Though I was certainly pleased to see Neil Ramirez record two saves this weekend given his work as a middle reliever so far this year, I assumed it was more of a response Hector Rondon's elbow injury than any sort of changing of the guard.
But on the first segment of Monday's Fantasy Baseball Today, CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman suggested the closer role may be Ramirez's to lose going forward.
That's an encouraging thought for Fantasy owners -- well, the ones who aren't heavily invested in Rondon anyway. Like I said, Ramirez, a rookie, has been outstanding in middle relief this season. Even with a shaky appearance in one of his two save opportunities this weekend, he still has a 1.06 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 13.8 strikeouts per nine innings in 19 appearances.
Of course, he has no major-league track record to speak of and was a starter for most of his minor-league career, so he still has something to prove. But among the relievers who have taken over the closer role since the start of the season, he might be the most exciting after Sean Doolittle.