Bullpen Report: Friday, July 17, 2015
As we inch ever closer to the trade deadline, eyes continue to be on the Phillies to see if Jonathan Papelbon will finally be traded, allowing Ken Giles to grab the closer role. Giles is humming along with a 15.6% SwStr% and 19.4% K%-BB%, so he’s got the stuff to close. His fastball velocity has been creeping up as the weather has warmed up. Depending on the depth of your league, he’s likely not going to be available, but if he is, grab him now before it’s too late. He pitched a scoreless eighth and was awarded his fourth win when the Phillies tagged the Marlins pen with four runs in the bottom half. Papelbon gave up a run and a couple of hits to close it out in a non-save situation. There shouldn’t be anything to read in to Carter Capps only facing one hitter in the eighth. Dan Jennings just loved the Mike Dunn matchup against Ryan Howard.
Roberto Osuna used only his fastball and changeup to throw a perfect ninth at the Rays. It was a non-save situation and the pattern kept in line with his trend of upping the heater usage. In that same game, Bo Schultz pitched the seventh and eighth and looked good doing it. He touched 98 and generated six whiffs on his 28 pitches. He struck out four over two innings and could see a bigger role in the Jays pen if he keeps performing like that.
With the game tied in the seventh on the road, Joe Maddon elected to start the inning with Hector Rondon. He struck out two and the game stayed tied for Pedro Strop. He was unable to get the job done, giving up a pair of runs and allowing the Braves to take the lead, keeping Jason Motte in the pen. Rafael Soriano has been called up to AAA, so Strop’s days in the grid may be numbered. For the Braves, Arodys Vizcaino pitched a perfect eighth to get the win, and Jim Johnson had followed with an identical line, earning his sixth save of the year. If the Braves indeed become sellers, Vizcaino could get a shot at the closer role if Johnson gets dealt.
Trevor Rosenthal needed 33 pitches to get through the ninth inning against the Mets. He sat out the ASG after pitching in four of the Cardinals last five games heading into the break. He gave up three hits and struck out two, hitting 99. Jordan Walden threw a bullpen Wednesday, and with a rehab assignment a possibility as early as next week, his return shouldn’t be too far off.
Of Note: In the first game of a split doubleheader, Wade Davis earned hold number 13, striking out two and lowering his ERA to 0.45. Greg Holland notched his 20th save. Huston Street didn’t pitch on Friday, but he’s ready to return from his groin strain and will be available Saturday. Koji Uehara gave up the only run of the game on a walk-off home run to Mike Trout. Andrew Miller(19), Craig Kimbrel(24), Francisco Rodriguez(20), David Robertson(20) and Luke Gregerson(19) all were credited with saves.
Closer Grid:
[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]
Darren contributes to RotoGraphs when he isn’t watching the Braves or shoveling snow. Follow him on Twitter @shinesie.
Shouldn’t Neftali Feliz be “next up”? Pitched 8th, and being used in high leverage.