With the All-Star Break a mere weekend away, there was some significant bullpen shuffling this week thanks to injuries and recoveries. Most of the expected closers made the All-Star team for their respective leagues, with some setup surprises like Brad Brach and a second year of Kelvin Herrera. Even though the All-Star Game “counts” it certainly doesn’t matter much for fantasy, so let’s jump into this week’s bullpen news.

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Closer News From Around The League

Washington Nationals

Shawn Kelley did a fine job in Jonathan Papelbon‘s place, but it was no secret that he was just keeping the spot warm for the veteran righty’s return to the ninth inning. With Papelbon activated this week and already picking up a save, Kelley will slide back into his eighth-inning setup role. He’ll still have some fantasy value, especially in holds leagues, thanks to his strikeouts and generally excellent pitching. Papelbon is once again the guy to own in the Nationals’ bullpen, however. There’s a slight buy-low opportunity here, so it never hurts to throw the Papelbon owner in your league an offer to see what happens. The Nationals will win plenty of games, and Papelbon’s job is likely one of the safest in the league.

Kansas City Royals

Royals All-Star closer Wade Davis hit the disabled list this week (more on that later). While Kelvin Herrera was thought to be the most likely to earn saves in Davis’ place, he was brought into a tie game in the eighth inning this week and did poorly. This perhaps opens the door for Joakim Soria to earn saves instead. While it is still unclear regarding who will pitch ninth innings for Kansas City, Soria seems like the better speculative add at this point. Herrera offers more upside, but manager Ned Yost may feel more comfortable leaving him in his customary eighth inning role. Keep an eye on Royals’ box scores over the next few days to make sure, but add Soria in all formats now in an attempt to get the jump on the rest of your league.

Tampa Bay Rays

As expected, Rays closer Alex Colome did not need more than the required 15 days on the disabled list to recover from right biceps tendinitis. He’ll immediately step back into the ninth inning and return to 19 saves and a 1.71 ERA. He’s extremely unlikely to have been dropped in any leagues, but it’s worth a look at the wire just in case. Everyone else in the Rays’ bullpen moves back into their previous roles and, other than Colome of course, aren’t really worth a look in non-holds leagues.

Injury Updates

As mentioned in the above section, two key closers came back from injury and one left because of it. Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon is back, moving Shawn Kelley back to a setup role. Rays closer Alex Colome is back, moving a cluster of pitchers back into their former roles.

Elite closer Wade Davis of the Royals, however, went on the shelf. A strained right forearm landed Davis on the 15-day disabled list this week, and his timetable for return is unknown at this point. While Ned Yost has said he will mix and match in the ninth inning and Herrera may very well get some save opportunities, Soria is the one I would bet on having more saves by the time Davis returns.

Top Performers From June 30 – July 7

Mark Melancon (PIT): 5 IP, 7 K, 4 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.80 WHIP

Pirates closer Mark Melancon not only had the top performance of the week but also had one of the top weeks of the season for a closer. Always reliable, Melancon does not usually get strikeouts in bunches, but he did this week. In his five innings, he saved four games and allowed just four hits.

Jeurys Familia (NYM): 4 IP, 5 K, 4 SV, 0.00 ERA, 1.50 WHIP

Mets closer Jeurys Familia already has 30 saves, and we’re not even to the All-Star Break yet. This week, he added four saves to his total, striking out five in four innings and allowing three hits and three walks, but no runs.

David Robertson (CWS): 4 IP, 7 K, 3 SV, 2.45 ERA, 1.36 WHIP

White Sox closer David Robertson didn’t make it through a scoreless week like Melancon and Familia did, but he did save three games and collect seven strikeouts while allowing only one run on four hits and a walk. The run he allowed was on a solo home run.

Santiago Casilla (SFG): 3 IP, 4 K, 3 SV, 0.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP

Giants closer Santiago Casilla rounds out the four closers who had at least three saves this week. The veteran right-hander did it by striking out four in his three innings, allowing three hits and two walks, but no runs.



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

