• On one hand, Brad Ziegler is 9/10 on save opportunities. That’s pretty good! On the other hand, he has a 7.83 ERA and 5 losses. That’s pretty bad! Ziegler entered last night’s contest in a 2-1 game in the bottom of the ninth and walked Franmil Reyes to start the inning. Raffy Lopez flied out for an out, then Freddy Galvis hit a double. With runners on first and second, Ziegler walked Manuel Margot to face Hunter Renfroe who hit the game winning, two RBI single.  After the game, Don Mattingly said “you want to get something dependable at the end of the game.” At the moment, it’s clear that isn’t the case. Whether someone else sees the next save chance we don’t know, but Miami is on red alert. I would run to pick up Kyle Barraclough with Tayron Guerrero and Drew Steckenrider behind him. Barraclough has a pretty 1.48 ERA but a 4.06 FIP and 4.07 SIERA suggest some regression might come.  Barraclough’s SwStr% and K% are essentially matching last year’s numbers but they’re also down from his 2016 when he was a whiff monster. A 5.55 BB/9 may not hold for too long in the ninth inning, so despite Steckenrider’s inflated 5.01 ERA he’s also someone to keep an eye on as his ERA indicators are a bit bteter with a 3.12 FIP and 2.98 SIERA, along with Guerrero ahd his 3.55 FIP/3.40 SIERA and 98 mph heater.

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• After missing out on previous save opportunities, Hector Neris saw the night inning last night and threw a perfect frame for his 9th save on the year. Seranthony Dominguez got the call before Neris in the eighth and pitched a scoreless inning allowing one hit and a strike out for his fourth hold, keeping his ERA at a pristine 0.00. Edubray Ramos had last pitched on Thursday, so he would have been available in this game, suggesting that Dominguez and Neris are ahead of him in the pecking order. We’re still considering this a committee but it looks like Neris is back in action after a rough outing on May 11th. Additionally, although he’s only a rookie getting his first sip at the majors, Dominguez might be the best of the bunch with a 16.2% SwStr% and 8 strikeouts and 0 walks in his 7.2 innings this year. If/when Neris falters again, I would expect Dominguez, with a little more seasoning under his belt, to leapfrog  Ramos and the other committee members for save opportunities.

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• After experiencing elbow pain again, Keynan Middleton is back on the DL with “damage to the ulnar collateral ligament.” This certainly isn’t good news and it likely means Middleton days of closing this year are gone. Even if he does return to the team, it’s likely an internal or external option would have a more secure handle on the ninth inning. With a save situation last night, Mike Scioscia turned to Justin Anderson who pitched around two hits and a walk for a scoreless ninth and his first save on the year. Jim Johnson had been seeing the ninth previously and Cam Bedrosian is still around as well. All three look to be in a committee of sorts for the time being. However, with the Angels tied for the division lead and looking to make the playoffs this year, I can’t imagine they’re going to finish the year hoping this trifecta of relievers will be enough in October. If you need to chase saves, by all means pick up or hold onto Johnson and Anderson but the team leader in saves this year probably is not on the Angels yet.

The new-ish Wild Card format keeps teams in the race longer and it’s only mid-May but some of the current bottom feeders have relief options that might be available this summer. Brad Hand, Kelvin Herrera, Raisel Iglesias, Zach Britton and others could certainly be on the block soon and I fully expect the Angels to be calling.

UPDATE: I foolishly left Blake Parker out of the write-up and the grid. I added him below. He has been the best reliever of late for the Angels and was also unavailable last night. It’s of course hard to tell the pecking order here but consider Parker as much of a possibility as Johnson and Anderson, and since he’s pitching the best if he gets an opportunity maybe it sticks longer than his first stint at the start of the year.

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Not a particularly busy or thrilling night across the bullpens so here are a few nuggets of interest from last night…

• The Padres lost to the Nationals last night but Phil Maton threw a scoreless inning with a walk and a strikeout. In 13 innings this year Maton has 14 strikeouts and an unimpressive 7 walks leading to a 2.86 FIP and 4.10 SIERA but his minor league strikeout rates and 15.5% SwStr% this year suggest there is room to grow in the K department. We have Kirby Yates and Craig Stammen on the grid below but if Maton can up his strikeouts without walking the world, he could become a sneaky contributor in deep leagues.

• Keone Kela has struggled a bit of late in the ERA department, allowing five runs in his previous two appearances but he threw a scoreless inning last night, striking out two batters for his 7th save of the year. While Kela supports a 6.00 ERA rings the alarm, his 2.75 FIP and 3.40 SIERA suggest brighter days ahead. If Kela is able to string together a few good outings we will remove the yellow tag on him in the grid. Jose Leclerc pitched in the eight allowing a hit and an unearned run but also struck out two batters, lowering his ERA to 2.45. Jake Diekman pitched in the eighth, throwing a scoreless inning while also allowing a walk, something that is a legitimate issue as he now has issued 12 free passes in only 12.1 innings. Diekman has been setting up Kela thus far, so he’s second in line on the grid but if something were to happen to Kela I wouldn’t be surprised to see Leclerc leapfrog him for saves as he’s a righty with more swing and miss stuff.

