Hunter Strickland broke his hand punching a wall in frustration. He joins fellow geniuses Kevin Brown, AJ Burnett, Randy Johnson, Jason Isringhousen, and Tim Worrell in the “pitchers who got injured punching things” club. Not the worst company to be in, but certainly for the wrong reasons.

In less exciting, but equally ridiculous news, Brandon Morrow landed on the DL with a strained back that was the result of trying to take off a pair of pants. To be fair, I’ve had my struggles with pants before, mostly trying to put them on before I’m fully awake. I’ve always come out on top though. I guess I’ll have to be more careful with this as I enter my 30s.

We had our first closer traded this week when the Royals traded Kelvin Herrera to the Nationals. The Royals aren’t very good, hence the early selling of their closer, but bad teams get saves too so we’ll assess the impact of this trade.

Last, we’ll get a few updates from PIT, BAL, HOU, TOR, AZ, and finish with the three stars of the week.

San Francisco Giants

With Hunter Strickland sidelined for 6-8 weeks, the Giants will need a new closer. On Tuesday night, Sam Dyson got the nod and recorded the save, and Giants manager Bruce Bochy committed to Dyson as the primary closer for the time being. Wednesday didn’t go so smooth for Dyson though. He was called upon for his second save chance in as many nights and was pulled after recording 2 outs and allowing 2 runs. He was still credited with the hold, but it was Reyes Moronta who got the final out and the save.

You might remember Dyson from his short stint with the Texas Rangers last year. It lasted just 16.2 innings before Dyson and his 10.80 ERA were sent to AAA and eventually traded to the Giants with cash for a player to be named later. Since joining the Giants, Dyson has been notably better. This season his K-rate is up to 7.1, and his walk rate down to 2.73. He’s got a 2.45 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP, as well as a 0.82 HR/9. The change of scenery surely helped, as well as the palatial AT&T Park. Dyson has earned Bochy’s trust enough to commit to him as closer, but from a fantasy perspective the K-rate is sub-par.

Tony Watson is another former closer who could be in the mix for saves. He’s got 40 Ks and 6 BBs in 33.2 innings this year, to go along with a 1.87 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. He’s a lefty, though he’s not the only lefty in the Giants pen (Will Smith), so that shouldn’t hold him back too much.

Then there is Mark Melancon who seems like an obvious choice to take over the closer role. The Giants paid up big for the stud closer, signing him to a 4-year $57 million-dollar contract prior to the 2017 season. Since signing with SF, Melancon has battled injury. He pitched just 30.0 innings last season and 6.2 innings in this year so far. As a result, Bochy is not ready to insert him into the closer role yet, but you can bet if Melancon proves his health he will ascend to the closer role.

Reyes Moronta, who picked up a save Wednesday, is also having an excellent season. In 32.2 innings he’s racked up 38 strikeouts. His 1.93 ERA and 1.10 WHIP are nice, the only glaring issue is 17 walks on the season. He’s also a rookie, so he’s probably behind the other veterans above in the pecking order.

Actions to take: Dyson is the add for saves right now. He’s likely already owned and if you missed out on him I wouldn’t get too upset because of the low K-rate. He’s had one bad outing since being named closer, which happened to be his 3rd appearance in 3 nights. It’s not much to get worked up over but I sense that Dyson is just a placeholder for the time being. Long-term, I’m sure the Giants would prefer to get Melancon back in the closer role. He needs to prove his health first, which he is on his way to doing. Watson is pitching the best of the bunch though. K/BB is at a career high. He’s the smart bet for saves the rest of the season here.

Chicago Cubs

Brandon Morrow isn’t expected to be out long, but you never know with back problems. Cubs skipper Joe Madden said he would mix and match for the time being, with the likely candidates being Pedro Strop, Steve Cishek, and Justin Wilson.

