Bullpen Report: August 10, 2016
– It was Matt Bush, not Sam Dyson or Jeremy Jeffress that earned the save in Texas tonight. Somewhat interesting play — Dyson and Jeffress had only pitched Tuesday (not Monday) but tossed 24 and 19 pitches, respectively. Bush continues his renaissaince as a relief pitcher, lowering his ERA to 2.56 (xFIP to 3.73). He hasn’t been the most lights out stopper (“only” a 22% K% and an 11% SwStr% with a 97mph average fastball) but he’s minimized the free passes and should be a nice option to pick up some holds on a team that wins more than it loses. He’ll crack the grid, but I don’t sense any imminent shakeups here.
– After three consecutive scoreless innings, Jake Barrett had another ugly outing, giving up a two-run tater to Kelly Johnson and spoiling a Robbie Ray gem (although Arizona did win — they just needed a few extra innings). Yes Barrett has had a few saves but the peripherals aren’t terribly inspiring. The strikeout rate isn’t bad but it’s not elite. And you can’t get by with an 11% BB% if you don’t have elite stuff. Small sample size, but the swinging strike rate (13%) portends better things but the double-digit walk rate has been a consistent problem for him through the minor league ladder. Worth noting that Enrique Burgos tossed a scoreless 8th tonight. Like Barrett, he has a live arm with some control issues. He’ll crack the grid behind Randall Delgado and we’ll turn this red (while giving Barrett a very short leash). Unfortunately, the Diamondbacks don’t have an elite lockdown setup guy waiting in the wings so this might be a hot potato pen for a while.
– Quick hits: Kenley Jansen wasn’t very good in a save situation. Hurts the rates but otherwise nothing to fear. Seung Hwan Oh keeps looking good, notching save number 10. The Final Boss now owns a tidy 2.11 FIP. Mark Melancon had a nice, easy, 3-run save against the Indians. The Indians losing didn’t help tip their committee beyond the fact that Andrew Miller has been working as a non-traditional fireman lately. I nudged Raisel Iglesias just ahead of Tony Cingrani on the grid. It’s a committee, but Iglesias is easily the better pitcher moving forward. Right as I get ready to publish, David Robertson blows another save. Going to move this yellow — the peripherals are equally as mediocre as the 4.12 ERA would lead you to believe…
Closer Grid:
[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]
There are few things Colin loves more in life than a pitcher with a single-digit BB%. Find him on Twitter @soxczar.
Here’s a toast to my Iglesias shares…
Thank you for the chart update. 🙂
With Electric Eddy Diaz unavailable tonight, it was Nick Vincent who came in for the save. Shouldn’t he be on your grid instead of Tom Wilhelmsen?
Wilhelmsen get a fill in save a few days ago when diaz was unavailable
Wilhelmsen had pitched in 3 of the past 4 games, so he was likely unavailable, but that use of VIncent should definitely move him ahead of Arquimedes on the chart.
Why is burgos ahead of delgado on the chart?
Because Delgado has only had one hold this entire season and it came in the 7th inning? Meanwhile, Burgos has 4 holds, and the two most recent ones have come in the 8th inning right behind Barrett closing (or attempting to close in his most recent outing).
Because it’s a total effing coin flip with that pen?
Bush over Kela in holds leagues?
I think both will regularly be used in hold situations so it is a close call. However, so will Barnette, Diekman, Jeffress and even on occasion, Claudio. And, because I just listed the entire bullpen, those same guys will sometimes pitched down, or even down a run or two. So, the real question may be whether you are better off fishing for holds in a bullpen with a more set structure in the seventh and eighth innings.
May and Withrow are both on the DL.
David Robertson has 4 blown saves in his last 8 chances, and his ERA has risen a point since the start of that stretch. I wonder how much longer before Nate Jones gets his shot; a point better by FIP and almost 2 points better by ERA. Jones’ fastball is much better this year (by results) and he’s throwing it more. Even though he’s a fastball/slider guy, he has basically no platoon splits on the year.
I’m personally hanging onto Jones in H2H leagues. He’s got great ratios and a good chance to be closing by the end of the year.
axford earned save for the A’s Wednesday as well. madson unavailable after pitching past 2 days. dont mind the hit in box,infield single to semien. any suggestion who to drop barrett for bw: salas/mo cabrera,/n.jones? dont need saves & could also add just dropped bauer/ paxton.ty
Uehara is on the DL and would otherwise be on this chart.
Iglesias might have only gotten the save because Cingrani had a rough 25-pitch outing the night before. No question Cingrani’s been lucky and he’s pitching better than he deserves too based on his advanced stats, but he still has 13 saves on the season. I’m not sure the Reds will be that quick to move him out of the closing role.