Rest of Season Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Closer Carousel Continues

As we round the turn towards the final quarter of the 2024 MLB season, it only seems fitting we take one final trip on the closer carousel concerning my rest of season rankings. The carousel has taken many of us on quite the ride. Roughly half of the 30 MLB teams have a different primary closer than they did at the beginning of the season. And many of those changes have come in the past month or so. Now that we are in the season’s homestretch, this is something savvy fantasy managers can take advantage of.

The saves category is traditionally the easiest pitching category to catch up on towards the end of the season, and this year figures to be no different. Some managers who are out of contention might become lax with setting their lineups and maximizing their rosters. Others are in full-blown fantasy football mode and are not paying attention to the latest goings on. Here are just a few of the situations where players are unfairly rostered based on their current bullpen roles.

Baltimore Orioles

Seranthony Dominguez, Baltimore (33 percent rostered in Fantrax leagues)
Craig Kimbrel (91 percent rostered)

Craig Kimbrel has allowed 11 earned runs since his last save. I do not see him getting any save chances for a contending Baltimore team in the future. Meanwhile, Seranthony Dominguez has not allowed a run in nine appearances since being acquired at the trade deadline. He has picked up two saves for the Orioles since last weekend.

Toronto Blue Jays

Chad Green (55 percent rostered)
Jordan Romano (67 percent rostered)

Jordan Romano hasn’t pitched since May and the Toronto Blue Jays are in last place in their division. Chad Green is not the most dominant pitcher out there, but he has five saves in August and is the last man standing after Toronto traded Yimi Garcia.

Kansas City Royals

Lucas Erceg (44 percent rostered)
James McArthur (44 percent rostered)

James McArthur has one save since the All-Star break and has a 4.91 ERA (4.60 xERA) this year. The team acquired Erceg at the deadline and has trusted him in high-leverage situations. He has had two four-out saves since last weekend.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Justin Martinez (51 percent rostered)
Paul Sewald (78 percent rostered)

Arizona removed Sewald from the closer’s role several weeks ago. He has settled in nicely in middle relief. However, Justin Martinez has excelled as the stopper. He has yet to allow an earned run in August while striking out 13 hitters in just 6.2 innings.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Daniel Hudson (55 percent rostered)
Evan Phillips (83 percent rostered)

Evan Phillips has one save since the break. That came on July 23. Like Sewald, Phillips has pitched better in a more relaxed role. But even though Daniel Hudson blew his last chance, I don’t think Phillips is getting back the role anytime soon. If anything, Michael Kopech (55 percent rostered) might be the next man up if Los Angeles were to make a change. Kopech has allowed two baserunners in eight appearances in Dodger blue while striking out 13 hitters.

San Francisco Giants

Ryan Walker (61 percent rostered)
Camilo Doval (81 percent rostered)

The San Francisco Giants flat-out demoted former All-Star Camilo Doval to Triple-A last week. Ryan Walker only has one save, but it feels like he has the edge on the role for now. He has allowed just one run and seven baserunners over his last 12 outings.

Victor Vodnik (26 percent rostered), Calvin Faucher (14 percent), and John Brebbia (9 percent) are other primary closers who are readily available on the wire. Just note that they pitch for the three worst teams in MLB. That means save chances figure to be few and far between. Because of that, all three are outside of my overall top 300 in this week’s rankings. 

As you can see below, I still have most of the former closers in this week’s ROS rankings. But they are quite low, and figure to remain there going forward. Most of them can be safely dropped if you need immediate returns. I wish I could promise that the bullpen landscape will remain stable over the next six weeks. However, there are likely to be a few more bumps in the road before we get to the finish line. Ensure you keep up with the latest bullpen news with Mike Carter’s latest Bullpen Report.  

