Bullpen Report: June 3, 2014
• Cody Allen converted his fifth save of the year tonight and his second save in a row, getting four outs on only 12 pitches. It’s the fourth save opportunity in a row that Allen has nailed down and he’s definitely the guy in Cleveland. Bryan Shaw, Scott Atchison and John Axford are still lingering in the Indians bullpen and are effective relievers but it’s Allen’s job to lose and considering he’s the best reliever in the pen, the chances are he’ll hold on tight. Of more interest tonight might be Nick Hagadone who also recorded four outs in relief, three via the strikeout. Hagadone is a relic from the Victor Martinez to Boston trade and has been largely unsuccessful in the majors but he can get whiffs from the left side and could see some higher leverage innings against left handed batters if he keeps pitching like he did tonight.
• Trevor Rosenthal was on the hook for his third loss of the year allowing three base runners and one run to score tonight. Rosenthal is still striking guys out at a nice rate (11.52 K/9) but his elevated walk rate (4.94 BB/9) is causing him some trouble. He’s pitching better than his 4.28 ERA would suggest but fantasy owners expected more impressive results than their getting. If Carlos Martinez or Jason Motte were pitching exceptional I might suggest Rosenthal owners pick up a handcuff, but neither are performing any better than Rosie at the moment and his job remains secure.
• Joe Nathan entered the game in the top of the ninth in a save situation and left with the bases loaded and by the time the ninth inning ended he was charged with four earned runs. Nathan has struggled a lot lately and his seasonal ERA/FIP/xFIP now stands at an unsightly 6.86/5.21/4.34. Nathan’s fastball velocity has been on a decline and it’s the lowest it has ever been and lacking any real swing and miss stuff has really hurt Nathan this year. Joba Chamberlain safely looks like the man to own behind Nathan and I’m skipping the yellow designation and making the Tigers bullpen situation code red.
• Quick Hits: Greg Holland nailed down his 16th save of the year, securing the win for Wade Davis which was actually his fifth of the year. Davis has really found his groove in the Royals bullpen this year with an impressive 1.37 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 26.1 innings pitched. Fernando Rodney shot his 15th arrow in the air tonight, securing the win for the Mariners. Danny Farquhar was a popular choice for speculative saves earlier this season but Rodney is now 15/17 on saves with a 2.49 ERA and 2.84 FIP, he’s not losing the job anytime soon. David Robertson had quite the implosion on Sunday so it was nice to see him rebound with a perfect inning tonight.
Closer Grid:
[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]
When he's not focusing on every team's bullpen situation, Ben can be found blogging at Ben's Baseball Bias and on Twitter @BensBias
Is Nate Jones a worthy stash? My other closers are Frieri, Street, Britton in a 12 team roto 5×5 and im in the cellar on saves.
He might be the most worthy DL stash for speculative saves but that doesn’t mean that it’s a good stash for your team.
Frieri lost his job for a tad and Britton hasn’t been closer for long but you have 3 capable closers at the moment, I can’t imagine you will stay in the cellar. Still, you might need saves but Nate Jones save hunting isn’t as exciting. I’d try to see if I could pick up a speculative add like Joba instead…if that’s possible.
Nathan came in to a 0-0 game in the top of the 9th. That’s not a save situation, is it???
Nope, apologies there went on autopilot for a moment!
Nathan’s appearance wasn’t a save situation – it was a 0-0 tie game.
Pedro Strop was activated from the DL a few days ago and he is with the big league club.
Thanks, will update this for tonight.
How would you rank these guys in order of proximity to saves? Axford, Hunter, Joba, McGee, Putnam, D.Webb. How about in order of skills?
Saves – Joba, Putnam, Hunter, McGee, Webb Axford.
Take it with a grain of salt as I see Joba closer than the rest.
Skills – McGee, Joba, Hunter/Webb/Putnam/Axford
McGee is a legit ace reliever, Joba has been impressive. The rest all have flaws and depend on health.
I think Dom Leone is pushing his way into Seattle’s late-inning picture.
He’s certainly been impressive. Rodney and Farquhar are entrenched so the next guys get less press there but Leone is a guy to have an eye on.
Save situation or not, the point is he STINKS!
Any idea if Hunter gets the closer role back, or will it still be Britton’s to lose?
I think Hunter could get it back but he’ll have to prove he’s healthy and effective. They’ll still use Britton until then, and theoretically could even if Hunter proves effective as Britton has been solid all year.
How close do you think the Cubs situation is to being green for Hector Rondon? He’s only been used in the 9th/save situations the last few weeks.
I’m not sure why it’s yellow. He’s clearly the guy. Same with Mejia. Does the yellow mean they could lose it if things go badly? I guess I’d change it to yellow if things go badly, but they haven’t yet.
He could easily be green as it has been his job for a little while now.
IMO, Britton is the closer for remainder of year and should be either yellow or green
Rondon should be green and it’s probably getting close for Mejia
Is Boxberger goign to find his way into high leverage situations for the Rays? McGee is having a great year, but if Rays continue to struggle, would they trade some relievers that could free up room for Boxberger? Balfour probaly wouldn’t be dealt wiht his contract I’m assuming.
Boxberger is a good pitcher with some pedigree that can help your fantasy team get a few Ks and hopefully help ratios as well. As far as speculating on TB trades that will move him up the chain, it’s a little hard to say. Balfour won’t be easy to trade like you say, Peralta has cheap team options next year and McGee is a valuable lefty reliever that will be of use next year as well.
I want to drop Hawkins for Allen – Is that a recommended move?
Yes.
Yeah, although ideally you could find a league mate who could use Hawkins over his last player. But yes, Allen is closing and is a better pitcher than Hawkins.
With the LAA calling up Cam Bedrosian, what roll will he have in the bullpen? He destroyed the minors this season..
agree, especially since Kohn got sent to Triple-A.
Also with the Mets moving Matusaka to the starting rotation, would Vic Black now be the presumptive Second?
I desperately need saves. Who would you rather own going forward, Chamberlain or Ottavino? I currently have Ottavino.
Chamberlain probably is closer to getting saves, but I think Ottavino will end up with more at the end of the year. I think if Nathan is demoted, it will be a short term deal where he might even be DL’d so he can figure things out and then given back the gig. His contract is one I think the Tigers want desperately for him to keep the job.
Ottavino is probably a couple bad Hawkins outing away still, but if he gets the gig should have every chance to run with it since the Rockies have so little into Hawkins.
I’m glad to see all four of my closers (Chapman, Soria, Soriano, and Doolittle) are all green rated!