American League Fantasy Baseball Closer Report: Is Anyone Emerging for Houston, Detroit, New York, Cleveland or Texas?

It's time to go over the closer situation for every MLB team.

We'll begin with American League teams here, then cover the National League teams in another article. Here's the last AL closer update we did.

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Astros

Josh Hader hit the injured list, and it appears he's going to be out for a while, so the closer situation in Houston is up for grabs.

Bennett Sousa earned a save on Monday before Bryan Abreu got a save on Wednesday, with Sousa earning a hold that day. Those are the two guys who fantasy owners picked up earlier in the week, so we really have no clarity on the situation.

Abreu is at 62% rostered, while Sousa is at 8% owned. Hader is still owned in all leagues, while Bryan King is at 14%.

I too think Abreu will get more save chances than anyone else with Hader out, but if it's a committee of any type, nobody is going to be worth owning in a standard fantasy league. Keep monitoring the situation daily to see if anything ever changes - if Hader is out for several weeks, you might also have to consider dropping him.

Mariners

Andres Munoz is the team's clear closer, and he earned saves on Saturday and Tuesday so far this week. He's owned in all fantasy leagues and should remain a solid option down the stretch.

Matt Brash got a save on Sunday, so he'd likely be next in line if Munoz has worked a couple days in a row.

Rangers

The Rangers' bullpen is a mess, and nobody has a save since Saturday.

Phil Maton and Robert Garcia are the perceived co-closers. Maton earned a win on Monday, but took a loss and blew a save on Wednesday. Garcia blew a save on Tuesday.

Maton is the most-rosted Texas reliever, sitting at 30% right now. Garcia is at 20%. Chris Martin sits at 10%, while Shawn Armstrong is at 6%.

This is another situation to monitor daily, but I'm not sure anyone will emerge as a standard league fantasy asset. Avoid these guys in standard leagues until they deliver some better results.

Angels

Kenley Jansen is the team's closer and had a great week across four appearances since Saturday.

He earned saves on Saturday, Monday and Wednesday, needing 12 or less pitches for each save. He's trending up and sits at 80% rostered now.

Athletics

No closer has emerged since the trade deadline, when Mason Miller was traded away.

Sean Newcomb is the projected closer, but he doesn't have a save yet this season. He's at 5% owned, but won't go any higher until he earns some saves.

Tigers

A week after it looked like Kyle Finnegan had emerged as the Detroit closer, now it's Will Vest that looks like the lead man.

Finnegan earned a win on Monday, then got a hold on Wednesday. Vest earned saves on those days.

Both are solid fantasy assets, but until a clear closer emerges, I'm not sure who is the best option. Finnegan is trending down and is at 84% rostered, while Vest is on the rise and sits at 60% rostered now.

Keep an eye on this closer situation daily, but it probably will go back and forth for the rest of the season.

Guardians

Cade Smith appears to be the clear leader for saves in Cleveland now. He earned saves on Saturday and Thursday, while picking up a win on Tuesday.

Smith is now rostered in 77% of fantasy leagues, and will continue to rise with more saves and good results. 

Emmanuel Clase is way down to 54% owned while the MLB's investigation carries on. Hunter Gaddis is at 24% rostered, while Erik Sabrowski is at 4%.

Royals

Carlos Estevez is the team's closer, even though Lucas Erceg also earned a save this week.

Estevez picked up saves on Saturday and Monday, but took losses on Sunday and Wednesday. Erceg earned his save on Wednesday, and otherwise blew a save and picked up a hold this week.

Estevez is holding steady at 92% rostered, but could go down with more inconsistent results. It's also worth watching if Erceg will earn some save chances after the recent struggles of Estevez. Erceg is at 34% rostered.

Twins

Justin Topa is the top-owned Minnesota reliever at just 6%. He earned a save on Wednesday.

Minnesota isn't likely to do a ton of winning down the stretch, so even if Topa is the clear No. 1 option for saves, he might not be the best fantasy asset. He could at least be a worthwhile add in some deeper leagues.

White Sox

Chicago has earned a couple wins this week, but the saves went to two different guys. Grant Taylor got a save on Sunday before Jordan Leasure picked one up on Tuesday.

Taylor is at 11% rostered, while Leasure is at 3%. If there's a committee even between those two, neither will be owned in too many more leagues, and they'll never sniff standard league ownership. I don't think the White Sox can sustain a full-time closer, let alone multiple guys.

Blue Jays

Jeff Hoffman is the team's closer, even though Mason Fluharty picked up a save this week.

Hoffman earned a save on Thursday. He blew a save on Sunday, but also got the win in that contest. Fluharty got the save on Sunday.

Hoffman is at 95% rostered, and despite some ups and downs this season, has mostly been a good fantasy asset. Toronto wins enough to support Hoffman as a fantasy asset, and he should be a better-than-average option down the stretch.

Red Sox

Boston had some lopsided wins over the past several days, so nobody earned a save. Aroldis Chapman should still be the go-to closer.

He's at 96% rostered because of a stellar earned run average and great strikeout numbers. Chapman should be a top-end fantasy option down the stretch.

Yankees

Nobody on the Yankees earned a save this week either. David Bednar appears to be the new closer, but he blew a save on Saturday - he picked up the win in that one too.

Bednar is at 81% rostered, but needs more work and good results to ever get to 100% owned. Devin Williams is down to 75% rostered, while Camilo Doval is at 48% and Luke Weaver sits at 43%.

Keep an eye on this situation still, and hopefully Bednar, or somebody, will emerge as the closer over time.

Rays

Pete Fairbanks is the team's closer, but has pitched just once since Saturday. He earned a save on Monday.

He's holding steady near 78% owned, but might be dropped if he's not utilized more going forward. Fairbanks' own percentage could also rise with more work and saves.

Orioles

The closer role in Baltimore is another messy situation. Felix Bautista is now ruled out for the season, so someone will need to fill that role.

Keegan Akin blew saves on Sunday and Wednesday - he earned a win on Wednesday and took a loss on Sunday. He pitched and earned a hold on Thursday.

Dietrich Enns picked up a save on Thursday and earned holds on Wednesday and Sunday.

Yennier Cano is also an option, but earned a hold on Wednesday and wasn't involved in a decision on Sunday. 

Bautista can be dropped in all redraft leagues now that he's out for the season. Akin is at 16%, while Cano is at 4% and Enns sits at 2%.

I'm not sure any of those guys will separate themselves as the season moves along, so this is another situation to watch daily. Baltimore might not win enough to make them any more than a deep-league asset anyways.