We're a few weeks out from the MLB All-Star Game—roughly the midway point of the season. Let's ensure we have the best closers possible!
Arizona Diamondbacks
Since May 18th, Mark Melancon has a 3.09 ERA and 1.11 WHIP over 11.2 innings with no walks and eight strikeouts while converting four of his five save chances. He is 11-for-13 in closing situations on the year, with plenty of work needed to correct his poor start to the season. Ian Kennedy only pitched two-thirds of an inning over the past week with no runs, one hit, and one walk. He has a 2.57 ERA and 1.43 WHIP over his last seven innings, with three walks and eight strikeouts. Joe Mantiply extended his shutout run to 16.1 innings with 12 hits, no walks, and 22 strikeouts.
Atlanta Braves
Kenley Jansen pitched like a stud over his previous six scoreless innings, leading to no walks, eight strikeouts, and four saves. He has 18 saves in his 21 chances while offering an edge in strikeouts (41 over 29.2 innings) and WHIP (0.91). Will Smith turned the corner over his last five innings (no runs, two hits, and five strikeouts). A.J. Minter saw his 21-inning shutout streak end on June 17th when he gave up a walk and a run over one inning.
Baltimore Orioles
Zeros continued to pile up for Jorge Lopez as he improved his run of scoreless innings to 15.1. Over this span, his command (one walk) has been well above his previous skill set, helping him secure seven saves with 14 strikeouts. Lopez failed to hold the lead in two of his 11 closing chances. Felix Bautista extended his shutout run to 13.1 innings with 13 strikeouts, three wins, and seven holds.
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Boston Red Sox
Tanner Houck has a win and five saves in his last six appearances. Since the middle of May, he posted a 0.51 ERA and 1.08 WHIP over 17.2 innings with four walks and 21 strikeouts. Houck has yet to issue a walk when pitching in a closing situation. Matt Strahm allowed two runs, seven baserunners, and one home run over his previous 5.2 innings with six strikeouts. John Schreiber offered closing upside in his 8.2 innings of work in June (no runs with 11 strikeouts, a save, and seven holds).
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs created only one save for David Robertson in June. He has a 1.23 ERA, 11 strikeouts, and two saves over his past 7.1 innings. On the year, Robertson is 8-for-10 when asked to finish off wins. Unfortunately, Mychal Givens lost his way over his last six innings (six runs, 15 baserunners, and one home run with six strikeouts).
Chicago White Sox
With Liam Hendriks injured, Kendall Graveman hasn’t assumed the closing role. He has a 0.96 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over his previous 9.1 innings with 12 strikeouts, a blown save, and four holds. Joe Kelly picked a save over the past week when he allowed a two-run homer and one hit to protect a three-run lead. Kelly didn’t give up a run over his previous 4.2 innings with eight strikeouts. Reynaldo Lopez may have had the best relieving run of his career over the last 10 days (no runs over 8.1 innings with no walks and 14 strikeouts), giving him possible closing upside.
Cincinnati Reds
The closing job for the Reds has been a mess all year, and they lost a pair of arms (Tony Santillan and Alexis Diaz) to the injured list over the last week or so. Jeff Hoffman is the only relieving arm with a pulse left standing in their bullpen. He didn’t allow a run over his previous 5.2 innings with two hits, four walks, and five strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 2.78. Any success in the ninth inning for Hoffman would require him to clean up his command (17 walks over 32.1 innings). Dauri Moreta tossed three shutout innings with three strikeouts since his recall from AAA. His fastball looks closer-worthy, but he doesn’t throw enough strikes at this point of his career.
Cleveland Guardians
Saves started to pile up for Emmanuel Clase in June. He secured a win or save in his past seven appearances while upping his total to 10 saves this month. Clase improved his scoreless streak to 16 innings with one walk and 19 strikeouts. Eli Morgan saw his 20-inning shutout run end on June 21st when he surrendered a two-run homer.
Colorado Rockies
Daniel Bard didn’t allow a run over his previous 14 innings with four hits, 16 strikeouts, two wins, and five saves. He is 14-for-16 when asked to close out wins. Alex Colome looked sharp over his last 17.2 innings (0.51 ERA and 0.85 WHIP with 11 strikeouts), leading to a win, a save, and a hold.
Detroit Tigers
Over his past four appearances, Gregory Soto took a loss, a save, and a blown save while allowing four runs and seven baserunners over four innings with six strikeouts. He has 13 saves in his 15 tries with some battles with his command (12 walks over 25 innings). Michael Fulmer continues to improve his stats, leading to no runs over his last 9.2 innings with 15 strikeouts and six holds.
Houston Astros
Ryan Pressly pitched 12.1 innings over the previous with a 1.59 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, nine strikeouts, and 10 saves. He is 14-for-16 in closing situations. Rafael Montero struggled in two of his seven appearances in June (five runs and 12 baserunners over seven innings with six strikeouts, one save, and four holds). Ryne Stanek improved his scoreless run to 18 innings with 15 baserunners and 20 strikeouts.
Kansas City Royals
Scott Barlow tripped up in his last game, leading to three runs, three baserunners, and one home run over one inning in his second blown save in 10 opportunities. He has a 3.52 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 15 strikeouts over his last 15.1 innings, with four saves and one failed save. Josh Staumont gave up three runs and seven baserunners over his previous 2.1 innings with two strikeouts and a hold. His downside continues to be his lack of command (17 walks over 26 innings).
