL. Middleton underwent an MRI and it showed damage to his UCL. Middleton went for a second opinion, and it only confirmed what we all expected: Middleton needs to undergo Tommy John Surgery and will miss the standard 12-16 months. He's out for the season, and will miss at least part of next season as well. For now, the Angels will go with a committee similar to the one they used the first time Middleton was on the disabled list. Cam Bedrosian, Blake Parker, Justin Anderson, and Jim Johnson will all likely get save chances before manager Mike Scioscia finally decides on a closer. It seems like Johnson has a slight edge right now, but that could change quickly with a bad outing. For now, it's too hard to predict who will be worth owning out of the Los Angeles of Anaheim bullpen, but fantasy owners desperate for saves should keep a close eye on how things develop near Disneyland.

Atlanta Braves

The Baby Braves are off to an excellent start to the season. Manager Brian Snitker keeps hinting at a closer-by-committee situation, but then fairly consistently sticks with the very average Arodys Vizcaino whenever a save opportunity comes up. This week, Snitker again said that he has a few options for the ninth inning if he wants to keep everyone fresh. He's mentioned wanting to use A.J. Minter and Dan Winkler in save situations. While Vizcaino still seems to be the favorite for saves, Snitker's comments surely imply that Vizcaino is on a very short leash. At best, he seems like the head of the committee right now and not the bona fide closer. Fantasy owners should be looking to sell (somewhat) high on Vizcaino right now before he's officially removed from the role. It's a good time to pick up Minter in most formats, or perhaps to speculate on Winkler for those desperate for saves in deeper leagues.

Chicago White Sox

As mentioned in last week's report, the White Sox bullpen has been a complete mess this season. Joakim Soria got off to a poor start, which gave Nate Jones a chance to claim the closer job, but he did even worse. Now, it seems like Bruce Rondon is the the flavor of the week. While manager Rick Renteria wouldn't call Rondon his closer just yet, he's actually been a decent reliever this season, pitching to a 4.15 ERA, but backed up by a 2.53 FIP. He's striking out 11.08 batters per nine innings. Even if he's officially named to the closer's role, he won't earn too many saves simply because the White Sox won't win too many games, but he won't hurt in ratios either. He's a decent pick up in deeper leagues and AL-only.

 

Roster Moves of the Week

Adds

Advertising

Bruce Rondon, Chicago White Sox - The White Sox bullpen has been a disaster this season, but Bruce Rondon has emerged as the latest ninth inning option for manager Rick Renteria. While Renteria still hasn't officially given the job to Rondon, he's pitched fairly well and should make for a decent option in AL-only leagues. The White Sox won't likely give him enough save chances to make him a strong mixed league option, though.

Drops

Keynan Middleton, Los Angeles Angels - Middleton unfortunately has damage to his UCL, which is almost always a precursor to Tommy John Surgery. A second opinion confirmed that the reliever will need the procedure, so he's thrown his last pitch of 2018. He'll also miss at least some of the 2019 season, so we won't be seeing Middleton on a mound for a long time.

 

Best of the Week

Raisel Iglesias, Cincinnati Reds - 4 IP, 6 K, 4 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.25 WHIP

Reds closer Raisel Iglesias was able to work a rare four-save week. In the process, he allowed only one batter to reach base and struck out six. He's a strong reliever, but plays on a team that won't often provide him with four save opportunities in a week.

Alex Colome, Tampa Bay Rays - 4 IP, 4 K, 3 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP

Rays closer Alex Colome hasn't been particularly good this season, but he was particularly good this week. He saved three games, striking out four batters in four innings and allowing just three hits.

Sean Doolittle, Washington Nationals - 3 IP, 4 K, 3 SV, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP

Rounding out our top performers this week is Nationals closer Sean Doolittle. He made it into three games this week, saving all three while striking out four and allowing just three hits.

 

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Adds




Advertising

LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Pickups & Streamers
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

WIN MORE IN 2024

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Pickups & Streamers
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

ROTOBALLER PLAYER NEWS

RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Alexis Diaz fantasy baseball closers rankings draft sleepers waiver wire pickups

MLB Closers and Saves: Fantasy Baseball Depth Charts

Saves are an important component for many fantasy baseball leagues. Closers are one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball, and one of the highest turnover positions in MLB. Each year, closers drop like flies and many MLB teams make in-season changes due to injuries or poor performance. In addition to closers and saves, relief... Read More


Do These Prospects Matter for Fantasy Baseball?

The 2023 fantasy baseball season has been highlighted by the promotion of nearly two-dozen top prospects to the major leagues to impact fantasy rosters. This week's edition features one player who was called up as the piece was being written. Will these strong performers join the ranks of those who have moved to the majors... Read More


clayton kershaw fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

articles report test

this is a test


Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome back! It's Week 24 of our fantasy baseball Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups series! There are just two precious weeks left, and every start is becoming more and more important as most of the fantasy baseball world is in playoff matchups. If you've made it this far, there's a good chance you don't really... Read More


Aaron Nola - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Starts & Sits for MLB Week 23 - All Starting Pitcher Matchups for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers! Big week in fantasy leagues as we approach the end of the season and playoffs! As always, we are here with our starting pitcher starts and sits series to help you set those winning lineups for the week ahead! For those who are not familiar, RotoBaller puts out a weekly grid of... Read More


Gunnar Henderson - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Prospects, Draft Sleepers

Points League Hitters: Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome to Week 24 and our fantasy baseball waiver wire hitters. We'll be doing this roundup of points leagues every week here at RotoBaller, with waiver wire targets and streaming pitchers being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems of ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, and Fantrax. Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform,... Read More


Brayan Bello - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Two-Start Pitcher Streamers for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Yo, it's Jon Anderson, continuing to run the show here in terms of late-summer fantasy baseball writing. There are just two weeks left of streaming pitchers, so let's make it count! This weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups column aims to identify starting pitchers expected to make two starts in the upcoming fantasy baseball week,... Read More


Fantasy Baseball Week 24 Injury News and Updates: Tyler Glasnow, Ozzie Albies, Starling Marte, Anthony Rizzo, Zack Wheeler

September is now more than half over. The baseball season is slowly coming to a close. At this point, fantasy players are pushing for their league titles or just playing for pride. Major League Baseball teams continue to do the same and injuries continue to happen, now with the dreaded term "done for the season"... Read More


Joe Musgrove - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/17/22)

Happy Saturday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/17/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Today's MLB slates are split up as is the norm for September baseball. Half the guys I think will play will not, so you have to be as flexible as Gumby to play MLB DFS in September, but that also means that there is a lot of money out there should you dare to dive... Read More


Max Fried - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/15/22)

Happy Friday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


Robbie Ray - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, Draft Sleepers

DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/16/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Fridays are big MLB DFS days and offer a nice respite from the NFL, who command our attention on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays. This slate, like most Friday slates, is a big one as all MLB teams are in action today and 28 of those teams are on tonight's 14-game DFS slate. This was a... Read More


kyle farmer fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

There are only two weeks left of fantasy baseball! It's going to be very sad when the season comes to an end, but the impending end of the season means that these are the most important, and therefore most fun weeks of the year – for those of you still competing, at least. I have... Read More


TODAY’S MOST VIEWED PLAYERS

rotating JS ad test

ROTOBALLER PLAYER NEWS