Bullpen Report: May 22, 2014

-March and April were kind to 41-year-old LaTroy Hawkins. The Rockies’ closer converted all nine of his save chances while holding opposing batters to a .237/.267/.349 slash line and a .273 wOBA in 11.1 innings. However, May tells a different story for the veteran right-hander. He is 2-0 with one save (in two chances) this month, but he’s allowed five earned runs in his last seven appearances. And hitters are slashing .444/.464/.741 with a .513 wOBA against Hawkins across six frames this month. When looking at velocity splits between the months, nothing strikes me as red flag worthy. Hitters seem to be finding the holes a bit more in May (.440 BABIP) versus March/April’s .243 average on balls in play. He’s stranding fewer this month (69% LOB%) as well, so maybe it’s just numbers catching up with the old fella?

Well, despite any of the fancy numbers we have access to, Rockies’ skipper Walt Weiss gave Hawkins the formal support today to members of the media. Weiss noted that he’s not simply judging his closer on the recent rough patch, he “looks at the body of work for the whole season.” If by chance Hawkins’ struggles continue, Adam Ottavino and Rex Brothers appear to be potential choices for the ninth. Ottavino is 0-for-1 in save chances this season, but he’s racked up nine holds, owns a 22.5% K-BB% and has posted a 1.40 ERA (2.19 FIP) in 22 appearances. Left-hander Rex Brothers may have more experience than Ottavino — Rex notched 19 saves last season — but he’s 0-for-4 this season in save opportunities with a 4.6% K-BB% and a 2.70 ERA (4.90 FIP). If I had to add one of these two tonight as a handcuff, it would be Ottavino.

–Trevor Rosenthal notched his 14th save this evening in a perfect inning of work. He’s now 14-of-16 in save opportunities with a 4.56 ERA (3.06 FIP) and a 28% K%. Maybe all Rosenthal needed was Jason Motte creeping off the disabled list to get him back in the groove? Not sure if that was the motivator or not, but as a Rosenthal owner, I’m happy with the last two appearances (I did add Motte in both of the leagues I own Rosenthal, though.). Rosenthal’s velocity is still down a tick since the start of the season, but it looks like it’s creeping back up. The spike in line drives (29.6& LD%) and fly balls (44.4% FB%) in the right-hander’s batted ball profile still have me a bit concerned. One day at a time.

-Colin touched on Mark Melancon and Jason Grilli last evening, so make sure to give that a read for the long-term implications of the latter’s return from the disabled list. But while the Pirates’ await Grilli’s return, Melancon continues to put the finishing touches on the close contests for the Bucs. He surrendered two free passes this evening, but Melancon fanned one and held the Nationals scoreless in their half of the ninth to lock down his eighth save of the season. You’re holding onto this guy for as long as you possibly can, as Colin also suggested last night.

Quick Hitters: Tommy Hunter officially landed on the 15-day disabled list prior to today’s game with a left groin strain. Ronald Belisario surrendered two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk, but escaped with his second save of the season. Steve Cishek blanked the Phillies in the top of the ninth-inning in a tie game at home and was promptly rewarded by the Marlins’ bats in the home half of the ninth to scoop the scab win. The Marlins’ closer is now 4-1 with nine saves and a 1.65 FIP on the season. Scott Atchinson served up a solo shot to Nick Markakis in extras this evening, but picked up his first save of the year. Atchinson is an interesting name to keep an eye on with his extreme ground ball rate and a slight spike in velocity through 22 innings on the hill. Holds leaguers may only need apply for the time being, though.

A few more quick hitters: Craig Kimbrel looked especially Kimbrelian this evening, with the exception of plunking Logan Schafer to start the ninth. He fanned the final three batters he faced to pick up his 12th save of the year for the Braves in a 5-4 victory over the Brewers. Jenrry Mejia fanned one en route to the second save of his tenure as closer for the Metropolitans. Mejia is still available in 75% of Y! leagues, for what it’s worth. Grant Balfour blew another save tonight, his second of the season. Balfour owns a 5.96 FIP and a K-BB% of -2.6%. Jake McGee has a 2.11 FIP and a 18.4% K-BB%, just sayin’.

Closer Grid:

	Closer	First	Second	DL/Minors
Arizona	Addison Reed	Brad Ziegler	Oliver Perez	J.J. Putz
Atlanta	Craig Kimbrel	David Carpenter	Luis Avilan	Jordan Walden
Baltimore	Zach Britton	Darren O’Day	Ryan Webb	Tommy Hunter
Boston	Koji Uehara	Junichi Tazawa	Andrew Miller
CHI (NL)	Hector Rondon	Neil Ramirez	James Russell	Pedro Strop
CHI (AL)	Ronald Belisario	Daniel Webb	Jacob Petricka	Matt Lindstrom
Cincy	Aroldis Chapman	Jonathan Broxton	Sam LeCure
Cleveland	Bryan Shaw	Cody Allen	Scott Atchison
Colorado	LaTroy Hawkins	Adam Ottavino	Rex Brothers
Detroit	Joe Nathan	Joba Chamberlain	Al Alburquerque	Joel Hanrahan
Houston	Chad Qualls	Kyle Farnsworth	Josh Zeid	Jesse Crain
KC	Greg Holland	Wade Davis	Aaron Crow
LAA	Ernesto Frieri	Joe Smith	Michael Kohn	Dane de la Rosa
LAD	Kenley Jansen	Chris Perez	Brian Wilson
Miami	Steve Cishek	A.J. Ramos	Mike Dunn
Milwaukee	Francisco Rodriguez	Will Smith	Brandon Kintzler	Jim Henderson
Minnesota	Glen Perkins	Jared Burton	Casey Fien
NY (NL)	Jenrry Mejia	Jose Valverde	Jeurys Familia	Bobby Parnell
NY (AL)	David Robertson	Dellin Betances	Adam Warren	Shawn Kelley
Oakland	Sean Doolittle	Luke Gregerson	Jim Johnson
Philly	Jonathan Papelbon	Mike Adams	Antonio Bastardo
Pittsburgh	Mark Melancon	Tony Watson	Justin Wilson	Jason Grilli
St. Louis	Trevor Rosenthal	Carlos Martinez	Jason Motte
SD	Huston Street	Joaquin Benoit	Alex Torres
SF	Sergio Romo	Jeremy Affeldt	Jean Machi	Santiago Casilla
Seattle	Fernando Rodney	Danny Farquhar	Tom Wilhelmsen
TB	Grant Balfour	Jake McGee	Joel Peralta
Texas	Joakim Soria	Alexi Ogando	Jason Frasor	Neftali Feliz
Toronto	Casey Janssen	Brett Cecil	Steve Delabar	Sergio Santos
Wash.	Rafael Soriano	Tyler Clippard	Drew Storen

[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]