American League Fantasy Baseball Closer Update: Is it Time to Worry About Luke Jackson and Felix Bautista?

It's time for a fantasy baseball update on closing pitchers.

We will check out American League teams first, then look at National League closers in another story. Here's the last AL update.

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Mariners

Andres Munoz has 16 of the team's 17 saves this season. Carlos Vargas has the other one.

The closer role belongs to Munoz, and he's nowhere near giving it up. He's 1-0 with still no earned runs allowed this season. He has 28 strikeouts over 21 2/3 innings and is one of the top fantasy relievers in the game so far.

Astros 

Josh Hader has 12 of the team's 13 saves so far. Steven Okert has the other save.

Hader is the clear closer in Houston. He's 1-0 with a 1.71 ERA over 21 innings, and he's struck out 29 batters along the way. Hader is one of the top fantasy closers again.

Rangers

Luke Jackson has nailed down eight of the team's 14 saves. Shawn Armstrong is the only other reliever with multiple saves, and he has just two. Five other relievers have one save.

Jackson blew a save in his last appearance, but that came in the eighth inning. He doesn't have a save since April 25, so his fantasy value has dried up.

It's tough to say who would get a save chance for the Rangers tonight if the situation presented itself. I think Jackson is still the go-to guy, but it's not a sure thing.

Angels

Kenley Jansen is up to 10 saves for the Angels. The Angels have 12 saves as a team.

Jansen is 0-2 with a 5.28 ERA over 15 1/3 innings this season. He's earned saves in three straight appearances, and have all come in the past week. The Angels are hot right now, so Jansen's fantasy value and ownership is up a bit.

Athletics

Mason Miller leads the Athletics with 11 saves - the team has 13 saves overall. 

Miller is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA over 16 innings. He has 31 punchouts already. Miller has allowed runs in three of his past four appearances, but still has a clear hold on the closer role.

Yankees

Luke Weaver has seven saves for New York. Devin Williams is at four, while Fernando Cruz has two.

Cruz just hit the injured list, so he's not a closing option for a while. Williams has been good of late, but is working the eighth innings for the Yankees.

Weaver has four saves and a win over his past five appearances. He hasn't allowed a run in that span, and appears to have won the New York closer role for now.

He's worth adding and utilizing in any league types, but the threat of Williams in the same bullpen might hold his own percentage back a little bit. Both guys are rostered in 81% of leagues right now, but Weaver's own mark should rise, while Williams' drops if this recent trend continues.

Blue Jays

Jeff Hoffman has claimed 10 of the team's 15 saves. Yimi Garcia has three saves.

Garcia hasn't earned a save since May 14. He's worked the ninth inning once since, but that was in a game the team was losing. 

Hoffman continues to only work ninth innings. He blew a save in his last appearance, and had another blown save on May 13.

Hoffman is the go-to closer for now, but more struggles could open the door for Garcia, or another reliever to claim the closer role.

Red Sox

Aroldis Chapman has saved eight games for the Red Sox. Justin Slaten has three saves, and the team has just one more otherwise.

Slaten hasn't worked a ninth inning since May 9. Chapman works the ninth inning repeatedly. Chapman has two saves and a win over his past three appearances.

He's got good strikeout numbers too, so even without a ton of saves, Chapman is a pretty good fantasy asset still.

Rays

Pete Fairbanks continues to lead the Rays in saves with eight. The team has 12 overall.

Fairbanks has 20 punchouts over 20 innings. He is 3-1 and has a 2.25 ERA. Fairbanks would be a better fantasy asset if the Rays could win some more games.

Orioles

Felix Bautista has all seven saves for the Orioles. 

He's 0-1 with a 4.30 ERA over 14 2/3 innings. He's struck out 17 batters along the way.

Bautista is trending down as a fantasy asset. He's allowed a run in four straight appearances. He has a loss and blown save in those games.

With Baltimore struggling to earn wins, Bautista is losing fantasy value by the day.

Tigers

Tommy Kahnle leads Detroit with six saves, but Will Vest is hot on his tracks with five saves. Brant Hurter is still on two saves, and Beau Brieske now has a save.

Kahnle earned a save on May 20, but had been working the seventh-eighth innings before that. Vest has two wins, a save and a blown save over his last four appearances - two appearances were in the ninth inning, and two were in the eighth.

Hurter hasn't pitched later than the seventh inning in his past three appearances. He was the opener and tossed three innings on May 21. Brieske earned a save on May 16, has hasn't worked in the ninth inning since.

The Tigers are one of the league's best teams so far, but no clear-cut closer has emerged. This trend might continue all season, so everyone is just a deep-league option for now. We'll keep tabs on things and see if anyone ever emerges as the go-to closer.

Guardians

Emmanuel Clase has nine of the team's 14 saves so far this season. Cade Smith has three saves.

Smith worked the ninth inning during a tie game on May 19, but allowed a run and took the loss. Clase continues to be the team's go-to guy.

He doesn't have a save since May 13, so that hurts his fantasy value a bit. Clase has been underwhelming as a fantasy asset most of this season. It'd be a good time to buy low on Clase.

Twins

Jhoan Duran has eight of the Twins' 12 saves. Cole Sands and Danny Coulombe have two saves each.

Sands earned saves on May 14 and 16 when the Twins were on their long winning streak. Coulombe's last save was on May 9.

Duran still is the preferred closer in Minnesota. He doesn't have a save since May 14, but earned a win after blowing a save on May 19.

Royals

Carlos Estevez has 14 of the team's 16 saves so far.

He is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA over 21 2/3 innings. Estevez has just 19 strikeouts though, so that limits him a bit as a fantasy asset. He's the go-to closer in Kansas City, now he just needs more save opportunities.

White Sox

Four Chicago relievers have a save on the season.

Mike Vasil got a save on May 14, but hasn't worked past the eighth inning since. Brandon Eisert has a save, but has been working the sixth-seventh innings of late.

Cam Booser got a save on May 11 - he's worked the eighth innings in back-to-back outings. Jordan Leasure got the team's save on May 20, then worked the seventh inning the next night.

There's no guessing who will get save chances in Chicago, if the team ever has the lead. There's no Chicago reliever even worth owning in most deeper redraft leagues, and that might remain the case all season.