MLB power rankings: Dodgers still atop the list, with Mets, Giants and Tigers close behind
With one month of the season in the books, let's take a look at the closer landscape across the league.
admin
May is right around the corner, which means we will soon stop waving away unusual early season happenings with the comforting refrain of “hey, it’s only April!” Roughly 17% of the MLB regular season is in the books, and teams are starting to settle into their identities.
One of the more defining characteristics of any ballclub is its closer, the pitcher whom the manager trusts the most to record the last three outs when victory is within reach. This week’s power rankings take a look at the closer landscape across the league, assessing which teams are feeling confident with a narrow lead in the ninth inning and which teams have been struggling to secure the final frame.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (18-10)
Tanner Scott is having a bizarre start to his first season in Dodger blue. The control issues that have plagued the hard-throwing southpaw for years have seemingly evaporated, as Scott has yet to issue a walk in 14 appearances and has recorded eight saves with a 2.70 ERA, but he’s allowing far more hard contact without garnering nearly as many whiffs as usual, and his velocity is noticeably down a tick from a year ago. These are troubling, if somewhat confounding, early signs for the talented lefty fresh off signing a $72 million deal in free agency.
2. New York Mets (19-9)
Even by his effectively wild standards, Edwin Díaz has been a bit shakier than what Mets fans would probably like (seven walks, two hit-by-pitches, four wild pitches in 12 innings), but why complain when Díaz is 7-for-7 in save opportunities? He’s still racking up the strikeouts as well as any reliever in the league, and the Mets have the best record in baseball. Things are going just fine in Queens.
3. San Francisco Giants (19-10)
Is Camilo Doval in the process of seizing the closer job back from Ryan Walker? Doval recorded three saves and a win over the past week, with all four appearances coming in the ninth inning, while Walker has endured some uncharacteristic struggles recently. Regardless of the exact closer arrangement, Doval and Walker are two of several Giants relievers — Randy Rodriguez, Tyler Rogers, Erik Miller — who have played a massive role in the team’s hot start. This bullpen is legit.
4. Detroit Tigers (18-10)
Manager AJ Hinch has continued to mix and match in the late innings just as he did so masterfully down the stretch last season, with Will Vest and veteran righty Tommy Kahnle handling the bulk of the save opportunities. Vest’s glow-up into a high-leverage monster last October has carried into this year, and Kahnle’s extensive track record of late-inning success has been a perfect addition to what is clearly one of the best pitching staffs in baseball.
5. Chicago Cubs (17-12)
Sure, Ryan Pressly hasn’t allowed an earned run in his past nine outings, but there are some seriously concerning underlying trends in his profile: A strikeout rate that had already declined each of the past three seasons has plummeted to 9.8%, one of the lowest marks in the sport, and he’s allowing a 59% hard-hit rate, one of the highest marks in MLB and by far the worst of his career. Without any obvious in-house successors, Pressly’s job is likely safe for now, but he’ll need to start missing more bats or else risk all the hard contact coming back to bite him.
6. San Diego Padres (17-11)
Robert Suarez surrendered his first run of the season over the weekend but has yet to blow any saves, with a perfect 10-for-10 mark that is tied with Seattle’s Andrés Muñoz for the best in baseball. Suarez attacks with two different fastballs and a devastating changeup and is throwing more strikes than ever, enabling him to make quick work of his opponents: He has faced the minimum three batters in eight of his 10 saves.
7. New York Yankees (17-11)
Devin Williams losing the closer job less than a month into the season would feel a lot more dire if the Yankees didn’t have Luke Weaver available to plug in as a readymade replacement. Williams will certainly need to get back on track if the Yankees want to reach their ceiling, but Weaver’s consistent excellence — he has allowed just three hits across 14 scoreless innings — should provide some comfort for manager Aaron Boone while Williams works to remedy his issues.
8. Philadelphia Phillies (15-13)
Jordan Romano successfully closing out Philadelphia’s 3-1 win over the Cubs in extra innings Sunday was a sight for sore eyes after the right-hander’s myriad messy outings in his first month as a Phillie. In recent years, manager Rob Thomson has generally spread the save opportunities around depending on matchups, so don’t be surprised if Romano continues to appear frequently in a setup capacity in deference to Jose Alvarado and occasionally Matt Strahm in the ninth.
9. Boston Red Sox (16-14)
With Liam Hendriks still finding his footing in his first year back from elbow surgery, manager Alex Cora has leaned on an interesting duo in the ninth inning: one of the most accomplished closers of his generation in Aroldis Chapman and a former Rule 5 pick in Justin Slaten, who has already saved more games this year (3) than he did as a rookie in 2024 (2). Having both a lefty in Chapman and a righty in Slaten with closer-type stuff has afforded Cora the ability to exploit whatever matchups arise late in games.
