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This week in the Closer Report: at the All-Star break. Who is the man in Arizona plus several middle relievers that can help you without getting saves.

• Who is the closer in Arizona? Nobody can say for sure, probably not even interim manager Kirk Gibson. Juan Gutierrez got the last save for the D-Backs on 7/10 pitching a perfect 9th after Chad Qualls had started the inning and allowed 2 runs without getting an out. Aaron Heilman got two outs in the 8th inning of that game, but got the 2 saves before that (6/27 and 6/30).

Heilman is 31 and has a 4.94 xFIP. Qualls has been even worse this season, and hasn’t been remotely effective. Esmerling Vasquez is striking people out, but is walking almost five batters per nine. Sam Demel is pitching pretty well since being traded to Arizona, but has just 12 MLB innings and has not been used yet late in games. That probably leaves Gutierrez as the winner by attrition. If you’re desperate, Gutierrez is probably your man but this is a situation to avoid unless you are very, very desperate.

• Mike Adams and Luke Gregerson, despite being the top back-ups to Heath Bell, have notched just one combined save this year. Both though have K/9 rates over 10 with WHIPs under 1.00. Both can help your fantasy teams as both have been heavily used (41+ IP for both).

• John Axford has appeared to have settled into the Milwaukee closer role. At this point he looks to be a high strikeout pitcher with an ERA in the low 3’s. Currently his career BABIP in 33.2 IP is .325 which seems a bit high considering his stuff, but the small sample size makes it difficult to draw definitive conclusions. Either way, Axford is a solid mid-tier fantasy closer.

• Erstwhile Baltimore closer Mike Gonzalez will report to Triple-A Norfolk on Friday according to MASN and will pitch at least three games there. The team will then decide whether or not to activate him. Alfredo Simon has settled into the closer role in his absence allowing just two runs and five hits over his last nine innings. I think if you own one Baltimore reliever the rest of the year it should be Simon. If you’re in a league larger than 12-team mixed however and need saves, Gonzalez is a must add. The way the trade market looks, it is possible there will be minimal turnover with regards to closer jobs.

• Although there might not be a lot of movement with closers going to contenders, the most likely guy to get moved is probably Kerry Wood to a contender in a setup role. That makes Chris Perez, who has outperformed Wood on the mound, a very hot commodity. Perez has lowered his ERA each month this season. He has walked six batters in just 3.1 IP in July, but that appears to be a fluke since he has walked just 12 batters in 31 innings before this month. Perez should be the number one pick up for people looking for saves after the break.

• Tanner Scheppers, the No. 39 ranked prospect according to MLB, looks like he is being groomed for a role in the bullpen for Texas down the stretch. The hard throwing righty was showcased at the Futures Game and hit 99 mph on the radar gun and was sitting at 96-97. He has struck out 64 batters in 50 minor league innings. Neftali Feliz is entrenched in the 9th inning for the Rangers, but Scheppers is a name to be aware of.

• Bobby Jenks is safe as the closer of the White Sox, but now J.J. Putz, Matt Thornton, and Sergio Santos have vulture saves in the past month. Thornton remains the most valuable because he looks like the top back-up having 5 total saves on the season. All three can help any fantasy team however as they all have K/9 rates over 10 and low ERAs.