Bullpen Report: April 4, 2016

• It seemed like a safe guess that Ken Giles would be closing games in Houston after the Astros gave up some real talent (Mark Appel, Vincent Velasquez and others) for him this offseason but A.J. Hinch announced that Luke Gregerson will be the closer to start the year. Baseball wise this might be a solid decision, especially if Giles can be used more freely in the seventh or eighth innings in higher leverage situations.  Gregerson is no slouch though, having saved 31 games in 36 tries last year with a 3.10/2.86/2.71 ERA/FIP/xFIP line. For what it’s worth, Hinch said that Gregerson will be the “primary closer”, which doesn’t suggest a committee but Giles could see save opportunities as well.

• The Phillies won’t have too many leads to hold this year but they blew one today against the Reds. David Hernandez entered the eighth inning with a one run lead and proceeded to allow three base runners to reach base without recording an out, and all three managed to cross home plate. The Phillies hadn’t announced a closer before the game but it certainly looks as though Hernandez won’t get the next chance considering he blew the lead today in the eighth. It might be a while until this situation is figured out and Pete Mackanin said it could be one of five guys who sees the ninth. My bet would be on Dalier Hinojosa getting the next opportunity but avoiding the chase for sub-mediocre saves is likely the best course of action. If you’re desperate for saves early on, you may have no other choice but the fantasy baseball season is a marathon, other more fruitful opportunities should come across your path.

• Just like in Philly there likely won’t be a plethora of save chances for the Braves this year and they also managed to blow the lead in the opener. Arodys Vizcaino entered the game in the eighth and threw a scoreless frame with two strikeouts and one walk but then Jason Grilli then came for blown save. Grilli wasn’t hit that hard but he allowed the first three batters to get on base before losing the one run lead. This situation was red hot before the game and it remains so now. I’m not going to switch the order after one game without an announcement on the Braves side but Grilli doesn’t have many weak outings before a change is made.

UPDATE: Well it looks like I published too soon as Fredi Gonzalez said that Vizcaino is the closer. The grid has been updated below.

Notes from yesterday: Mark Melancon finished the game against the Cardinals but entered with a four run cushion, so no save for his inning of work. Of more interest is that Tony Watson threw a perfect seventh with Neftali Feliz following him for a perfect eighth. Tony Watson has the longer track record but he’s a lefty and Feliz could become the primary setup man in Pittsburgh. Wade Davis had some minor velocity concerns during the spring but he was throwing 94.8 mph last night and got the save although he put two men on base before closing the door. He averaged 95.8 mph on his fastball last season but before we sound the alarm here it’s worth waiting to see if he can close the velocity gap over his next few appearances.

Quick Hits: Zach Britton did his thing throwing a perfect ninth, getting two ground balls in the process. He entered in a tie game and fantasy owners were given a win after the O’s scored on Jepsen in the ninth.  Trevor May took kindly to the pen last year supporting a 2.97 FIP and 3.24 xFIP with 37 strikeouts in 31 innings and he continued on that success today, throwing two scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Glen Perkins struggled with several ailments last year but says he feels healthy again this year. Perkins velocity was also down earlier this spring and although his role is secure, Jepsen and/or May (if he pitches like this) could see the closer’s role if an injury returns. Jon Papelbon threw a clean inning, saving the game for Washington against Atlanta. A Papelbon save and a Bryce homer, maybe these guys will get along after all! After being announced as the closer earlier in the week Roberto Osuna continued on his success this year throwing a perfect ninth for his second. A majority of the geniuses expect the Blue Jays to win the division this year so many saves should be expected out of Osuna moving forward.

Closer Grid:

Closer First Second DL/Minors
Arizona Brad Ziegler Tyler Clippard Daniel Hudson
Atlanta Arodys Vizcaino Jason Grilli Jim Johnson
Baltimore Zach Britton Darren O’Day Mychal Givens
Boston Craig Kimbrel Koji Uehara Junichi Tazawa Carson Smith
CHI (NL) Hector Rondon Pedro Strop Justin Grimm
CHI (AL) David Robertson Jacob Petricka Nate Jones
Cincy J.J. Hoover Jumbo Diaz Tony Cingrani
Cleveland Cody Allen Bryan Shaw Zach McAllister
Colorado Jake McGee Jason Motte Chad Qualls Adam Ottavino
Detroit Francisco Rodriguez Mark Lowe Justin Wilson Bruce Rondon
Houston Luke Gregerson Ken Giles Pat Neshek
KC Wade Davis Joakim Soria Kelvin Herrera
LAA Huston Street Joe Smith Fernando Salas
LAD Kenley Jansen Chris Hatcher Yimi Garcia
Miami A.J. Ramos Mike Dunn Bryan Morris Carter Capps
Milwaukee Jeremy Jeffress Michael Blazek Tyler Thornburg Will Smith
Minnesota Glen Perkins Kevin Jepsen Trevor May
NY (NL) Jeurys Familia Addison Reed Hansel Robles
NY (AL) Andrew Miller Dellin Betances Chasen Shreve Aroldis Chapman
Oakland Sean Doolittle John Axford Ryan Madson
Philly Dalier Hinojosa David Hernandez Jeanmar Gomez Andrew Bailey
Pittsburgh Mark Melancon Tony Watson Neftali Feliz
St. Louis Trevor Rosenthal Kevin Siegrist Jonathan Broxton
SD Fernando Rodney Brandon Maurer Kevin Quackenbush
SF Santiago Casilla Sergio Romo Hunter Strickland
Seattle Steve Cishek Joaquin Benoit Tony Zych
TB Alex Colome Danny Farquharr Xavier Cedeno Brad Boxberger
Texas Shawn Tolleson Keone Kela Tom Wilhelmsen
Toronto Roberto Osuna Drew Storen Brett Cecil
Wash. Jonathan Papelbon Shawn Kelley Blake Treinen

[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

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tinycorkscrewMember since 2023
8 years ago

After the game, Fredi Gonzalez said Vizcaino is his primary closer.

James
8 years ago

Maybe I’m misreading, but where are y’all reading that? It says Arodys will get the toughest batters regardless of inning.

majnun
8 years ago
Reply to  tinycorkscrew

No he didn’t