Bullpen Report: April 22, 2018

Jeurys Familia has been absolutely brilliant to begin the 2018 season. Coming into Saturday’s games he had allowed 0 ER on 5 H with a 13/5 K:BB ratio over 11.1 IP. But as in life, all good things must come to an end at some point. Familia was summoned in the eighth inning with two outs and a man on third. The Mets had already allowed two runs in the inning (Ramos/Blevins made appearances), hence the decision to not mess around and bring Familia in. He would make quick work of Preston Tucker – striking him out on four pitches. He came back in for the ninth inning with the Mets continuing to cling to a 3-2 lead. He walked the lead-off man – Dansby Swanson – on four pitches, and fell behind Johan Camargo as well.

Familia was definitely worried about Swanson stealing second, as he attempted to pick him off three times during the Camargo at-bat. He eventually would yield a triple to Camargo – a hard-struck grounder up the middle that made it to the right-center gap to tie the game at three. Kurt Suzuki would come in and immediately strike a liner off the glove of Todd Frazier for a single. The ball stayed in the infield so there was no attempt to score by Camargo. Charlie Culberson was called upon to pinch-hit for Braves reliever Jesse Biddle next, bringing the count to 2-and-2 before swinging and missing to end his at-bat. Ender Inciarte ended the game by bunting towards first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who tossed it home to attempt to get Camargo, but to no avail. As I mentioned before, Familia has been stellar to begin the season and one blown save isn’t the end of the world. Familia’s control/command has never been great, but he’ll continue to produce a plus K% and GB% with high-octane stuff to remain a solid option in fantasy.

Jordan Hicks had an interesting day. In the seventh inning of Saturday’s tilt against the Reds, Tyler Lyons came on with two outs and a man on. He would allow three singles and a walk to the four hitters he faced (three LHB), resulting in one inherent run scored against Gregerson and two for Lyons himself. The Cardinals brought in Jordan Hicks with runners on first-and-third and he got Cliff Pennington to fly-out on the first pitch he saw. The Cardinals would reclaim the lead later in the inning off a solo-shot from Yadier Molina. In the eighth inning, Hicks threw six pitches – hitting the lead-off man Scott Schebler — before getting two groundball outs (one for a double-play). The ninth inning didn’t go as swimmingly.

The Cardinals were still clinging to a one-run lead and Hicks was able to get Phillip Ervin to pop-out on a slider to begin the frame. However, things became stressful when Hicks walked Jesse Winker on five pitches on the next sequence. Billy Hamilton became a factor after replacing Winker on first base. Hicks would attempt to pick him off before hitting Jose Peraza on the first pitch of the at-bat. The HBP was challenged, but the call remained the same. Hicks rebounded by going up 0-2 on Joey Votto, but he would end up missing with four-straight sinkers (three 100+ mph) to load the bases. Scooter Gennett came up with the hopes to win the game. He fouled the first offering off, but would ground into a 6-4-3 double-play on the very next pitch to end the game.

Bud Norris has only pitched on back-to-back days once this season, which could’ve been the reason he wasn’t brought on in the ninth inning on Saturday. Dominic Leone remains a nice, high-leverage piece for the Cardinals pen as well, but with Norris pitching well and Holland looming, his value is more suited for deeper formats. Hicks continues to grow in his role. His stuff is exciting and lethal, but he still has a ways to go with his command. Norris is still the guy to own in this bullpen.

Edwin Diaz gathered his eighth save of the season against the Rangers on Saturday, but certainly didn’t have the easiest time getting there. He allowed lead-off hitter Drew Robinson to reach via walk to start the frame after getting ahead 1-2 in the count, then proceeded to give up a single to Jurickson Profar four pitches later, with Robinson advancing to third on the play. Robinson Chirinos struck out swinging on a nasty slider to give Diaz his first out of the frame. Ronald Guzman rolled over a change-up that could’ve resulted in an inning-ending double-play, but it was bobbled by Robinson Cano. He made the play to first and got Guzman for the second out, with Robinson coming around to score to bring the game to 9-7.

Joey Gallo and Shin-Soo Choo walked on consecutive at-bats to load the bases – leading to a mound visit to calm Diaz down. Isiah Kiner-Falefa got ahead 3-0 to really create some pressure, then punished a fastball to left field that almost made it to the warning track. The catch was made and the game was wrapped up, but Diaz needed 39 pitches to get through the inning. It was his second day pitching in-a-row, and the run allowed was his first of the season. You’ll have to deal with these outings from him from time-to-time due to his lapses in command, but the strikeout numbers and possible save chances on a decent team make him a top-tier closer right now.

According to Giants manager Bruce Bochy, Will Smith is, “knocking on the door” of a return to big league action. Smith is making his way back from Tommy John Surgery last March, and has 4 K and 0 H allowed over his last two appearances in Triple-A. He may not fall into save opportunities, but Smith has an awesome 34% K% against LHB in his career. He could find his way into high-leverage situations for the Giants very soon.

Quick Hits

Jake McGee, Adam Ottavino, and Wade Davis threw a combined 31 pitches over 3 IP to secure the Rockies 5-2 victory over the Cubs on Saturday. Davis threw seven pitches – mostly fastballs and cutters – to retire Anthony Rizzo, Wilson Contrera, and Tommy LaStella in succession for his league-leading ninth save. Both McGee and Davis own a 1.93 ERA thus far, with Ottavino sitting at 0.77.

The Brewers didn’t have a save chance on Saturday, but went with Barnes in the sixth, Hader in the seventh, and Albers in the eighth inning before giving way to Jeremy Jeffress in the top-of-the-ninth prior to Jesus Aguilar’s walk-off home run. Hader remains the best reliever for the Brewers in terms of skills, but Albers and Barnes should continue to have some value in deeper-mixed formats until Corey Knebel returns from his hamstring injury. Knebel was actually back pitching on a mound on Saturday, but the Brewers medical staff is continuing to take a cautious approach with him.

Hector Neris secured his fourth save of the season on Saturday. He came on in the eighth inning of a one-run game with two outs to get Starling Marte to fly-out. The Phillies tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the frame, but Neris came back out to shut things down in the ninth. He gave up a lead-off 0-2 single to Adam Frazier, but got Corey Dickerson and Francisco Cervelli to fly-out before ending the game via a Colin Moran lineout. In total he threw 19 pitches with 13 of them going for strikes.

Keynan Middleton secured his fifth save of the year against the Giants on Saturday. It took him 28 pitches to get four outs – striking out three. He has a 2.25 ERA and 1.13 WHIP over 10 appearances (12 IP) thus far. He still hasn’t blown a save, and seems cemented into the closers role for the Angels – at least for now.

Kenley Jansen made an appearance in a non-save situation against the Nationals on Saturday, throwing 10-of-16 pitches for strikes, striking out one, and walking one while not giving up a hit. He touched 96 mph with his fastball, but once again allowed a baserunner. He only has one appearance to date where he hasn’t allowed a baserunner, while also giving up a hit in four-of-five outings coming into Saturday. He’s still the guy for saves in LA, but Josh Fields is a worthwhile handcuff option just in case things get worse.