Oh, saves, you fickle, fickle statistical category.
We're in the era of closer-by-committees, of extreme relief specialization, where saves, while on the whole pacing at league-wide norms, are increasingly spread out across a larger number of relief pitchers. With almost exactly half of the 2022 regular season already in the books, only five relievers find themselves on pace for 35-plus saves -- a threshold reached by as many as 12 relievers only six seasons ago (2016). One of those pitchers on said pace is currently on the IL with an undetermined timetable for a return, while another finds himself only barely on track to get there.
Here's the current saves leaderboard, including the full-season pace for each reliever:
Josh Hader: currently with 25, on pace for 48.8
Taylor Rogers: 23, pace 44.9
Kenley Jansen: 20, pace 39.5
Emmanuel Clase: 19, pace 39.0
Edwin Diaz: 18, pace 36.0
Ryan Pressly: 17, pace 34.4
Jordan Romano: 17, pace 33.6
Liam Hendriks: 16, pace 32.8
Gregory Soto: 16, pace 32.4
Daniel Bard: 16, pace 32.0
Additionally, we're at that perplexing stage of the fantasy baseball season where trade needs for this particular category couldn't be more obvious, while the on-field market is also nearing its most tenuous stage. The latter point teases the upcoming trade deadline, scheduled for Aug. 2 at 6 p.m. ET, a time that causes great fear among fantasy managers, for the heightened prospect of current closers changing teams and either slotting in as much-less-valuable setup men or taking over as the closers ahead of the incumbent for their new teams.