Three Philadelphia Phillies hurlers have recorded saves over the past fortnight and none of them are named Corey Knebel. Since Knebel is the lone Phillies relief pitcher rostered in more than 15% of ESPN standard leagues (he's at 50%), this seems like a problem. Knebel is not closing for Philadelphia. He lost the closer role after several rather brutal blown saves -- the final one in mid-June against the Miami Marlins, a game that the Phillies lost 11-9. While he has performed better in a non-leverage role of late, he is not missing many bats and command remains an issue, so there is no telling if he regains ninth-inning work. Move on.
Right-hander Seranthony Dominguez boasts the best numbers (and probably the best stuff) in the Phillies' oft-beleaguered bullpen. His appearance on the most-added list in ESPN leagues is certainly warranted. Still, the scarred organization continues to handle his workload carefully and it may make him unlikely to pile on big save numbers. Dominguez, who missed all but one inning of the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to Tommy John surgery after saving 16 games as a rookie in 2018, is permitted to pitch on consecutive days, but not in three days over a four-game stretch.
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Phillies manager Rob Thomson, likely acting on orders from the front office, bypassed Dominguez and experienced lefty Brad Hand for Sunday's save in San Diego, going with right-hander Andrew Bellatti. Bellatti is pitching well, but is still just a 30-year-old journeyman. It was his first career save. Bellatti is from San Diego and it almost seemed as if the Phillies were doing him a favor letting him close on Sunday, but Knebel pitched the seventh inning and wild lefty Jose Alvarado the eighth. If Dominguez and Hand were not available, well, that's nearly the entire crew.
It seems likely that Dominguez, still available in roughly 86% of ESPN standard leagues, will handle most of the closing duties, though the franchise finally seems wise enough -- well, we shall see -- to deploy their top option when it matters most in a game, like perhaps versus the middle of a lineup in an eighth inning. Hand is better against left-handed hitters, so this is likely a collaborative effort. Dominguez is dominating right-handed batters, holding them to a .119 batting average and .153 slugging percentage (.327 OPS). Right-handers have a healthier .723 OPS. He's inducing ground balls more than 50% of the time (and did pre-surgery as well) with his electric fastball/slider combination.
One final Phillies bullpen note (until future weeks, when based on recent history everything may change): Good for Mark Appel! The No. 1 pick in the 2013 draft has struggled with injuries (and the will to retire) in a star-crossed career, but finally got promoted to the big leagues over the weekend. He deserved it, having posting a 1.61 ERA at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Fantasy value seems unlikely here, but not everything is about fantasy, ya know? It's a great baseball and human interest story. Root for Appel.
Stock rising
Jorge Lopez, Baltimore Orioles: Yeah, we've mentioned him numerous times before but we just have to remind you that the No. 4 relief pitcher on the ESPN Player Rater for the season remains available in nearly 50% of ESPN standard leagues. Um, like what are you waiting for? Forget about this fellow's sub-optimal career prior to 2022. Lopez boasts a 0.75 ERA and last permitted an earned run six weeks ago. Four of his June saves have been for more than three outs, making him a rarity in the sport. I love this story, too. How can you not be adding Lopez by now? He and New York Yankees surprise Clay Holmes are, quite likely, the fantasy MVPs among relief pitchers.
Tanner Houck, Boston Red Sox: He will not save any games early this week in Toronto because he is unvaccinated and, thus, unable to travel to Canada. Still, Houck is otherwise pretty clearly Boston's closer, with six saves over the past two weeks. He will likely resume closing duties later this week. Houck still has SP-level stuff, should the Red Sox desire to utilize him that way in future seasons, but it seems unlikely in 2022. Houck is not dominating, though he misses bats. Left-handed hitters boast a .769 OPS against him, so lefties Matt Strahm and/or Jake Diekman may (and really should) take some saves, but the Red Sox are winning games and Houck may reach 20 saves. Move on from Matt Barnes.
Stock falling
Emilio Pagan, Minnesota Twins: Pagan still leads the Twins staff with nine saves but three other Twins have saves in June and, most importantly, Pagan entered in the sixth inning with a lead in Sunday's win over the Colorado Rockies. Fellow right-handers Tyler Duffey and Jhoan Duran handled the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. Duran has the best stuff in this bullpen, and has future top-10 closer written all over him if he remains in the bullpen, but manager Rocco Baldelli tends to utilize him earlier in games. Sunday was probably not an indication that everything has changed with Duran now getting saves, but it may be an indication that Pagan may not get to 20 saves.
Giovanny Gallegos, St. Louis Cardinals: This situation may be a similar to the Twins, actually. It is a bit odd that Gallegos, who seemed like a decent bet to be a top-10 closer this season, remains rostered in nearly 80% of ESPN standard leagues, when he has a mere one save the past five weeks. Ryan Helsley is clearly performing better, striking out 38% of batters faced, but he's not piling on the saves, either. In fact, five Cardinals have June saves, although one was the ridiculous "three-inning thing in a blowout." Gallegos is fine to roster. He doesn't hurt fantasy managers and he may get more saves, but it seems unlikely he reaches 20. In fact, it doesn't look any Cardinal will get to that goal.