It’s the first week of the baseball season, finally. Some teams haven’t won a game yet, while others have yet to lose. Some teams look like they may never lose a game and others look like they may never score a run. Small sample sizes reign supreme as Trevor writes a Story and Kenta has it Maeda (my sincerest apologies). As far as closers go, there have already been ninth inning blow ups and closers by committee. Some teams have only played two games, but it’s been a weird season already.

Bookmark our Closer Report for updates on current closers and job security >>

Closer News Around the League

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies have taken 2-1 leads into the eighth inning twice this season but have no wins to show for it. In their first game, David Hernandez blew the lead with a terrible eighth inning. He did not record an out, allowing three runs on a hit and two walks. Two days later, another 2-1 lead disintegrated when Dalier Hinojosa allowed two runs on four hits while only getting one batter out. Philles manager Pete Mackanin said, “these close ones are killing me already,” (source) which does not bode well for his health going forward. There is not much talent in the Philadelphia bullpen, but since any closer has fantasy value, many owners were snatching David Hernandez wherever possible. When he signed with the Phillies, it was assumed he’d be the closer, but the team seems to prefer Hinojosa in that role. However, Mackanin has now said that Jeanmar Gomez will get the next save opportunity. However it works out, all three will likely end up splitting save chances for a team that won’t have many. It’s a situation to avoid in fantasy except for the deepest leagues.

Houston Astros

The Astros traded just about half of their farm system for Phillies closer Ken Giles. The assumption, and with good reason, was that he would be the team’s closer in 2016. Instead, manager A.J. Hinch has anointed incumbent Luke Gregerson the “primary closer” for the team, with Giles working in a setup role. While Giles certainly has more upside and we can assume the Astros didn’t ship all of those prospects over to Philly for a setup guy, Gregerson is more than a solid closer in his own right. He saved 31 games last season while posting a 3.10 ERA and 8.70 K/9. His control is outstanding, as he walked only 1.48 per nine. It’s a long season and both relievers are likely to end up saving games, but right now Gregerson is the one to own in the Astros’ bullpen. Giles owners shouldn’t give up, though, as he’ll have strikeout value even in a setup role and may eventually switch places with Gregerson. Interestingly, it took Giles only six batters in 2016 to allow the same number of home runs as he allowed in all of 2015 (2).

Atlanta Braves

Like the Phillies, the Braves probably won’t have too many leads to hold this season, but when they do, it looks like most of those opportunities will go to Arodys Vizcaino instead of Jason Grilli. Grilli was handed the first save opportunity of the year on Monday and blew it, immediately after Vizcaino struck out two in the eighth. After the game, manager Fredi Gonzalez said he saw Vizcaino as his primary option at closer. He then proceeded to say that he would use Vizcaino in the higher leverage spots, whether they come in the eighth or ninth inning. Vizcaino is worth owning because he should get the save chances more often than not, but Grilli is always a threat to vulture a save here and there. It’s not an all out “avoid” like the Phillies bullpen thanks to Vizcaino’s upside, but it’s not a great situation either.

Blowups and Breakdowns

Texas Rangers closer Shawn Tolleson got a nice welcome to the 2016 season on Monday, pitching a 1-2-3 inning against the Seattle Mariners for his first save of the year. His next outing was not nearly as kind. Appearing against the Mariners again, Tolleson was annihilated, allowing five runs on five hits without getting a single out. It could be a while before his ERA looks decent again. Tolleson might be the third or fourth best reliever in the Rangers bullpen, but his job is safe for now.

As mentioned above, Phillies reliever David Hernandez also had a 0.0 innings pitched appearance. He did a little better less terribly than Tolleson, allowing only three runs. Avoid the Phillies’ bullpen in fantasy.

Miami Marlins closer A.J. Ramos had an interesting outing in which the box score showed a scoreless inning. Ramos did not pitch well at all, however, in that he walked three guys and threw only 12 of his 26 pitches for strikes. He induced a ground out and a fly out, then was bailed out by a baserunning blunder by Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias. Ramos should be fine and will have a long leash, as the rest of the Marlins’ bullpen is devoid of talent.

Detroit Tigers fans are used to their bullpens giving up leads. Last season’s bullpen was so bad, in fact, that not a single member of the Opening Day 2015 bullpen was in the 2016 Opening Day bullpen. The team redid their entire relief corps, trading for veteran closer Francisco Rodriguez in hopes he’d be able to lock down the ninth inning. In his first save opportunity of 2016, K-Rod looked more 2015 Tigers’ bullpen than K-Rod, giving up the lead despite coming into a three-run advantage to face the 5-6-7 hitters of the Marlins’ order. The 34-year-old’s fastball was cruising along at 88 mph and he looked extremely hittable. His role is safe for now, but with a stable of new arms, the Tigers could turn to someone like Mark Lowe if Rodriguez continues to struggle.

Import your team for free to get lineup advice >>

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

