(Belated) Bullpen Report: August 2, 2016
• We mentioned Huston Street’s continued struggles yesterday and it looks like he’s found himself on the disabled list with “inflammation in his right knee.” Street has been the worst closer in baseball this year so it was either going to be an injury or demotion that removed him from the closing chair. In his place goes Cam Bedrosian who got his first career save last night striking out the side. On the year Bedrosian has a 0.90/1.88/2.72 ERA/FIP/xFIP pitching line, a groundball percentage of 50.5% and a 32.5% strikeout rate. Killing worms and missing bats is generally a great way to be successful as a pitcher and I went aggressive making the Angels situation green. Yes, Bedrosian is a first time closer but he’s far and away the best option and I feel his job is secure.
• Will Harris‘ recent struggles also caught up to him as Ken Giles has supplanted him as closer. I opened the door to this possibility last night but the Astros made the change before seeing another blown opportunity by Harris. Luke Gregerson has pitched great as well so I’m slotting him 2nd in line, behind Giles. The Astros paid a pretty penny for Giles last year and he will now earn his keep in the ninth as the Astros fight for the playoffs. Look past Giles’ 3.80 ERA and you will see he’s the same dominant pitcher he was on the Phillies – his strikeout rate is the 11th best among relievers, his K-BB% ranks 12th, and his 97 mph fastball is among the league leaders. With Bedrosian, Edwin Diaz and now Giles added to the ninth inning, along with the usual slate of dominating closers, we are in the midst of some of the most terrifying closers I’ve ever seen.
UPDATE: With Luke Gregerson on the DL that obviously changes things. Harris is second and Michael Feliz will be added to the grid.
• Speaking of Edwin Diaz, the new Seattle closer didn’t disappoint in his first action, pitching around a walk while striking out three batters for his first save of the year. Diaz is now up to 52 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched. You would think after a few years of Kenley Jansen, Craig Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman and Dellin Betances that we have seen it all but Diaz is taking it to another level. If anything Diaz has been unlucky in his batted ball profile and I don’t see how the Mariners will rationalize using Cishek again this year barring a collapse – I upgraded them to green.
• Quick hits: Yesterday was a solid day for new closers as Tyler Thornburg pitched a perfect ninth for his 3rd save on the year and Tony Watson secured his first save of the year for Pittsburgh. Zach Britton can’t pitch every day so Darren O’Day filled in getting four outs for his second save. After a brief DL stint he’s certainly back to his old bad self behind Britton. Rough debut for Will Smith in SF as he gave up two runs without finishing the inning. Sergio Romo wasn’t any better allowing three runs of his own. Hunter Strickland and Derek Law threw scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh innings respectively and could leapfrog Romo if he has another blip. Nobody can be perfect and Seung Oh blew a save – his job is still safe. Roberto Osuna had a day off and Jason Grilli pitched a perfect inning for second save, cementing his role as second in line in Toronto. It’s possible that Aaron Sanchez‘ move to the pen could change that but I think Grilli is safe.
Closer Grid:
[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]
When he's not focusing on every team's bullpen situation, Ben can be found blogging at Ben's Baseball Bias and on Twitter @BensBias
I get the explanation for Watson being yellow due to the new job idea, but I dont see Watson relinquishing that role anytime soon. Pittsburgh has given pretty long leashes to its closers over the last couple of years. Plus with Feliz set to leave at the end of the year, Im sure the Pirates would like to get Tony all the experience he can in that role for next season as well.
You know what, that’s totally fair. I moved it to green for the next BR. Pittsburgh has been committed to Watson for a while.
Thanks Ben! I hate to be that guy that quibbles over the color on these BRs because you guys do a tremendous job
Maybe it could be chartreuse?