FanGraphs Feature Focus: Closer Depth Chart

The Closer Depth Chart is one of the longest-standing features at RosterResource, making its FanGraphs debut at the beginning of the 2021 season. Prior to this season, the Closer Depth Chart looked much as it did in that intro article from five years ago, but there have been some key improvements this year. Here’s a walkthrough of what it’s got, both new and old, from left to right:

Criteria for Included Pitchers, Plus Our Process

When the Closer Depth Chart first launched, we only included the top five or six relievers per team, plus those on the injured list. But with RosterResource often taking a “more is more” approach, we’ve begun including all active relievers in a team’s bullpen, plus the injured ones. The Projected Role column matches that shown on the RosterResource team page, including co-closers or closer committees, a situation the A’s are currently working with:

A reliever may also have a green triangle next to his name (denoting a Reliever On The Rise) or a red square (denoting the opposite, an arm who is On The Hot Seat):

A lot of what we do at RosterResource has a certain level of subjectivity to it, and none is more subjective than trying to classify relievers, whether by the name of their role or if they ought to be considered a Reliever On The Rise or On The Hot Seat. Managers have to tell you their lineups or starting rotations; they never have to name a closer or formally move someone up or down in the bullpen hierarchy. As such, we can only go off a manager’s actions while also keeping in mind that roles are fickle, or that a pitcher simply might not be available for a game or has an undisclosed ailment that isn’t quite enough to send him to the IL. This is all about pointing you in the right direction, not being an objective truth.

Usage for the Last Six Days

Panning rightward now, we do see an objective truth: how the bullpen has been used in the last six days. From here you can easily see that Louis Varland (a) pitches a ton and (b) pitches in a very important role when he does, as evidenced by the three saves and a win in his last four appearances entering Wednesday. But new to 2026, we’ve got more information when hovering over an appearance’s cell:

This additional data helps to better summarize and contextualize a pitcher’s outing beyond a raw pitch count and result. Knowing if a pitcher had an “up-down’ (an appearance spanning multiple innings) can inform an educated guess of his availability for the next day; having an awareness of the combination of innings a pitcher appeared in and the leverage index aids in clarifying his role.

Farthest to the right of the usage section are the totals, simply the sum of the innings pitched and pitches thrown over the last six days. Since managers and pitching coaches will weigh recent usage beyond just the prior game when making decisions, that’s another good data point to have.

Stats

We’ve always had a slew of stats on the Closer Depth Chart, but there are even more this year. New to the party are swinging strike rate (SwStr%), strikeout rate (K%), walk rate (BB%), shutdowns (SD), and meltdowns (MD). Shutdowns are outings worth at least 6% WPA; meltdowns are outings worth a WPA of -6% or worse. With all those new stats, we needed more room, so there’s now a toggle between Results stats and Arsenal stats, accessed by hovering:

Clicking over to Arsenal showcases a pitcher’s average velocity for his four-seam fastball and/or sinker, as well as the Stuff+ for his entire repertoire, even the rare few who throw knuckle curves or forkballs. (Fun fact, nobody currently in a big league bullpen throws a forkball, but the infrastructure is ready to handle when one arises!)

This year’s additions to the Closer Depth Chart make it more powerful than ever, but I’m never closed off to making more, and I love listening to suggestions. As ever, you’re welcome to offer feedback here, find me on Twitter or Bluesky, or email us at rosters@fangraphs.com.