10. Seattle Mariners (16-12)
Tied with Suarez atop the saves leaderboard, Andrés Muñoz has yet to allow a run this season and has bailed the Mariners out of numerous stressful, late-game conundrums. His slider rates as one of baseball’s most effective individual offerings, and he coaxes an unparalleled combination of whiffs and grounders. An All-Star for the first time last season, Muñoz has ascended into the inner circle of the game’s very best closers.
11. Arizona Diamondbacks (15-13)
The back end of the Snakes’ bullpen looked rather formidable early on, with A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez both throwing the ball well, but now Puk is on the IL due to elbow inflammation and Martinez’s velocity was way down in his save on Sunday. Hopefully Martinez’s decline in heat was the result of fatigue, not injury. Otherwise, it might be time for the remarkable Shelby Miller renaissance to transition to the ninth inning.
12. Houston Astros (14-13)
Recall that Josh Hader’s introduction to Houston after signing a $95 million free-agent deal was an uninspiring one: He had a 6.14 ERA through his first 15 appearances as an Astro last season. Hader looks markedly more comfortable in Year 2 and has been nearly untouchable since allowing a run in a shaky save against the Mets on Opening Day. His line since that inaugural outing: 12 innings, four hits allowed, zero runs, two walks, 15 strikeouts. He’s pretty good.
13. Tampa Bay Rays (14-14)
The Rays have predictably produced a new wave of fairly anonymous yet extremely nasty relievers (Mason Montgomery, Manuel Rodriguez, Garrett Cleavinger), but Pete Fairbanks has remained a constant in the ninth. Now in his seventh season as a Ray — no small feat in this organization — Fairbanks doesn’t throw as hard as he used to, but his fastball/slider combo is still plenty good enough to get the job done.
14. Cleveland Guardians (15-12)
Emmanuel Clase entered the game in the eighth inning on Saturday against Boston and recorded his first hold since 2021. Then usual setup man Cade Smith secured the ninth for his third save in the past week. Manager Stephen Vogt insisted postgame that Clase is still Cleveland’s closer, and the sequence was predetermined to ease Clase back into action after he didn’t pitch for five days due to his reported shoulder soreness following his 30-pitch outing on April 20. But based on Clase’s uncharacteristic struggles early in the season, his job security as closer — and health — are clearly both worth monitoring moving forward.
15. Texas Rangers (15-13)
As one of several fresh faces in a completely remodeled Rangers bullpen, Luke Jackson has emerged as manager Bruce Bochy’s preferred closer. It’s Jackson’s first extended run as a closer since he recorded 18 saves for Atlanta back in 2019. Without elite velocity, Jackson relies on a slider-heavy approach to stifle opponents, and until this past weekend, he had been largely effective. To be fair, Sunday’s circus of a walk-off loss was hardly Jackson’s fault.
16. Atlanta Braves (12-15)
Atlanta has started to play better after a shocking 5-13 start, but Raisel Iglesias’ poor form hasn’t improved much of late, sparking some concern in the late innings for the Braves. Iglesias was virtually automatic last year, at one point logging 11 consecutive perfect frames, but he has been far from invincible in 2025: In 10 outings this year, he has already allowed more home runs (5) than he did in 66 appearances last season (4). Hard-throwing right-hander Daysbel Hernández represents one promising alternative if Iglesias continues to falter, but by far the most intriguing possible replacement is currently in Triple-A after signing a minor-league deal in March: Craig Kimbrel, who saved 186 games for Atlanta from 2010 to 2014. What a story that would be.
17. Cincinnati Reds (15-13)
Alexis Díaz starting the season on the injured list opened the door for Emilio Pagán to prove himself capable of handling the ninth inning for Cincinnati, and Pagán has held on to that role even since Díaz returned to the roster. Closing isn’t entirely new to Pagán, who saved 20 games for the Rays in 2019 and nine for Minnesota in 2022, and he has been rock-solid in his return to the high-stakes role: His 0.53 WHIP ranks sixth among relievers with at least 10 innings pitched.
18. Milwaukee Brewers (14-15)
We got a preview of what life sans Devin Williams would be like for Milwaukee last year, when Williams missed the first four months due to back surgery, and it featured a whole lot of Trevor Megill as the primary closer. With Williams now in the Bronx, Megill has resumed handling the ninth-inning duties and has mostly pitched well, with Saturday’s walk-off homer surrendered to Nolan Arenado a rare hiccup. Should Megill lose his grip on the closer role, keep an eye on Abner Uribe as a possible successor.