Rest of Season Fantasy Baseball Rankings

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	POS
1	Bobby Witt Jr.	KC	SS
2	Shohei Ohtani	LAD	UT
3	Juan Soto	NYY	OF
4	Aaron Judge	NYY	OF
5	Jose Ramirez	CLE	3B
6	Elly De La Cruz	CIN	SS/3B
7	Yordan Alvarez	HOU	OF
8	Gunnar Henderson	BAL	SS/3B
9	Freddie Freeman	LAD	1B
10	Rafael Devers	BOS	3B
11	Bryce Harper	PHI	1B
12	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	TOR	1B
13	Trea Turner	PHI	SS
14	Corey Seager	TEX	SS
15	Zack Wheeler	PHI	SP
16	Francisco Lindor	NYM	SS
17	Austin Riley	ATL	3B
18	Matt Olson	ATL	1B
19	Corbin Burnes	BAL	SP
20	Emmanuel Clase	CLE	RP
21	Ketel Marte	ARI	2B
22	Tarik Skubal	DET	SP
23	Marcell Ozuna	ATL	UT
24	Mookie Betts	LAD	2B/SS/OF
25	CJ Abrams	WSH	SS
26	Jose Altuve	HOU	2B
27	Chris Sale	ATL	SP
28	George Kirby	SEA	SP
29	Josh Hader	HOU	RP
30	Paul Skenes	PIT	SP
31	Dylan Cease	SD	SP
32	Pablo Lopez	MIN	SP
33	Pete Alonso	NYM	1B
34	Aaron Nola	PHI	SP
35	Gerrit Cole	NYY	SP
36	Logan Gilbert	SEA	SP
37	Luis Castillo	SEA	SP
38	Marcus Semien	TEX	2B
39	Kyle Schwarber	PHI	OF
40	Julio Rodriguez	SEA	OF
41	Cole Ragans	KC	SP
42	Jarren Duran	BOS	OF
43	Logan Webb	SF	SP
44	Teoscar Hernandez	LAD	OF
45	Fernando Tatis Jr.	SD	OF
46	Framber Valdez	HOU	SP
47	Zac Gallen	ARI	SP
48	Manny Machado	SD	3B
49	Oneil Cruz	PIT	SS
50	Josh Naylor	CLE	1B
51	Freddy Peralta	MIL	SP
52	Randy Arozarena	SEA	OF
53	Adolis Garcia	TEX	OF
54	Corbin Carroll	ARI	OF
55	Alec Bohm	PHI	1B/3B
56	William Contreras	MIL	C
57	Luis Robert Jr.	CHW	OF
58	Sonny Gray	STL	SP
59	Blake Snell	SF	SP
60	Bryan Reynolds	PIT	OF
61	Alex Bregman	HOU	3B
62	Kevin Gausman	TOR	SP
63	Raisel Iglesias	ATL	RP
64	Seiya Suzuki	CHC	OF
65	Anthony Santander	BAL	OF
66	Royce Lewis	MIN	3B
67	Shota Imanaga	CHC	SP
68	Willy Adames	MIL	SS
69	Adley Rutschman	BAL	C
70	Max Fried	ATL	SP
71	Justin Steele	CHC	SP
72	Kyle Tucker	HOU	OF
73	Tanner Bibee	CLE	SP
74	Spencer Steer	CIN	1B/3B/OF
75	Jack Flaherty	LAD	SP
76	Will Smith	LAD	C
77	Carlos Rodon	NYY	SP
78	Lane Thomas	CLE	OF
79	Edwin Diaz	NYM	RP
80	Jhoan Duran	MIN	RP
81	Ezequiel Tovar	COL	SS
82	Ryan Helsley	STL	RP
83	Steven Kwan	CLE	OF
84	Andres Munoz	SEA	RP
85	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	NYY	OF
86	Michael Harris II	ATL	OF
87	Bailey Ober	MIN	SP
88	Andres Gimenez	CLE	2B
89	Paul Goldschmidt	STL	1B
90	Brandon Nimmo	NYM	OF
91	Mason Miller	OAK	RP
