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Board the Roller Coaster

I've been bemoaning the deterioration of these closer tiers in recent weeks and the process accelerated over the last seven days. Between short term injuries and demotions, half of all closers are listed in the bottom two tiers. Any fantasy owners looking for late season saves will need to board the roller coaster. Nobody can predict what will happen when half the league's save opportunities are in unstable hands.

Tier 1: Elite (4)

Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves

Aroldis Chapman, Cincinnati Reds

Greg Holland, Kansas City Royals

Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers

Holland is day-to-day with triceps soreness. He is nearly available to return but was not available last night. Wade Davis has performed admirably in his absence. Expenullct Holland to remain out for a few days. Incidentally, Davis would also rank in the elite tier.

The remaining trio combined to save five games. Only Chapman experienced any drama in those five outings by walking two and allowing a hit.

Tier 2: Nearly Elite (3)

David Robertson, New York Yankees

Glen Perkins, Minnesota Twins

Huston Street, Los Angeles Angels

Like Holland, Perkins has been day-to-day with an injury – neck soreness. He's expected to be available out of the pen this evening. Jared Burton was filling in for him. If I had the opportunity to rank Burton, he would find himself at the very bottom of the pile.

Street had an eventful week with two saves and a blown save victory. He allowed two hits in each of his three appearances. The blown save also included two walks and two runs. We'll have to keep an eye on him. If something is wrong, the Angels could quickly turn to Joe Smith or Jason Grilli to plug the gap.

Tier 3: Rock Steady (5)

Zach Britton, Baltimore Orioles

Cody Allen, Cleveland Indians

Fernando Rodney, Seattle Mariners

Mark Melancon, Pittsburgh Pirates

Steve Cishek, Miami Marlins

I was looking for an excuse to move Britton into the second tier, but he didn't provide one. He appeared three times in the last week, saved two, and blew one. The blown save came on an unearned run. He hasn't struck out a batter in his last five appearances, which is my lone knock against him. With his crazy ground ball rate, he's a great real life closer. Fantasy owners have to deal with a mediocre strikeout rate, which takes away from his value.

Allen picked up a one out save on Sunday and appeared in two non-save situations. The righty was coming off a week in which he blew two straight saves, so the rebound was nice to see.

With a clean week including a two inning win and a save, it's time to move Melancon into the Steady tier. His 2.03 ERA, 8.71 K/9, and 1.45 BB/9 scream reliable. He has absolutely no competition for the job at this point.

Tier 4: The Mid-Tier (3)

Jake McGee, Tampa Bay Rays

Jonathan Papelbon, Philadelphia Phillies

Hector Rondon, Chicago Cubs

McGee picked up two saves in three appearances. Unfortunately, the third outing was a blown save that included two hits, a walk, and a run. Brad Boxberger picked up the win in that game. Boxberger looks the part of an elite closer with his 1.89 ERA, 14.23 K/9, and 2.61 BB/9. I don't expect to see a change during this season, but Boxberger could get a couple opportunities in preparation for 2015.

Papelbon allowed a run while recording three saves. It wasn't a perfect week, but it was an effective one for his owners. Many of you may wonder why his 1.61 ERA can be found in the fourth tier. It's because his peripherals include a 3.55 xFIP, which is quite mediocre for a closer. That particular statistic is often used to estimate future ERA. Around these parts, we only care about future numbers.

Rondon didn't do anything in the last week to earn a promotion to Tier 4. Instead, it became increasingly apparent that he had more in common with the pitchers here than in Tier 5. He had a single one-two-three, non-save appearance.

Tier 5: Questions (6)

Addison Reed, Arizona Diamondbacks

Trevor Rosenthal, St. Louis Cardinals

Santiago Casilla, San Francisco Giants

Drew Storen, Washington Nationals

Francisco Rodriguez, Milwaukee Brewers

Edward Mujica, Boston Red Sox

For awhile, it looked like Pat Neshek was going to leapfrog Rosenthal. Since Yadier Molina's return, Rosenthal has looked fairly sharp, although he's still walking more than I'd like to see. He picked up two saves and a win since we last gathered.

Casilla only appeared once for a three batter save. I've bumped him up within the tier because he has a more secure job compared to just about all the remaining closers.

After Rafael Soriano blew the save last Friday with three runs on two home runs, Storen has performed ably. Since that Soriano implosion, Storen has appeared in three straight games. He's faced the minimum of nine batters and struck out six. Tyler Clippard is probably on call tonight so Storen can get a day of rest.

Rodriguez blew a save in noisy fashion last night. The Marlins added three runs on two home runs against the homer prone righty. Jonathan Broxton isn't an exciting closer candidate, but he might be very close to earning some saves.

Well I guess I didn't demote Koji Uehara far enough last week. I'll chalk that up to my conservative nature. Uehara allowed two solo home runs for the blown save loss last Thursday. The Red Sox decided enough was enough and turned to Mujica. The righty was solid for the Cardinals last season, but his seasonal stats for the Sox include a 4.00 ERA, 6.0 K/9, and 2.17 BB/9. Those aren't exciting numbers. His job looks relatively stable unless Uehara manages to reclaim his job.

