Bullpen Report: August 13, 2013

• Danny Farquhar’s solid run at closer for the Mariners continued tonight as he earned his fifth save of the year. Although his ERA remains less than ideal at , his 2.07 SIERA is the ninth best mark in the league and the only guys  who can best him are the four relievers mentioned above along with Jason Grilli, Mark Melancon and Koji Uehara. That’s some impressive company and speaks well to Farquhar’s ability. I don’t need to say you should pick him up if he’s available in your league but if you’re in need of saves, strikeouts or ERA, Farquhar is a guy that could give you top tier production without the cost. Also, if you’re looking for a pre-season closer sleeper for next year’s drafts, Farquhar is your man.

• Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless ninth for his NL leading 37th save of the year. Kimbrel is still two saves behind Jim Johnson for the MLB lead but he’s essentially behind nobody as best closer in fantasy baseball. As Colin mentioned last night, Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen represent the top tier of closers in fantasy baseball, and likely real baseball as well. However, I might add a fourth to that list in Greg Holland, owner of a 1.36 SIERA and 14.48 K/9.

• After blowing up last night in a non-save situation, it’s nice to see Casey Janssen come back to throw a scoreless inning this evening. Janssen wasn’t pitching in a save situation tonight either (it was a tie game), but he remains the closer. Janssen certainly has his faults but his 3.07 SIERA and closer status still make him a solid option.

• There aren’t any specifics to report but Jason Grilli played catch today (or had a catch if you’re from New York) and plans are in pencil. Those plans or when we can expect Grilli to be back are not yet defined but any news hinting at a Grilli return can only be good.

• Saves don’t come too frequently for the Marlins but Steve Cishek recorded his 25th of the year tonight against the Royals. I questioned the Marlins choice to keep Cishek at the deadline but with a 2.98 SIERA, Cishek’s proving to be a solid late inning option in Miami. Small sample size warnings apply but after lefties had a .340 wOBA against Cishek last year, Cishek’s been able to hold them to a .281 wOBA against in 2013. If Cishek can continue to get out opposite handed hitters like he has of late, the Marlins will have a quality closer on their hands. Also, if they decide to move him in the offseason or next season it’s likely they could get a larger return.

Closer Grid:

 

	Closer	First	Second	DL/Minors
Arizona	Brad Ziegler	J.J. Putz	David Hernandez
Atlanta	Craig Kimbrel	Jordan Walden	Scott Downs
Baltimore	Jim Johnson	Francisco Rodriguez	Tommy Hunter
Boston	Koji Uehara	Junichi Tazawa	Craig Breslow	Andrew Bailey
CHI (NL)	Kevin Gregg	Pedro Strop	Blake Parker
CHI (AL)	Addison Reed	Nate Jones	Matt Lindstrom
Cincy	Aroldis Chapman	J.J. Hoover	Jonathan Broxton	Sean Marshall
Cleveland	Chris Perez	Joe Smith	Cody Allen	Vinnie Pestano
Colorado	Rex Brothers	Matt Belisle	Wilton Lopez	Rafael Betancourt
Detroit	Joaquin Benoit	Jose Veras	Drew Smyly
Houston	Josh Fields	Josh Zeid	Chia-Jen Lo	Jose Cisnero
KC	Greg Holland	Aaron Crow	Kelvin Herrera
LAA	Dane de la Rosa	Ernesto Frieri	Kevin Jepsen	Robert Coello
LAD	Kenley Jansen	Paco Rodriguez	Ronald Belisario	Brian Wilson
Miami	Steve Cishek	Mike Dunn	Chad Qualls
Milwaukee	Jim Henderson	John Axford	Michael Gonzalez
Minnesota	Glen Perkins	Jared Burton	Casey Fien
NY (NL)	LaTroy Hawkins	David Aardsma	Scott Rice	Bobby Parnell
NY (AL)	Mariano Rivera	David Robertson	Joba Chamberlain
Oakland	Grant Balfour	Ryan Cook	Sean Doolittle
Philly	Jonathan Papelbon	Justin De Fratus	Jake Diekman	Mike Adams
Pittsburgh	Mark Melancon	Justin Wilson	Tony Watson	Jason Grilli
St. Louis	Edward Mujica	Trevor Rosenthal	Randy Choate	Jason Motte
SD	Huston Street	Luke Gregerson	Dale Thayer
SF	Sergio Romo	Jeremy Affeldt	Santiago Casilla
Seattle	Danny Farquhar	Yoervis Medina	Oliver Perez	Tom Wilhelmsen
TB	Fernando Rodney	Joel Peralta	Jake McGee	Jesse Crain
Texas	Joe Nathan	Tanner Scheppers	Jason Frasor
Toronto	Casey Janssen	Sergio Santos	Brett Cecil	Steve Delabar
Wash.	Rafael Soriano	Tyler Clippard	Craig Stammen	Drew Storen

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