92	Vinnie Pasquantino	KC	1B
93	Bryson Stott	PHI	2B/SS
94	Clay Holmes	NYY	RP
95	Ian Happ	CHC	OF
96	Zach Eflin	BAL	SP
97	George Springer	TOR	OF
98	Jackson Chourio	MIL	OF
99	Nico Hoerner	CHC	2B/SS
100	Cody Bellinger	CHC	1B/OF
101	Christian Walker	ARI	1B
102	Nick Castellanos	PHI	OF
103	Hunter Brown	HOU	SP
104	Salvador Perez	KC	C/1B
105	Ha-Seong Kim	SD	2B/SS/3B
106	Taj Bradley	TB	SP
107	Jackson Merrill	SD	SS/OF
108	Jeremy Pena	HOU	SS
109	Brent Rooker	OAK	OF
110	Nolan Arenado	STL	3B
111	Riley Greene	DET	OF
112	Tyler O’Neill	BOS	OF
113	Brenton Doyle	COL	OF
114	Anthony Volpe	NYY	SS
115	Nick Pivetta	BOS	SP
116	Wyatt Langford	TEX	OF
117	Devin Williams	MIL	RP
118	Xander Bogaerts	SD	2B/SS
119	Michael King	SD	SP
120	Robert Suarez	SD	RP
121	Bryce Miller	SEA	SP
122	Chris Bassitt	TOR	SP
123	Luis Arraez	SD	1B/2B
124	Zach Neto	LAA	SS
125	Garrett Crochet	CHW	SP
126	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX	SP
127	Willson Contreras	STL	C
128	J.T. Realmuto	PHI	C
129	Jorge Soler	ATL	OF
130	Tanner Houck	BOS	SP
131	Alexis Diaz	CIN	RP
132	Taylor Ward	LAA	OF
133	Tyler Glasnow	LAD	SP
134	David Bednar	PIT	RP
135	Matt Chapman	SF	3B
136	Mitch Keller	PIT	SP
137	Jose Berrios	TOR	SP
138	Brice Turang	MIL	2B/SS
139	Josh Jung	TEX	3B
140	Ranger Suarez	PHI	SP
141	Triston Casas	BOS	1B
142	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	SP
143	Isaac Paredes	CHC	1B/3B
144	Ryan McMahon	COL	2B/3B
145	Jonathan India	CIN	2B
146	Gleyber Torres	NYY	2B
147	Ryan Mountcastle	BAL	1B
148	Lourdes Gurriel Jr.	ARI	OF
149	Luis Gil	NYY	SP
150	Seth Lugo	KC	SP
151	Rhys Hoskins	MIL	1B
152	Carlos Correa	MIN	SS
153	Christopher Morel	TB	3B/OF
154	Jeimer Candelario	CIN	1B/3B
155	Kenley Jansen	BOS	RP
156	Yandy Diaz	TB	1B
157	TJ Friedl	CIN	OF
158	Nathaniel Lowe	TEX	1B
159	Yusei Kikuchi	HOU	SP
160	Charlie Morton	ATL	SP
161	Maikel Garcia	KC	2B/3B
162	Jake Burger	MIA	1B/3B
163	James Wood	WSH	OF
164	Nick Lodolo	CIN	SP
165	Yainer Diaz	HOU	C
166	Cedric Mullins	BAL	OF
167	Jake Cronenworth	SD	1B/2B
168	Bo Bichette	TOR	SS
169	Kirby Yates	TEX	RP
170	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI	SP
171	Pete Fairbanks	TB	RP
172	Dansby Swanson	CHC	SS
173	Jurickson Profar	SD	OF
174	Hunter Greene	CIN	SP
175	Jared Jones	PIT	SP
176	Josh Lowe	TB	OF
177	J.D. Martinez	NYM	UT
178	Bryan Woo	SEA	SP
179	Kyle Finnegan	WSH	RP
180	Masataka Yoshida	BOS	OF
