Bullpen Report: August 9, 2019

Thursday night’s schedule consisted of only eight games, and even for a small slate, there weren’t many high leverage situations to speak of. It was a big night, however, for some long relievers, so let’s check in on them and what they might have to offer us in fantasy.

Luis Cessa was one of only three relievers to notch a save on Thursday night, but his required him to pitch the final three innings of the Yankees’ 12-6 win over the Blue Jays. The 27-year-old righty has had issues with the long ball, and the one run he allowed was a Reese McGuire solo home run — the 11th homer he has allowed over 58.1 innings. He also tallied five strikeouts, giving him 61 on the season, which is as many as Ken Giles has and more than either Kenley Jansen or Sean Doolittle has. It was Cessa’s first save of the season, so he is nowhere close to Giles, Jansen or Doolittle in value, but in deeper formats,  you may not be able to find a reliever who can help more with strikeouts.

Tyler Chatwood’s chronic issues with walks have recently been on hiatus, including on Thursday night against the Reds, when he issued one free pass over three innings. Since July 4, Chatwood has pitched 13.1 innings with a 2.03 ERA, and he has 18 strikeouts to go with only three walks. He is still not throwing strikes very often (37.6 percent Zone%) over this stretch, but he has been doing a better job of inducing chases. The 34.1 percent O-Swing% he has compiled during this period is a substantial upgrade over the 25.7 percent rate he had going into July.

In following Cole Hamels‘ three-inning performance against the Reds, Chatwood vultured his fifth win of the season. He could help in that category, plus be a much better source of strikeouts and WHIP than many of us were expecting.

Since making his first relief appearance of the season on July 20 — less than three weeks ago — Pivetta has racked up 14.2 innings and delivered 18 strikeouts and a 2.45 ERA. It’s not only encouraging that Pivetta is getting swinging strikes at a 12.5 percent rate, but when he is allowing contact, it’s not of the hard variety. On flyballs and line drives, batters have averaged 90.7 mph in exit velocity against Pivetta when he has pitched out of the bullpen.

He did allow a hard-hit Mike Yastrzemski home run (105.2 mph) in his three innings of relief on Tuesday night against the Giants. He issued three walks as well, though they were his first ones since July 23. Pivetta did not have a bad outing, but it was not representative of the quality work he has done in his new role. In leagues where the best pitchers in the long reliever pool are viable options, Pivetta should be owned.

Similarly, Matt Strahm has found greater success and consistency since moving from the Padres’ rotation to their bullpen. He tossed two scoreless innings against the Rockies on Tuesday night, and he has now allowed a run or more in only two of his nine relief appearances. Aside from a five-run debacle against the Orioles, Strahm has been superb out of the bullpen. Since changing his role after the All-Star break, he has compiled a 13.3 percent SwStr%, a 47.2 percent Zone% and a 40.8 percent O-Swing%.

As a side note, the only other qualified reliever to post at least a 13 percent SwStr%, 44 percent Zone% and 40 percent O-Swing% in the second half is Michael Feliz, who has a post-break 2.03 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 32.1 percent strikeout rate to go with two holds. It may not be coincidence that Feliz has averaged 95.7 mph in fastball velocity in the second half after having averaged 94.7 mph in the first half. If the Pirates ever start to provide some hold opportunities again, Feliz could have value in saves-plus-holds leagues.

While we were on the topic of Padres relievers who could provide a lot of innings, it’s worth noting that Craig Stammen is on a roll again. He retired all four Rockies he faced on Thursday night, and over his last 20.1 innings, he has allowed two earned runs while striking out 21 batters and walking four.

Quick hits: Brad Hand (29) and Brandon Workman (7) were the only relievers besides Cessa to record saves on Thursday night…The Mets signed Brad Brach to a major league deal on Thursday, and at least initially, they plan on using him in a middle relief role. With the Cubs, Brach struck out 45 batters in 39.2 innings but had a 6.13 ERA…The Padres activated José Castillo from the 60-day IL on Thursday, and he pitched against the Rockies on Thursday night. He got two outs, both with strikeouts, but he had to be removed due to an injury to his left middle finger. The corresponding move to make room for Castillo on the active roster was to place Adrian Morejon on the 10-day IL with a left shoulder impingement…The Marlins activated Austin Brice from the 10-day IL on Thursday…The Tigers have designated Trevor Rosenthal for assignment. He was charged with seven earned runs over nine innings since joining the team as a free agent on June 29.