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• Shane Greene came on to start the ninth inning tonight in a 0-0 game and unfortunately was unable to finish the inning after allowing a lead off walk to Denard Span, a homer to C.J. Cron and a solo shot to Brad Miller. Buck Farmer relieved Greene in the ninth but Joe Jimenez and Alex Wilson both figure to be in line for saves if a change occurs in Detroit. After tonight’s outing, Green is supporting a 5.73 ERA and matching 6.00 FIP. He won’t carry a 20.0% HR/FB all season and a 65.2 LOB% either but his .310 BABIP doesn’t portray someone who’s been getting killed by luck, although his sequencing certainly has left a lot to be desired. We had Greene safe before tonight’s blow up so I won’t sound the alarms but it’s hard to carry an ERA touching 6 and feel comfortable. As mentioned, Joe Jimenez would be next in line. His strikeout rate could be on the up and up with a 11.7 SwStr% but only a 18% K% but overall he’s not quite as dominant as you might like to see with someone next in line.

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• Biggest news from last night has to be in Atlanta where A.J. Minter secured his first save of the year. While many non-closers get a save opportunity from time to time, the Braves manager mentioned “we will see more A.J. Minter in the 9th” which likely places him in a timeshare for saves with Arodys Vizcaino. Minter was damn impressive last year in a small sample, and he was expected to be lurking but with Vizcaino supporting a shiny ERA I didn’t expect any changes to occur any time soon. Obviously that is not the case and one should rush to pick up Minter. We will monitor how the saves are issued moving forward but this looks like a real committee.  A.J. Minter is the south paw, so it’s safe to say he will see saves when lefties are expected in the order, but we will have to wait and see how it develops from there.

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• Something might be brewing in Milwaukee as Josh Hader recorded another six out save for his second of the year. Since his last two save opportunities came via the two inning variety, it’s still unlikely that he’s used as a traditional closer so consistent saves while Corey Knebel is on the shelf may be unlikely. But, things are still s trending in the right direction, especially if Matt Albers and Jacob Barnes are less than stellar. Regardless of save opportunties, Hader is becoming one of the most valuable relievers and on the season Hader has 25 strikeouts in 11.2 innings supporting a 61% K% and a 0.21 SIERA. Damn.

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• Alex Colome has had some struggles of late and although he allowed the first two batters to reach base last night, he didn’t allow one to score and held onto the one run lead for his second save of the year. On the year Colome has allowed four runs in 3.1 innings, which can happen early on for a reliever after a rough outing but what’s troublesome is his 4.8% K% and 14.3% BB%. For his career, Colome has a 11.6% SwStr% and this year it’s only at 8.6%.

Colome displayed fantastic swing and miss stuff in 2016 paired with a better walk rate, but both of those went in the wrong direction last year and that trend has continued this year. There seems to be no real concerns with his velocity and he will have a long leash in Tampa Bay but it’s worth noting his appearances here on out. If he continues to slip look for Sergio Romo, Jose Alvarado, and Chaz Roe to be next in line. Roe and Alvarado shared the 6th and 7th innings last night with Romo getting four outs and three strikeouts to set up Colome with the save.

• Rough start to the Greg Holland era in St. Louis. Holland came on in the 10th inning last night and walked four batters while only getting one out. Bud Norris finished the inning but the damage was done as Holland received the loss. The Cardinals didn’t pay Holland to give him just one save opportunity but it might take a few appearances in non-closing situations before he’s given the role. I’d expect Bud Norris to see the next save opportunity with Dominic Leone, Tyler Lyons, and Jordan Hicks setting up along with Holland.

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While the closer grid might start green it doesn’t take too long for some different colors to emerge.

• The current situation in Anaheim has been interesting to say the least. Blake Parker’s hold on the job was never seen as particularly strong and he hasn’t done himself any favors early on this year, needing to be bailed out by Keynan Middleton as Al Melchior mentioned last night. I’ve changed this situation to yellow and added Middleton to the grid. It might be anyone’s guess who gets the next save opportunity but I’m keeping Parker in the lead for now. If Mike Scioscia wants to go with the hot hand he could turn to Middleton again and there’s also Bedrosian who’s been deployed a setup man thus far as well as Jim Johnson who does have that trademarked closer experience. At some point this situation might settle but for now there are a few guys who are worthy of speculative adds but also not provide any saves. Helpful, I know.