Tier 6: Roller Coasters (9)

Kevin Quackenbush, San Diego Padres

Jenrry Mejia, New York Mets

Eric O'Flaherty, Luke Gregerson, Oakland Athletics

Chad Qualls, Houston Astros

LaTroy Hawkins, Colorado Rockies

Casey Janssen, Toronto Blue Jays

Neftali Feliz, Texas Rangers

Joe Nathan, Detroit Tigers

Jake Petricka, Chicago White Sox

Quackenbush is definitely the most reliable reliever in this bunch. If the job were his alone, he'd rank in Tier 4 or 5. Alas, Joaquin Benoit is reported to be less than a week away from returning. The Padres have not given Quackenbush many save opportunities (just one), so he hasn't helped his owners much as yet.

Mejia is on a rough run. On Sunday he allowed four hits, a walk, a home run, and two runs en route to a save. Yesterday, he allowed two hits and walked one in one-third of an inning. The Mets needed three relievers to get through the inning unscathed, with Jeurys Familia picking up the save. Mejia has been pitching hurt for some time, but the Mets haven't shut him down yet. The recent struggles may force their hand.

O'Flaherty missed about a week with back soreness then promptly blew a save upon his return last night. O'Flaherty does not resemble a closer – in fact I'm surprised the A's opted for him over Luke Gregerson. Thankfully, Sean Doolittle is expected to return this weekend.

Qualls has blown five saves this season. Four of those came against the A's. They got to him again last week with a walkoff win. Tony Sipp is having an excellent season and could pick up another save or two down the stretch.

Hawkins took a walkoff loss on Monday against the Mets. The Rockies aren't in any rush to change anything, so Hawkins' job should remain secure. His fantasy value is questionable.

The Blue Jays have a triumvirate of late inning relievers who could be factors over the last month. Janssen is the incumbent, but he blew another outing in spectacular fashion. He also locked down two saves. Aaron Sanchez picked up a save last Wednesday. If he wasn't a starting prospect, the job would probably be his. Brett Cecil still figures as an option against tough lefties.

Nathan remains shaky, but it's been more than a month since he's blown a save. He's not in any immediate danger of losing his job. The Tigers should have an alternative as of tonight when they activate Joakim Soria. They really needed Soria over this last month.

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Injured

Jesse Crain (calf, biceps), Houston Astros

Bobby Parnell (elbow), New York Mets

Jim Henderson (shoulder), Milwaukee Brewers

Joakim Soria (oblique), Detroit Tigers

Sean Doolittle (intercostal strain), Oakland Athletics

Joaquin Benoit (shoulder inflammation), San Diego Padres

Greg Holland (triceps), Kansas City Royals

Glen Perkins (neck), Minnesota Twins

We already discussed Holland, Perkins, and Soria. They should be back in action very soon. Doolittle is trending towards a weekend return. I couldn't find any useful information on Benoit except that he's expected to return “soon.” Based on tweets from beat writer Corey Brock, I'm going to guess Quackenbush has another five or so days.

The Deposed

Jim Henderson, Milwaukee Brewers

Jose Veras, Chicago Cubs

Josh Fields, Houston Astros

John Axford, Cleveland Indians

Jim Johnson, Oakland Athletics

Jason Grilli, Anaheim Angels

Ernesto Frieri, Pittsburgh Pirates

Sergio Romo, San Francisco Giants

Grant Balfour, Tampa Bay Rays

Ronald Belisario, Chicago White Sox

Joe Smith, Los Angeles Angels

Joakim Soria, Detroit Tigers

Zach Putnam, Chicago White Sox

Koji Uehara, Boston Red Sox

Rafael Soriano, Washington Nationals

The Red Sox made it official and bumped Uehara down the depth chart. He figures to be used infrequently over the remainder of the season. Soriano is getting a break to work on his stuff. He'll probably be back in action soon as a setup reliever.

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The Steals Department

There are a lot of speedy leadoff hitters on the waiver wire these days – we'll focus on a few of those today. The Braves are trying Emilio Bonifacio out as their leadoff man, with B.J. Upton repeatedly proving he's not right for the job. Minnesota is still using Jordan Schafer there most days. Both hitters are a good source of empty steals.

Michael Bourn is an interesting case. Injuries have left him mostly ineffective this season. He's swiped just nine bases, which is not in keeping with past performances. The Indians are sticking with him in the top spot, so we'll see if he can generate value in the last few weeks.

For those who want a more complete player, I noticed some people overreacted to Josh Harrison's ankle injury. He's a five category contributor and he's already back in the lineup. His fantasy flexibility is an added bonus.

The last one I'll ping today is Mookie Betts. His first trial in the majors was a dud, but he's performed very well since returning. He has four home runs, five steals, and a .289/.363/.463 line. Expect some regression in his power numbers, but his high-contact profile should keep his average above .280. He's two steals short of 40 for the year.