American League
Sign in
Sign in and connect Sleeper to unlock personalized fantasy insights.
39 articles
BAL •
3 days ago
As if there was any doubt left, Helsley is officially back. His six saves are tied with Mason Miller and Paul Sewald to lead the league and he’s allowed just two earned runs across 8 1/3 innings. In this outing, he wisely walked José Ramírez – who Orioles pitchers walked four times in total – and made mincemeat of the other hitters he faced. Helsley has been integrating a new splitter into his repertoire and it was his most thrown pitch in this outing with six of his 15 total thrown. That’s by far the highest rate of splitters he’s thrown so far.
BAL •
14 days ago
Helsley threw 24 pitches in earning a save Monday night, but the Orioles still brought him back on a cold afternoon in Chicago, and he got through the outing pretty easily even though his velocity was down by two mph. Helsley should get Wednesday off after this, perhaps creating a save chance for Tyler Wells or Rico Garcia.
BAL •
14 days ago
Helsley walked the first two batters he faced and missed again on his first pitch to Colson Montgomery before Montgomery grounded out on the second pitch. Lenyn Sosa also grounded out afterwards, scoring a run in the process. After the softest of all possible hits from Andrew Benintendi, Edgar Quero came up with two on and two outs. Helsley chose then to make probably his three best pitches of the night and got a game-ending strikeout. He’s 3-for-3 in save chances despite having allowed two runs in 3 1/3 innings.
BAL •
17 days ago
Helsley took the mound in the bottom of the ninth with the game tied, tasked with taking the game to extras. He recorded the first out, then gave up a pair of doubles to bring a run home and walk it off. On the game-ender, Helsley appeared to have Nick Yorke struck out on his seventh pitch of the at-bat, but the Orioles were out of challenges. Yorke won it on the next pitch. It was the first run Helsley has allowed through three appearances after working two previous save chances.
BAL •
23 days ago
The 31-year-old stopper allowed a leadoff single to Luke Keaschall and then Victor Caratini reached on an error with two outs — putting the tying runs on base. Not to worry though as Helsley got James Outman to fly out to left field to end it. He has now successfully converted each of his first two chances on the season and looks like one of the most reliable closer options on the board for fantasy purposes.
BAL •
26 days ago
Helsley topped out at 101.9 mph in the one-run contest. He gave up a single to Victor Caratini with two outs and then struck out pinch-hitter Trevor Larnach to finish the game. Seemingly over his pitch-tipping-based struggles down the stretch last year, Helsley went without allowing a run in six innings this spring. Today’s outing is the first in which he struck out three in an inning since June 7.
BAL •
about 1 month ago
The 31-year-old hurler made it look easy in this one, getting Billy Cook on a swinging third strike, Jake Mangum on a ground ball to first and Pirates’ top prospect Konnor Griffin on a swinging third strike to end the inning. He has now fired five scoreless innings on the spring with a 0.80 WHIP and a 5/1 K/BB ratio. He looks like one of the more solid and stable options at closer after the top seven options come off the board.
BAL •
4 months ago
Albernaz, who is managing a major league team for the first time, appears to believe that closers are closers and shouldn’t be used earlier in games when the situation might warrant. That’s good news for Helsley’s value, because while he was already clearly going to be the Orioles’ closer, it’s nice to know he won’t lose the occasional save chance pitching the eighth in tight games.
Source: Matt Weyrich
BAL •
5 months ago
Helsley, whose only season of 100 innings pitched was in the minors in 2017 and who missed most of the second half of 2023 with a forearm strain, decided it wasn’t worth the risk to try starting at age 31. Perhaps he could consider it again if he has a successful 2026 and opts out of his two-year, $28 million deal next winter.
Source: Jake Rill
BAL •
5 months ago
The deal is now official. Helsley, who can opt-out and re-enter the market next winter, takes over as Baltimore’s closer with Félix Bautista expected to miss nearly all of next season recovering from shoulder surgery. The flame-throwing 31-year-old stopper holds a sparkling 2.96 ERA and has converted 105 of 132 save opportunities over 319 2/3 innings since 2019. The move provides a significant boost to his immediate fantasy value as he faces zero competition for saves with the Orioles and boasts a lengthy track record of success in the ninth inning. He’s a borderline top-10 closer for fantasy purposes heading into drafts next spring.
NYM •
8 months ago
This was after he entered with the team down 3-2 in the seventh. In 14 appearances for the Mets, Helsley, who knows he’s tipping his pitches but can’t seem to fix it, has given up runs nine times, including multiple runs on seven occasions. He has an 11.45 ERA in 11 innings, taking his season mark from 3.00 to 4.98.
NYM •
9 months ago
The trade is now official. Helsley joins an overhauled Mets bullpen that suddenly features a formidable late-inning trio alongside flamethrower Edwin Díaz and side-winding setup man Tyler Rogers. The 31-year-old impending free agent has converted 21 saves this season while compiling a solid 3.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 41/14 K/BB ratio across 36 innings. He brings another high-octane arm to a relief corps built for winning games in October. It’s a significant hit to his immediate fantasy appeal since he’s unlikely to usurp Díaz for a significant share of the save opportunities in New York. It’s unknown who will take over as St. Louis’ closer as the team continues a deadline teardown, but JoJo Romero would figure to be a good bet for the role if he stays.
STL •
9 months ago
Wow. Helsley joins a freshly-constructed super-pen in New York that includes electrifying stopper Edwin Díaz and newly-added side-winder Tyler Rogers. The 31-year-old impending free agent has converted 21 saves this season to go along with a 3.00 ERA and 41/14 K/BB ratio across 36 innings. SNY’s Andy Martino reports top prospect Jesus Baez and two other minor leaguers — Nate Dohm and Frank Elissalt — are heading to St. Louis in the deal.