181	Masyn Winn	STL	SS
182	Ceddanne Rafaela	BOS	SS/OF
183	Joe Musgrove	SD	SP
184	Kutter Crawford	BOS	SP
185	Justin Verlander	HOU	SP
186	Nestor Cortes	NYY	SP
187	Ronel Blanco	HOU	SP
188	Gavin Williams	CLE	SP
189	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD	SP
190	Carlos Estevez	PHI	RP
191	Daulton Varsho	TOR	OF
192	Francisco Alvarez	NYM	C
193	Logan O’Hoppe	LAA	C
194	Brady Singer	KC	SP
195	Giancarlo Stanton	NYY	OF
196	Brayan Bello	BOS	SP
197	Bryan De La Cruz	PIT	OF
198	Bobby Miller	LAD	SP
199	Gavin Stone	LAD	SP
200	Max Scherzer	TEX	SP
201	Michael Busch	CHC	1B/3B
202	Lars Nootbaar	STL	OF
203	Andrew Vaughn	CHW	1B
204	Alec Burleson	STL	OF
205	Reynaldo Lopez	ATL	SP
206	Luis Garcia	WSH	2B
207	Zack Gelof	OAK	2B
208	Brendan Rodgers	COL	2B
209	Cal Raleigh	SEA	C
210	Erick Fedde	STL	SP
211	Joc Pederson	ARI	OF
212	Colton Cowser	BAL	OF
213	Hector Neris	CHC	RP
214	Ryan Pepiot	TB	SP
215	Kyle Gibson	STL	SP
216	Jeffrey Springs	TB	SP
217	Aaron Civale	MIL	SP
218	Jordan Montgomery	ARI	SP
219	Heliot Ramos	SF	OF
220	Daniel Hudson	LAD	RP
221	Josh Bell	ARI	1B
222	Merrill Kelly	ARI	SP
223	Shane Baz	TB	SP
224	Byron Buxton	MIN	OF
225	Luis Severino	NYM	SP
226	Robbie Ray	SF	SP
227	Eduardo Rodriguez	ARI	SP
228	Jarred Kelenic	ATL	OF
229	Brendan Donovan	STL	2B/OF
230	Chad Green	TOR	RP
231	Walker Buehler	LAD	SP
232	Nolan Gorman	STL	2B
233	Mark Vientos	NYM	3B
234	Wilyer Abreu	BOS	OF
235	Ryan O’Hearn	BAL	1B/OF
236	Brandon Lowe	TB	2B
237	Jason Foley	DET	RP
238	Sean Murphy	ATL	C
239	Xavier Edwards	MIA	2B/SS
240	Brandon Marsh	PHI	OF
241	Ke’Bryan Hayes	PIT	3B
242	Michael Massey	KC	2B
243	Matt Waldron	SD	SP
244	Michael Wacha	KC	SP
245	Grayson Rodriguez	BAL	SP
246	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	SP
247	Marcus Stroman	NYY	SP
248	Alex Cobb	SF	SP
249	Jake Fraley	CIN	OF
250	Lawrence Butler	OAK	OF
251	Tyler Stephenson	CIN	C
252	Colt Keith	DET	2B/3B
253	Sean Manaea	NYM	SP
254	Dean Kremer	BAL	SP
255	Willi Castro	MIN	2B/SS/3B/OF
256	MacKenzie Gore	WSH	SP
257	Justin Martinez	ARI	RP
258	Miles Mikolas	STL	SP
259	Seranthony Dominguez	BAL	RP
260	Josh Smith	TEX	SS/3B/OF
261	Jose Miranda	MIN	3B
262	Justin Turner	SEA	1B
263	Kerry Carpenter	DET	OF
264	Andrew Abbott	CIN	SP
265	Jake McCarthy	ARI	OF
266	Noelvi Marte	CIN	3B
267	Nolan Schanuel	LAA	1B
268	Jeff McNeil	NYM	2B/OF
269	David Hamilton	BOS	2B/SS
