Fantasy Baseball Week 18 Preview: Top 10 sleeper pitchers
Fantasy Baseball Week 18 Preview: Top 10 Sleeper Pitchers, Josh Hader serves as the closer for the Padres. There is no question that the trade deadline completely rearranged the closer landscape all throughout the league. This is one aspect that cannot be questioned.
However, you may have some inquiries about the Philadelphia Phillies, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Angels, and Chicago Cubs.
Not just in regard to the transactions, but also with regard to the typical antics of the Rangers and the Red Sox, we are here to provide answers to the extent that we are able to do so. The following are the 10 potential outcomes that are drawing the most attention at the moment:
Note that in fantasy football, “pecking order” refers to the order in which players can be rostered, and not necessarily the order in which players are saved (though in most cases, these two things are synonymous).
BREWERS
Williams, who has a career strikeout rate of 14.7 per nine innings and the unhittable changeup in all of baseball, has been spoken about for a long time as a possible future replacement for Hader.
The return of Taylor Rogers, who had been the Padres’ closer in the past, was a factor that further complicated the situation. A platoon of sorts may form due to the fact that one pitcher throws right-handed and the other throws left-handed; nevertheless, Rogers may be at a disadvantage following a terrible month of July.
On Wednesday, the game was tied when Rogers pitched the eighth inning, so take it for what it’s worth. Williams started the ninth inning, but he ended up taking the loss because he allowed a home run.
PHILLIES
Even though the Cubs have recently acquired David Robertson as a closer, it has been reported that manager Rob Thomson has stated that Brad Hand and Seranthony Dominguez will continue to handle the eighth and ninth innings.
Even after Robertson had secured the save in his first game with his new club on Wednesday, Zolecki continued to emphasize this point even though Dominguez had worked the eighth inning. Although it seems like it would make the most sense for the more experienced pitcher to handle the job, especially considering that Thomson never quite embraced Dominguez in it, you should try to hold on to both of them until we have more information about the situation.
TWINS
After the unofficial dismissal of Emilio Pagan from the post of unofficial closer, Rocco Baldelli did not support the rookie Jhoan Duran in any capacity as his closer. Naturally, Baldelli has never been fond of calling anyone his closer, and he continued this trend after the Twins acquired Orioles closer Jorge Lopez, saying only that he’d work in the ninth inning a “fair amount.” This is despite the fact that Baldelli has never been fond of calling anyone his closer.
This season, Lopez has been a revelation in the role, earning a spot on the All-Star team as a result. It is only natural that he was given the opportunity to save the game in his first game with his new team on Wednesday. Regardless of what Baldelli decides to call him in the future, I have a strong suspicion that he will be in charge of the vast bulk of responsibilities.
ORIOLES
Felix Bautista, a 27-year-old rookie, is primed to step into the role of closer now that All-Star closer Jorge Lopez has been removed from the equation. Bautista somehow has higher numbers than Lopez. Brandon Hyde, the manager of the team, has stated that “I think he’s going to get an opportunity,” while also allowing Cionel Perez to maybe steal chances against left-handed pitchers. In point of fact, Bautista was the final pitcher to throw for the Orioles on both Tuesday and Wednesday, but he was unable to secure a save in either game.
BRAVES
Although manager Brian Snitker has acknowledged that the former Angel could work the ninth inning whenever Kenley Jansen is unavailable, it is more likely that the Braves acquired Raisel Iglesias to be their closer over the next three years, when Kenley Jansen is no longer under contract.
This is despite the fact that the Braves acquired him right now. This is a powerful collection of late-inning relievers, particularly if Kirby Yates is able to return to form after having Tommy John’s surgery; he showed every indication of doing so while on his minor-league rehab assignment.
ANGELS
With Raisel Iglesias out of the picture, the Angels have merely stated that they’ll go closer-by-committee, which is a more eloquent way of expressing “we’re not sure either.” Iglesias was replaced on Tuesday by left-handed reliever Jose Quijada, who went on to convert the first save opportunity.
However, Ryan Tepera, who throws right-handed and had been the eighth-inning reliever, maybe the more obvious pick on most days. It’s possible that the recently acquired Jesse Chavez will play a role as well, but we’re not sure if anyone else is capable of assuming responsibility for the role and running with it. Nah.
CUBS
It’s going to be even worse for the Cubs, who have also parted ways with setup guys Scott Effross and Mychal Givens in addition to closer David Robertson.
The closing committee in Anaheim may be bad, but it’s going to be even worse for the Cubs. Or Rowan Wick might just take the job without any competition. Earlier on in the year, when Robertson was out with an injury, it was he who filled in for him. Naturally, he also has a WHIP of 1.73, which does not instil much faith in his abilities.
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RANGERS
Due to Brett Martin’s inability to establish himself in the role, the Rangers’ predicament is once again a complete and utter disaster. Hard-throwing Jonathan Hernandez got the team’s most recent save over the weekend and appeared to be trending toward the role before having Tommy John surgery last year, but he’s also barely made it back and had an ugly ninth inning with the Rangers trailing by two runs on Wednesday.
The hard-throwing Jonathan Hernandez appeared to be trending toward the role before having Tommy John surgery last year. Matt Moore, who throws left-handed, has also gotten a save since Martin’s last, but the best chance might be on Joe Barlow (blister), who will be activated from the disabled list in the coming days, reclaiming the role when he does so, despite the burden that it will bring to him.
ATHLETICS
Just one day after trading their not-very-closery closer to Lou Trivino to the Yankees, the Athletics activated their somewhat more closely former closer Dany Jimenez. Dany Jimenez had been in the bullpen for the Athletics in the past. However, Jimenez did not make an appearance for the next two days, and when a save opportunity presented itself on Wednesday, Zach Jackson took care of it.
It seems strange to activate a player and then wait two days before evaluating him, but it’s possible that the Athletics want to break Jimenez in gradually. Even though Jackson does a good job of missing bats as a closer should, the fact that his walk and fly-ball rates are so high is a cause for concern. Jimenez is still the better option, but it’s evident that this is still up in the air.
RED SOX
Tanner Houck did not record a single save over the entirety of the month of July. At the same time, Garrett Whitlock got two, while John Schreiber and Ryan Brasier each got one, which raised questions about whether or not the Red Sox were returning to using a closing committee.
We believe that the timing was a significant factor in the outcome. The month of July was a difficult one for the Red Sox in general, and Houck was frequently unavailable on the extremely infrequent occasions when a save opportunity presented itself.
Both of Whitlock’s came in the form of multi-inning efforts, which may occur more frequently now that he is back in the bullpen. Despite this, it would appear that everything is back in its proper place because Houck has made saves on consecutive days to start the month of August.
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