Bullpen Report: April 25, 2019
• The biggest news among the bullpens is that Cody Allen has been removed from the closer’s chair. In his last 5 appearances, Allen has allowed 5 runs with a 6/3 k/bb in 3.1 innings. It’s possible that Allen rights the ship and moves into the 9th again but for now he is out. In his place will be a committee to start but the thought is that Ty Buttrey would be in the lead with Hansel Robles, Cam Bedrosian, Luis Garcia and others behind.
Ty Buttrey is thought of as the closer in waiting and although he blew the lead last night, he was going for a three-inning save, and ended with 2.2 IP, three strikeouts, two baserunners and one run allowed, hard to fault him too much for the performance. Also in the mix is Hanel Robles who has been very good to start the year with a 3.02/2.26/3.90 line and 16/3 k/bb in 11.2 innings.
Luis Garcia has pitched more higher leverage innings than Cam Bedrosian (who actually started last night) but Garcia has more walks than innings pitched and I wouldn’t feel confident owning him. Bedrosian, Noe Ramirez, and Justin Anderson could be featured as well but the bet is Buttrey and Robles. With Buttrey throwing multiple innings last night, he might have a few days off with Robles seeing the next opportunity but we still have Buttrey in the lead.
• No save situation in KC but Wily Peralta threw a scoreless 9th with a big lead. Ian Kennedy got five outs in the 6th and 7th, allowing four hits and a run but also struck out four. Although Kennedy isn’t being held on for saves and is being used in higher leverage innings for more than three outs, he remains the best reliever of the bunch and should continue to see an occasional save with Peralta as the main guy in the committee. On the year, Kennedy’s fastball is at 93 mph which is a tick above last year and he has a1.42/0.90/2.85 ERA/FIP/xFIP with one of the best xwOBA in baseball. It feels weird to say, and it might still be too early, but Kennedy is taking very kindly to his new relief home and might be worth owning regardless if he sees any saves.
• In Miami, Adam Conley struggled again allowing three runs and taking the L with his ERA now at 8.38. Nick Anderson got four outs in the 6th and 7th and could leapfrog Conley in the pecking order. It hurt Al to remove Anderson from the grid but the good thing is that Anderson might find his way back on if Conley doesn’t right the ship. Sergio Romo still is the main guy for saves but how this plays out in the 2nd half of the season is likely a different order.
• Quick Hits: Andrew Miller started the 9th inning with a four run lead but after he struggled, Jordan Hicks was called on for the one-out save (7). Jeremy Jeffress threw a scoreless inning in the losing effort for the Brewers but if he keeps pumping those out he could be featured more heavily in the pen. However, after averaging 95 mph with the heater last year, he’s down to 91.7 this year. That could increase as he gets back into the swing of things but he likely won’t be a reliable closer in lieu of Hader at 92 mph. Blake Treinen pitched around a couple of walks and got the win for the A’s after Chris Martin allowed the go ahead run in the 9th. Leclerc wasn’t used but with his struggles of late and Martin’s as well, Shawn Kelley remains the handcuff for worried Leclerc owners. The Padres have 14 wins and Kirby Yates now has 12 saves, leading the league and doing it in style with a 20/3 k/bb and only one run allowed in 14 innings pitched. A.J. Minter is putting his earlier struggles in the rear window, closing his 3rd game of the year. As we have mentioned, even if he’s not particularly effective the options behind him are so barren his job is pretty secure for now. Finally, Mychal Givens recorded his first save, pitching two innings in the effort. With Brandon Morrow still on the IL, Pedro Strop is still closing for the Cubs and got his 3rd save.
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 feel like that Second Up spot in WAS is just a random number generator. If someone told me they saw Davey Martinez rolling dice in the dugout, I’d believe it.
It’s not a great look right now, and Rosenthal allowed a few more runs.
It’s highly likely they try to improve their pen in the coming months.
Ian Kennedy only has a 10.2% swStr (9.4% career) which does not support a 32.1% K rate but he still does look like the best pitcher in the Royals pen
This might be true and I’m not anointing him bullpen ace, but a lot of the signs are there, including an innings load likely more than other relievers.
Jeffress has developed a split-finger and that shows up in his pitch type section of his player page where it appears for the 1st time this year. Pitch Info must also be registering it as new pitch because his pitch mix there this year doesn’t add up to 100%. Statcast shows him having picked it up as far back as 2017 but his usage of it this year is up to 40%. I checked on his appearance yesterday and per MLB Gamecast, half of the pitches he threw yesterday were splitters. FWIW. I agree he needs to get velo back up to really be useful but if he has a new pitch, that might change things.
I would also note that the Cards have stated CMart will be used as a reliever when he comes back. You could justify putting him in the injured slot on the grid. Hicks looks like he is locking down the closer spot but Miller has been shaky since the start of last year and nobody else in that pen screams out closer in waiting. CMart would be in the mix if HIcks were to get injured
Good call adding CMart to the mix.
Jeffress was up to 93.5 2 games ago. No velocity readings on fangraphs for last night’s game, but looks like he is trending up.
That’s what I figure will happen. He basically is going through spring training now, only in actual games. I think the only reason he’s even up at all is Knebel went down and they don’t have a ton of options.
If Buttrey is first up, both in opinion and on the chart, why has Robles been in the second chair (until today), both in opinion and on the charts, the past few Bullpen Reports? Are Bullpen Reports based on the consensus of the staff, or on that particular day’s author? Thanks!
It’s a blend, also based on last nights usage that certainly helped bump Buttrey up.
Thanks!
I don’t understand how what happened in last night’s game helped Buttrey’s case to be considered the closer. Yes he’s the best pitcher in the bullpen, but he’s consistently been used as a firefighter: anywhere from the 5th to 9th inning. He was brought in help critical bases loaded situation and then stayed in once the score was tied. The Angels did not have a lead in the 9th so we don’t know if they would have brought Robles in. I think it’s about 75% likely that Robles is the current choice of closer, once again not saying he’s the best, just looking at usage.
Hansel Robles; so hot right now
Not sure Buttrey was brought in with the idea of a three-inning save; he was simply working a clutch situation earlier in the game, as he has been all season (he hasn’t entered a game in the ninth inning yet). Had he been able to hold the lead in the seventh and eighth, I suspect Robles would have been in at the beginning of the ninth (as he has been three times previously this season).
Workman should probably be on the grid over Brewer for the the Red Sox
Is Neshek really in a committee with Neris? I don’t think think Neshek has been used in anything resembling a save situation in weeks. Seems like it’s a 100% Neris over there, no?
Agreed. Neris frequently seems to be quite hated around these parts, but I cannot for the life of me figure out why. Yes, he burned people last year early, but what closer hasn’t at some point? Check out his numbers from 2nd half last year:
50.7 % K rate, Fip of 0.05, (yes 2 zeroes) 17.83 K per 9, now he hasn’t been quite that good this year, because those are impossible numbers, but still striking out 41.7% of batters, w a 1.86 era and 2.29 fip.
People seem to be all over the map, but going forward I would think he is within the top 10 RP to own. Basically ever since he got sent down last year, he has been a top 5 RP, and I don’t see why he can’t realistically be a very good to elite RP.
I’ll give this one more try.
Mets: Diaz —> Familia —> Gsellman
Gsellman entered last night’s game with the Mets losing 1-0. When his work was done it was 4-0. He is not #2 in the Mets bullpen. And when Justin Wilson is healthy, he’s not #3 either.
Pass the Buttrey.