Bullpen Report: August 31, 2015

• After a throw back performance by Bartolo Colon (8 shutout innings, nine strikeouts, and five baserunners) Jeurys Familia was called on for the save. Familia wasn’t sharp, allowing three baserunners and an earned run but otherwise escaped with a 3-1 lead and his 36th save. Familia’s ERA has jumped since the first half but he’s actually pitching better of late with a higher K% and lower B% than he had earlier this season. On the year he has a 1.78/2.83/2.64 ERA/FIP/xFIP line and should continue to rack up effective saves over the last few weeks of the season.

• Cody Allen was called on for four-outs and got them all for his 28th save. He allowed four baserunners in the process (three hits and a walk) but lowered his ERA to 3.54 as no runs were scored. Although it’s not reflected in his ERA, Allen is actually pitching better than last season with a FIP under two and a best strikeout rate of his career. I would d buy on the Indians having a better chance next year and could see Allen’s ERA drop with increased save opportunities as well. In a way-too-early 2016 mock draft, I might target Allen instead of grabbing the other elite closers at likely far earlier picks.

• Brad Boxberger pitched a scoreless ninth for his 33rd saveon the year tonight against the O’s. Box has been pretty effective all season but will occasionally throw a few clunkers.  He’s regressed a tad this year with worse control and fewer whiffs but is still a solid option for both the Rays and fantasy teams. Jake McGee remains out after surgery on his left knee and while he could return by the end of the season, it should be Boxberger’s job for the remainder of the year. The 2014 version of Boxberger with saves would rank among the elite closers in the game but the 2015 version is a bit below that. Looking towards 2016, I would assume Boxberger would get the first nod with Jake McGee always lurking.

•Jean Machi was named the closer over the weekend and he was called on tonight with a 4-2 lead in the ninth. Machi allowed a Stephen Drew single to lead off the inning which got Craig Breslow warming up immediately. Machi then walked Alex Rodriguez, struck out Carlos Beltran, walked Brian McCann to load the bases and then walked Chase Headley to score a run. Machi was able to get a strike out and a fly out to hold the lead for the save, but it still wasn’t pretty. After 33 pitches, the Sox could call on someone else tomorrow but in spite of the iffy outing, a rested Machi should still be the primary option.

Closer Grid:

	Closer	First	Second	DL/Minors
Arizona	Brad Ziegler	Daniel Hudson	David Hernandez
Atlanta	Arodys Vizcaino	Edwin Jackson	Andrew McKirahan	Jason Grilli
Baltimore	Zach Britton	Darren O’Day	Brad Brach
Boston	Jean Machi	Junichi Tazawa	Alexi Ogando	Koji Uehara
CHI (NL)	Hector Rondon	Pedro Strop	Tommy Hunter	Rafael Soriano
CHI (AL)	David Robertson	Nate Jones	Jacob Petricka
Cincy	Aroldis Chapman	J.J. Hoover	Ryan Mattheus
Cleveland	Cody Allen	Bryan Shaw	Zach McAllister
Colorado	John Axford	Scott Oberg	Christian Friedrich
Detroit	Bruce Rondon	Alex Wilson	Al Albuerquerque	Joe Nathan
Houston	Luke Gregerson	Pat Neshek	Chad Qualls
KC	Greg Holland	Wade Davis	Kelvin Herrera
LAA	Huston Street	Joe Smith	Fernando Salas
LAD	Kenley Jansen	Jim Johnson	Pedro Baez
Miami	A.J. Ramos	Mike Dunn	Bryan Morris	Carter Capps
Milwaukee	Francisco Rodriguez	Will Smith	Jeremy Jeffress
Minnesota	Glen Perkins	Kevin Jepsen	Trevor May
NY (NL)	Jeurys Familia	Tyler Clippard	Addison Reed	Bobby Parnell
NY (AL)	Andrew Miller	Dellin Betances	Justin Wilson
Oakland	Drew Pomeranz	Fernando Rodriguez	Sean Doolittle
Philly	Ken Giles	Luis Garcia	Jeanmar Gomez
Pittsburgh	Mark Melancon	Joakim Soria	Tony Watson
St. Louis	Trevor Rosenthal	Kevin Siegrist	Steve Cishek	Jordan Walden
SD	Craig Kimbrel	Joaquin Benoit	Shawn Kelley	Brendan Maurer
SF	Santiago Casilla	Sergio Romo	Hunter Strickland
Seattle	Tom Wilhelmsen	Carson Smith	Logan Kensing
TB	Brad Boxberger	Steve Geltz	Alex Colome	Jake McGee
Texas	Shawn Tolleson	Keone Kela	Jake Diekman	Tanner Scheppers
Toronto	Roberto Osuna	Aaron Sanchez	Brett Cecil
Wash.	Jonathan Papelbon	Drew Storen	Casey Janssen

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