Bullpen Report: August 16, 2018
• Although he’s not pitching particularly well and he’s not on a particularly good team saves are saves and Trevor Hildenberger is getting them for the Twins. Hildy closed out a 6-4 win for the Twins for his third save of the year, issuing one walk and striking out a man in the 9th inning. This situation still might be fluid but after going 3-3 on saves I’m expecting Hildenberger to receive the lion’s share of opportunities as we close out the season.
• On August 7th, Ken Giles allowed 5 earned runs without completing an inning and his role at the MLB level let alone as closer seemed to be in jeopardy. Since then he’s allowed 2 runs in 4 innings but is also 3-3 on saves, suggesting the Blue Jays are going to roll him out for each save opportunity moving forward. Of course nobody is immune to multiple melt downs but I’d expect Giles to have a solid leash moving forward. On the season, his 6.04 ERA looks unsightly but he’s also running a 41/4 k/bb with a 3.45 FIP and 2.85 SIERA. Giles peripherals are always dominant but he’s been prone to gopheritis this year. He may not be as dominant as his line would suggest but if he can avoid the long ball, he could have a strong finish.
• Every year there are a few bullpen situations that arise that give you a heart attack on who to pick up for saves, and right now that seems to be the White Sox. Jeanmar Gomez started the ninth but was unable to finish the inning as Luis Avilan came in for the save. I’m fairly certain Gomez won’t see the next save opportunity but I’m not sure if Avilan will either. I’m calling this a full on committee with Xavier Cedeno, Juan Minaya, Jace Fry, and honestly anyone else in the pen who is scheduled to be available that night in Chicago. While I said saves are saves for Hildenberger above, this might actually be a different situation where the recommended course of action is to avoid.
• No save situation for the Cubs as it was a four run lead but Pedro Strop threw a scoreless ninth nonetheless. Strop’s done an excellent job filling in for Morrow and on the year has a 3.16 FIP and 3.56 SIERA. He’s not elite but he’s plenty good enough and closing on a top team that should provide many save opportunities for the rest of the season. How many saves go to Strop and not Morrow depends on the latter’s recovery. Right now Morrow is expected to throw from a mound this weekend but his return date to the majors is still in question. Maybe this is an optimistic Strop owner talking, but I don’t expect Morrow to be back soon and when he does return I’m not confident that he will immediately take over his old role. Strop is doing the job and so long as he’s putting up 0’s in the 9th, he should continue to rack up saves.
• Quick Hits: Another game another Edwin Diaz save as he picked up his 47th in extras against the A’s. Pairing 47 saves with an ERA under two and 103 strikeouts and counting, Diaz has been a top 10 player in fantasy this year. You can’t predict guys to get 60 saves in a season but he’s proven to be one of a few elite options for this year and likely in next year’s drafts. Seranthony Dominguez got four outs for his 13th save. The Phillies might throw a wrench or two and give some others a save chance but Dominguez is still the man to own there. Cody Allen pitched a perfect 7th and 8th innings with four strikeouts handing the ball to Hand for his 28th save, continuing what has become a committee of great options in Cleveland. AJ Minter struck out a pair and received his 11th save. He’s closing with Arodys Vizcaino is on the DL but considering this job became fluid when he was healthy, I would bet on Minter holding the job even when Vizcaino returns.
When he's not focusing on every team's bullpen situation, Ben can be found blogging at Ben's Baseball Bias and on Twitter @BensBias
What’s not mentioned about Brad Hand’s save is that it probably would have been a blown save if Billy Hamilton hadn’t run on contact while the corners were pinched in specifically to prevent a contact play and thus gotten thrown out by ten feet. I’m not sure if that was on him or Jim Riggleman, but that was a total lapse that cost the Reds the game. If not for that mistake, the game would likely have been tied with a man in scoring position. That was not a clean save by any means.
I recognize that Ben can’t get everything from every game, but I feel that this needed to be explained.
nt
I appreciate it! I didn’t mean to come off like Hand is the guy but with Miller back it’s clear the Indians have 3 guys who can pitch any of the later innings in any order!
For starters, if Hamilton doesn’t run it’s probably still a save. I’m assuming that if Hamilton doesn’t run then Votto is out at 1B, The rest of the inning goes: Suarez strikes out, Gennett walks and Casali flies out. Inning over, no runs, Hand gets the save. I mean, you start playing “alternate reality” and who knows if it plays out the same, but still.
Beyond that though, what’s the point? Shaky saves happen to all closers from time to time, that’s just part of the game. Even Diaz has 2 saves this year where he gave up runs, another where he walked 2 guys, and 3 more where he gave up 2 hits. Hand has been great with the Indians – 1.42 ERA, 2.61 FIP, 2.62 xFIP. Besides that, Francona has pretty clearly determined he’s going with a committee approach since Hand and Allen have split the saves pretty evenly since he came over – 4 for Hand and 3 for Allen. Moreover, each has played the setup role for the other a couple times.