2025 Fantasy Baseball: Oakland Athletics Closer Depth Chart
Mason Miller brings triple-digit gas on almost every fastball, giving his arm difference-maker upside. In addition, batters can barely sniff his slider.
Mason Miller, 104mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/q6YmVviBQb
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 7, 2024
CL – Mason Miller, OAK (ADP – 42.3)
Over five seasons in college, Miller went 18-12 with a 3.92 ERA and 306 strikeouts over 239.0 innings. The A’s drafted him in the third round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft. A right shoulder strain in 2022 led to him missing almost the entire season.
Oakland gave him two appearances in the minors (two runs and two hits over 8.2 innings with no walks and 19 strikeouts) in 2023 before calling him up on April 19th. Four starts (3.38 ERA, 0.984 WHIP, .187 BAA, and 22 strikeouts over 21.1 innings) later, he landed on the injured list for three and half months with a right elbow injury. When Miller returned to the majors in September, he pitched out of the bullpen (six runs, 19 baserunners, and 16 strikeouts over 12.0 innings).
In his first year as a reliever, his arm held up well while only missing two weeks in late July and early August due to a self-inflicted left-hand issue. After struggling in his first appearance (two runs, three baserunners, and a home run over one inning), Miller was a difference-maker over his following 20.1 innings (two runs, 13 baserunners, and 41 strikeouts with nine saves). For the remainder of the season, his stats (3.22 ERA, 0.985, and six home runs over 44.2 innings with 63 strikeouts and 19 saves) were good but below his opening success. Miller had six poor outings (13 runs, 24 baserunners, and three home runs over 8.1 innings) over this span.
His average fastball (101.1) was one of the best in baseball. Miller dominated with his four-seamer (.177 BAA and 56 strikeouts) and slider (.126 BAA and 47 strikeouts).
Fantasy Outlook: With all things equal for the top-tier closers, Miller is the best of the best. His resume is short, with an elbow issue still visible in his rearview mirror, and he needs a higher total in saves to rank higher in fantasy leagues. He has a massive edge in strikeouts for a reliever if the A’s pitch him in 70 games. I’ll rank Miller higher once when I finish my bullpen research. Last year, Oakland tied for 27th in saves (35), with 26 reliever wins. He is a player to fight for in drafts.
Top Athletics Handcuff – Jose Leclerc, OAK
Heading into last season, the high-stakes fantasy market expected Leclerc to fight for saves for the Rangers. He had one save over his first five appearances, but batters drilled him for eight runs, six hits, six walks, and one home run over his first five innings with four strikeouts. As a result of his struggles, Tyler Yates seized the closer role in Texas.
Leclerc pitched well in June and July (2.95 ERA, 0.891 WHIP, .169 BAA, and 32 strikeouts over 21.1 innings) as well as September (3.18 ERA with 11 strikeouts over 11.1 innings), but his other months were loaded with down days. Much of his failure came against left-handed batters (.291 with 18 walks over 86 at-bats).
His average fastball (95.6) almost matched 2023. Leclerc has similar usage between his four-seamer (.171 BAA) and slider (.217 BAA) while mixing in a below-par cutter (.278 BAA) and low-volume sinker (.280 BAA). None of his pitches were an advantage vs. lefties. His walk rate has never been lower than 3.9 in his career (4.3 in 2024).
Fantasy Outlook: Over eight seasons with the Rangers, Leclerc has 41 saves with a better ERA (3.27) than WHIP (1.216). He’ll be found in the free-agent pool in all redraft formats. Only two A’s pitchers get drafted inside the first 450 picks in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship in the early draft season, showing the overall weakness in their pitching staff.
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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.