Bullpen Report: April 7, 2016

Limited slate of games today, but not necessarily a limited slate of news…

• Round and round the closer wheel goes in Philadelphia. David Hernandez? You blew it. Dalier Hinojosa? Eh, not endearing yourself to the eastern half of the Keystone State. Next up? Well, sounds like Pete Mackanin may be turning his current affections to Jeanmar Gomez. The former mediocre Cleveland starter transitioned has been a full-time reliever for two years now, posting 4.16 and 3.79 SIERAs in 2014 and 2015. He doesn’t have overpowering stuff (8% SwStr%, even in relief) and while he isn’t wild, his command isn’t exactly stellar, either (8.5% BB%). Moreover, his already mediocre fastball was actually down a couple ticks in his only outing this season. If you are in a league where saves are hoarded so much that they should have their own reality show, there’s probably no harm in picking up Gomez. However, in standard leagues, I’m staying far, far, away from the dumpster fire that is the Phillies bullpen. There just isn’t enough upside to warrant the risk.

• Zach Britton got the day off (26 pitches last night), which meant that Baltimore’s $31 million sidearmer got a save change when it arose tonight. Darren O’Day didn’t disappoint, either, whiffing the side. While O’Day has some degree of platoon split issues (likely due to his arm slot) he is firmly entrenched as the number two man in Baltimore. Honestly, other than handcuffing or speculating on a Britton injury, the biggest fantasy implication here is that O’Day pushes Mychal Givens and his 30+% K% out of a lot of hold opportunities late in games.

• Arquimedes Caminero has come out gunning, sitting with an average fastball velocity of 98mph over a couple outings. That heat puts him atop big league leaderboards, pretty much where he finished last season. The righty’s whiff rates aren’t elite, but there is room to grow if he can expand the usage of his cutter and splitfinger. The real intrigue around Caminero requires him to get his BB% under control. Even with a Marmol-ian 13% mark last season, his SIERA was still 3.47. If he could bring that mark closer to, or even a touch below, 10%, he could have the makings of an elite setup man. While he’s unlikely to rack up many saves with Mark Melancon around, I find that he’s available in quite a few of my holds leagues — I’d rather roll the dice on him than guys with less upside.

• Quick hits: Andrew Miller wasn’t perfect, but still notched save number one. More importantly, he didn’t seem to be hindered by the chip fracture in his wrist and he should continue to hold down the fort (pain-permitting) until Aroldis Chapman comes off suspension. A.J. Ramos also threw a hitless ninth for his first save of the season. While Carter Capps was a serious threat to his gig coming into spring training, the righty should have save opportunities all to himself in Miami for the time being.

Closer Grid:

[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]