Mixing and matching means that Justin Wilson will get the call for the occasional lefty on lefty situation. Wilson hasn’t been great since being traded to the Cubs last season, though he’s been solid of late. His walk rate the last two years is abysmal, coming in at 6.98 and 5.43 in in 2018 and 2017. He’s getting by with K/9 rates over 12 in both seasons. I don’t think he gets an extended look due to the number of free passes he hands out.

Steve Cishek has been a journeyman of late, with the Cubs being his 5th team since 2015. Cishek has closing experience, including 123 career saves. He’s also got a 2.01 ERA. 1.09 WHIP, 10.1 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 this season. His side-arm delivery makes for drastic split stats, so his wOBA against right handed batters is .217 compared to .350 against lefties.

With Wilson and Cishek matching up well against LHB and RHB, respectively, that leaves Pedro Strop for all the other scenarios. He’s got a .272 wOBA against lefties and .196 against righties. He’s also got a 1.76 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 8.5 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.

Actions to take: Pedro Strop is the most versatile of the three relievers, so it stands to reason he will end up with the most save opportunities while Morrow is out. Meanwhile, Wilson and Cishek will be used as the splits dictate. They may get an occasional save, but more than likely they’ll be called upon in the 7th or 8th to get a couple big outs where needed. They’re great adds for holds but go with Strop for saves.

Kansas City Royals

With Kelvin Herrara shipped to DC, Kevin McCarthy seems the likely candidate to take over the closer role as he has sucked the least of all the Royals’ relievers this year. He’s coming in with a 3.73 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 19 Ks and 9 BBs in 31.1 innings on the season. Not bad, but far from dominant. Other considerations include Brandon Maurer. Maurer saved 22 games last season and 13 the year before but posted ugly ERAs of 6.52 and 4.52 in each respective year. In 2018, he has an 11.37 ERA through a small sample of 6.1 innings. The next least-bad reliever for the Royals is Tim Hill. He’s got a 4.76 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in 22.2 innings this season, but also a half decent 24 K / 8 BB. The 28-year-old rookie is also a lefty, so he’ll probably be used more based on matchups than in the 9th inning.

Actions to take: Add McCarthy if you are desperate for saves, otherwise I would avoid this situation. In deep holds leagues, Hill could provide some value, but there are likely better options available on your wire.

Washington Nationals

As noted above, the Nationals acquired Kelvin Herrera. He will slide into a setup role, and Sean Doolittle will continue to be the team’s closer. A quick note on Doolittle, he’s got a 1.71 ERA and 0.57 WHIP on the season. He’s finally healthy and producing the elite numbers we all hoped for. He’s also got 43 Ks and just 3 BBs in 31.2 innings, wow.

Actions to take: Herrera loses value in saves leagues with his trade, however he becomes the CLEW (closer en waiting) for the Nationals. As good as Doolittle has been, he hasn’t been a stable of health in his career.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Since last week, Felipe Vazquez picked up 2 saves in 2 appearances, striking out 2 batters and allowing 1 hit in each appearance. Perhaps more important, the fastball is still sitting in the 97 – 100 mph range, and the velo has trended upwards each month of the season. Vazquez owners breathe a sigh of relief. Vazquez appears healthy and now that he’s put together a couple good outings in a row it is starting to look like the rough patch is behind him.

In the middle innings, Kyle Crick picked up 2 holds over 3 innings. He did not allow a base runner. Edgar Santana also pitched 3 innings with 3 Ks but allowed a 2-run home run as well. The home runs have been a slight issue of late for Santana. This was the second bomb allowed in a 3-game span. Should anything happen to Vazquez it looks like Crick is in the best position to get first crack at closing.

In addition, Tyler Glasnow pitched 5 innings, striking out 5, walking 1, and allowing 3 hits. He also picked up a hold, his second of the season. He’s always had the stuff to strike guys out, but now he’s starting to limit the walks and in the last month he has a 2.08 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. He’s rising quickly in the Pirates bullpen.

Actions to take: Vazquez remains a hold in all league types, with Crick becoming the favorite as the CLEW. Tyler Glasnow is an intriguing option for holds leagues, as he will rack up the strikeouts and is seeing some higher leverage situations of late.

