With less than 24 hours until MLB’s non-waiver trade deadline, team’s continue to exhaust their resources in a last-ditch effort to make a run at the playoffs — and hopefully make the World Series — as their trading partners look to restock the farm. A few bullpen arms were on the move Thursday, so we’ll briefly touch on that to determine how players should approach said situations going forward.
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On a relatively slow night from a bullpen perspective, it’s probably important to note that the RotoGraphs team dropped our midseason reliever rankings this afternoon on the site. You can see the entire list here, which includes a surprising Fernando Rodney ranking from our friend Paul Sporer.
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In the spirit of the All-Star Break, I figured this was as good a time as any to check in on my “10 Bold-ish Predictions, The 2015 Edition.” Like some of my colleagues have done, I’ll simply state the prediction and discuss the player/s progress — or lack there of — towards said bold prediction.
1. Drew Pomeranz and Jesse Hahn will be top 75 starters
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Good news in Cleveland as Cody Allen appeared tonight for the first time since Friday, missing time with a stiff back. He seemed to pick up right where he left off, retiring each of the three Astros’ he faced on just ten pitches to notch his 17th save of the season. On the year, the 26-year-old is 17-of-18 in save opportunities with a 3.25 ERA (1.72 FIP) and a 14.5 K/9. Entering tonight, Allen’s 27.9% K-BB% ranked him sixth-best among qualified closers in that category, only behind Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, David Robertson, Yimi Garcia and Carson Smith. Read the rest of this entry »
Glen Perkins notched his 26th save of the year in a 2-0 Twins victory over the Royals in Kansas City today. The Twins’ ninth-inning man needed just 11 pitches to fan one and induce a pair of groundouts to retire the Royals in the home half of the ninth. Perkins remains a perfect 26-for-26 in save opportunities with a 1.35 ERA (2.51 FIP). He’s inducing swinging strikes at an 11.1% clip — the lowest since since his 7.9% SwStr% during 2010, but still better than his career 9.3% mark — which explains the dip in strikeouts for Perkins in ‘15. But he’s walking fewer batters than he has in the past (3.9% BB%) so I guess it’s not all that bad. Velocity looks good on the fastball, but the slider seems to have lost another tick, so let’s keep an eye on that going forward.
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The latest out of the Bronx on Andrew Miller indicates that the southpaw could miss up to a month on the disabled list while recovering from a forearm strain. Miller will be shut down for about two weeks before starting a throwing program with the hopes of returning in about four weeks. Like we discussed yesterday, Dellin Betances jumps into ninth-inning action for the Yankees and we can probably have a fair discussion that he also jumps into the top spot in our reliever rankings until Miller returns from the shelf.
Just two days ago, the Bullpen Report team alongside colleague Paul Sporer ranked Andrew Miller the top relief pitcher in our May/June update. We’re doubtful the news is a curse of the Bullpen Report, but Andrew Miller landed on the disabled list today with a strained forearm muscle. An MRI on Wednesday did in fact reveal a strain in the flexor mass, a muscle in his left forearm. When discussing Miller’s injury with the media, skipper Joe Girardi mentioned that fatigue could be an issue with the left-hander appearing in 26 of the Yankees’ 59 games, so upon his return from the disabled list, maybe we’ll see more of a balance between Betances and Miller in save situations. Or, we could just be falling into the manager’s trap and Miller will get all the chances when healthy, but I’m guessing the former. In said 26 trips ot the bump, Andrew Miller is 0-1, a perfect 17-for-17 in save chances, a 1.03 ERA (1.93 FIP) and a 32% K-BB%. Get well, Andrew.
The Dodgers’ failed to make closer Kenley Jansen available for their season finale in Colorado against the Rockies last evening, raising a fair share of eyebrows — and concern — for the right-hander. Throughout the evening and into today, the team shed a bit more light into Jansen’s situation. Due to a history of atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat), team trainers and a consulting doctor administered a series of tests to rule out the heart issue when Jansen complained of a stomach/headache in the first frame. After receiving intravenous fluids, it was determined that Jansen’s high blood pressure could have been at the root of the other symptoms. At any rate, Jansen was better today and cleared for action by team doctors. He’s 5-of-6 in save chances on the season with a 0.00 ERA (-0.55 FIP) and a 55% K-BB% in six appearances. Wishing the best of health for Kenley.
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Lots of folks here at RotoGraphs have been updating their positional tiers in the past week or more, so I figured to piggyback on their efforts and create reliever tiers over the past 30 days. In an effort to chop this list down, I focused on arms with at least ten appearances, one hold, an ERA less than 5.00 and a K-BB% at 10% or better. Also, the relievers appear in tiers and are listed in no particular order within their respective tier.
Tier One: Double India Pale Ales
Dellin Betances | Yankees
Evan Scribner | Athletics
Josh Fields | Astros
Joe Smith | Angels
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Drew Storen recorded his 12th save of the year on 15 pitches tonight for the Nationals. Storen is now 12-of-13 in save chances this season and lowered his ERA to 1.04, while his FIP sits at 1.41 in just over 17 frames on the bump. Storen’s K-BB% is currently a career best, possibly due to the slight uptick in velocity, but definitely thanks to a career-best swinging strike rate of 14.5%.
On 10 pitches — eight strikes and two balls — Jonathan Papelbon retired the Rockies in the home half of the ninth-inning to pick up his 11th save of the year in as many chances. The Phillies’ closer fanned two this evening, raising his strikeout rate to 31.5% on the year, while allowing just about 5.5% of opposing batters to reach via the free pass, none of which occurred in tonight’s effort. Outside of being rumored to be on the move in a potential trade at some point this year — even though, that may be a good thing for the 34-year-old closer — Papelbon is putting together a fine season.
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