Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: Trevor Megill Reclaims Closer Role, Jeff Hoffman Struggles

The Brewers ' top choice for saves coming into the year was Trevor Megill . The Blue Jays ' top choice was Jeff Hoffman .

Both teams pivoted away from their intended closers for reasons that made sense at the time, and both replacements were performing well enough to stay in the role. Yet both teams pivoted back over the weekend, to varying degrees.

Is either of those changes likely to stick? Let's look at the 10 closer situations generating the most interest in Fantasy Baseball right now.

Note: "Pecking order" refers to rosterability in Fantasy and not necessarily who's first in line for saves (though it's usually one and the same).

Brewers Pecking order

Trevor Megill MIL RP

Abner Uribe MIL RP

Aaron Ashby MIL RP

It sure seems like Trevor Megill is the closer again. The right-hander has recorded a save in three of the Brewers' past four games, with Abner Uribe , who had previously been the favorite, preceding him in two of those contests. The role swap coincided with manager Pat Murphy's rebuke of a gesture Uribe made to the opposing dugout last week, but whether that interaction actually brought about the change is a matter of speculation. Regardless, Megill has been the better of the two by any measure but ERA. His is inflated by a pair of shaky appearances that cost him the closer role in early April, one of which was brought about by his own poor fielding choices rather than his pitching. His 1.50 FIP is nearly two runs better than Uribe's 3.40 mark, which further justifies Murphy's decision.

Blue Jays Pecking order

Louie Varland TOR RP

Jeff Hoffman TOR RP

Tyler Rogers TOR RP

Braydon Fisher TOR RP

Though Louie Varland has been a model of reliability since stepping into the closer role in late April, quickly racking up eight saves while sustaining a mathematically improbable 0.29 ERA, the Blue Jays have seen fit to shake things up in recent days. They had Varland set up for a Tyler Rogers save Wednesday and a Jeff Hoffman save chance Saturday. Hoffman would be the bigger concern here, seeing as he was the closer prior to Varland, and he had gone a nice run since ceding the role to Varland on April 21, leaning into his slider more while putting together a 2.45 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 12.3 K/9 in 15 appearances. I said he only got the save chance Saturday, though. He blew it in epic fashion, allowing five earned runs while recording just one out.

It wasn't entirely clear that Varland was losing his grip on the role anyway. In both of his recent setup appearances, he was facing the heart of the opposing team's lineup. Hoffman's meltdown Saturday, though, may have clinched the job for Varland once and for all.

Royals Pecking order

Lucas Erceg KC RP

Matt Strahm KC RP

Daniel Lynch KC RP

John Schreiber KC RP

A dearth of strikeouts seemed like it could spell doom for Lucas Erceg at some point, and that doom has come in the form of eight earned runs in his past three appearances to raise his ERA from 3.26 to 6.33. That's to go along with a 1.92 WHIP. The Kansas City Star reports that the Royals intend to stick with him , but I have to presume his leash is at its very end now. It isn't clear who could replace Erceg either. Left-hander Matt Strahm was a fill-in closer at times for the Phillies and was just activated from the IL following a bout with knee inflammation. He would be my first choice, but then again, Daniel Lynch , another left-hander, has actually been the Royals ' best reliever so far. Part of the reason I lean toward Strahm is because Lynch has more often been tasked with the seventh inning than the eighth.

Tigers Pecking order

Kenley Jansen DET RP

Kyle Finnegan DET RP

Will Vest DET RP

Drew Anderson DET RP

Manager A.J. Hinch has never been much for conventional bullpen roles, and an inflamed hip for Kenley Jansen  has granted him the freedom to mix and match in the ninth again. Unfortunately, this year's versions of Kyle Finnegan and Will Vest aren't the same as last year's. Hinch tried to give Finnegan the save chance Friday, but the 34-year-old promptly blew it and has struggled mightily with walks all season (which explains his 5.06 FIP as compared to his 2.03 ERA). Vest, meanwhile, has lost about 1 mph on everything and has struggled to find any measure of success. He allowed five earned runs two appearances ago, bringing his ERA to 7.41. With those choices, Hinch has all the more reason to go the piecemeal route until Jansen is able to return, which sounds like it could be sooner than later.

