• Casey Janssen closed the door on the Angels in impressive fashion, including striking out Mike Trout swinging to end the game, to wrap up his ninth save of 2012. With news popping up in the last couple of days that Sergio Santos has shut down his rehab again with renewed shoulder discomfort, it’s looking more and more like Janssen might just hold the job for the next few months, if not the remainder of the year. The Jays new closer has been sterling this year, only walking 1.5 per nine while sporting a 2.86 xFIP. If that wasn’t enough, those numbers are actually still worse than his June tallies, where he owns a 1.80 xFIP thanks to the fact that he’s fanned 12 while walking none in 10 innings. The one potential drawback to owning Janssen is the sudden incapacitation of the Blue Jays rotation which seems likely to cut into their projected wins and doom them in the hyper-competitive AL East, but seeing as his ownership percentage is only 61% at ESPN and 48% on Yahoo, he’s a sneaky brilliant alternative to forking over big talent for top-tier save artists.

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• Uh oh. Frank Francisco is been battling a left oblique injury that he suffered Friday night. The Mets originally didn’t seem too concerned, essentially deeming him day-to-day, but as we’ve historically seen with pitchers, opposite side oblique injuries are “nothing to sneeze at.” Well, word has come down mid-sentence (no, literally) that Francisco is indeed hitting the disabled list. And in an obvious move of goodwill to the fantasy community, manager Terry Collins has made life easy on owners by decreeing that Bobby Parnell had the ninth inning tonight (when he knew no Francisco this evening but prior to the DL announcement). Parnell certainly brings the heat (mid-upper 90’s on the fastball) and has career 8.4 K/9 that he’s improved a touch on this year (9.0). Maybe most impressively, he’s a flamethrower who keeps the walks down (3.8 BB/9 career, down to 2.4 this year) — put the whole package together and he has a career 3.78 xFIP (3.12 since the start of 2010). Pick him up in all leagues; I already have. He may only be a short-term hold, but with oblique injuries having a tendency to linger (see Doug Fister), he might be a bit more than a short-term investment.

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• Closer controversy brewing in Minnesota? Well, maybe not a true controversy, but Matt Capps is clearly not as healthy as the Twins would like you believe. We know because it was Glen Perkins, not Capps, who was called in to dust of a 5-4 win in Cincinnati tonight — giving up a couple hits, but also whiffing two. It’s now been over a week since Capps last appeared, and while the fact that he hasn’t been placed on the disabled list shows that Minnesota doesn’t think his shoulder issue is a huge one, it has clearly nagged him longer than originally expected. Perkins has the peripherals of a closer (11.7 K/9, 2.98 xFIP) and seems likely to eventually force Minnesota’s hand in the ninth, whether it be through a Capps trade or a potential Wally Pipp-type situation. One thing is clear: buy Perkins, sell Capps. Even if the latter regains his job in the next week or so, it’s becoming increasingly hard to imagine him lasting the season at the back end of the bullpen. Also, while the Twins threw up a smokescreen about Jared Burton getting save chances, it’s been pretty obvious that Perkins is the guy who is the heir apparent in the Twin Cities. Burton might be worth a glance in super-deep leagues, but probably shouldn’t be on the radar in anything else.

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Drew Storen is throwing off a mound and is targeting the all-star break for his eventual return to the Nationals bullpen. Tyler Clippard has a stranglehold on the ninth inning job for the time being, but given Davey Johnson’s hesitance to use Clippard outside his familiar setup role early in the season and Storen’s career rates (8.7 K/9, 3.45 xFIP), it seems like there will be at least one more closer change in the DC metro area before the season is over. If Storen is lurking on your waiver wire, it might be time to add him to the watch list (shallower leagues) or scoop him up (deeper leagues). Clippard is worth holding for the time being, but maybe some covert shopping to find an owner who will pay for Clippard as the rest-of-season closer is in order.

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• After we last left you on Friday night, Brian Fuentes had a mini-implosion versus the Diamondbacks, taking a win off the board for the A’s and Tommy Milone and probably taking himself out of the ninth inning on a full-time basis. On Saturday, Bob Melvin told assembled press before the game that he was going to use — something every fantasy owner longs to hear — a committee. Fuentes will remain in the mix for saves but Ryan Cook and Grant Balfour will get opportunities based on their availability and matchups.

Cook has been the sleeper darling of the group since the first few weeks of the season, putting up a sparkling 0.69 ERA in 26.0 IP so far in 2012. While his strikeout rate has been solid (8.7 K/9), his walk rate has been anything but (5.2 BB/9). Free passes are nothing new to Cook who had 9.2 BB/9 in limited action at the big league level for Arizona last year in addition to 4.2 BB/9 down at AAA. Thanks to the walks, a low BABIP (0.119) and the fact that he has allowed no homers this year with a 48.3% fly ball rate, his xFIP is a less-than-appetizing 4.39. Balfour’s fastball velocity and, subsequently, strikeouts are down this year (7.0 K/9, compared with a career average of 9.7), and his walk rate (3.9 BB/9) and xFIP (4.40) are nothing to write home about, either. Ironically, Fuentes still has the best peripherals of the three, thanks in large part to his 2.0 BB/9 (3.95 xFIP). Unfortunately for him, a poor strand rate (64.5% LOB%) and HR/FB% nearly four points above his career average (12.5% versus 8.4%) has his ERA the worst of the three at 5.24.

