With many fantasy leagues starting their playoffs next week, owners are looking for any advantage they can find. Those lucky enough to make the playoffs know that they will be playing against involved owners with good teams, and any statistical advantage could be the difference between advancing to the next round or going “home” and forgetting about fantasy baseball for a few months.

For many, there is money on the line, but for all there is pride at stake. One save could be the difference between no money and lots of money. Between bragging rights and radio silence until Spring Training. One ERA point could separate champions and first-round exits. There has been some movement in the ninth inning this week and some potential movement in the next few days to monitor for owners still in the running.

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Closer News Around the League

Boston Red Sox

Almost as quickly as he was named the team’s closer, Junichi Tazawa was removed from the role. He has not pitched particularly well recently, so Red Sox manager Torey Lovullo quickly made the switch. He removed Tazawa from the ninth inning and gave the role to Jean Machi, who began the year with the San Francisco Giants. Since joining the Red Sox, Machi has gone four-for-four in save opportunities, but the rest of his numbers aren’t as pretty. He holds a 5.68 ERA and a 10:7 strikeout to walk ratio in 12.2 Red Sox innings. Tazawa is the better choice, statistically, but his struggles in the role seemingly made Lovullo lose all confidence in him. Machi will likely remain the closer for the rest of the season, so he is absolutely worth a pickup in all formats despite his less than stellar peripheral stats. Don’t drop anyone of value for him, but if there’s an empty spot on your roster, Machi should be filling it.

Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins closer Glen Perkins has been one of the most consistent ninth inning options in baseball over the past few years. Hand him a late lead, and it’s almost always a win for the Twins. This season, however, he has been dealing with several nagging injuries which have caused him to miss time. He missed time earlier in the year with a neck injury and since coming back from that he has missed time with a back injury. The Twins are setting off on a road trip, and Perkins isn’t going with them. He could barely walk due to back spasms and will miss the entire road trip. In the meantime, Kevin Jepsen will continue in his newly-found-yet-always-temporary ninth inning role. Jepsen has been good and is worth a roster spot in all formats of fantasy while Perkins is out. Since joining the Twins, Jepsen has allowed only two runs in 15.2 innings and is five-for-five in save opportunities.

Chicago Cubs

The ninth inning situation at Wrigley has been confusing and frustrating for fantasy owners all season. It could have been even more in flux with the addition of Rafael Soriano in July, but the veteran righty was injured and shelved on the disabled list at the end of the month. The last pitch he threw on July 30th would be his last pitch in a Cubs uniform, as after he rehabbed his shoulder inflammation, he was designated for assignment. Soriano essentially held out hoping for a favorable contract or a closing job for most of the season. When finally given a chance, he pitched only 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out four. The 35-year-old didn’t do himself any favors this season and will likely have to hope for a minor league deal next season to prove his worth once again. Meanwhile, the Cubs finally seem to have a stable ninth-inning option in Hector Rondon. The righty closer is 25-for-29 in save opportunities and holds a 1.50 ERA and an even 1.00 WHIP. He has 59 strikeouts and 14 walks in 60 innings pitched. He’s a solid closing option, and he should have many opportunities between now and season’s end.

Injury Updates

As mentioned above, Twins closer Glen Perkins is experiencing back spasms and will miss the team’s current road trip. Kevin Jepsen, who has filled in for Perkins several times over the past few weeks, will continue to do so and is a recommended short-term add in all formats.

Interesting Tidbit

Two closers with wildly varying amounts of experience blew their first save opportunities this week. Milwaukee’s 33-year-old closer Francisco Rodriguez blew his first save of the season on Saturday, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits while only getting two outs. He’s saved 32 games and posted a solid 2.45 ERA and 0.86 WHIP. Toronto’s 20-year-old closer Roberto Osuna also blew his first ninth-inning save opportunity this week, allowing a solo home run to Yan Gomes on Tuesday while trying to save a one run game. Osuna has been brilliant, saving 16 games for the once closer-starved Blue Jays and posting a 1.99 ERA to go with a 0.87 WHIP.

Top Performers for the Week of August 31-September 4, 2015

Tom Wilhelmsen – 5 IP, 4 SV, 6 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.80 WHIP

Kenley Jansen – 4 IP, 3 SV, 2 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP

Aroldis Chapman – 4 IP, 3 SV, 7 K, 2.45 ERA, 0.82 WHIP

Not many great closer performances this week, as only one closer saved four games and only three saved three. The few who did perform well performed particularly well though, so it was a top heavy week among ninth-inning options.

Wilhelmsen has taken his new role and run with it, pitching five innings and saving four games. He struck out six and did not allow a runner to cross the plate, only allowing three hits and a walk all week. Wilhelmsen is still only owned in 28% of fantasy leagues so go to your wire and snag him before someone else does.

Jansen had a nice week, saving three games for the Dodgers while striking out two in his four innings. He also did not allow a run and gave up only two hits all week. He was unavailable on Wednesday night and Dodgers manager Don Mattingly trusts the non-Jansen part of his bullpen so little that he had ace Clayton Kershaw throw 132 pitches in a complete game against the Giants.

Chapman gave the Reds seven strikeouts in only four innings this week while saving three games. He did allow a run to score on two hits and a walk, but somewhat made up for it by reaching base for the first time in his Major League career. The exit velocity on his batted ball was 108 mph, implying that Chapman is simply not human. Not only can he throw harder than anyone else, he can also hit harder than he throws.

Don’t forget to check out our Closer Depth Chart.

David A Marcillo is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from David, check out his archive and follow him @DavidMarcillo77.

