Bullpen Report: June 19, 2014
A few notes out of the bullpens on Thursday:
-The debacle that is the backend of the Angels bullpen reared its ugly head once again this afternoon in Cleveland. Skipper Mike Scioscia went with setup man Joe Smith in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game on the road, presumably leaving right-hander Ernesto Frieri to work the next frame should the Angels get on the board in their half of the tenth. The Angels indeed plated two in the top of the tenth, but Scioscia went with rookie Cam Bedrosian in the save situation instead of closer Ernesto Frieri. Bedrosian proceeded to surrender two free passes and a hit before being hooked in favor of Ernesto Frieri with one out and the bases juiced. Frieri induced a flyout to short left, then yielded a game-winning grand slam to Nick Swisher to blow his third save of the season.
Post game comments indicate that Scioscia felt the save chance would be a good opportunity for the young Bedrosian, who has “great stuff, but just missed on some pitches.” This also might give us a hunch that Scioscia still doesn’t feel comfortable giving the 28-year-old Frieri the ball in these situations. At any rate, the manager’s comments reeked of “matchups” and the feeling that the Angels will be headed back to a closer-by-committee situation. If you’re scratching and clawing for saves, you’re looking to add Joe Smith first. He’s still available in 76% of Yahoo! leagues as of this writing. This will now be a “red” situation.
–Jason Grilli blew his fourth save in 15 chances today, despite the Pirates clipping the Reds 4-3 in twelve innings. Grilli served up a one-out longball to Reds’ backstop Devin Mesoraco in the top of the ninth to tie the game at three and force the game into extras. The Bucs’ closer, who now owns a 4.34 ERA (5.83 FIP) in just over 18 innings of work, seems to be in jeopardy of keeping his current ninth-inning role. Following today’s contest, Clint Hurdle mentioned that the Pirates’ closing situation will be evaluated and that he’ll make a decision that is in the best interest of the ballclub.
The best interest of the ballclub is likely Mark Melancon, and to a lesser extent, Tony Watson. With 47 career saves under his belt, Melancon appears to be the immediate beneficiary of Grilli’s potential demotion. And despite having three blown saves himself, the 29-year-old is pitching to the tune of a 1.95 ERA (2.51 FIP) and a ~23% K%. He’s available in 45% of Yahoo leagues at the moment. Although he doesn’t have any saves, Tony Watson (available in 81% of Y!) is 5-0 with a 1.36 ERA (2.10 FIP), a ~31% K% and 16 holds in 33 innings of work. Watson is one of those middle relief arms that I’d consider rostering whether he gets the nod in the ninth or not. He posts fine ratios, picks up some scab wins and can pad the strikeout categories a bit. This is now a “red” situation, and although I believe Melancon gets the next save chance, I’m leaving the pecking order in place until we learn more tomorrow.
-Just one day after missing a save chance due to a sore back, Glen Perkins found himself back on the hill in a save situation today at home against the White Sox. Perkins surrendered a single to Jose Abreu, but picked up his 18th save in 20 chances this season in a scoreless 21-pitch effort.
–Francisco Rodriguez (23), Craig Kimbrel (21), Huston Street (20), Jonathan Papelbon (17) and Joe Nathan (14) each notched saves on Thursday.
-Quick Hits: Both Dellin Betances and David Robertson were unavailable for Joe Girardi and the Yankees tonight, so Matt Thornton and Adam Warren finished off the Blue Jays in the ninth-inning. Thornton got one out in each of the eighth and ninth frames before Warren earned the last two outs en route to his second save of the season. Dan Otero locked down his first save of the season while Sean Doolittle took the night off after working on two consecutive days.
Closer Grid:
[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]
In addition to contributing to the RotoGraphs blog, you can find Alan at his own site, TheFantasyFix.com and follow his nonsense on Twitter @TheFantasyFix.
I’m not entirely sure why you still have Jim Johnson as the A’s second reliever. He hasn’t pitched for five days, Otero and Abad have gotten the bulk of the middle relief work, and he’s in serious danger of getting DFA’d when Eric O’Flaherty comes back.
True story. Should likely look like Dan Otero in that slot next time the BR is pub’d, depending on the events that take place between now and then, obviously. Appreciate the feedback.
Keep an eye on O’Flaherty, too — he’s pretty like to slot into that spot if he does well out of the gate, and he’s 4.2 innings into a rehab assignment at AAA.
What happened to the Cubs’s Fujikawa? Is he not coming back?
shouldn’t neshek of the cards be on this list?
Neshek is 2nd. Freeman 3rd. Cmart and Motte do not see any late inning holds chances anymore.
I am reading that Grilli is OUT as Bucs’ closer.
Should I dump Grilli for Allen?
Instantly
Somebody in my league dropped Allen for Melancon, I can’t really carry 4 closers and I’m not dropping Doolittle or Chapman obviously, but would you drop Allen for Zach Britton?
Britton seems more secure in his job right now and no doubt his numbers have been fantastic, but I do worry about him regressing especially since his ERA is way ahead of his advanced stats. Allen is a better pitcher, but who knows what Francona will do since he seems to be looking for an opportunity to put Axford back in.
Should I drop Frieri for McGee?
I’m in a similar spot, except I was just able to drop a player and Frieri and McGee are both available in my league. McGee is pretty obviously the better RP, but his situation seems slightly more unsettled (they’re both pretty unsettled) and the difference in record between the Angels and Rays makes me hesitate to pick McGee. It seems likely the Angels will have more save opps; who will get them is anyone’s guess… Another wrench in the decision is that Frieri has a 3.09 xFIP, a 2.43 SIERA, a 28.8 K% (though still lower than McGee’s), and a 5.6 BB% (also lower than McGee’s). Other advanced stats seem to indicate he’s been unlucky and dinger’d to death so far, which should regress. I think I’m taking Frieri for now, but with a quick trigger finger for McGee if Scioscia keeps fucking with Frieri as closer.
What are your thoughts on Bedrosian? Still potential closer?
Long term he could be a closer, but I think for right now I see it as Smith’s job to lose. He may have split concerns, but with Bedrosian and Frieri each blowing recent chances I don’t see them getting the next couple save chances. Smith seems to have it for now.