Bullpen Report: August 11, 2016
Yankees’ closer Dellin Betances worked around a double and a walk in the bottom half of the ninth to secure his third save on the year in a 4-2 win over the Red Sox. Despite the double and free pass, Betances struck out the side (Holt, Pedroia and Bogaerts) on 21 pitches (11 strikes, six called and three swinging) to seal the deal. Following tonight’s outing, the big right-hander is up to 55.1 innings on the hill this season with a 2.28 ERA (1.23 FIP) and a 16.10 K/9. The K/9 mark is the best in the business among qualified relief arms. Green, green, green.
Only two relievers have earned holds this evening at the time of this writing and both are named Jake: Jake McGee (1) and Jake Diekman (23). Addison Reed’s 27 holds on the season — eight in the past 30 days — entering tonight’s action are best in the league. If you’re looking for some late-season holds, Edubray Ramos of the Phillies has earned six in the past month to pair with a 1.46 ERA and is owned in just 1% of Y! leagues.
For just the fifth time in 50 appearances this season, Zach Britton surrendered more than one hit in tonight’s 25-pitch effort in Oakland. Britton allowed a pair of singles as well as a free pass in the final frame, but the Orioles’ closer locked down his 35th save of ‘16 in as many chances for the 9-6 victory. Lots of chatter around the web about Britton being a Cy Young candidate considering how “wide open” the race could be. I won’t be debating that here, but just goes to show you the kind of season he’s having (35-for-35 in save opportunities, 0.56 ERA).
Quick Hits: Greatly appreciate the help in the comments over the course of the season and the history of this column. With that said, we’ve made a few minor changes to this evening’s chart. As noted, Trevor May and Chris Withrow both hit the disabled list. New arms currently take their seats. You’d normally be able the find May/Withrow in the disabled list column, but those seats are currently occupied by Glen Perkins and Arodys Vizcaino respectively. We’ll keep their names close by. Tony Watson (4) and Adam Ottavino (1) also shook hands tonight. Watson is green and will continue to be so. Ottavino faced the minimum and struck out the side in tonight’s 15-pitch effort. Color change should be coming soon if he keeps this up.
Closer Grid:
[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]
In addition to contributing to the RotoGraphs blog, you can find Alan at his own site, TheFantasyFix.com and follow his nonsense on Twitter @TheFantasyFix.
Law and strickland are first and second for the giants now, to the extent that there’s any pattern.
To be honest, I’m not convinced it’s solely them two yet, I think Bochy just likes to switch it up. As recently as 7/30, he used Romo to set up for Casilla. There’s only been one game where Bochy went Strickland –> Law –> Casilla. In another one, he went Strickland –> Lopez –> Law –> Casilla. He rarely uses the same combination in the same order three times in a row, or even two a lot of the time.
That’s why i said if there’s any pattern. These articles give a template which is supposed to represent the general pattern, so i suggested. Law-strickland-casilla is also possible. Lopez or smith get sent it to face a lefty. Romo is now i think only used in one of these roles if law or strickland are tired.
I just don’t think Law-Strickland-Casilla has happened exactly in that order enough times for a chart change. It’s only happened like that one time. I think Romo will get mixed in to set up on a regular basis. If Casilla was unavailable on any one night, I’m pretty sure Bochy would use Romo to close before Law or Strickland. Romo has more extensive closing experience with 80 saves than Strickland (3 career saves) or Law (1 career save). And, ultimately, that’s what the First chair is most useful for, who would close if something’s wrong with the closer.
I just don’t think Law-Strickland-Casilla has happened exactly in that order enough times for a chart change. It’s only happened like that one time. I think Romo will get mixed in to set up on a regular basis. If Casilla was unavailable on any one night, I’m pretty sure Bochy would use Romo to close before Law or Strickland. Romo has more extensive closing experience with 80 saves than Strickland (3 career saves) or Law (1 career save). And, ultimately, that’s what the First chair is most useful for, who would close if something’s wrong with the closer.