Bullpen Report: April 13, 2016
• After a four game slide Terry Collins didn’t play around today calling on Jeurys Familia for a five-out save. Familia answered the call pitching around a couple of hits for his second save of the year. Hansel Robles got the last two outs of the seventh (both via strikeout) and Jerry Blevins got the call to start the eighth inning with the left-handed Ichiro and Christian Yelich due up. Addison Reed still figures to be the main eighth inning set up man with Blevins playing the matchups. Although he doesn’t have the “closer experience” like Reed, Robles has some real strikeout potential and could end the year in a more prominent role behind Familia.
• Naturally after I had said that the Phillies wouldn’t get too many save situations, Jeanmar Gomez goes out and nails his fourth save of the year. It wasn’t the prettiest save as Gomez allowed a walk, a hit and a run, but saves are saves. Pitching in the eighth inning, David Hernandez allowed a walk and a hit of his own but also struck out three batters. Hernandez -> Gomez seems to be the order now and I would expect it to continue moving forward and have upgraded them to yellow on the grid below.
• Francisco Rodriguez started the ninth with a leadoff walk but stranded the runner throwing a scoreless frame against the Pirates. The Tigers scored two runs in the top half of the inning taking the save situation away from K-Rod and his fantasy owners. K-Rod was hitting about 90 mph which is right where he is nowadays – still effective but doesn’t leave much room for error.
In the same game, Arquimedes Caminero had a very rough outing today, allowing four runs without finishing the inning. Caminero entered the year as an intriguing reliever for holds and strikeouts but he’s flamed out of late and is far behind Tony Watson and Neftali Feliz at this point in the pecking order.
• A loss for Mr. Trevor Rosenthal this evening after he went walk, homer and a walk all with two outs. Unable to finish the inning, Rosie handed the ball off to Seth Maness for the final out in the ninth. Seung Hwan Oh and Kevin Siegrist threw a perfect seventh and eighth respectively, and both figure to rack up holds for the Cardinals this year. I’ve updated the chart to include Oh over Jonathan Broxton as well, but still see him behind Kevin Siegrist if something were to happen to Rosenthal.
• There is no closer controversy in Kansas City as Wade Davis simply had the night off after a heavy workload last night. The Royals called on Joakim Soria in his absence and he went one-two-three for his first save of the year, dictating the pecking order behind Davis. Soria had the save opp because Ken Giles struggled again, allowing two runs. Owners who invested in Giles either before or after Luke Gregerson was named closer have not been rewarded. He’s still talented and is a good buy-low option for those in need of ratios and strikeouts but Gregerson’s grasp on the ninth is starting to tighten.
• Quick Hits: Lots of close games tonight with saves…Jonathan Papelbon only needed eighth pitches for his league leading fifth save today. Steve Cishek threw 27 pitches in his two innings of scorless work tonight, striking out three batters en route to his first win after Dae-Ho Lee’s walk-off homer off of Jake Diekman in extras. After a rough outing last night, Cody Allen put it behind him throwing a scoreless ninth for his second save on the year. Craig Kimbrel struggled against the Orioles earlier this week but got some revenge tonight, striking out the side for his second save. David Robertson (4) and Jeremy Jeffress (4) each picked up saves as well.
UPDATE: Whoops, it looks like the Glen Perkins to DL news eluded me! Must have been too obvious to post. Perkins has a left shoulder strain and it’s showed up in his velocity which is down to 91.3 mph from 93+ over the last several years. Perkins missed time in 2015 with various ailments and it’s certainly not a great sign that he’s returned to the DL again this season. It’s expected for Kevin Jepsen to fill in at closer like he did last season. Also of note is Trevor May who has done quite well as a full-time reliever and if Jepsen’s early season blips continue, May could see a few saves.
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
Perkins hitting the DL was probably the biggest closer news of the day and not a mention?
Good job Ben!!!!
Whoops, totally my bad there. I saw this morning and it completely skipped my mind when I was following all the saves this evening.
Thanks man!
To be fair, Twins closer is largely a ceremonial title.