Fantasy Baseball Saves + Holds Rankings & Waiver Wire Targets (Week 11)

We haven’t had many developments this week, which is a good thing. On the contrary, many of these bullpens are coming together nicely. All but a handful of teams have a set closer at this point, and that’s not something we’ve seen much over recent years. That does make the waiver wire thin from a relief pitcher perspective, but there will undoubtedly be some significant developments over the next month.

With that said, let’s get started and look at some of the developments for this week.

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Saves + Holds Rankings & Waiver Wire Targets (Week 11)

Closer Situations to Watch

These are bullpens we need to monitor.

Chicago White Sox

Sadly, we have to keep Chicago in this section, but the worst team in baseball will always be a question mark. This team only has 15 wins, with Michael Kopech leading the way with three saves. It’s hard to believe a closer has just three saves at this point, but that will be typical for this team for the remainder of the season.

Colorado Rockies

Jalen Beeks has been in and out of this gig recently. The lefty recorded three saves in four days two weeks ago but has been a disaster since then. He’s allowed a run in five of his last seven outings, surrendering five runs in an epic blown save on Wednesday. We knew the regression monster was coming for Beeks, leaving this situation in the air once again. Tyler Kinley looks to be next in line, but his 8.14 ERA and 1.81 WHIP are far from encouraging.

Kansas City Royals

James McArthur leads the team with 11 saves, but he hasn’t recorded one since May 18. It’s not like he was mowing down batters before that, maintaining an 8.18 ERA and 1.73 WHIP since May 1. We’d have to assume McArthur will get the next chance, but don’t be surprised to see Kansas City go another direction. John Schreiber is likely next in line, with veterans like Nick Anderson and Will Smith lurking around.

New York Mets

Edwin Diaz is projected to come off the injured list (IL) next Tuesday. We believe New York will give him the closer role once he returns. With that said, they removed him from it before landing on the IL, with Reed Garrett and Adam Ottavino both getting chances since then. Neither guy has shown much since, with Garrett generating a 13.50 ERA and 2.50 WHIP across his last seven outings, while Ottavino has an 18.69 ERA and 3.23 WHIP across his previous six fixtures. Those are laughable numbers, but Mets fans are more used to crying at this point.

Philadelphia Phillies

We thought Jeff Hoffman was running away with this gig last week, but the Phils went right back to Jose Alvarado. The lefty has only allowed one run since May 6, picking up two saves over the last week. He’s also been exclusively pitching the ninth inning in that role and should continue to get the saves from here on out. Don’t forget about Hoffman, though, because he’s getting the eighth inning and his ERA and WHIP are both below 1.00.

Seattle Mariners

Andres Munoz is the Mariners closer, but a back issue forced him to leave a game on Tuesday. That’s a terrifying development. We have to include Seattle in this section if he’s going to miss any time. The good news is that he’s avoided the IL so far, but we expect Ryne Stanek to take over if he needs 15 days off. Stanek has three saves, picking up scoreless appearances in eight of his last nine outings.

Toronto Blue Jays

Jordan Romano is back on the IL with recurring elbow issues, and it’s hard to know what to expect. He did receive an injection over the weekend and there’s some thought he could resume throwing this week. He missed a month with the same issue earlier in the year, and we’d have to anticipate a similar timetable here. Yimi Garcia got the first save chance. We’ll talk more about him later on.

My Saves/Holds Rankings

Relievers on the Rise

Yimi Garcia (TOR)

With Jordan Romano out for the next two weeks. Yimi Garcia should get the bulk of the saves moving forward. He picked up a save in his most recent outing and has a 1.57 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and 11.3 K/9 rate. Erik Swanson is no longer in the picture, with Chad Green being the only other candidate in this pen.

Ryne Stanek (SEA)

If Andres Munoz has to miss time, Ryne Stanek should be the closer for one of the hottest teams in baseball. He has three saves already this season and could get a handful of saves if Munoz has to miss 15 days.

Potential Holds Specialists

JoJo Romero, Hunter Harvey, Ryan Pressly, David Robertson, Scott Barlow, Matt Moore, Bryan Abreu, Aroldis Chapman.

Potential Closers on the IL

Felix Bautista (BAL): The O’s closer is out for the year after Tommy John surgery.

Devin Williams (MIL): There haven’t been many updates regarding Williams, but he played catch two weeks ago. Strangely, we haven’t made much progress since then, but we’d have to assume some bullpen sessions are around the corner. The All-Star closer is still expected to be out until the All-Star break.

Jordan Romano (TOR): Romano will be out for the next two weeks because of an elbow issue, which is scary since he dealt with this elbow injury earlier in the year. Let’s wait and see, but we wouldn’t expect Romano to return until next month.

Edwin Diaz (NYM): Diaz landed on the IL due to a shoulder impingement, but he’s already resumed a throwing program and could start a rehab assignment in the coming days. New York believes he’ll be ready to return next week.

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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.