Fantasy baseball: Closer changes for Giants, D-backs offer new save chances (2024)

San Francisco Giants RHP Camilo Doval was the first relief pitcher off the board in ESPN average live drafts this season. Yep, let that sink in for a minute. Doval went in the fifth round, just a tad ahead of Josh Hader, Emmanuel Clase and literally every other pitcher expected to earn valuable saves because he earned 66 of them during the past two seasons, with myriad strikeouts and excellent run prevention. Doval was -- we thought -- productive and safe moving forward.

Doval currently pitches for the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, which is where he was sent after blowing his fifth save of the season in Washington prior to the weekend, permitting a pair of walks and a Luis Garcia Jr. three-run homer. Giants personnel and fantasy managers hadn't been pleased with the wild Doval for months, but he had saved eight wins since the start of July, despite occasional hiccups. Few could have imagined something as extreme as a demotion to the minor leagues, but it happened.

Giants manager Bob Melvin could have tortured fantasy managers with conventional committee talk, but he instantly named RHP Ryan Walker as his new closer -- and Walker earned his first save Sunday, finishing off the Tigers. Walker, 28, has closing experience in the minors, but the Giants had him open 13 games as a rookie in 2023. He is enjoying a solid season (2.20 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 30% K rate), but who thought this fellow would become a closer? Even Giants fans could not have seen this coming.

Walker now has this role because he is not doing what his surname suggests he might do. Doval had one of the highest walk rates among relief pitchers. Walker has one of the lowest. Sometimes, things really are that simple. The Giants are no offensive juggernaut and, over the years, their closers have tended to pile on saves due to many close games. Walker might be the latest. He is a sinker/slider specialist enjoying some BABIP and LOB% love, and perhaps his performance will regress in his new role. After all, who really knows? Doval was supposed to be awesome.

The obvious move for fantasy managers is to dump Doval and add Walker. Of course, remember that even in fantasy points leagues, coveting expected closers with early draft picks or big auction bucks remains a perilous practice. Cleveland's Clase leads relief pitchers in ESPN fantasy points this season, but otherwise much of the top-10 producers at the position were far from top-100 selections on draft day. Mets RHP Edwin Diaz has 14 saves and a 3.82 ERA. Pirates RHP David Bednar has a 5.75 ERA. Blue Jays RHP Jordan Romano has thrown only 13⅔ innings. Diamondbacks RHP Paul Sewald lost his job. Relief pitching is volatile. Invest elsewhere with early draft picks.

Stock rising

• Justin Martinez, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks: Martinez, who debuted in 2023 with 11 walks over 10 MLB innings, has been better this season. His walk rate remains high, but everything else looks good, and Martinez recently supplanted Paul Sewald as closer. Martinez, 22, has a win and two saves over the past week, routinely reaching triple digits with his fastball (and hoping it heads somewhere near the strike zone). He has more strikeout upside than Walker, but the Diamondbacks also employ LHP A.J. Puk, who deserves some ninth-inning love, too. Walker might be the safer free agent addition.

• Lucas Erceg, RHP, Kansas City Royals: Erceg arrived from Oakland via a trade deadline deal, and he earned his first save this past weekend, silencing the Cardinals. The Royals have four saves since the All-Star break, with RHP James McArthur, LHP Sam Long, RHP Hunter Harvey and Erceg claiming them. Harvey (back) is now on the IL. Long does not have a high-leverage role. McArthur has a 5.12 ERA and blown saves in two of his last three chances. Erceg, formerly a third baseman in the Brewers' system, might now be a closer.

• Victor Vodnik, RHP, Colorado Rockies: Yeah, so recommending Rockies hurlers -- regardless of role -- seems like a bad idea, but Vodnik already has four saves this month, with only one rough appearance. That was a loss to the Mets, from which he has already bounced back. Vodnik doesn't have flashy numbers for strikeouts, walks or anything else, but the closing role is quite clearly all his, and some of us need every last save, even if it comes with the inherent danger of Denver home games.

Stock falling

• David Bednar, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates: This is certainly not the first time Bednar has appeared in this section this season. He notably struggled mightily in April, but turned things around over the following months, posting a cool 2.39 ERA during May, June and July. Yay, he's back! Oops, he's not back. Bednar entered this week having permitted earned runs in five consecutive outings, blowing a pair of saves versus the Padres, then losing Sunday's extra-inning game against the Dodgers in rough fashion. Eight of his 15 walks for the season have been issued during the past two weeks. Meanwhile, LHP Aroldis Chapman has walked nary a hitter during the past three weeks (covering 28 batters) and he threw a few offerings in the 105-mph range. Change may be coming.

• Craig Kimbrel, RHP, Baltimore Orioles: So many big league teams just cannot learn from the recent past. Kimbrel was enjoying a fine season for a few months (just like he has done in recent seasons for the Cubs, Dodgers and Phillies) and he entered the recent All-Star break with 23 saves and a 2.10 ERA. In fact, many believed he was among the noteworthy snubs for the midsummer classic. Today, just a mere month later, Kimbrel remains stuck on 23 saves, but with a 3.35 ERA. Prior to the break, he had faced 141 hitters, walking 16. Since then, he has walked nine out of 42 hitters (5.87 ERA, 2.21 WHIP). This loss of control is not new. Perhaps Kimbrel rights himself and reclaims the closer role, currently in the risky hands of another former Phillies arm the team couldn't wait to get rid of, recent acquisition Seranthony Dominguez. Do not bet on it, though.