Bullpen Report: June 18, 2017

A special Father’s Day edition of the Bullpen Report, with a tip of the hat to all the baseball-loving dads out there. It was a busy Sunday for bullpen activity across the major leagues…

Mark Melancon entered the ninth with a two-run lead and blew his fourth save of the season in 14 chances. Melancon missed time earlier this year with a pronator strain in his right forearm, and apparently it’s a lingering issue. The loss dropped the Giants to 26-45 and 19.5 games back in the National League West. Since the Giants are probably just about ready to throw in the towel on 2017, Melancon will probably land on the disabled list before too long if he really is injured. He’s already blown as many saves and allowed as many home runs in 17.2 innings this year as he did in 71.1 innings last year. Hunter Strickland is probably next in line for saves in San Francisco should Melancon miss time, with Derek Law also a possibility, but it’s worth noting that Major League Baseball still hasn’t ruled on Strickland’s suspension appeal for his involvement in the incident with Bryce Harper late last month. A ruling (and subsequent suspension) should be forthcoming for Strickland.

Hector Neris allowed a walk and two singles before recording an out as he blew a one-run save opportunity against the Diamondbacks. While it was just his second blown save of the season, Neris now has a 3.68 ERA/4.06 FIP/4.34 xFIP in 29.1 innings this year. The Phillies bullpen situation has been “red” for much of this year, and today’s shaky outing by Neris did nothing to alleviate that problem. If the Phils decide to make another change in the ninth, Pat Neshek is probably next in line. He sports a sparkling 0.67 ERA and 2.29 FIP in 27 innings this season (although his xFIP is much higher), and 2.79 career ERA over 300+ innings. Joaquin Benoit was given a brief shot to close games for the Phillies earlier this year, and things did not go well. He also just recently came off the disabled list with a knee injury. Neshek might be worth a speculative add for fantasy owners starved for saves, although it’s likely he will be traded before the deadline and there’s no telling what his role would be on a new team.

Filling in for Greg Holland, who had pitched on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and had blown his first save of the season and allowed runs in consecutive appearances for the first time all year in that span, Jake McGee blew a one-run ninth-inning lead against the Giants. He issued a one-out walk to Gorkys Hernandez, then Hunter Pence took him deep to give the Giants the lead. McGee also surrendered another run on a two-out single and a double. The home run by Pence was just the third McGee has allowed this year, and overall, he’s had a nice bounce-back campaign for the Rockies. Despite a career 28.9% K rate, it was just 18.5% last season. This year, it’s back over 30%.

Sean Doolittle struck out one to record his second save in as many days against the Yankees. In 11.2 innings this year, Doolittle has an impressive 2.31 ERA/2.54 FIP/2.14 xFIP. He has 18 strikeouts and has allowed just one walk. Santiago Casilla was hit in his left (non-throwing) shoulder by a foul ball in Saturday’s game. While the reports are that he is fine, the incident probably explains why Doolittle was given the chance to close out the last two games. Although Casilla has been adequate as the A’s closer this year, if the last two games are any indication, Doolittle has the ability to take the job and run with it should the opportunity arise.

Roberto Osuna struck out two in a clean ninth inning with a four-run lead to secure his 17th save of the season. He now boasts an exceptional 2.67 ERA/1.66 FIP/2.34 xFIP thanks in large part to a career-best 35.6 percent strikeout rate. The increased strikeout rate can be explained by an MLB-best outside-the-zone swing rate of over 48 percent, and a 59 percent swing rate which is also best among big league relievers. Osuna is consistently a must-own closer, but this year his stock has risen to another level.

Cody Allen entered in an existing eighth inning with a two-run lead and a runner on first with no outs. Despite one walk, he retired the side without allowing any runs or hits. Andrew Miller then came on to pitch the ninth with a lefty and a switch hitter due up. Miller worked around a one-out walk to notch his first save of the season. Despite today’s role reversal, there’s no reason to believe this was anything other than Terry Francona playing the match-up game. Allen remains a solid option at closer, and Miller is one of the game’s most dynamic set-up men.

Other Notes: Aroldis Chapman (shoulder) was activated from the disabled list on Sunday. He should slot straight back into the closer’s role, with Dellin Betances, who notched six saves and didn’t allow a run in Chapman’s absence, moving back to a set-up role. Cam Bedrosian was also activated from the DL. He’s coming off the grid for now, because it’s not clear whom (if anyone) he will replace in the Angels ‘pen. Stay tuned for updates as to how Bedrosian is transitioned back into action for the Halos.

Closer Grid:

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