Victor Vodnik DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Colorado Rockies relief pitchers Seth Halvorsen and Victor Vodnik are currently competing for the closer role during spring training. The bullpen was a big reason why the Rockies lost over 100 games last season. The organization is hopeful that some of their younger arms can take big steps forward in 2025. Vodnik might be the favorite for the closer role considering he took over the role for part of the season last year. He registered a 4.28 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, and 65/37 K/BB ratio across 64 games last season. He notched nine saves as well, which is decent considering the Rockies weren't winning a ton of games. Halvorsen has less MLB experience, but posted a 1.46 ERA and 0.81 WHIP across 12 games with the Rockies last season. Honestly, neither player will probably offer a ton of fantasy value unless the Rockies are able to find more success as a team in 2025.

Colorado Rockies right-handed reliever Victor Vodnik (biceps), who was placed on the 15-day injured list on Aug. 21 (retroactive to Aug. 19), threw a side session on Aug. 30. Manager Bud Black said Vodnik is scheduled for an "aggressive" side session on Tuesday in Atlanta. Depending on how that session goes, Black said the Rockies will either activate Vodnik from the IL or send him on a short minor-league rehab assignment. The 24-year-old's return to the back end of Colorado's bullpen could happen soon, barring any setbacks. When he does return, he could at least be sharing closing duties with Tyler Kinley, who has taken over as Colorado's closer with Vodnik injured. In his second year in the big leagues, Vodnik has an ERA above 4.00 but has also picked up his first nine career saves for a bad Rockies team. Fantasy managers looking for saves down the stretch in deeper leagues shouldn't forget about him.

The Colorado Rockies placed right-handed reliever Victor Vodnik (bicep) on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to Aug. 19) on Wednesday with right-bicep inflammation and selected the contract of right-hander Jeff Criswell from Triple-A Albuquerque in a corresponding move. Vodnik alerted the team on Tuesday when he was warming up that his shoulder didn't feel right, and now he'll miss at least the next two weeks. The 24-year-old had recently emerged as the club's closer after nailing down nine of his 10 save opportunities since the start of July. He has nine saves on the year with a 4.04 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 57 K's in 64 2/3 relief innings. Manager Bud Black didn't hesitate to turn to Angel Chivilli for his first career save on Tuesday, but Tyler Kinley is likely the better target for fantasy managers scrounging for saves late in the season.