• As far as other colors go, we’re sticking with Baltimore at yellow before moving to a code red. Brad Brach obviously has not looked effective so far but until we see O’Day pitching in a save situation or Buck Showalter address the situation, we’re going to keep Brach in the lead. Darren O’Day did get some action on Monday but he entered in the 8th inning in a 6-1 game. It’s possible he’s was getting some work in as he had only pitched on Thursday so far this season. O’Day did look effective, striking out a pair in a perfect inning. If he’s still on the wire I would definitely look to grab him over Mychal Givens.

• We had Pedro Baez as the next-in-line in LA but it looks like Josh Fields is the man of the eighth for now. Baez looked good getting four perfect outs but he entered the game in the fourth inning. Josh Fields meanwhile took the ball in the eighth and pitched around a hit, striking out two batters. If something were to happen to Kenley Jansen I would keep an eye on Baez, but Fields would be the man to own. Speaking of Jansen, after taking the loss in his first appearance this year he doubled down with a blown save tonight, allowing three earned in the ninth. Jansen’s velocity has been down a few ticks this year and consider me worried. We don’t know if something is going on yet but I would look to grab Fields if I was in need of saves. If one is willing to chase saves in Miami, they should be willing to use a speculative add on Fields. Jansen certainly has a laughably tighter grasp on the role than Brad Ziegler but the payoff on getting the Dodgers closer is much greater than one in Miami. I’m a little hesitant to jump the gun here and make this situation yellow, but better safe than sorry with a big payoff if Jansen is to miss anytime.

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• With Blake Treinen having pitched in back to back days, the A’s went to Chris Hatcher for the save opportunity and he picked up his first save in a perfect ninth on eight pitches. Santiago Casilla was also unavailable having a heavy work load of late but I still believe this helps secure Hatcher as the next in line in Oakland. Although Treinen was unavailable, he’s also put up L’s in his last three appearances. They haven’t been particularly bad outings and he’s been quite good on Oakland (2.60 ERA, 9.8 K/9, 2.6 BB/9) so his job is pretty safe but keep an eye on Hatcher if Treinen has an extended slump.

• Tyler Lyons threw a scoreless ninth for his second save, striking out two and also allowing two hits. We recently put Lyons atop of the closer grid and it looks like he will stay there for the time being although this situation could still be somewhat of a committee. John Brebbia got the hold in the eighth pitching a perfect inning and he could be moving up on the grid. Brebbia won’t maintain a .193 BABIP but Oh has been very up and down as Brebbia and even Ryan Sherriff are slowly gaining Mike Matheny’s trust.

• The Angels closer situation has been a non-impressive roller coaster thus far but Blake Parker appears to have a decent hold on the job. Ex-closer Bud Norris was activated from the DL and while I don’t expect him to replace Parker, I’ve added him to the grid behind Parker and Cam Bedrosian. As we have seen with their bullpen usage this season however, Keynan Middleton and Petit could also see higher leverage innings.

• Interesting news out of New York regarding the Yankees closer situation as Aroldis Chapman could return back to his familiar role. Dellin Betances has been struggling and the Yankees likely don’t intend to pay Chapman tens of millions to not close. Joe Girardi even said “I possibly would have closed with him tonight, probably, knowing that the other guys could probably use a day off” which doesn’t mean Chapman is the closer now, but I’ve moved him to second in line and made this situation red. Watch the Yankees very closely for both a fun end of season division battle, but more importantly to see who receives the next save opportunity.

Other Bullpen Activity

• Wade Davis struck out a pair for his 29th save. There’s been a few times given Davis’ injury history where a small struggle got me nervous, along with his elevated walk rate but he’s otherwise been solid all year helping ratios and racking up saves. The walks (up to 12.6% BB% from 9.1% last year) prevents him from entering the elite company but he of course remains a solid option moving forward this year.
• 13 wins in a row for The Daimondbacks and another arrow for Fernando Rodney as he got his 36th save. Archie Bradley threw a perfect eighth for his 21st hold and is the best option back there but Rodney’s hold is firm. Things might change in 2018 but for now expect Rodney to continue to get saves, especially if they keep playing the Dodgers.
• After being used more conventionally this summer as a setup man, Chris Devenski is back to his multi-inning ways, picking up the win tonight after getting four outs. With 8 wins, 4 saves, and 91 strikeouts on the year Devenski has been more valuable than many traditional closers. If he’s getting one-to-three outs he’s pretty good but when he’s getting used for longer outings he becomes pretty special.
• Arodys Vizcaino picked up his 10th save for the Braves in the second game of their double header against the Rangers. Alex Claudio didn’t receive a save opportunity for Texas but did get the last out for Texas in both games.

Closer Grid:

[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]