Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat: AL | NL

Fantasy baseball closer depth charts: AL | NL

In fantasy baseball, the closer position remains volatile. Rarely does every closer hang on to the job for an entire season - injuries, poor performance and managerial decisions can cloud a team's bullpen picture.

Should you be concerned about a struggling stopper? Which relievers are climbing the depth chart? Are any injuries popping up? KFFL.com's Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat keeps you informed when you're looking for saves.

Mound meetings

• Colorado Rockies stopper Huston Street (groin, shoulder) threw a perfect ninth inning in Game 1 of a doubleheader for Triple-A Colorado Springs yesterday. Ten of his 15 pitches went for strikes. He's slated to pitch once more for them and if all goes well will likely be activated this weekend.

Expected back this weekend

• Despite losing the Arizona Diamondbacks' closer role to Aaron Heilman, Chad Qualls remains optimistic he'll improve. The righty insists his knee is not a factor. He cites leaving the ball up in the zone too often; he lives and breathes on grounders.
  His velocity has returned to 93-94 mph, a positive sign. With improved location, he might creep back into saves sooner than many think. Don't lose track of him if he has been dropped in your league.
• Back spasms have contributed to Matt Lindstrom not pitching since June 8. On Wednesday he rebounded after a leadoff single to close it out scoreless-style for the Houston Astros.
  Since his rough pair of early June outings, the righty has thrown four shutout innings, allowing three hits and one free pass while fanning two.
• Trevor Hoffman hasn't allowed a run in his last four appearances while fanning three, walking just one, and giving up three hits. Each time they've brought Hoffman in during that window, the Brewers have been trailing by at least two runs. He hasn't had a pressure sitch in awhile.
  They seem content with John Axford and are just trying to work Hoffman back into form. The 42-year-old, however, is making it easier to retain him in deeps if you're clinging to saves potential. Don't rule out seniority in Hoffman regaining the saves role if he rights himself.
• Giving up his first run since coming back from the DL, Brad Lidge almost blew it for the Philadelphia Phillies. Holding a four-run lead in the ninth, he allowed a two-out walk and two hits. He eventually put out the fire by fanning his third batter of the inning.
• Hong-Chih Kuo, reclaiming his deep league utility as a ratio-helping reliever, registered a five-out save Wednesday for the Los Angeles Dodgers, working around a solo homer and a walk. He entered the ninth with a five-run lead.

Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat: AL | NL

Fantasy baseball closer depth charts: AL | NL