19. Kansas City Royals (14-15)
A four-seam fastball that averaged 96.8 mph last year is down two ticks to 94.8 mph in the early going for free-agent signing Carlos Estevez, whose 2.77 ERA feels a bit fortunate based on his poor command and lack of whiffs so far. I would not be shocked if Lucas Erceg gets some run as closer for Kansas City if Estevez can’t rediscover the more dominant version of himself showcased at times last season.
20. Toronto Blue Jays (13-15)
Jeff Hoffman has been marvelous. He has struck out 19 batters in 13 ⅓ innings, and his only walk was an intentional one to Wilyer Abreu in an otherwise tremendous two-inning outing in Boston. Hoffman has almost single-handedly transformed a Blue Jays bullpen that was one of baseball’s worst last season into a unit against which no offense wants to try to mount a comeback.
21. St. Louis Cardinals (12-16)
Arguably the best reliever in the National League in 2024, Ryan Helsley hasn’t looked especially sharp in 2025. That’s bad news in more ways than one for the Cardinals, who need Helsley to perform at his best for the team to remain relevant in the wild-card race but who also want him pitching at a high level to ensure a strong return in a possible trade at the deadline.
22. Minnesota Twins (12-16)
Amidst a largely disappointing season for the Twins thus far, Jhoan Durán has remained a bright spot as Minnesota’s go-to game-ender. Duran boasts MLB’s third-highest average velocity on his fastball (100.3 mph) and highest average velocity on his splitter (97.7 mph), making him a particularly overwhelming opponent for hitters in high-leverage situations.
23. Athletics (14-14)
Mason Miller simply continues to amaze. The 26-year-old flame-thrower currently holds the title for fastest pitch of the season, at a cool 103.7 mph, and he has struck out 21 of the 36 batters he has faced, amounting to baseball’s best strikeout rate by a wide margin. The A’s have a lot of questions to answer on the mound overall, but they have an absolute star in Miller.
24. Washington Nationals (13-14)
What a strange 12 months it has been for Kyle Finnegan, who made his first All-Star game last year at age 32, only to be non-tendered by the Nationals after the season … then re-signed by Washington in February after no one else bothered to scoop him up. Now Finnegan is back in the closer role for the Nationals, nearing his 100th career save and performing quite well. Unfortunately, even with an effective Finnegan back in the fold, this Nationals bullpen has been abysmal: Its 6.20 ERA ranks 30th in MLB.
25. Baltimore Orioles (10-17)
It sure is nice to have Félix Bautista back in our lives, but the Orioles’ rotation has been so dreadful that Bautista has had minimal opportunities to lock down a late lead. Only the White Sox have had fewer save opportunities than the Orioles, meaning Bautista’s appearances have been frustratingly infrequent. He has generally looked good, but that’s little consolation amid an otherwise miserable start to the season in Birdland.
26. Pittsburgh Pirates (11-18)
A brutal opening weekend necessitated a brief reset in Triple-A for David Bednar, but he has looked fantastic in four appearances since returning to the Pirates bullpen and appears to have reclaimed his job from interim closer Dennis Santana. A rejuvenated Bednar cannot solve all of Pittsburgh’s problems, but it would still be a welcome development for one of the most popular Pirates.
27. Los Angeles Angels (12-15)
The Angels have crashed back to reality after a 9-5 start, but don’t blame Kenley Jansen: The 37-year-old closer is 6-for-6 in save opportunities and has yet to allow a run in eight appearances. He’s up to 453 career saves, 25 away from tying Lee Smith for third on the all-time list.
28. Miami Marlins (12-15)
The Fightin’ Fish have given a trio of relievers a try in the closer role: Calvin Faucher, Anthony Bender and Jesus Tinoco. Let's see if they or any other Marlins bullpen arms emerge as viable trade candidates the way Tanner Scott, AJ Puk, Huascar Brazoban, JT Chargois and Bryan Hoeing did last summer.
29. Chicago White Sox (7-21)
Through 28 games last year, the White Sox were 6-22, and their relievers had combined for four saves. Through 28 games this year, the White Sox are 7-21 — improvement! — but their relievers have recorded only one save: Brandon Eisert last Thursday in Chicago’s rain-shortened, seven-inning 3-0 victory in Minnesota. All of which is to say: There is little use analyzing who the White Sox closer is.
30. Colorado Rockies (4-23)
It’s a shame the Rockies are so bad that save opportunities are so scant because they actually have some legitimately nasty relievers — Seth Halvorsen, Tyler Kinley, Jake Bird — whose stuff would be quite fun to watch if the team consistently had a lead to protect. Alas.
