Bullpen Report: June 26, 2019

For nearly three months, Jordan Hicks put on a breakout performance in 2019. He became a much more prolific strikeout pitcher and seamlessly moved into the Cardinals’ closer role, locking down 14 of his 15 save opportunities. Now his 2019 campaign is officially over, as he is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery on Wednesday morning. Carlos Martinez is officially the Cardinals’ closer now.

In his 15 innings this season, Martinez has not been especially proficient at getting swings-and-misses (9.8 percent SwStr%) or strikeouts (23.3 percent K%), but he has been masterful at inducing ground balls (61.5 percent rate) and soft airborne contact. Of the 447 pitchers who have allowed at least 40 batted balls this season, only one (Taylor Cole) has yielded a lower average exit velocity on flyballs and line drives than Martinez has (86.0 mph). Given that Martinez has pitched barely more than a month’s worth of innings, as he started his season late due to a shoulder strain, it’s hard to know if he will be better, worse or about the same now that he will serve as a closer. Even with that uncertainty, Martinez is worth adding in just about every league where he is available.

The Cubs could be ready to flip the switch at closer in the couple of days. Craig Kimbrel pitched a perfect inning for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs on Tuesday night, and the team is going to make a decision on his next step on Wednesday. Pedro Strop is likely to be droppable in saves-only leagues soon, possibly as soon as later on Wednesday.

The Cubs did not need a closer in Tuesday night’s 3-2 loss to the Braves, and Luke Jackson did his job for the victors. He pitched a spotless bottom of the ninth inning, getting Javier Baez to fly out and then striking out Willson Contreras and David Bote. Jackson has now recorded saves in his last two appearances, and over his last four innings, he has allowed one run on two singles and three walks (two of which came on Saturday against the Nationals). Prior to this string of outings, Jackson endured a difficult month-long stretch during which he allowed 10 runs (seven earned) over 13 innings. However, he struck out 22 batters during that span with only two walks. He was hurt by a .471 BABIP, even though his hard contact and line drive rates during that period were well below the major league averages.

You probably won’t be able to add Kimbrel, and Martinez could gone from waivers as well, but if you have a chance to pick Jackson up, now is the time to do so.

If your league is deep enough that Jackson is also unavailable, you may want to give Brandon Workman a try. The Red Sox appear to be wholly uncommitted to having a steady closer, but Workman may have the upper hand in getting saves, as much as any Red Sox reliever can have one this season. On Monday night, he was called on to get the final out in the top of the ninth inning with a 5-5 tie against the White Sox. Then on Tuesday night, Workman got the save in a 6-3 win, allowing only a Leury Garcia double.

What may be particularly telling about Workman’s role is how Alex Cora used Matt Barnes in Tuesday night’s game. He used Barnes in the seventh inning which is not all that unusual unto itself, but he brought him in to pitch to the White Sox’s 9-1-2 hitters. Cora has used Barnes in various spots throughout the final three innings, but usually he reserves him to face the toughest hitters in the opposing lineup. Zack Collins, Garcia and Ryan Cordell don’t quite fit that description. Just maybe Cora has a greater degree of confidence in Workman (and possibly Ryan Brasier) than he does in Barnes, who has a 7.07 ERA since May 22.

Heading into Tuesday, the qualified reliever with the lowest ground ball rate in the majors had allowed only one home run all season. He had also not blown a single save in 22 opportunities. Neither of those things was true for Brad Hand after the Indians played the Royals on Tuesday night. He entered the top of the ninth inning with a 6-3 lead and then promptly allowed four straight hits, including an RBI single from Nicky Lopez. The fifth batter he faced was his last, as Hunter Dozier wiped out the Indians’ lead with a grand slam. Nick Goody relieved Hand, and he struck out the side, keeping the Royals’ lead at two runs.

That gave Ian Kennedy a chance to record his eighth save in less than four weeks and his 10th save overall. He did just that, allowing only an Oscar Mercado single.

Quick hits: Kenley Jansen (23), Aroldis Chapman (23), Will Smith (21) and Hector Neris (16) each recorded a save on Tuesday night…The Braves activated Sean Newcomb from the 7-day concussion IL on Tuesday, and then on Tuesday night, he pitched a scoreless seventh inning for his seventh hold…Ryan Pressly did not pitch in the Astros’ 5-1 win over the Pirates, even though they had a two-run lead in the top of the seventh and a three-run lead in the top of the eighth. Pressly last pitched on Saturday against the Yankees, when he gave up three runs (two earned) in an inning of work. The Astros expanded the lead to four runs in the bottom of the eighth, and Collin McHugh pitched a scoreless ninth inning, making his first appearance since coming off the IL on Monday…The Nationals added Fernando Rodney and Jonny Venters to their bullpen on Tuesday, calling them up from Triple-A Fresno and Double-A Harrisburg, respectively. Rodney then pitched the bottom of the ninth inning in the Nationals’ 6-1 win over the Marlins…Adam Conley pitched the sixth, seventh and eighth innings for the Marlins, allowing only a Kurt Suzuki single and getting seven of his nine outs via the strikeout.