Friends, many of you reach out during the course of the season to ask my opinion on acquisitions, who is in the closer role, etc. I do respond to every question. But now I have a confession to make:
In many of these bullpens, I couldn’t tell you what is going to happen next based on the usage pattern so far for so many teams. I share your frustrations with trying to decide how to use your FAAB on these end-of-game pitchers. This is a safe space where we can talk about the issues we are having with these silly teams, and deeper things if you ever need that. My Twitter handle is one of the worst of all-time, @mdrc0508, but I am here to listen and support if needed! Reach out and never suffer alone, in life or with your fantasy team!
Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report
AL East
Mark Leiter Jr. earned a save Thursday night. Is Devin Williams in trouble? Probably not, but every situation bears watching these days. Williams has two saves and a bloated 12.00 ERA. I wouldn’t worry about it, as Williams should have one of the longest runways for closing.
Tampa Bay: The team had three blown saves this week, but Pete Fairbanks righted the ship Wednesday and Friday nights with back-to-back saves. Top setup guys Edwin Uceta and Mason Montgomery have struggled some this week, but this hierarchy should remain the same.
AL Central
Mike Clevinger is on the hot seat, and the closing experiment might be coming to an end. The veteran has yet to earn a save and earned his second loss this week as well. The question is, who would the Sox turn to? Hard to say, but Jordan Leasure might be an option if the struggles continue. This bullpen blew two games this week that the Sox were winning, so manager Will Venable might be looking for answers at the back end here.
Not much lucidity in Detroit this week based on the usage pattern, but Tommy Kahnle earned a save Friday night with Beau Brieske setting him up. This still looks like a committee situation in Motor City, and don’t forget that former closer Jason Foley lurks in AAA. If you are desperate for saves, Kahnle might be available on your waiver wire. It could be worth it in the short term.
Kansas City: Carlos Estevez earned three clean saves this week, and Lucas Erceg got a hold in each one of those games. Daniel Lynch IV got the save on Tuesday when Estevez took the night off.
AL West
Justin Sterner for the Athletics is carving his way into a high-leverage role. This is a name to watch. Sterner has a whopping 14.9 K/9 to start the season. He will not unseat Mason Miller, but this is a guy to tag for later potential saves, or at the very least, a lot of holds.
Andres Munoz continues to sparkle in Seattle, where he has five saves this season, with a 12.9 K/9 rate to start the season. The Mariners are still sorting out their high-leverage situation, where Trent Thornton and former top-leverage guy Collin Snider have struggled to start the season.
NL East
Philadelphia: Jordan Romano and Jose Alvarado both earned saves this week. However, it looks like Alvarado has pulled ahead of Romano, who was used in middle relief since his last flare-up. Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering have passed Romano on the pathway to high-leverage roles. If Alvarado can throw strikes consistently, he can keep this job for a long time. His stuff is overpowering.
Kyle Finnegan posted three saves in a row for Washington this week. He has quietly racked up five saves with a 1.35 ERA. Looking for holds? Consider Jose A. Ferrer and Jorge Lopez.
NL Central
Cincinnati: This looks to be a co-closer situation for the Reds between Tony Santillan and Emilio Pagan. The question becomes, do you roster either of them? If so, Santillan has the better stuff, but Pagan got two saves this week to Santillan’s one. In the long term, Santillan is the better option, even if Pagan is earning the savings right now.
In Milwaukee, Abner Uribe is quietly moving up the leverage ladder. The guy has a blazing fastball, and Joel Payamps’ struggles to start 2025 open a potential spot for Uribe. Should the Brewers move on from Trevor Megill (via a change in role or of teams), Uribe could be a closer.
Phil Maton got a save in St. Louis on a day that Ryan Helsley was off. Maton looks to have become the top high-leverage guy for the Cardinals, along with JoJo Romero. Never fear; this is Helsley’s job.
NL West
Arizona: It’s been a quiet week for a team with an interesting bullpen. The competition in the desert has been equal between A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez, who each have two saves and big strikeout numbers thus far. Puk earned the first two saves, and Martinez, the next two. Puk earned a hold in the last one, along with veteran Shelby Miller, who is finding his way to a high-leverage role here. Look for this to continue to be a frustrating situation for fantasy players. It could be a different guy each night unless one separates themselves from the other by performance.
In Los Angeles, the intrigue continues. Tanner Scott and Blake Treinen both notched saves this week. Scott earned a second save for the week on Friday night. If we read the statistics, Scott has four saves to Treinen’s two saves. I would expect Scott to get two for every one that Treinen gets. Interestingly, the best team in baseball has such a fluid back end of the bullpen situation.
Robert Suárez notched three more saves this week and has six saves so far this year. Things seem secure here, with Jason Adam and Jeremiah Estrada providing solid support ahead of Suarez; they have five and three holds, respectively.
