Bullpen Report: May 19, 2019

• After blowing the save against the Yankees on Friday, Jose Alvarado came back yesterday to get his 5th save of the year. Emilio Pagan pitched in the 8th and 9th getting 5 strikeouts, Hunter Wood pitched in the 10th and  Alvarado finished the 11th for the save. Diego Castillo had pitched in three of the last four games so he wasn’t used and although Alvarado got the save yesterday we are still going to have Castillo atop the committee. With that said, as has been the case all year, Castillo and Alvarado should share the save duties throughout the year and if we flip the order tomorrow I wouldn’t be too surprised. Pagan has taken a back seat in terms of saves of late but it’s worth noting after last night’s performance that he has only allowed one run in 14.2 innings pitched and has an insane 35.9% K-BB%. He shouldn’t be relied upon for more than a couple of random saves but he’s worth rostering nonetheless for ratios and strikeouts.

• Hansel Robles has become the go to man for the 9th inning in Anaheim but it was Ty Buttrey who got the save last night, getting the final 5 outs in the process. Although Buttrey received the save, I’m not quite ready to make this a committee again since Robles has really received the vast majority of save chance of late. Robles has the velocity and strikeouts one would want in a closer but Buttrey has been the better pitcher and both should definitely be owned in a majority of leagues. On the year Buttrey has thrown 23.2 innings with only two runs allowed and is supporting a 1.25/2.74/2.37 FIP/xFIP/SIERA with a 13.4% SwStr%. The Angels have used him for more multi-inning appearances with Robles largely throwing in the 9th, I suspect that will continue with Robles still being the nominal closer but Buttrey snagging the occasional save.

• No save for Will Smith as he gave up a run with a four run lead in the 9th but he also struck out the side and should continue to be the Giants guy to own…until he’s traded. I have mentioned this before, and there aren’t any current trade rumors with his name but once the MLB Draft is over and teams focus on the trade deadline, expect Smith’s name to come up as he’s proven to be both an effective lefty and a trust worthy closer. It’s a bit dicey who’s the main guy to own behind him with Reyes Moronta the likely closer of the future but Mark Melancon’s contract looms over the team and Tony Watson, who threw in the 8th last night, has also been used in higher leverage innings than Melancon.

• Francisco Liriano threw a perfect 8th inning in relief, striking out the side. With a five run lead it wasn’t high leverage usage but Liriano has been dominant in relief this year, having already earned his spot on the grid. In 20 appearances, all in relief, spanning 21.1 innings Liriano has a 2.36/3.58/3.22 FIP/xFIP/SIERA line with great 31.8% K-BB%. It’s hard to envision Liriano seeing saves, even if something were to happen to Felipe Vazquez but it looks like Liriano has found a comfortable and effective home for the last third of his career in the pen.

• Quick Hits: Luke Jackson blew his third save of the year against the Brewers but Jacob Webb benefitted with the win when Freddie Freeman hit a homer off of Josh Hader in the 10th for the win. In spite of the blown save, Jackson’s job remains fairly strong all things considered and despite getting his third loss on the year, Josh Hader is still the Brewers closer. Hader is missing more bats and walking fewer guys this year but he also has a slightly worrisome 57.1% FB%. He’s been a bit unlucky with homers this year but he’s still more susceptible to bad outing even if his actual stuff is more dominant than ever considering his SwStr% is an astonishing 24.6%. Sean Doolittle remains the only bright spot in the Nationals pen, pitching a scoreless 9th for his 8th save. Josh James threw three innings in relief and is looking a bit better after a rough start to the year. His future role is more innings whether in relief or the rotation so he won’t be on the grid anytime soon but he’s worth taking a look at for innings and strikeouts.  Adam Conley saved his 2nd game of the year with Sergio Romo getting the night off. Hector Neris (7) closed the game throwing two innings after getting the save on Friday and I want to say it’s time to take the committee tag off but I just can’t quite do it yet. Blake Treinen (7) and Brad Hand (12) did what we expected them to do with their high ADP, getting clean saves.