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Los Angeles Angels
The right arm of Raisel Iglesias posted four electric innings (no runs or hits with no walks, 10 strikeouts, a win, and one save) over the past week. However, his ERA (3.91) remains out of line when reviewing his WHIP (0.87). He delivered 13 saves in his 15 chances. Archie Bradley didn’t give up a run over his last 4.2 innings with three strikeouts.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers have to be frustrated by the path of Craig Kimbrel over the previous month. Despite blowing one of his eight saves over this stretch, he allowed 10 runs, 24 baserunners, and one home run over 13.1 innings with 25 strikeouts. His ERA (4.50) and WHIP (1.55) aren’t worthy of closing games. Overall, Kimbrel has one blown save in his 13 tries. Daniel Hudson has a 1.32 ERA over his last 13.1 innings with two walks, 16 strikeouts, and four saves.
Miami Marlins
The ninth inning has been the home of Tanner Scott in June, leading to 3.12 ERA and 1.04 WHIP over 8.2 innings with 15 strikeouts, two wins, five saves, and one blown save. Despite his recent success, Scott does have three disaster showings (eight runs and nine baserunners over 2.1 innings) over the previous month. Anthony Bass has a 1.00 ERA and six strikeouts in June while failing to receive a closing chance.
Milwaukee Brewers
Josh Hader only has four appearances in June (two runs, three hits, no walks, and eight strikeouts over four innings) while recording two saves in his three opportunities. He is 20-for-21 finishing games with a stellar ERA (0.87) and WHIP (0.63). Devin Williams improved his scoreless streak to 16 innings with 25 strikeouts and three saves.
Minnesota Twins
The Twins pitched Emilio Pagan in the eighth in his last two games, leading to two blown leads with five runs, five hits, and a home run over two innings. Over his previous 12.1 innings, he posted a 6.56 ERA and 18 strikeouts with five saves in seven chances. He is 9-for-13 in closing situations. Since his last save opportunity on May 24th, Jhoan Duran has a 1.93 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over 9.1 innings with 10 strikeouts and four holds. I have to believe the Twins would turn to Duran for most of their saves over the second half of the season.
New York Mets
Edwin Diaz has a save in three straight games while pitching at an electric level in June (one run over seven innings with one walk and 16 strikeouts). He has been successful in 14 of his 17 closing tries. Seth Lugo struggled in two of his previous six matchups, leading to four runs, 10 baserunners, and two home runs over six innings with five strikeouts and two blown leads.
New York Yankees
Aroldis Chapman should begin his road back to the majors this weekend with a rehab assignment at AA. He’s been out of action for a month, and Clay Holmes supporters couldn’t be happier. Since taking over the closing role, Holmes has a 0.59 ERA and 0.65 WHIP over 15.1 innings with 17 strikeouts, 10 saves, and one blown lead. New York should continue to use him in the ninth inning as it is the best move to help the team win.
Oakland A’s
The closing role for the A’s remains wide open, and they added Dany Jimenez to the injured list with a shoulder injury. A.J. Puk still doesn’t have a save chance in 2022 while showing more risk over his previous 10 innings (five runs, 11 baserunners, and two home runs with eight strikeouts). Domingo Acevedo lost his closing momentum in June after posting a 6.42 ERA over seven innings with nine strikeouts. His downfall this year has been six home runs allowed over 30.2 innings. Sam Moll is out with Covid-19, but he has the resume (1.27 ERA and 29 strikeouts over 21.1 innings) of the available arms in Oakland’s bullpen.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies gave Seranthony Dominguez two save chances over the past eight days. He went 1-for-2 with one run, and three baserunners allowed over 2.2 innings with four strikeouts. Since May 8th, he has had a 0.54 ERA and 0.78 WHIP over 16.2 innings with 23 strikeouts. Brad Hand earned a save, and a blown save over the previous week. His command (12 walks over 20.1 innings) invites risk late in games despite pitching better over his last 14 innings (1.36 ERA and 13 strikeouts).
Pittsburgh Pirates
Over the last week, David Bednar made only one appearance, leading to a win after giving up the lead for the second time in his 13 opportunities. He pitched at least two innings in three of his previous six games. Bednar posted a 2.79 ERA and 15 strikeouts over 9.2 innings with two wins, two saves, and two failed saves. Chase De Jong has a 2.50 ERA and 17 strikeouts over his past 18 innings with no chances at holds or saves. Yerry De Los Santos rebounded over his last 5.2 innings (no runs, one hit, and seven strikeouts) after getting drilled for a pair of home runs in his career's second major league game.
San Diego Padres
Taylor Rogers has a 1.29 ERA and seven strikeouts over his last seven innings with four saves. He is 21-for-24 in save conversions with an edge in ERA (2.79) and WHIP (0.72). Luis Garcia faded slightly over the past 10 days (three runs and six baserunners over five innings with six strikeouts). Nabil Crismatt hasn’t allowed a run in June over 9.2 innings with six strikeouts.
San Francisco Giants
After securing a save in three straight outings, Camilo Doval pitched poorly in back-to-back games (three runs, five baserunners, and one home run over 1.2 innings with two strikeouts). He preserved 11 of his 13 possible saves when asked to close. Jake McGee hasn’t allowed a run over his first 7.2 innings with four strikeouts, one save, one blown save, and three holds since returning from the injured list, but he failed in a closing chance on Wednesday night (three runs and three hits over one-third of an inning).
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