2025 Fantasy Baseball: New York Yankees Closer Depth Chart
The Yankees hope they stole a shutdown closer in the offseason. Devin Williams brings an excellent changeup and a top-tier strikeout rate despite below-par command.
Devin Williams, K'ing the Side.
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 19, 2024
Death by Airbenders. 🛸🛸🛸 pic.twitter.com/w5ZIL2pLbo
CL – Devin Williams, NYY (ADP – 39.9)
Williams developed a back injury (two stress fractures) last March that led to him missing four months. His first appearance came on July 28th. When on the mound, he allowed three runs in two of his 22 appearances, leading to a 1.25 ERA, 0.969 WHIP, and 38 strikeouts over 21.2 innings. Williams converted 14 of his 15 save chances.
He continues to have weakness in his walk rate (4.6 – higher than 4.2 over the past four seasons). His first step in improving his command is throwing more first-pitch strikes (56% – under 60% in each of his last five years). Since 2022, batters hit .145 against Williams with an elite strikeout rate (40.8% – 14.6 per nine).
His average fastball (94.8) was higher than his two previous years but below his peak in 2020 (96.7). Williams flipped his usage between his changeup (45.3% - 57.3% in 2023) and four-seamer (53.3% - 39.9% in 2023) in 2024. Both pitches were challenging to hit (FB – .122 BAA and CU – .200 BAA).
Fantasy Outlook: The Yankees acquired Williams in December for SP Nestor Cortes and 2B Caleb Durbin. He’s in a contract year, which motivates him to stay on the mound all season. His previous back issue must be a factor when deciding to draft Williams in 2025. Since moving into a closer role in 2022, he went 15-7 with a 1.66 ERA, 0.965 WHIP, and 221 strikeouts over 141.0 innings while securing 65 of his 72 closing opportunities. Williams has an excellent bullpen resume with another gear if he figures out how to get ahead in the count more often.
Top Yankees Handcuff – Luke Weaver, NYY (ADP – 354.8)
With the unemployment line staring Weaver in the face in 2023, the Yankees saved his career by unlocking the keys to his arm over three appearances in their bullpen (3.38 ERA and 16 strikeouts over 13.1 innings). Over his first 144 games in the majors, he went 27-42 with a 5.14 ERA, 1.438 WHIP, and 571 strikeouts over 574.1 innings.
Last season, Weaver had three patches of games where he struggled (early April – seven runs, 12 baserunners, and two home runs over 9.1 innings, late May – four runs, six baserunners, and two home runs over 5.1 innings, and midsummer – 10 runs, 17 baserunners, and three home runs over 9.2 innings. Over his other 59.2 innings, he posted a 0.90 ERA, 0.721 WHIP, and 79 strikeouts. Weaver was a fantasy stud over his final 17 games (3-0 with four saves, 0.92 ERA, and 33 strikeouts over 19.2 innings).
His average fastball (95.7) was a career-best due to shorter inning stints. Weaver focused on using three pitches (four-seamer – .167 BAA, changeup – .169 BAA, and cutter – .173 BAA) out of the bullpen. He pitched more up in the strike zone in 2024 (46.7% fly-ball rate – 37.9% in his career).
Fantasy Outlook: Weaver battled home runs (10) last year while transforming into an intriguing bullpen arm. His three-deep arsenal bodes well for another successful year in the Yankees bullpen. I view him as a must-handcuff to Devin Williams and a serviceable arm in deep fantasy formats. He ranked 68th in 2024 in FPGscore (-1.27) for pitchers.
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With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.