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• The Cubs bullpen situation is an absolute mess. Yesterday, Shawn Camp and James Russell (the two guys Dale Sveum publicly anointed as closers in the wake of Carlos Marmol’s demotion) pitched in the seventh and eighth innings, leaving the door open for what (at the time) appeared to be a Casey Coleman save opportunity (Coleman never got the opportunity, and took the loss in extras). Tonight, Russell straddled the seventh and eighth innings (giving up a run) while Camp got his crack at the ninth. In typical Cubs bullpen fashion, he immediately gave up a screaming single (off the left field wall, no less) to Josh Willingham and a Justin Morneau triple to blow the save before inducing a few weakly hit balls in wriggling out of the jam and getting the game to extras. At this column’s press time, that’s where the game was. Sveum left him in to pitch the tenth, and he gave up a walk and a couple singles to take the loss.

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• He’s mortal! Aroldis Chapman finally gave up a run tonight, and it only took him until the Reds’ 56th game to do so. The run came after consecutive doubles in the 10th inning of a tie game, but one run was enough for the Pirates who held on for the victory. Obviously, I think we all expect mass drops in many leagues tonight which should send Chapman’s ownership value plummeting. OK, maybe not. However, one thing for Chapman owners to keep in mind — he is on pace for 87 innings, which is well above league-average for a reliever generally appearing in single-inning, high-leverage situations. It wouldn’t be out of the question for the Reds to dial back his workload a bit, especially since they’ve historically treated him pretty softly when it comes to pitching multiple days in a row.

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• Fellow Bullpen Report contributor Benjamin Pasinkoff shot out an e-mail the other day mentioning that the Mariners quietly called up Stephen Pryor this week. While not considered a blue-chip prospect in scouting circles, Pryor has never whiffed less than 10.7 K/9 at any stop during his minor league career. While his walk rate (4.6 BB/9 career, 5.2 in his brief stop at AAA this year) leaves much to be desired, Pryor’s 6’4″ frame and mid-90s heat are certainly worth noting in any bullpen with a shaky pecking order. While he is expected to work in middle relief for the foreseeable future, his is a name owners should keep in mind in case he eventually impresses his way to the late innings. Dynasty and deep keeper owners with roster flexibility might even consider a speculative add in the hope of striking “closer gold” down the line.

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• The Cubs closing situation sounds like it could become as foggy as the one Mike Scioscia has control over in southern California. Apparently earlier this morning, Dale Sveum was quoted as saying Casey Coleman would have closed yesterday had a save situation arose. This comment was made all the more interesting by the fact that the Cubs had a save situation today and Casey Coleman was nowhere to be found. Instead, Shawn Camp pitched the eighth (stranding a runner at third he inherited with no outs), leading everyone in Wrigley to figure “OK, James Russell for the ninth.” Well, surprise, surprise, out trots Camp for the ninth — so, two-inning save? Not really. Sveum left Camp in to pitch to Chase Headley — ironically, a switch-hitter without a discernible platoon split. After Headley was retired, Sveum switched gears and called on Russell to face the left-handed John Baker, the switch-hitting Everth Cabrera and the pinch-hitting righty, Nick Hundley. Outside of a bloop double just out of the reach of Darwin Barney, Russell was able to finish off the 5-3 game uneventfully and provide his fantasy owners with the key “S” in the box score.

Camp (and even Coleman) are both right-handed and superior pitchers peripherally to Russell (who sports a mediocre career big league xFIP of 4.50) so it would seem Camp or Coleman would be the logical favorites for ninth inning duties. However, Russell appears to have the all-important manager’s confidence, and, combined with the fact that today’s game showed Sveum seems content to play matchups and/or ride the hot hand, is very much in the mix as well. Side note: Carlos Marmol is now back from the DL — he is not imminently close to the ninth inning, but it wouldn’t be out of the question for him to slip back into the mix down the road. Keep an eye on him as he works low-leverage situations.

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Here are a few bullpen notes between the last Bullpen Report and Sunday’s games…

• The Cubs removed Rafael Dolis from the closer role after an ugly ninth inning, tie-game appearance versus the Pirates where he forced in the game-winning run with a hit by pitch. Dolis has been walking the tightrope all season, balancing with a mediocre 3.9 K/9 and a dumbfounding 0.73 K/BB (driving a 5.14 xFIP), and that was before he came on in mop up duty today and faced two batters — walking both. James Russell (5.23 xFIP, 1.50 K/BB) and Shawn Camp (3.70 xFIP, 2.75 K/BB) will share closing duties for now. Camp is right-handed and the superior pitcher, so he should be considered the lead dog in the race for saves, but both might get opportunities, at least until someone takes the job and runs with it (or someone drags Carlos Marmol from a 2010 time machine).

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