Reds Pecking order

Emilio Pagan CIN RP

Tony Santillan CIN RP

Sam Moll CIN RP

Caleb Ferguson CIN RP

Tony Santillan had a chance to step up in Emilio Pagan's absence, perhaps securing the closer role for the long haul, but he just hasn't been the same pitcher this year. With his fastball and slurve both lagging by about 2 mph, he allowed at least one earned run in seven of his 11 appearances in May, blowing two saves in the process. He needed to be bailed out by left-hander Sam Moll  in the ninth inning Sunday, costing him a chance at his third save. Santillan is still probably the favorite to close until Pagan is back from a hamstring strain, particularly with  Graham Ashcraft (sprained elbow) and Pierce Johnson (elbow inflammation) now also confined to the IL, but his grip on the role is about as loose as it gets.

Dodgers Pecking order

Tanner Scott LAD RP

Edwin Diaz LAD RP

Blake Treinen LAD RP

Kyle Hurt LAD RP

Alex Vesia LAD RP

Will Klein LAD RP

Edwin Diaz has begun a throwing program but is still expected to be sidelined until the second half, which makes a reliever like Tanner Scott plenty attractive in the meantime. The problem is that manager Dave Roberts doesn't seem fully committed to having the left-hander close. At no point in May did Scott have two consecutive ninth-inning appearances, and along the way, Will Klein , Blake Treinen and Kyle Hurt  each recorded a save. Scott himself had four saves in May, including most recently Friday, and maybe on a team like the Dodgers , the chances will be plentiful enough to warrant a closer timeshare. Ultimately, though, it's hard to treat Scott like a conventional closer in Fantasy, even with how well he's pitching.

Astros Pecking order

Josh Hader HOU RP

Bryan King HOU RP

Enyel De Los Santos HOU RP

Bryan Abreu HOU RP

For a stretch there in May, Bryan King seemed to have emerged as the clear choice to fill in for Josh Hader (biceps tendinitis), notching three consecutive saves for the Astros and six overall. But his past two appearances have both come in the eighth inning, including once to set up Enyel De Los Santos for a save. The point may be moot. Hader is wrapping up a lengthy rehab assignment and will likely reclaim the closer role by the time the next Bullpen Report comes out.

Orioles Pecking order

Ryan Helsley BAL RP

Rico Garcia BAL RP

Anthony Nunez BAL RP

Yennier Cano BAL RP

Speaking of injured closers, Ryan Helsley , who originally seemed like he'd need only a minimum IL stint for the elbow discomfort he was experiencing, is now more than a month into his absence and still needs more time to build up before facing hitters. The slow pace has me wary of a setback, as is always possible for injuries of that nature.  Rico Garcia -- with his 0.71 ERA, 0.63 WHIP and 9.9 K/9 -- still makes for an exciting fill-in even though he's only gotten three saves so far. The Orioles ' two most recent saves went to Anthony Nunez , with Garcia setting up for him each time, but the latest was way back on May 22. All three of Garcia's appearances since then have come in the ninth, including twice to close out a close game (though not a save chance). Garcia may be needed earlier at times as the Orioles' highest-leverage arm, but he's still the favorite for saves.

Giants Pecking order

Caleb Kilian SF RP

Keaton Winn SF RP

Matt Gage SF RP

Erik Miller SF RP

Caleb Kilian has recorded three of the Giants ' past four saves and will probably record the next one, too, but I say "probably" because he just blew one Friday in Colorado, allowing five earned runs. His next appearance two days later came in the sixth inning of a blowout win, which generally isn't how a closer is used. It's unclear that Kilian had the role in the first place -- the Giants' save chances are just too few and far between to glean much from them -- but he was at least the leading contender. And he may still be. His toughest competition would be Keaton Winn , who manager Tony Vitello prefers to implement as more of a Swiss Army knife. Otherwise, it comes down to left-handers Matt Gage and Erik Miller .

Nationals Pecking order

Clayton Beeter WAS RP

Richard Lovelady WAS RP

Gus Varland WAS RP

Though a week ago, I said there was no reason to bother with the Nationals ' closer role for Fantasy, a couple of saves on back-to-back days for Clayton Beeter has me rethinking that stance. He was the preferred choice for saves coming into the year, remember, but then he missed a month with a sore forearm. He's been unscored upon in five appearances since returning, while Gus Varland has struggled to keep runs off the board. Meanwhile,  Richard Lovelady's four saves always seemed more like a matter of happenstance than intent. A third save for Beeter in the coming days would really clinch it for me, but as it is, he's worth mentioning again as a possible saves source.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/fantasy-baseball-bullpen-report-trevor-megill-reclaims-the-closer-role/)._