Bullpen Report: April 9th, 2018

It’s certainly been a rough start to the season for Kenley Jansen thus far, but on Sunday the 30-year old was finally able to notch his first save of the season in the 10th inning against the Giants. He faced four batters, with all three outs coming via strikeout. Hunter Pence laced a one-out single and stole second base after a Brandon Crawford strikeout, but nothing came of it after Jansen caught Brandon Belt looking at strike three to end the game.

Jansen’s cutter has now ticked up in velocity in each of his last two outings. He sat just above 93 mph with the offering on Sunday. He topped out at 95.2 mph at one point and seems to be heading in the right direction at least in that department. Josh Fields was brought on in the ninth and retired all three hitters he faced without notching a strikeout. He remains the top handcuff for saves in LA should Jansen revert back to blowing games.

Brad Brach was able to secure his second save of the season against the Yankees, but it certainly didn’t come easy. Coming on to protect a one-run lead, he proceeded to walk Austin Romine and Didi Gregorious. Following the free passes, Brach made a fielding error on a sac-bunt from Brett Gardner, resulting in a bases loaded jam with no outs and Aaron Judge approaching the plate. Brach started him off with a 93 mph fastball for strike one, then got him to ground into a 1-2-5 double play the pitch after. The game ended with a Giancarlo Stanton strikeout. Brach had only allowed two baserunners over his last four appearances (4 IP) heading into Sunday’s matchup. He should continue to see the bulk of the opportunities until Zach Britton returns.

Darren O’Day came on in a tie game in the 7th inning with men on first and third with two outs. He allowed an RBI single to Austin Romine before getting Didi Gregorious to fly-out to end the inning. He would also pitch the entire 8th inning, allowing one hit but striking out two. His 18% SwStr and 11.0 K/9 or better in three-straight years heading into 2018 makes him a viable fantasy commodity regardless of whether he gets save opportunities or not. However, if Brach were to falter sometime in the near future, O’Day would likely be the leading candidate to secure saves.

Astros manager A.J. Hinch announced prior to Sunday’s game against the Padres that Ken Giles was unavailable for an un-specified reason. In his place, Hinch called upon Brad Peacock to pick up the save. Peacock got Freddy Galvis and Corey Spangenberg to pop and fly-out to begin the inning, then closed things out by striking out Manny Margot on three pitches. In four appearances thus far, Peacock has allowed 0 ER on 2 H with 8 K and 0 BB over 5 IP. Giles was usurped from the closer role in the postseason last year, and has allowed a run in two-of-his-four appearances to date. There’s no reason for Houston to make a change at this current time, but Peacock has three legit pitches, and is currently getting 31% whiffs on his slider.

After leading the entire MLB in saves in 2017, Alex Colome has now blown two-straight opportunities. On Sunday he came in in the 8th inning to get a four-out save. He entered with Rafael Devers on second in a 7-5 game. Christian Vazquez hit an RBI single on a 1-2 count and would advance to second following a wild pitch immediately after. The next batter – Mookie Betts – would drive home Vazquez on a catchable ball to leftfielder Mallex Smith, that’d be ruled a single. Betts advanced to second due to the throw in. Andrew Benintendi then ripped an RBI-double to centerfield, cementing Colome’s second blown save in a row.

Colome out-produced his xFIP (4.32) by nearly a full run in 2017 and saw his main offering – the cutter – become less effective as the year wore on. As of now, his cutter usage has increased from 66% in 2017, to 75% now. He continues to generate 17% whiffs on the offering, but hitters are not being fooled (40% LD, .588 BAA). His average fastball velocity is still above 94 mph and the Rays are quickly looking like a team that’s going to be sellers. Colome’s name was shopped all offseason as well, meaning Tampa will likely ride the storm, and attempt to trade him when the opportunity presents itself. Sergio Romo and Chaz Roe are the likely immediate candidates to close if Colome is removed from the role. However, Jose Alvarado has been absolutely magnificent from the left side thus far, and Ryne Stanek has the eye-popping velocity and stuff that historically delivers positive results when closing games. Command will be a key for Stanek, but either way, this is a situation that will likely change at least once this season.

Closer Grid:

Closer Grid:

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