270	Shea Langeliers	OAK	C
271	Eugenio Suarez	ARI	3B
272	Nolan Jones	COL	OF
273	Starling Marte	NYM	OF
274	Tommy Pham	STL	OF
275	Matt Vierling	DET	3B/OF
276	Leody Taveras	TEX	OF
277	Jackson Holliday	BAL	2B/SS
278	Jose Quintana	NYM	SP
279	Jo Adell	LAA	OF
280	Michael Kopech	LAD	RP
281	Joey Ortiz	MIL	2B/3B
282	Max Muncy	LAD	3B
283	Ryan Jeffers	MIN	C
284	Keibert Ruiz	WSH	C
285	Lucas Erceg	KC	RP
286	Andy Pages	LAD	OF
287	Paul Blackburn	NYM	SP
288	Tyler Fitzgerald	SF	SS/OF
289	Orlando Arcia	ATL	SS
290	Ryan Walker	SF	RP
291	Jorge Polanco	SEA	2B
292	Jon Gray	TEX	SP
293	Eloy Jimenez	BAL	UT
294	Ryne Nelson	ARI	SP
295	Tanner Scott	SD	RP
296	Jose Siri	TB	OF
297	Spencer Schwellenbach	ATL	SP
298	Charlie Blackmon	COL	OF
299	Spencer Arrighetti	HOU	SP
300	Kyle Harrison	SF	SP
301	Jesse Winker	NYM	OF
302	Tyler Anderson	LAA	SP
303	David Fry	CLE	C/1B/OF
304	John Brebbia	CHW	RP
305	Alex Verdugo	NYY	OF
306	JJ Bleday	OAK	OF
307	Evan Phillips	LAD	RP
308	Max Kepler	MIN	OF
309	Ben Joyce	LAA	RP
310	Frankie Montas	MIL	SP
311	Jonah Heim	TEX	C
312	Jesus Sanchez	MIA	OF
313	Yu Darvish	SD	SP
314	Ozzie Albies	ATL	2B
315	Zack Littell	TB	SP
316	Kevin Ginkel	ARI	RP
317	Max Meyer	MIA	SP
318	Austin Wells	NYY	C
319	Connor Wong	BOS	C
320	Craig Kimbrel	BAL	RP
321	Jameson Taillon	CHC	SP
322	Jose Soriano	LAA	SP
323	Gavin Lux	LAD	2B/OF
324	Yennier Cano	BAL	RP
325	Michael Lorenzen	KC	SP
326	David Festa	MIN	SP
327	Reid Detmers	LAA	SP
328	Alex Vesia	LAD	RP
329	Jeff Hoffman	PHI	RP
330	Reese Olson	DET	SP
331	Jacob deGrom	TEX	SP
332	Will Brennan	CLE	OF
333	Edward Cabrera	MIA	SP
334	JP Sears	OAK	SP
335	Bo Naylor	CLE	C
336	Brandon Drury	LAA	1B/2B
337	Jake Irvin	WSH	SP
338	Mitchell Parker	WSH	SP
339	Pete Crow-Armstrong	CHC	OF
340	Scott Barlow	CLE	RP
341	James McArthur	KC	RP
342	Matt McLain	CIN	2B/SS
343	Junior Caminero	TB	3B
344	Geraldo Perdomo	ARI	SS
345	Lance Lynn	STL	SP
346	Jason Adam	SD	RP
347	Trevor Rogers	BAL	SP
348	Andrew Heaney	TEX	SP
349	Mitch Garver	SEA	C
350	Jose Alvarado	PHI	RP
351	MJ Melendez	KC	OF
352	Camilo Doval	SF	RP
353	Paul Sewald	ARI	RP
354	Sal Frelick	MIL	OF
355	Alejandro Kirk	TOR	C
356	Danny Jansen	BOS	C
357	Juan Yepez	WSH	1B/OF
358	Jake Meyers	HOU	OF
359	Matt Strahm	PHI	RP
360	Spencer Horwitz	TOR	1B/2B
361	Calvin Faucher	MIA	RP
362	Luke Raley	SEA	1B/OF
363	Ty France	CIN	1B
364	Victor Vodnik	COL	RP
365	Andrew Benintendi	CHW	OF