First and foremost I’d like to wish all my fellow dads a Happy Father’s Day. If possible, sit down, put your feet up, grab a cold one and enjoy the nice slate of games on Sunday. You’ve earned it.

Now on to a few bullpen notes from around the league after Saturday’s games:

–Jonathan Papelbon fanned two of the three Cubs he faced on Saturday en route to his 15th save of the season. The successful conversion moves the veteran right-hander into sole possession of 24th place on the all-time saves list in the majors with 301. On that list, Papelbon is third among active closers behind Joe Nathan (354) and Francisco Rodriguez (324). It’s still amazing to me that the combined ninth-inning achievements of Francisco Rodriguez and Jonathan Papelbon (324 + 301 = 625 saves) would still fall short of the all-time leader, Mariano Rivera, by 27 saves.
Read the rest of this entry »

Another day, another save for 39-year-old Koji Uehara of the Boston Red Sox. He fanned one and induced two groundouts to seal his 14th save of the season on 14 pitches. Uehara has now converted 30 consecutive save opportunities dating back to July 6th of last season. Koji owns a 0.63 ERA (1.69 FIP) and a ~33% K-BB% in 27.2 innings of work in ‘14. Something else that caught my eye while cruising Uehara’s player page is his SwStr% over the past three seasons: 18.9%, 18.5% and 18.5%. Have to love the consistency. With my tail between my legs, I’ll have to admit I was totally wrong on this guy heading into this year. I anticipated Father Time creeping up on the old man, but he’s apparently nowhere in sight. Sorry for doubting you, Koji.
Read the rest of this entry »

Thankful to be able to contribute to another Bullpen Report after spending a few days away in the mountains with the in-laws. Truth be told, I’m actually still out here but have been out of the mix, so if I miss something crucial, pick me up in the comments…

Here are a few notes I was able to put together:
Read the rest of this entry »

-Over the past week here at the Bullpen Report, we’ve suggested that Jason Grilli would regain the closer role in Pittsburgh sometime in the near future. Well, that sometime in the near future turned into today, when Pirates skipper Clint Hurdle officially named Grilli the team’s ninth-inning man prior to their contest at Chavez Ravine against the Dodgers. Grilli needed just two appearances to be eased back into his former role. In two innings since returning from the disabled list, Grilli faced eight batters, surrendered one hit, one walk and struck out four. Mark Melancon will fall back into the set-up role for the Bucs, and although it appears he won’t be saving many games going forward, I’d hold onto him until we see Grilli back in the swing of things. If by chance you have room to keep Melancon rostered, do it. He’ll potentially contribute to four of the five traditional categories and is one of the better insurance policies in the business. Late edit: Grilli did in fact get the save chance tonight in Los Angeles. He surrendered a hit, but came away with his sixth save of the year on 15 pitches.
Read the rest of this entry »

With roughly a third of the 2014 mLB season in the books, our reliever tiers deserved to be examined. In an effort to develop said tiers for those in holds or solds leagues, I looked for pitchers who appeared in about 15 or more games, accumulated a minimum of three holds, owned a worthy K-BB% and posted fine ratios. Mind you, like everything else in life, there are exceptions to this rule. For instance, Brian Matusz, Jared Burton and Brian Schlitter don’t have the greatest K-BB% or ratios, but they do have seven holds a piece. Therefore, they were included. Also, I felt obligated to write the name Schlitter a few times, which is probably the real reason I included him.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just a few quick notes from tonight…

-After picking up a save in his first appearance back from the disabled list, Jason Grilli got the call in the bottom of the eighth-inning tonight with the Bucs down two runs to the Mets. Grilli surrendered a leadoff single to start the inning, then fanned the next three consecutive batters to keep the Pirates within striking distance heading into the final frame. Despite the fact that the Pirates were unable to stage the late-inning comeback, reports indicate that Grilli’s outing could be one of the final hurdles the right-hander needed to clear before reclaiming the closer tag. Stadium guns clocked the veteran’s fastball in the 92-94 range, which seems to be right in line with career norms. For his career, Grilli is 43-for-54 in save situations, 33 of which came in 2013.
Read the rest of this entry »

-March and April were kind to 41-year-old LaTroy Hawkins. The Rockies’ closer converted all nine of his save chances while holding opposing batters to a .237/.267/.349 slash line and a .273 wOBA in 11.1 innings. However, May tells a different story for the veteran right-hander. He is 2-0 with one save (in two chances) this month, but he’s allowed five earned runs in his last seven appearances. And hitters are slashing .444/.464/.741 with a .513 wOBA against Hawkins across six frames this month. When looking at velocity splits between the months, nothing strikes me as red flag worthy. Hitters seem to be finding the holes a bit more in May (.440 BABIP) versus March/April’s .243 average on balls in play. He’s stranding fewer this month (69% LOB%) as well, so maybe it’s just numbers catching up with the old fella?
Read the rest of this entry »

-This morning, Terry Collins indicated that the Mets would call on Jenrry Mejia in the ninth-inning tonight in the Bronx against the Yankees should they be in a save situation. Mejia did indeed take the ball in the Yankees’ half of the final frame, but in a non-save situation as the Metropolitans faced a 1-0 deficit. The right-hander yielded a couple of singles, but fanned Brian McCann and induced a double play to escape the top of the ninth unscathed. Despite not earning a save, Collins’ comments shed some light into the mess that is the Mets’ bullpen at the moment. It appears as if the Mets would like Mejia to emerge from the committee to be the full-time closer when he’s ready. There’s no magical date in mind, but once Mejia is fully transitioned back to the bullpen and is able to pitch in two or three consecutive evenings, he may be close.
Read the rest of this entry »

-Just when we thought we figured this whole Angels bullpen thing out, Mike Scioscia sent Ernesto Frieri to the hill in the eighth-inning with a three run lead, then provided Joe Smith with the opportunity to close out the Phillies and earn the save. Scioscia’s comments following today’s game indicate that he’ll continue to mix-and-match Frieri and Joe Smith in the ninth frame depending on the particulars of the save situation. Two factors — the score, and part of the order due up (among other foreign forms of managerial reasoning) — will be considered when the skipper calls for his choice closer. Although Scioscia’s comments suggest he would eventually like to name one closer for the remainder of the season, this continues to feel like a closer-by-committee situation. If you’re chasing saves, you’re looking to grab shares of both players until one of these guys — presumably Frieri — proves worthy to work closing situations regardless of situation.
Read the rest of this entry »

Another relatively slow night here at the Bullpen Report. Here are a few updates regarding closers returning from the disabled list, Darren O’Day and Fernando Rodney.

-The end of Casey Janssen’s rehab stint could be near. Sounds like the right-hander will take the next few days off, then pitch on Saturday for Double-A New Hampshire. According to John Gibbons, Janssen could be back with the Blue Jays as early as Sunday or Monday, but the brass will likely make that decision following Saturday’s scheduled outing. Janssen made appearances in two consecutive games earlier this week for New Hampshire, going two innings without allowing an earned run or a walk, fanned two and surrendered three hits. In Janssen’s absence, Sergio Santos, Brett Cecil and Aaron Loup have combined to go 9-for-14 in save opportunities.
Read the rest of this entry »