Bullpen Report: May 12, 2019

• Blake Treinen allowed three hits and blew his second save of the year but only allowed one earned run, struck out a pair, and received the win when the A’s scored off of A.J. Cole in the 9th inning. Treinen has previously been dealing with some elbow issues and his velo was a seasonal low of 96.83 mph during his appearance on April 28th but since then he’s been at his normal 98+. Treinen was never going to duplicate last year’s 0.78 ERA across 80.1 innings pitched but it looks as though the elbow flare up wasn’t a major red flag and he should remain a top closer moving forward.

• Jacob deGrom threw seven innings and the Mets went Seth Lugo -> Edwin Diaz for the 8th and 9th innings, just like the grid below. The Mets have insisted that Diaz will only go one inning per appearance which might help kepe him healthier all year but hurts his value a tad since his innings and raw totals won’t be the same as years past. With all that said, Diaz still might be the best closer in the fantasy game.

• The Braves situation has been a hot topic around here all season and that’s not going to change today. Last night, Jacob Webb got the first two outs of the 9th inning with Jonny Venters getting the final out to secure the win and his first save of the year. As Greg wrote last night, Sean Newcomb could finally be the starter-turned-reliever to help out the bullpen and although he wasn’t used last night we have him on the grid with Venters more of a situation lefty. Luke Jackson remains atop the committee with Jacob Webb there as well as the newly added Newcomb. Dan Winkler could also be involved moving forward and while we still have this as a committee, Luke Jackson is starting to become the guy but he was unavailable yesterday having thrown in the previous games. The Braves could of course help their situation by spending money on a Craig Kimbrel or making a trade this summer but they haven’t necessarily given us any strong indication of that so expect Jackson atop the committee for the time being.

• Similar to the Braves, the Mariners situation has been a trending topic around here and last night didn’t help the situation when Roenis Elias entered the game in the third inning. Elias wasn’t particularity effective either allowing two hits, two walks, and two runs in an inning of work. The Mariners situation remains a fluid committee with Elias, Brandon Brennan, Cory Gearrin, and Zac Rosscup all involved. Without additional information, Elias remains but this situation could of course change very quickly. Brandon Brennan entered the year without much fanfare but he’s overall been the most effective/dominant reliever in the pen. His strikeouts would provide the most value outside of saves so he might be worth claiming in case he starts seeing some more save situations.

• Kirby Yates got his 16th save last night striking out the side in a perfect inning. Yates gave up a couple of runs in back to back outings a couple of weeks ago and we pretended like it might be a thing but he’s been as dominant as ever of late and remains a top closing option. In his last six appearances, Yates has 17 strikeouts in six innings and although the five walks leaves a little to be desired, I don’t think owners are too worried with a strikeout rate approaching 60%.

• Raisel Iglesias pitched a perfect inning for his 8th save of the year, lowering his ERA to 4.12. Amir Garrett pitched in the 6th inning and received the win with David Hernandez pitching the 7th and 8th striking out five batters for his 6th hold of the year. The Reds have a deep bullpen with Hernandez, Garrett, and Robert Stephenson taking kindly to his new relief home. Iglesias complained earlier this year about his up and down usage and of late he’s strictly been used in the 9th. The Reds have decent options behind him but barring a major setback it should be Iglesias’ job only this year.