Baltimore Orioles

Zach Britton has yet to record a save, but he picked up a hold on Wednesday. Since walking 3 batters in his first appearance, Britton has walked just 1 batter over his next 4.1 innings while striking out 4. He should ascend to the closer role in short order.

Actions to take: Britton should notch some saves soon as he appears on the right track. He remains a trade candidate and there is no guarantee he closes on a new team. If you own him, I’d think about trying to trade him once he gets a couple saves.

Houston Astros

Hector Rondon was the only Astros reliver to pick up a save this week. Brad Peacock nabbed 2 holds, striking out 7 and walking 1 in 4.1 innings. Peacock is coming around again. Colin McHugh struck out 4 in 2 innings of work, recording a relief win.

Actions to take: Rondon remains in the mix for saves, but so does Ken Giles. Peacock and Hughes are looking great and worth adding in holds leagues. There is more value in this bullpen in holds leagues than saves leagues right now.

Toronto Blue Jays

Ryan Tepara has solidified himself as the team’s closer, although Tyler Clippard got a save this week when Tepera had a night off. There were Tepera trade rumors this week, which I found surprising considering Tepera is not an UFA until 2022. I don’t buy into these trade rumors, but if he’s dealt, Clippard and Seunghwan Oh are the two closer options neither of which I’m enamored about.

Actions to take: Add Tepera if he’s available. The middle relievers can be avoided.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Current closer Brad Boxberger blew a save against the Mets this week, allowing 4 runs on 2 home runs in .2 innings. Boxberger had a rough outing earlier in June against the Giants, giving up 2 ER and a HR. His ERA has jumped to 3.91 accordingly, but on the positive side he’s still striking guys out at a substantial rate of 12.8 batters per 9. I’m not too concerned yet about Boxberger, however if the struggles continue, Archie Bradley is the likely CLEW with Yoshi Hirano in the role of a sleeper to closer if the D-Backs elect to keep Bradley in the middle inning role which he’s excelled at the last two seasons.

Actions to take: No actions yet, but if Boxberger has another bad outing consider adding Bradley or Hirano.

Three Stars of the Week

Aroldis Chapman, NYY – Chapman struck out 7 in 5 innings of work, recording 1 win and 4 saves. This is what you expect from the flamethrower.

Brad Peacock, HOU – 4.1 innings, 7 Ks, 1 BB, 0 Hits, and 2 HLDS. Very solid stuff. Maybe he will pick up a save this week, as AJ Hinch likes to roll with the hot hand.

Joe Jimenez, DET – 3.0 innings, 5 Ks, 0 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 HLDS, and 1 SV. He just needed a win to complete the trifecta of SV, HLD, and W. I’m buying into his dominance.

That’s all for this week folks. Thanks for reading. I’ll be on vacation the next two weeks but I’ll be back on in July 11th in the new Wednesday publishing slot. As always, drop a comment or question below and I will be sure to reply.

Major League Fantasy Baseball Radio Show: Join host Brian Roach, Jr, and Cole Freel live on Sunday June 17th, 2018 from 8-9:30pm EST for episode #125 of Major League Fantasy Baseball Radio. We are a live broadcast that will take callers at 323-870-4395. Press 1 to speak with the host. We will discuss the latest information in the world of fantasy baseball.

Our guest this week is Joe Iannone. Joe has been a writer with majorleaguefantasysports.com since 2014. His articles publish every Sunday and he focuses on spot starts for the coming week.

Major League Fantasy Football Radio Show: Join host Corey D Roberts, and Kyle Amore live June 21st, 2018 from 8-9:30pm EST for episode #83 of Major League Fantasy Football Radio. Call in number is 323-870-4395 press 1 to speak with the host. We will hit free agents, rookies, and fantasy football as a whole for each team for 2018. This week we will discuss everything AFC North!

Kyle is a writer with majorleaguefantasysports.com going on his 5 th year. He focuses primarily on baseball, but is a fantasy football fan and analyst as well.

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