Source: Jeff Passan
STL •
9 months ago
Helsley allowed one hit and struck out two on his way to dispatching the Padres on Friday. The 31-year-old right-hander began the inning by painting the outside corner with a 102 mph fastball to strikeout Gavin Sheets. While Helsley hasn’t repeated his exceptional numbers from a year ago, he remains a high-floor closer. If Helsley is traded before the deadline, it’s likely he’ll continue to close and potentially could gain fantasy value.
STL •
9 months ago
Helsley made things interesting, allowing a leadoff single to Manny Machado that brought the tying run to the plate, but he rallied to retire Jackson Merrill on a swinging third strike, Xander Bogaerts on a fly ball to right and Gavin Sheets on strikes to end the ballgame. He has now successfully converted 20 of his first 25 save chances on the season while posting a 3.09 ERA over 35 innings.
STL •
9 months ago
With the Cardinals scuffling of late, Helsley’s chances of being traded now sit at 60 percent, according to Passan. The 31-year-old is a free agent at the end of the season, so it would make sense for the Cardinals to try and get something for him if they don’t think they have a chance of contending this season. If he were to be traded, he would close regardless of where he landed and likely retain or gain fantasy value. Passan lists the Dodgers, Tigers, Mets, Phillies, and Yankees as most likely trade destinations.
Source: ESPN.com
STL •
9 months ago
Helsley gave up a walk and a single to start the inning, but he rebounded to retire Matt Olson, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Sean Murphy. It was his 19th save in 24 opportunities.
STL •
9 months ago
A single, a sac bunt, another single and an RBI groundout was enough to scratch out a run against Helsley. It’s the first run he’s given up in seven appearances since June 14, and although he’s taken five blown saves this season, this is his first loss.
STL •
10 months ago
Helsley was called on to close out the game with a two-run lead over the Nationals on Tuesday. He worked around a leadoff walk and a base hit, stranding the runners on a groundout to end the game with his 18th save of the season.
STL •
10 months ago
Helsley has turned in five straight scoreless appearances since opening June with three blown saves and runs allowed in four consecutive outings. He got two flyouts and then a game-ending strikeout of Michael Busch today.
STL •
10 months ago
Helsley slammed the door on the Guardians with a perfect ninth inning Saturday as he preserved a three-run lead for the Cardinals. The 30-year-old right-hander won’t come close to repeating the 49 saves he had last year, but he’s a steady enough closer that he should continue to close even if he’s traded to a contending team in the next month.
STL •
10 months ago
The 30-year-old right-hander came on with a one-run lead to protect in the ninth inning and immediately made things interesting by allowing a one-out single to Kyle Tucker. He battled back to strike out Seiya Suzuki before allowing a two-out single to Pete Crow-Armstrong that pushed the tying run to third base. Not to fear though, as Helsley got Dansby Swanson to ground out to third base to end it. On the season, he has converted 15 of his first 20 save chances on the season while posting a 3.54 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and a 33/12 K/BB ratio across 28 innings.
STL •
10 months ago
Helsley got the call to guard a narrow one-run advantage in the front-end of Thursday’s doubleheader at Rate Field and needed just 10 pitches (seven strikes) to mow down the heart of Chicago’s resurgent lineup. It was his first scoreless outing since May 31, snapping a streak of four straight appearances where he allowed at least one run. He’s converted 14 of 19 save opportunities this season to accompany a respectable 3.81 ERA and 31/12 K/BB ratio across 26 innings.
STL •
10 months ago
We wouldn’t say Helsley made it interesting today, but this is the fourth straight appearance in which he’s allowed a run. The previous three times, it resulted in blown saves. William Contreras did the damage today, hitting a 389-foot homer. There’s no way the Cardinals want to pull Helsley from the closer’s role, but he can’t keep giving up runs every time out.
STL •
11 months ago
It’s Helsley’s third straight blown save, though the previous two both still turned into Cardinals wins. This one didn’t, as Toronto prevailed in 10. We still can’t imagine his job is in jeopardy at the moment, though one more blown save might change that. Helsley has a 3.75 ERA, with three homers allowed and 28 strikeouts in 24 innings. It doesn’t seem like he’s far off at all.
STL •
11 months ago
Helsley gave up singles to Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts with one out, bringing in Freddie Freeman to the plate. At one point, it looked like Freeman tied the game with an infield single on a little tapper, but the ump correctly noted that the ball bounced up and hit his leg. Freeman went on to strike out, but strike three was a wild pitch that allowed Ohtani to score. Fortunately for Helsley, Betts was still on first at the time or Freeman easily would have reached. Helsley then struck out Will Smith to preserve the tie, and the Cardinals won the game in the bottom of the ninth. It’s Helsley’s fourth blown save and second in a row. Still, he’s pitching just fine, and the Cardinals have prevailed in three of his blown saves anyway.
STL •
11 months ago
Helsley gave up two singles and then a sac fly to blow a one-run lead. It’s not anything that was going to be held against him, and the Cardinals went on to win in 10 innings anyway. Helsley had converted nine straight save chances since last blowing one on April 26 — that one also turned into a win.
STL •
11 months ago
Helsley got the save chance in the ninth with a two-run lead over the Rangers. He worked a perfect frame, striking out two batters for his 13th save of the season to go with a 3.00 ERA and 23 strikeouts over 21 innings.
STL •
11 months ago
The Orioles made Helsley sweat a little bit here. Jackson Holliday laced a single on the first pitch of the inning and they eventually put the tying runs on base before falling short. He is one of the more secure closers in the league.