Fantasy Baseball Closer Updates for American League Teams: Who is Trending Up and Down?

After checking in on the National League closers, let's now go over the closers in the American League.

Here's the last update we did on AL closers.

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Tigers

Will Vest is the Tigers' preferred closer right now. Tommy Kahnle is another option, but has been the setup man of late.

Vest has appeared in 34 games, covering 37 innings so far. He has a 2.43 earned run average and 41 strikeouts, along with a 5-1 record, 12 saves, three blown saves and a hold.

He's up to 70% rostered, while Kahnle is at 45% now. Vest will continue to go up with that own percentage with more positive results.

Guardians

Emmanuel Clase is the clear closer in Cleveland. He has a save in four of his past five outings.

He has a 4-1 record, 18 saves, three blown saves and a hold on the season. Clase has a 3.38 ERA and 36 strikeouts over 34 2/3 innings.

Clase isn't the elite fantasy option he was last season, but he's still a top-end fantasy closer and a daily fantasy starter.

Twins

Jhoan Duran is the Minnesota closer. He got a save in his last appearance, but it was just his second save of the month.

He has a 4-3 record, 11 saves, two blown saves and a hold on the year. Duran has a 1.73 ERA, and it's taken a hit this month with him allowing four runs. His 41 strikeouts are also a nice boost to his fantasy value.

Duran is rostered in 91% of leagues, and he's been trending down with a lack of saves this month.

Royals

Carlos Estevez is the go-to closer for Kansas City.

He's pitched in 34 games, covering 34 2/3 innings this season. Estevez is 2-2 with 22 saves and three blown saves. He has a 2.08 ERA and 30 punchouts along the way.

Estevez has been one of the better fantasy closers this season, but has been a bit underrated. He's at 94% rostered now, so fantasy owners have finally taken notice.

White Sox

Chicago still doesn't have a go-to closer, not that the team wins enough for that reliever to be a good fantasy asset. 

Grant Taylor continues to be the most-owned White Sox' reliever. He's at 7%, and that's because he's a prospect on the rise. Over time, he could get the save chances in Chicago, so he's worth keeping tabs on.

Yankees

Devin Williams appears to have won back his closer role. Luke Weaver has worked as a setup man in his first few games back off the injured list.

Williams has a 2-2 record, 10 saves, a blown save and seven holds this season. He has a 4.91 ERA and 37 strikeouts over 29 1/3 innings. 

He's back up to 88% owned, and that will grow with each save and strong outing he delivers. Williams has allowed just one run over his past 9 1/3 innings, while also tallying 11 strikeouts in that stretch.

Rays

Pete Fairbanks is the Tampa Bay closer. He has a save in three of his past four appearances, and has allowed just two runs over his past 14 games and innings.

He has a 3-1 mark, 15 saves and two blown saves on the season. Fairbanks has a 2.03 ERA and 26 strikeouts over 31 innings.

Fairbanks is underrated and owned in just 75% of leagues. He deserves to be rostered in more leagues than that.

Blue Jays

Jeff Hoffman has remained the team's go-to closer despite a high ERA this season.

Across 35 games and 33 1/3 innings, Hoffman has a 5.13 ERA. He also has a 6-2 record, 17 saves, four blown saves and 45 strikeouts.

He's at 95% rostered right now. I think it's a bit too high, but he's also pitched well enough of late to justify the higher own percentage.

Red Sox

Aroldis Chapman is the go-to closer in Boston. He's allowed just one unearned run in June, and that covers 11 games and 10 innings. 

Chapman has a 1.36 ERA and 48 strikeouts over 33 innings this season. He's 3-2 with 14 saves, one blown save and two holds.

He's at 91% rostered and is trending up. Chapman is a good fantasy option with all those strikeouts, so to now be earning some saves too gives him even more fantasy value.

Orioles

Felix Bautista has had a good month of June and is up to 93% rostered because of it.

Over 28 games and 27 2/3 innings, Bautista has a 2.60 ERA and 38 punchouts. He has an 0-1 record, but 16 saves and just one blown save.

Bautista could be an elite fantasy option if the Orioles were good, but the team's poor play has left him as just a good fantasy asset.

Astros

Josh Hader earned three more saves and a win since the last AL closer update.

He has a 5-1 record, 21 saves and no blown saves on the season. Hader has a 1.73 ERA and 56 strikeouts over 36 1/3 innings.

He's an elite fantasy closer, just like he is just about every season.

Mariners

Andres Munoz continues to serve as the Seattle closer.

He's 3-0 with 18 saves and four blown saves over 30 appearances and 29 2/3 innings. Munoz has a 1.21 ERA and 40 punchouts as well.

Munoz is another elite fantasy option this season, although he doesn't have the track record Hader does. That makes Munoz a possible sell-high trade candidate, especially if you have a few other closers you can turn to.

Angels

Kenley Jansen is the Los Angeles closer. He has five straight scoreless outings, but just one save in that stretch.

Jansen has a 4.23 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 27 2/3 innings, so you can see some of his fantasy limitations. He has a 1-2 record and 15 saves so far, and still has not blown a save.

While Jansen has pitched well this season, the bad team he's on is holding him back as a fantasy asset. He's simply not pitching enough to be a major fantasy asset.

He's owned in 66% of fantasy leagues right now, and that's been about what he's been at for the past month. There's plenty of fantasy closing options, so don't be afraid to drop Jansen if there's a better option available. He probably doesn't even deserve to be at 66%, with his big name boosting him a few percent.

Rangers

Luke Jackson and Robert Garcia lead the Rangers in saves, with nine and six, respectively. Chris Martin is another late-inning relief option.

Over his past four appearances, Martin has two holds, a save and a blown save. The blown save came in the seventh inning, and that was in his last appearance. 

Garcia got a save in his last outing, but that came in the 10th inning. He worked the ninth inning in his previous four appearances before that. He earned a save and blew a save in that stretch.

Jackson has a win, save and two holds over his past five appearances. He's allowed one run in that stretch, and has looked like the best pitcher on paper.

Martin and Garcia are each at 20% rostered, while Jackson is at 17%. I honestly still like Jackson the most, but am not a huge believer in any of those three. This is a situation you have to monitor daily, and maybe we'll get a better answer on the setup of things soon.

Athletics

Mason Miller is the Athletics' closer still, despite some struggles this season.

He has a 4.85 ERA, and that's down from a 5.55 mark he held earlier this month. Miller has a 1-2 record, 15 saves and three blown saves across 29 appearances and 29 2/3 innings. His 49 punchouts are carrying his fantasy value.

Miller has been better of late, allowing just one run over his past five outings. He has two saves, a win and a blown save in that stretch.

Miller is at 95% rostered right now and has a lower trade value. If you believe in him bouncing back, now is a time to buy low on him. I still think he's rosterable in just about every fantasy league because of the big strikeout totals.