Bullpen Report: June 7, 2014
Thankful to be able to contribute to another Bullpen Report after spending a few days away in the mountains with the in-laws. Truth be told, I’m actually still out here but have been out of the mix, so if I miss something crucial, pick me up in the comments…
Here are a few notes I was able to put together:
Terry Francona noted today that he is pleased with the recent performances of his bullpen, but eventually, would like to get John Axford back into the closer’s role. “Eventually” doesn’t exactly provide us with a concrete timeline, but if you’re chasing saves it’s worth stashing Axford where available now. Axford took the ball in the ninth-inning today in a non-save situation and surrendered a hit, in an otherwise clean inning of work. Excluding tonight, Axford made four appearances (3.2 IP) in the past two weeks and posted a 38.5% K-BB% and a 0.00 ERA (0.34 FIP). Over that same time frame, Cody Allen appeared in six games (6.0 IP), notched four saves, posted a 4.4% K-BB% and a 1.50 ERA (3.24 FIP).
Fernando Rodney dished a clean ninth frame today in Tampa Bay to pick up his 17th save of the season for Seattle. Rodney induced two fly balls to center field, then fanned Matt Joyce to seal the victory for the Mariners, 7-4. The man with the crooked hat has now “notched three consecutive 1-2-3 saves and hasn’t allowed a run in eight straight appearances.” Rodney is now 17-of-19 in save chances this season with a 2.28 ERA (2.69 FIP).
Pedro Strop dished a clean ninth in a 5-2 Cubs victory over the Marlins to notch his second save of the season. The save for Strop comes on the heels of a Neil Ramirez save on Thursday and a blown save for Hector Rondon on Friday. Three straight days, three save chances and three different arms used by the Cubbies. With that said, Ben noted on Thursday evening that Ramirez took the ball in the ninth due to Rondon pitching in back-to-back days. But then Rondon surrendered three earned in Friday’s effort, then doesn’t get asked to come back on Saturday for the chance. He’s now blown two of his last four save opportunities. It’s worth mentioning Chris noted that Rondon hadn’t pitched for some time and wonders if the Cubs were trying to “nurse” him through an injury. While we’re not exactly sure what’s going on as of this moment, we’ll downgrade the Cubs to “yellow” and wait to hear more from the skipper tomorrow.
Quick Hitters: Aroldis Chapman fanned one in a perfect frame of work en route to his eighth save of the season. Chapman is now 8-of-9 in save opportunities since returning from the disabled list. If you’re playing for ratios and strikeouts, Josh Fields is a great option to consider right now. In his last 10 appearances (11.2 IP) entering today, Fields owns a 0.77 ERA (1.61 FIP) and a 39.0% K-BB%.
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.
How good has Neil Ramirez been? Crazy numbers….
I should’ve put Axford back in the grid as well. Look for that tomorrow.
Nathan gave up a couple runs, ERA over 7 now. That situation may warrant Red…
I still think Nathan gets a DL stint coming up here in the next week or two. May or may not be legit, but that seems more likely than them out right demoting him from the job.
It should be noted that Rondon had tough luck on Friday, 3 of the 4 hits gave up were bloop singles
Has Buck or anybody with the Orioles given any statements or hints as to if Britton will hold onto the job with Hunter due back Sunday?
Rondon threw 32 pitches in his outing yesterday, which probably explains why he got today off. It’s also worth noting that the blown save was a total fluke, as he simply got blooped to death–and I’m sure it was as obvious to Renteria as it was to everyone else who watched the game. Rondon struck out two of the seven batters he faced, walked none, and three of the four hits he allowed (all singles) were on weak contact (as was the one ball-in-play out). It looks ugly in the box score, but I doubt it put his job in any jeopardy.
Also, the reason that Rondon hadn’t pitched for some time was because he had been on paternity leave from May 30 to June 2. Also, the Cubs have been carrying an 8-man bullpen for a few weeks now in order to protect their young arms. When there are no high-leverage situations for a few games, and the Cubs need to make sure the other guys get some innings, Rondon might not pitch for a few day stretch.
There’s really no reason to downgrade this to a yellow. Rondon’s still the guy. The Cubs just won’t trot him out for a save situation when they feel he’s overworked. They don’t want to overuse him, they are confident in Ramirez and Strop, and they have an 8-man bullpen that almost always ensures they can find some live arms when they need them.
Thoughts on Fields potentially taking over the closing job in Houston?
He sucks. You know who doesn’t suck? My main man, my good friend, my dear aunt, my hole in the wall, my pal who isn’t a gal, Craig Kimbrel!
Fields probably won’t get a shot until/if Qualls is traded. Qualls has done a nice job as the closer this year and I see Houston trying to pull a Jose Veras with him and see if a team will pay them more because of his save total. If Fields is still pitching well when/if Qualls is traded then he will likely get a shot, but that is a big if considering how many times Fields has failed at take advantage of a closing opportunity and if someone like Jesse Drain isn’t healthy by then.
I agree with Mike W. Not only has Fields choked whenever he has been given opportunities to close, but he is still arbitration eligible, and clubs try to avoid allowing them to pad their stats with saves, since it will end up costing them extra millions of dollars.
So, allowing Qualls or Jesse Crain to close enhances their value and costs the club nothing (except performance bonuses if any), while allowing a kid to be the closer actually depreciates his value (see Jim Johnson) because the arbitration process turns them into overpaid monsters that you have to dump (a la Baltimore).
These considerations can go out the window when a club is actually trying to win and thinks a younger pitcher gives them a better chance (like Baltimore again or St Louis), but that is not Houston’s situation.
I still look for Motte to get his old job back at the slightest excuse, actually, for this very reason.
Rondon wasn’t used for almost a week because he was on paternity leave from 5/30 – 6/3.
Does Belasario hold onto closer role in Chicago? Who’s better stash Petrikca or Putnam?
Webb, Putnam and Petrikca in that order.
Webb would need to drastically improve his control to be next in line. He seems closer to working middle relief lately than high leverage spots. My guess is Belisario holds on to it until Jones comes back at the end of June. Then it will become more interesting.
If yates can keep his BB/9 under 4 he could be in play for TB. Next week 2nd chair and by AS break 1st or the job itself.
Pipe dream?
Probably closer to a pipe dream. Rays are like the Athletics, unless he signs a team friendly deal they will try to keep his cost down like they have for McGee. Peralta is probably next in line.
Balfour comes in to a 0-0 game, 9th inning. Strikes out the first to guys, two strikes on the third guy….then gives up 5 runs.