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.