Wading Through Injuries

The closer tiers are starting to compress in the middle. An injury to one of the top guys has left us with just two elite firemen. The “nearly elite” crew also lost a guy. Another is hanging on by his fingernails. On the other end of the scale, only two teams are shifting through bullpen disasters. However, the Tigers are talking about creating their own problem.

The league has now stolen 241 bases in 327 attempts. That's a 73.7 percent success rate. Billy Hamilton has the best performance on the basepaths. He's stolen eight bases without getting caught. Among those with more than two attempts, Joc Pederson has been the least successful. He has one steal in four attempts. Dee Gordon draws dishonorable mention with seven steals in 11 attempts.

Tier 1: Elite (2)

Aroldis Chapman, Cincinnati Reds

Craig Kimbrel, San Diego Padres

And then there were two. Last night, Chapman appeared for the first time in a week. He struck out all three batters he faced. Yep, he's good.

Kimbrel suffered a few hiccups last week. First, he took a loss against the Cubs on Saturday. Chicago managed two hits and two walks against Kimbrel. Yesterday, he recorded the save against the Rockies, but he gave up a solo home run in the process. Now might be a good time to pepper a few buy low offers for Kimbrel.

Tier 2: Nearly Elite (4)

Andrew Miller, New York Yankees

Wade Davis, Kansas City Royals

David Robertson, Chicago White Sox

Cody Allen, Cleveland Indians

Miller is still handling the ninth inning for the Yankees. He saved three games while securing seven strikeouts in 2.2 innings. Meanwhile, Dellin Betances pitched four times with a win, two holds, and seven strikeouts in 4.2 innings. He only walked one. If you recall last week, a high walk rate was my main source of concern with him. These roles could reverse once Betances gets in a groove.

Greg Holland is out with a strained pectoral. It's just a grade one strain, so he should be back soon. Davis appeared three times in the last week. He picked up a win and two saves while retiring every batter faced.

Robertson pitched twice. He earned a win and a save. He fanned five of six batters. However, Robertson isn't the most interesting storyline out of the White Sox bullpen. The club activated prospect Carlos Rodon to fill a bullpen role. Rodon has a wicked fastball-slider combination. He could move into the eighth inning role. He had a shaky debut last night with two runs in 2.1 innings.

Allen has tossed two four-run stinkers this year. On Monday, he allowed six hits and a walk in one-third of an inning. He responded yesterday with a clean inning. His velocity is back to around 95 mph. He's walked a lot of hitters recently which tells me his command and control is out of sorts. I'm not ready to panic. Bryan Shaw is probably next in line. Based purely on stuff, Zach McAllister is the second best reliever in Cleveland.

Tier 3: The Upside Crowd (5)

Hector Rondon, Chicago Cubs

Zach Britton, Baltimore Orioles

Brad Boxberger, Tampa Bay Rays

Trevor Rosenthal, St. Louis Cardinals

Jason Grilli, Atlanta Braves

Rondon blew the save on Saturday before the Cubs turned it around on Kimbrel. The two runs allowed that day are the only ones he's coughed up thus far. Even with Pedro Strop serving as a viable alternative, Rondon's job is safe.

As a fantasy asset, strikeouts are Britton's weakness. So it might come as a shock to see he has 10 punch outs in 6.1 innings. I peeked through his PITCHf/x data to see if he's doing anything differently. In short, he's not. Expect the strikeout rate to decline. He remains a useful and reliable ninth inning option.

Former Rays closer Jake McGee is edging closer to a return. Boxberger has pitched well in his absence, but he hasn't dominated enough to steal the job. My guess is that the role reverts to McGee. Another former Rays closer, Grant Balfour, was cut on Saturday.

Rosenthal is doing Rosenthally things. He's walked four batters over his last three innings. Walks were his main issue last season. He has such promising upside if only he could avoid these free passes.

Tier 4: The Mid-Tier (8)

Glen Perkins, Minnesota Twins

Joakim Soria Detroit Tigers

Huston Street, Los Angeles Angels

Jonathan Papelbon, Philadelphia Phillies

Koji Uehara, Boston Red Sox

Drew Storen, Washington Nationals

Fernando Rodney, Seattle Mariners

Luke Gregerson, Houston Astros

The Twins finally handed Perkins a couple save opportunities, and he converted them. The left-handed slider specialist could probably be ranked ahead of Rosenthal, but I want to see a little more before jumping back on the bandwagon.

I'm convinced Brad Ausmus is a troll. How else to explain his commitment to Joe Nathan. Ausmus expects Nathan to resume ninth inning duties when he returns from the disabled list. Nathan is barely a major league reliever these days, he's best suited for low leverage work. Meanwhile, Soria pitched four times last week. He faced and retired 12 batters en route to three saves and a win.

So far, so good for Uehara. He pitched twice and faced the minimum number of hitters. He did allow a hit yesterday, but it was erased on a double play. The Sox are expected to handle Uehara carefully. Keep an eye on Junichi Tazawa and Edward Mujica on days after Uehara pitches.

Storen blew the save last night, but don't panic. For one, there isn't anyone behind Storen. Aaron Barrett and Blake Treinen are probably the best options. Barrett might one day be closer material. First, he has to prove that he can succeed in high leverage situations. He had some issues last season despite a 2.66 ERA. The club wants Treinen to start, so they'll be loath to let him establish himself in the ninth inning. More importantly, Storen has pitched fine.

