Bullpen Report: July 2, 2021

NEW FEATURE ALERT! We have added an upgraded version of RosterResource’s Closer Depth Chart to FanGraphs. Read more about it here.

We will always include a link to the full Closer Depth Chart at the bottom of the Bullpen Report each day. It’s also accessible from the RosterResource drop-down menu and from any RosterResource page. Please let us know what you think.

1. Notable Workloads: Primary closers or valuable members of a closer committee who have been deemed unavailable or likely unavailable for the current day due to recent workload.
2. Injury News
3. Outlier Saves: Explanation for a non-closer earning a save during the previous day.
4. Committee Clarity: Notes on a closer committee that clarify a pitcher’s standing in the group.
5. Relievers on the Rise: Notes on relievers who are performing well of late, moving up in the bullpen hierarchy.
6. Losing A Grip: Struggling closers who could be on the hot seat.

The “RosterResource” link will take you to the corresponding team’s RosterResource depth chart, which will give you a better picture of the full bullpen and results of the previous six days (pitch count, save, hold, win, loss, blown save).

Notable Workloads

•Hansel Robles, MIN: 34 pitches on Thursday. | RosterResource

Co-closer Taylor Rogers is likeliest to get a save chance on Friday.

•Mark Melancon, SDP: 28 pitches on Thursday. | RosterResource

Emilio Pagán and Drew Pomeranz are options to fill in.

Injury News

•None

Outlier Saves

•None

Committee Clarity

•None

Relievers on the Rise

This is a new feature with notes on relievers who are performing well of late, moving up in the bullpen hierarchy. Relievers on the Rise will once a week, following Thursday’s games. For more Relievers on the Rise, click HERE to view the full Closer Depth Chart.

•Ryan Burr, CHW | RosterResource

Thanks in large part to injuries from Aaron Bummer and Evan Marshall along with underperformance from Codi Heuer and Matt Foster, Burr has catapulted himself from minor league depth to trusted setup man. Burr, fascinatingly enough, wasn’t even pitching all that well in AAA before getting the call, allowing seven runs in 6.2 innings. But as is often the case with bullpens, a need arose, and Burr was given the call, surely helped by already being on the 40-man roster.

Burr has done nothing but put up zeroes since coming up to the White Sox for the first time since 2019, posting his tenth scoreless outing of the season on Thursday. One thing working against Burr, perhaps, is that he hasn’t struck out many batters, with just eight strikeouts of the 42 batters he’s faced (19%). That said, he’s only walked three batters and has a 60% ground ball rate—far more grounders than he’s ever induced in the majors.

•Paul Sewald, SEA | RosterResource

The Mariners are now over the halfway mark of their season at four games over .500, and that’s without offseason trade acquisition Rafael Montero contributing much of anything to the bullpen. Kendall Graveman, Drew Steckenrider and JT Chargois have all been excellent this season—with only Steckenrider having prior, sustained success out of an MLB bullpen—but Sewald’s rise is perhaps the most meteoric of all.

The 31-year-old righty could never quite cement himself with the Mets, showing flashes at times but ultimately pitching to a 5.50 ERA/4.04 FIP in 147.1 innings in New York. When the Mariners signed Sewald in January, they probably thought they were getting solid AAA depth who could maybe help the big league club if needed. Well, after two incredible performances with Tacoma (he struck out ten of 15 batters faced), he was needed.

Sewald’s done nothing but continue that success with the big club, riding his fastball/slider combination with a funky three-quarters delivery to success. As a Mariner, Sewald has struck out an incredible 43% of opponents (33 of 89), although he has walked 11 batters. Sewald may not be this good, as he’s allowed zero home runs despite a fly ball rate pushing 50%. But his BABIP is not unsustainably low (.275), and he’s added a tick to his fastball from prior seasons while relying on his (slightly slower) slider more than ever.

If the Mariners backslide and Graveman (a free agent after the season) is traded prior to July 30, Sewald is likely to take over as the sole closer. And as a seemingly-figured-out reliever under contract through the 2024 season, he could stick around long enough to be on the next Mariners playoff team, which could be as soon as this season.

Losing A Grip

•None

Click HERE to view the full Closer Depth Chart.