-In today’s episode of “Anything Can Happen At Coors Field,” the visiting Marlins held a five run advantage over the hometown Rockies heading into the last half of the ninth until Kevin Slowey was asked to take the hill. Slowey surrendered a couple of runs on three hits without logging an out before being pulled in favor of Miami’s closer, Steve Cishek, with men on first and second. Cishek allowed one of the inherited runners to score on a single off the bat of Nolan Arenado, but he got out of the jam to earn his 20th save of the season. Cishek is now 20-of-22 on the season with a 3.02 ERA (2.95 FIP) and a 1.05 WHIP.
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The landscape of many team’s bullpens are likely to change in the forthcoming weeks as MLB’s trade deadline approaches. With that in mind, those in leagues that do not use a waiver or FAAB system should be camping out by the computer or glued to their fancy hands-free device ready to pounce on the next man in.

However, we’re not there just yet. So, here’s a look at a few lesser-owned middle relievers who’ve been providing owners in holds leagues some joy over the past two weeks.
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Hope y’all enjoyed the All-Star break, I know I did. Here are just a few bullpen notes from today:

Rafael Betancourt landed on the 15-day disabled list today after undergoing a last-minute appendectomy. The 38-year-old showed up to the stadium hoping to play through the pain, but his 10-year-old son wisely informed the Rockies’ medical staff that his father had been awfully sick the night before. After a quick evaluation the medical staff suspected the closer was suffering from appendicitis, resulting in the procedure. Betancourt could need two-to-three weeks of recovery time. The Rockies shelved Betancourt back in June for a groin strain causing the veteran to miss 25 games. So in just 28 appearances this season, Betancourt is 15-of-16 in save chances with a 3.16 ERA (1.20 WHIP) and a 22.2% K%. Not bad for fantasy purposes, but the red flags continue to ascend as his fastball velocity, K% and SwStr% have all dipped while his BB% spiked for the fourth consecutive year.

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Apologies for the tardy and abbreviated Bullpen Report this morning.

Here we go…

Chris Perez needed just 12 pitches to earn his 12th save of the season in a clean inning of work last evening against the Royals. The 28-year-old is now 12-of-14 in save opportunities this season, including a perfect 6-for-6 since coming off the disabled list in late-June. The right-hander has allowed just one earned run with a 16.6% K% and an 8.3% BB% since returning to action. The velocity on his primary offerings are down a tick this season but the good news is that it appears to have rebounded about half-a-tick over his last nine innings of work. Perez’s rates and ratios aren’t exactly exciting for fantasy purposes, but he’s earning saves again which is obviously beneficial for those in need of help in that category. He’s still available in 28% of Y! leagues. I’m adding and/or holding Perez right now.
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-For the second consecutive evening Kevin Gregg found himself in a bit of trouble on the hill, but unlike last night, the right-hander overcame a few mistakes — including, but not limited to a throwing error and a walk — en route to his 16th save of the twenty-thirteen campaign. Sure, Gregg didn’t take the conventional route to seal the victory for the Cubbies tonight, but he did in fact provide keep the Cardinals off the board. The save aside, are we starting to see Gregg turn back into a pumpkin? I’m not exactly sure, but the 35-year-old reliever is 0-1 and 5-of-7 in save opportunities in his last eight trips to the hill. He’s allowed four earned runs and two homers in those same eight appearances after allowing just two earned and homer in his first 24 outings. Gregg’s recent struggles parlayed with the potential of him wearing a different uniform and serving a different role come the trade deadline, I’d be asking your leaguemates what they’d be willing to give up to acquire his services.
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–Edward Mujica blew his first save opportunity of the twenty-thirteen campaign on Independence Day, yielding two earned runs on four hits — one of which left the park — in a 6-5 loss to the Angels. The longball turned out to be the third of its kind Mujica allowed in his previous six trips to the bump — leading to five earned runs — spiking his ERA from 1.57 to 2.62. The fifth of July, however, seemed to be a bit friendlier to the veteran right-hander. Mujica faced the minimum in a clean ninth-inning of work on Friday, fanning two Marlins and inducing one worm burner en route to a 4-1 Cardinals’ victory and Mujica’s 22nd save of the season.

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–Jason Grilli dished a scoreless ninth-inning en route to his 27th save in 28 opportunities as the Pirates earned their league-leading 50th victory by clipping the Brewers, 2-1. In addition to Grilli’s impeccable save conversion percentage, the right-hander owns an impressive 42.7% K%, a 1.82 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. Grilli’s whiff rates (42.7% K%) appear gaudy and are well-above his career average (21.4% K%), but career bests landing the first strike (61.8% F-Strike%) and inducing swinging strikes (15.7% SwStr%) suggest the spike in strikeouts isn’t exactly a mirage or stroke of luck. If you own shares of the Pirates’ ninth-inning man I wouldn’t be mad if you shopped him around your league — you’d likely get a hefty return on your investment — but as long as health remains in his corner and your squad is in need of saves, ride the wave.

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-With fans and fantasy owners on the edge of their seats, Red Sox skipper signaled for “new” closer Koji Uehara to close out the Blue Jays in the top of the ninth frame at Fenway today. The 38-year-old veteran needed just 16 pitches while facing the minimum to induce two strikeouts and a ground out en route to his second save since being named Andrew Bailey’s replacement last week and his third overall save on the season. The Japanese right-hander has now made eight consecutive appearances without surrendering an earned run and has lowered his twenty-thirteen ERA and WHIP to 1.97 and 0.81 respectively. Additionally, Uehara’s K% spiked to 37.4% after fanning two Toronto batters in today’s contest. Going forward, I’d consider Uehara a borderline top-ten closing option.

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–Jose Veras needed just six pitches to close out the Cubbies in the bottom of the ninth frame to lock down his 15th save of the twenty-thirteen campaign. The lanky right-hander is now 15-of-18 in save opportunities with a 27.8% K% and a 3.82 ERA (3.83 FIP). Veras’ current strikeout rate and ERA are right inline with his career numbers, but it is worth noting that he’s surrendering fewer free passes (9.8% BB%) through 33 ‘13 appearances than he has over his career (12.3% BB%). One reason for the improvement in walk rate could be that Veras is getting ahead of hitters with the first-strike (60.2% F-Strike%) more than he’s ever done before (52.4% career F-Strike%). Veras is also luring opponents to chase pitches outside of the zone more often (26.3 O-Swing%), but the righty isn’t allowing them to make contact (59.2% O-Contact%) as well as they’ve done in the past against him (63% O-Contact%).

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–Tony Watson collected the rare two-inning, six-out save this afternoon in a Pirates 5-3 victory over the Reds. With Bucs closer Jason Grilli and setup man Mark Melancon unavailable out of the pen today, Watson earned a second inning of work en route to his second save of the season. The southpaw dished an impressive eighth-inning, working through the heart of the Reds’ order — Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce — prior to cleaning up the last of Cincy’s bats in the last half of the ninth to seal the deal. While Watson may not earn a ton of saves this season, he’s a valuable asset in holds leagues. The lanky lefty’s ratios aren’t exactly sexy, but he’s notched 11 holds on the season and owns a reasonable 19.7% K% on the year.

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