When we last discussed Rodney, he was coming off two terrible outings. Since then, he's pitched two more times. He faced six batters and struck out four. It's still a good idea to keep tabs on Danny Farquhar and Yoervis Medina, but I'm pretty sure Rodney will hang onto the job.

Tier 5: Questions (9)

Mark Melancon, Pittsburgh Pirates

Adam Ottavino, Colorado Rockies

Steve Cishek, Miami Marlins

Tyler Clippard, Oakland Athletics

Jeurys Familia, New York Mets

Addison Reed, Arizona Diamondbacks

Neftali Feliz, Texas Rangers

Santiago Casilla, San Francisco Giants

Francisco Rodriguez, Milwaukee Brewers

Whereas I'm not too worried about Allen yet, Melancon's early season performance has me concerned. His velocity is down four mph. The club says he's not injured, but it's hard to believe. He blew another save last night while allowing three runs. His strikeout and walk rates are moving in the wrong directions. Tony Watson is an immediate target in all leagues. Add Arquimedes Caminero to your watch lists too.

Right around when I was penning the last Saves and Steals, Ottavino was anointed as the Rockies closer. He's had issues with platoon splits in past seasons. Presently, he has 12 strikeouts, one walk, and one hit in 7.1 innings. Were it not for the influence of Coors Field, I would rank him higher. Even so, he could eventually top out in Tier 3.

Cishek's velocity is down two mph this season. He has a 19.29 ERA in 2.1 innings. He hasn't pitched in a week, so expect to see him in game action soon. Bryan Morris and A.J. Ramos are the obvious handcuffs. Carter Capps has the highest ceiling among the options, but he's in the minors.

Clippard finally earned his first save of the season on Monday. He walked two batters in the process. I remain concerned about his peripherals. Meanwhile, Sean Doolittle is progressing in his rehab.

Speaking of soon-to-return closers, Bobby Parnell is on rehab assignment. However, Mets manager Terry Collins says Familia will remain in the ninth inning once Parnell returns – at least initially. This is good news since the current Familia is better than vintage Parnell (let alone whatever shadow returns from the disabled list).

Reed blew his first save of the season. For those who remember his painful 2014, this one wasn't on a home run. Instead, he allowed two hits and two walks in two-thirds of an inning. His job is safe for now, but there's no telling if the new front office will show patience with Reed. He should probably be working the seventh inning for a team like the Angels.

Unsurprisingly, Tier 5 has a couple guys with recent blown saves. Feliz gave up four hits and two walks in 1.1 innings on Sunday. There's some good news mixed in with the bad – he averaged 95 mph on the gun in that appearance.

Casilla allowed a run in two straight outings last Tuesday and Thursday. He's since responded with two saves. If Casilla scuffles, Sergio Romo, Yusmeiro Petit, and Hunter Strickland are alternatives.

Tier 6: Roller Coasters (2)

Miguel Castro, Brett Cecil, Toronto Blue Jays

Joel Peralta, Chris Hatcher, Los Angeles Dodgers

On Friday, Cecil pitched poorly. He allowed three runs on two home runs in two-thirds of an inning. Then on Saturday he picked up the win after Castro blew the save. It's pretty clear to me that the Blue Jays need to acquire a real closer. They clearly don't believe they should have to pay a bounty in prospects for Jonathan Papelbon. However, they're going to find themselves falling behind the competition if they keep giving away late game leads. It's not like the rotation can hide the issue.

Peralta remains the probable ninth inning guy while Kenley Jansen recovers from his foot injury. Jansen is slated to face live hitters soon and could return in early May. Meanwhile, Hatcher's season has been interesting. He has a 12.27 ERA and 0.89 FIP. He struck out all three hitters he faced in the last week.

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Injured

Jenrry Mejia, New York Mets

Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers

Sean Doolittle, Oakland Athletics

Jake McGee, Tampa Bay Rays

Bobby Parnell, New York Mets

Joe Nathan, Detroit Tigers

Greg Holland, Kansas City Royals

The Deposed

Chad Qualls

Joaquin Benoit

LaTroy Hawkins

Brett Cecil

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The Steals Department

Billy Hamilton remains the stolen base leader with eight swipes. He didn't add any in the last calendar week thanks to a minor injury. Meanwhile, Brett Gardner went wild with his first five steals of the season. Anthony Rizzo stole two bases, and Odubel Herrera jumped on the board with two steals.

Lorenzo Cain is a buy high candidate who could steal 25 bases while providing five category production. I recommend making some aggressive offers. He's making better contact this season, although a .415 BABIP hints at imminent regression. Don't worry. He's naturally a high BABIP hitter, so his average should remain north of .280.

Ender Inciarte is settling in as the Diamondbacks regular leadoff man. He's an aggressive, high contact hitter. He should a solid source of runs, steals, and average. I'm not sure how the Diamondbacks plan to juggle Inciarte, David Peralta, A.J. Pollock, and Mark Trumbo. An injury to Jake Lamb should keep Yasmany Tomas in the infield.

Denard Span is back in action for the Nationals. He swiped 31 bases last year. Expect him to start slowly since he missed all of spring training. He's still a leadoff hitter with 20 steal potential.