Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: A Giant conundrum at closer – CBSSports.com

It’s never too late for closer turnover. In fact, for the contending
San Francisco Giants
, it couldn’t come soon enough.

With his eighth blown save Friday, his fourth outing in six in which he allowed at least one earned run,
Santiago Casilla
is out as the ninth-inning option, at least in exclusivity, with manager Bruce Bochy saying he’d go with whichever pitcher he thought gave his team the best chance of winning that day.

And true to his word, he turned to
Hunter Strickland
for a four-out save Sunday.

Strickland makes as much sense as anybody, having performed reliably in the seventh and eighth innings all year, but that’s sort of the problem: He makes as much sense as anybody.

Why not
Sergio Romo
, who has performed just as capably in a setup role and was the Giants closer before they ever turned to Casilla?

Why not
Joe Nathan
, who may be 41 and working his way back from Tommy John surgery but is also one of the most decorated closers of all time?

Shoot, why not Casilla himself, after a brief respite? For his eight failures, he has also had 31 successes, and Bochy has developed a level of trust in him from their last playoff run. It’s possible the Giants end up right back where they started.

But one name that Bochy highlighted specifically is an unknown to most Fantasy owners.
Derek Law
, who’s on the DL with a strained elbow but set to return Tuesday or Wednesday, has arguably been the Giants’ most effective reliever this season and may well handle their next save chance.

That is, if Strickland didn’t buy himself another look with Sunday’s conversion.

You see the headache this could become.

In trying to nail down the Giants closer for Fantasy purposes, my third choice would be Strickland and my second Law. My first choice would be to avoid the situation entirely and maybe look to
A.J. Ramos
, who seems poised to regain the closer role in Miami after bailing out
Fernando Rodney
Friday and recording a one-out save Sunday.

Or if he’s not available and you need saves any way you can get them, you could roll the dice on this guy …

With
Huston Street
and
Cam Bedrosian
hurt and
Fernando Salas
out of the picture,
Andrew Bailey
seems to be the guy in Anaheim, having recorded three saves in the last eight days and not yet allowed a hit in four appearances with the
Los Angeles Angels
. Of course, his struggles with the Phillies earlier this year should give you pause, but remember, he was getting hyped as a possible closer way back in spring training.

For most of last week,
Mike Foltynewicz
didn’t look like he’d be a two-start pitcher in Fantasy Week 24 (Sept. 12-18), so he didn’t get as much attention on the waiver wire as a pitcher of his caliber normally would, still owned in just 51 percent of CBSSports.com leagues. Equipped with a 98-mph fastball, the project of a prospect is beginning to figure it out, coming off a six-inning gem at Washington last time out.

Now that he’s showing genuine power, having homered three times in his last five games, it’s time to get excited about
Yulieski Gurriel
, who has also brought his exceptional contact skills over from Cuba, striking out just one every nine at-bats. Between him and
Alex Bregman
, the
Houston Astros
have enough movable parts to keep Gurriel in the lineup now that he’s looking like an integral part of it.

Speaking of staying in the lineup,
Jung Ho Kang
‘s absence for a shoulder issue in August seems to have made manager Clint Hurdle’s heart grow fonder, because all of a sudden, Kang is an everyday player, having started six straight games — something he never did prior to the injury. Project his numbers over 550 at-bats, and he’s a 38-homer guy, so I can’t overstate the power potential he brings to a shortstop position.

You’d hate to latch on to a hot streak when it’s nearing its end, but Morales of course has a history of being more than just a hot-hand play. And because he’s eligible at first base and the outfield, two positions that aren’t in abundance on the waiver wire, you can’t expect to do much better if you’re in a pinch.

Fun with numbers again: Assuming 550 at-bats,
Kevin Kiermaier
is on a 20-homer, 29-steal pace, and he’s a better contact hitter than his batting average would have you believe, having suffered through a .275 BABIP this year. His matchups this week could be better, but if you need some steals in a Rotisserie league and can’t afford to turn to a specialist like
Jarrod Dyson
, Kiermaier might be the outfielder for you.