Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Buzz, Week 11: No saves? No problem — target these RPs
Every couple of weeks, we do a piece that’s entirely about the fantasy bullpens. It’s the soul of Closing Time, the blog we first rolled out 15 years ago. Maybe it’s nostalgia that drives the article, or perhaps we humbly accept how badly the save chase beguiles us all. And with more wins being parceled into bullpens these days, even non-closing relievers can offer fantasy utility.
This fresh edition will open with some props for a few non-closing relievers.
No saves, no problem
Let’s give a salute to the most valuable relievers who have yet to record a save.
Chris Devenski, Angels (11% rostered)
He’s striking out a batter per inning, he has walked only two men over 23 1/3 frames, and he has picked up three wins. That 1.93 ERA and 0.56 WHIP might look too good to be true, but Devenski’s xERA is still a playable 2.73. He has improved his swinging-strike and ground-ball rates this year. After a couple of injury-ruined seasons, Devenski is back in good form.
Phil Maton, Astros (6% rostered)
Maton’s fastball couldn’t get stopped for speeding — his average heater is merely 89.4 mph on the gun. But his curveball is a plus-plus pitch, and his fastball and slider also grade as positive offerings. He has bumped his ground-ball rate up to 47.4%, and opponents aren’t squaring the ball against him (just 11.8% line drives).
You’re trained to distrust outlier ratios (1.10 ERA, 0.73 WHIP), but his expected ERA is still a lovely 2.43. It’s surprising that Maton doesn’t have a win or a save yet, but pitching for a winning club such as the Astros, a handful of wins are inevitable.
Nate Pearson, Blue Jays (5% rostered)
Pearson is no closing threat to Jordan Romano, one of the best stoppers in the game. But if Romano ever fell into an injury or slump, the Jays at least have a nifty alternative ready to go. Pearson brings the heat (98.0 mph fastball) and offers five strikeouts for every walk.
I wonder if Toronto would ever consider Pearson as a possible starter again, but in the meantime, we love those four wins, the tidy 2.05 ERA and the 0.95 WHIP. Pearson’s curve is a decent pitch, but everything for him works off his fastball.
Three closers who are dominating
Félix Bautista, Orioles
His control hasn’t been quite as good this year, but with a 50.8% strikeout rate — how absurd is that? — we’re not going to worry about Bautista. He’s playing backyard Wiffle Ball against American League batters. His game is almost exclusively fastballs, but when you crank it up to 98.9 mph and get swings and misses 21.2% of the time, there’s no need for variety. Baltimore’s one of the best teams in the American League, and it has an automatic shutdown guy for the ninth.
Alexis Díaz, Reds
I’m generally against relievers winning the Cy Young Award — volume from a starter is far more valuable — but Díaz deserves some down-ballot consideration. The Reds have a chance to steal a watered-down NL Central, and Díaz's two wins and 17 saves keep things smooth at the end. His strikeout numbers aren’t quite as good as Bautista’s (no one’s are), but 50 strikeouts against just 12 walks over 28 innings will play in any format.
Camilo Doval, Giants
We’d like to see the walk rate get a little bit better, but he has upped his strikeout clip, and he’s still very difficult to hit a home run off (just two over 30 innings). Although Doval has allowed a scary amount of hard contact, and his 1.80 ERA might be a little too good to be true, his xERA still charts at a solid 2.71. We’d like to see Doval get a little better at putting away batters on two-strike counts.
Three pickups to consider
A.J. Minter, Braves (44% rostered)
He’s obviously the understudy to closer Raisel Iglesias, but the Braves win so often that Minter figures to get some secondary handshake opportunities. Minter has a win, three saves and two holds over his past six appearances, and after a rough patch in May, he has cleaned things up this month (nine strikeouts, one walk in his past 7 2/3 innings).
Scott McGough, Diamondbacks (22% rostered)
Arizona continues to shock the world with its first-place standing in the NL West, and the bullpen has been a cast of thousands. McGough took the loss Wednesday but didn’t allow an earned run over two innings; don’t mark that outing against him. His ratios are better than those of Andrew Chafin and Miguel Castro, the other possible closing candidates here, and Chafin’s upside might be capped because he’s left-handed. If you have to throw one dart in this bullpen, McGough (2.80 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 10.4 K/9) makes the most sense.
Trevor May, Athletics (5% rostered)
Oakland has used a medley of relievers as the stopper lately, but at least the team is finally winning some ballgames, and May does have three saves in his past four appearances. Of course, there was also a blowup at Milwaukee, and he has walked five men in his past two appearances. How desperate are you in the save category?
