Fantasy Baseball Saves + Holds Rankings & Waiver Wire Targets (Week 22)

This is one of my favorite articles because it’s remarkable how many developments there are in these bullpens every week. It amazes me how some of these teams can’t maintain a closer for any significant period in a 190-day schedule, but that shows how volatile these relievers can be. This article also helps me a ton in my season-long leagues, and I hope it does the same for you!

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

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• Rest-of-Season Rankings
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Saves + Holds Rankings & Waiver Wire Targets (Week 22)

Closer Situations to Watch

These are bullpens we need to monitor.

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs designated Hector Neris for assignment, leaving some saves for the rest of this pen. We have a battle between Jorge Lopez and Porter Hodge, with both players recording a save since that transition. We have our money on one of these guys, and we’ll discuss that more in the Relievers on the Rise section! In any case, Hodge and Lopez have an ERA below 2.00 and WHIP below 1.00 in their time with the Cubs.

Chicago White Sox

There’s very little point in including the White Sox in this section. They’ve only won a few games over the last two months, and we couldn’t even begin to guess who the closer is for one of the worst teams ever. We thought it might be John Brebbia, but he was designated for assignment earlier this week. No one on this roster should have more than three saves for the final five weeks, so we will remove them from this section after this week.

Colorado Rockies

Victor Vodnik ran away with this job a month ago, but a shoulder issue forced him to go on the IL. That’s a frustrating development, but Tyler Kinley will be the guy in his absence. He only allowed one run over the last month before an implosion on Tuesday, but those are inevitable from anyone in this Rockies pen. Look for him to get all of the chances until Vodnik is ready to return.

Detroit Tigers

In our last article, this team was going with a full-on committee, but it looks like Jason Foley is re-establishing himself as the go-to guy. Foley leads the team with 19 saves, picking up four in his last six appearances. He’s also gone scoreless in 12 straight appearances, allowing just three hits in that span. He should get the saves for the remainder of the season, but this pen has been tricky all year.

Kansas City Royals

This is the last week the Royals will be in this section. They traded for Hunter Harvey and Lucas Erceg at the deadline, but sending Harvey to the IL made Erceg the designated closer. He’s run away with that job, picking up five saves in his last six appearances. He also had 23 scoreless appearances in his last 24 outings and looks like one of the best waiver wire pickups after the trade deadline!

Los Angeles Dodgers

How wild is it that the World Series favorites have the most challenging bullpen to understand? This team has had eight different players record a save this season, despite Michael Kopech looking like the most probable option. He has a 0.53 ERA, 0.41 WHIP, and 12.2 K/9 rate since July 8, picking up two wins and three saves over his last nine outings. He looks like the best option for saves, but it also could be Evan Phillips, Daniel Hudson, Alex Vesia, or whoever Dave Roberts is feeling on any given day.

Tampa Bay Rays

Peter Fairbanks was forced to the IL with a lat issue, and we haven’t had much clarity on this situation since. We’ve seen Edwin Uceta, Manuel Rodriguez, and Garrett Cleavinger each pick up a save since the injury, and we don’t know who will get the next opportunity. Tampa has been a platoon team for the last decade, and they’ll go with whichever pitcher looks like the best option against whoever is coming to the plate. That is a frustrating development for fantasy purposes, and it makes this team challenging to trust for the final month.

My Saves/Holds Rankings

Relievers on the Rise

Calvin Faucher (RP – MIA)

Why is nobody picking up this guy? Faucher is still available in over 80% of leagues and he’s the unquestioned closer in Miami. Everyone was rostering Tanner Scott for the same reason, and Faucher has been impressive since stepping into this role. He had four saves over his last nine appearances, posting an ERA below 3.00 since July 4!

Jorge Lopez (RP – CHC)

Lopez made some funny comments about the Mets that earned him a ticket out of that door, but he’s been fantastic since joining the Chicago Cubs. The veteran has only allowed two runs since he was signed in June, posting a 0.79 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 9.9 K/9 rate in that span. Most importantly, he had two saves in his last two appearances and looks like the guy with Hector Neris out of the picture.

Potential Holds Specialists

JoJo Romero, Aroldis Chapman, Tanner Scott, David Robertson, Scott Barlow, Matt Moore, Bryan Abreu, Yennier Cano, Hunter Gaddis, Andrew Kitteridge, Jason Adam

Potential Closers on the IL

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

Jordan Romano (RP – TOR): Jordan Romano had elbow surgery before the break and could be out for the rest of the season.

Hunter Harvey (RP – KC): Hunter Harvey has been dealing with a back issue and suffered a setback last week.

Peter Fairbanks (RP – TB): Peter Fairbanks suffered a lat strain and will be out for at least two more weeks; these tend to take well beyond the minimum 15-day stint on the IL.

Victor Vodnik (RP – COL): Victor Vodnik suffered a shoulder strain during warmups and will be out for at least the next two weeks. We haven’t heard any updates since the injury occurred last week.

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