National League Closer Report: Is Ryan Pressly Trending Toward Losing his Role?

We looked at fantasy baseball closers in the American League and are now going to dive into National League closers.

Here's the last NL closer update we did.

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Dodgers

Tanner Scott has racked up eight of the team's 15 saves. Blake Treinen has two saves, while five others have a save.

Scott has a 2.04 earned run average and has struck out 17 batters over 17 2/3 innings. The closer role is his, for now at least.

Padres

Robert Suarez has 14 of the team's 15 saves so far. He's got a 0.53 ERA and 18 punchouts over 17 frames.

Suarez is a top-end fantasy reliever this season, and while he might regress a touch as the season moves along, he should still end the season as one of the top options.

Giants

San Francisco is hanging with LA and San Diego despite not having a go-to closer yet.

Ryan Walker has seven saves, while Camilo Doval has earned five saves. Walker is 1-1 with a 6.08 ERA and 15 strikeouts over 13 1/3 innings, while Doval has a 2-1 mark and 1.53 ERA, along with 13 punchouts over 17 2/3 innings.

Walker has appeared in the ninth innings of all 15 of his appearances so far. He has two saves and a hold across three appearances this month.

Doval has been working in the seventh inning of late. He has four holds this month, not allowing a run across 3 2/3 innings.

Walker has the closer role to himself, but Doval is still likely to earn some saves over the course of the season. San Fran is good enough to roster/utilize the closer (Walker) in standard leagues, while having Doval be a deep-league option, even in his seventh-inning role.

Diamondbacks

With A.J. Puk and now Justin Martinez on the injured list, the D-Backs are trying to piece together the end of their bullpen.

Puk is on the 60-day injured list, so he won't be a fantasy asset for some time. Martinez is on the 15-day IL, and could return as soon as that timeframe ends.

Since the start of this month, a few relievers have been covering the final innings for Arizona. Shelby Miller has a save and a blown save, but has worked in the ninth inning of all three appearances, so he looks like the preferred closer for now. Jalen Beeks earned a save, but it came in an extra-inning contest.

I'd roll with Miller in some deeper leagues until Martinez is back. It doesn't appear to be a long-term injury though, so Martinez will likely have the closer role to himself from when he gets back until Puk is active again.

Rockies

Zach Agnos has two of the five Rockies' saves this season.

Both of his saves came at the end of April/the start of May. In his second appearance in May, he took the loss after allowing two unearned runs in the 10th inning.

This Colorado team isn't good enough to support one closer, and nobody has emerged as the go-to guy, so that doesn't help matters. We'll see if a reliever ever emerges this season.

Mets

Edwin Diaz has eight of the team's 11 saves this season. He's 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA and 22 punchouts over 14 frames.

In two appearances this month, Diaz has a save and two strikeouts over two innings. The closer role is his, and he'll have it unless he's pitched too often or is battling an injury.

Phillies

Jose Alvarado has six of the team's 10 saves on the year. Jordan Romano has two saves, while Matt Strahm has one save.

In May, Alvarado has a save and a loss. He's allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits and a walk, which all came in one appearance.

Romano has pitched twice this month, earning a hold. He worked the sixth inning in his last contest.

Strahm has three appearances this month, working between the sixth-ninth innings. He finished the game in his last appearance, but allowed a run in an eventual four-run win.

Alvarado is still the Philly fantasy reliever I like most, but with the inconsistent results and save chances, he's really a better deep-league option for now.

Braves

Raisel Iglesias has six of the team's seven saves. He's 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA and 17 punchouts over 14 innings.

He's been good this month, not allowing a run over three innings, while punching out seven. Iglesias has a save and win over those outings.

Iglesias is the clear closer in Atlanta, and he looks to have righted the ship after a rocky start to the season.

Nationals

Kyle Finnegan has all 12 of the Nationals' saves so far. He's 0-1 with a 3.07 ERA and 15 strikeouts over 14 2/3 innings.

He's the clear closer for Washington, and has three saves so far in May. Finnegan has allowed a run over three innings this month.

Marlins

Calvin Faucher and Jesus Tinoco have two saves each for Miami, while Anthony Bender has one.

Miami isn't good enough to support a closer, and nobody has stepped up enough anyways. It's anybody's guess who would even get a save chance at this point.

Avoid all the Miami relievers outside of the deepest of fantasy leagues.

Cubs

Ryan Pressly has four of the team's eight saves. He's coming off a rough outing (which can be read here), so his season numbers are a bit out of whack.

Pressly still looks to be the leader for saves in Chicago, but it's a situation worth watching now. 

Porter Hodge (4.50 ERA) or Caleb Thielbar (3.29 ERA) could be the next in line for saves if Pressly continues to struggle. Pressly was already an underwhelming fantasy asset with a lack of saves and strikeouts, so he's just a deep-league asset for the time being.

Reds

Emilio Pagan is still leading the way in saves for Cincy. He has nine saves, along with an 0-1 record and 2.60 ERA, while striking out 20 over 17 1/3 innings.

Alexis Diaz, the closer coming into the season, was sent to the minor leagues, so Pagan has a firm grasp on the closer role for the foreseeable future too.

Pagan has a save and a blown save over three appearances this month. He's allowed a run over three innings, while striking out six batters.

Brewers

Trevor Megill is the only Brewer with multiple saves, collecting four so far. He's 0-2 with a 3.48 ERA and 14 punchouts over 10 1/3 innings.

Megill hasn't gotten a ton of save opportunities this season, but he's still the clear closer in Milwaukee.

Cardinals

Ryan Helsley leads St. Louis with six saves. He's 1-0 with a 3.46 ERA and 13 strikeouts over 13 innings.

Helsley has two saves and just one run allowed over three appearances and innings this month. He's allowed four hits in his outings, while striking out three.

Phil Maton has been working eighth innings for the Cardinals, so he could be next in line for saves. Gordon Graceffo earned a save on Tuesday, and has two wins on the season as well, so he's a name to keep tabs on.

Pirates

Dennis Santana and David Bednar now share the Pittsburgh lead for saves with three.

Santana hasn't worked a ninth inning in his past three outings though. He has been unscored upon in his last five appearances and 4 1/3 innings though.

Bednar has been solid since being called back up to the big leagues. He has allowed two runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out 10 batters over eight innings.

Bednar has two saves, an 0-1 record and two holds since being called back up on April 19.

Bednar is the Pittsburgh fantasy reliever you want to own, and a few more saves going forward could gain back more of the fantasy value he lost. On a bad team, Bednar is probably going to top out as a deep-league asset though.