Bullpen Report: May 24, 2016
• Trevor May was called on to finish out the third inning last night and although May recorded the final out his troubles continued as he allowed two hits and an earned run in the fourth. May still recorded two strikeouts and has a decent 3.51 xFIP with a fantastic strikeout rate (30%) but his recent outings have been downright terrible. Over his last five appearances spanning 3.1 innings pitched, May has allowed 15 baserunners and 10 earned runs. When you combine that performance along with entering the game in the third inning, it’s safe to say you have lost your role. I’ve moved Fernando Abad as the next-in-line and put Michael Tonkin on the grid with May exiting. Kevin Jepsen threw in a non-save situation last night allowing two earned and now supports a 5.89/5.30/4.86 ERA/FIP/xFIP pitching line. Gross. If May was cruising he’d be getting save opportunities by now as the back end of the Twins bullpen has collapsed. Jepsen is on red alert and I would snag Abad and Tonkin in that order for speculative saves. To add more to the confusion Tonkin pitched in the fourth and fifth inning tonight with Abad getting the last two outs in the ninth down three runs. Who really knows what’s going on in Minnesota.
For now Jepsen remains the closer and we’ll hopefully be able to glean more information on the Twins order of operations the next time they have a lead.
• Alex Colome was called on for the Mariano Rivera a/k/a the six out save and was able to throw two scoreless innings for his 12th save on the year. The Rays have stated that Brad Boxberger will gain the job upon his return so enjoy Colome’s saves while you can. Boxberger is currently on a rehab assignment and just pitched in back-to-back games. He could be back in Tampa before the end of the week. While Colome owners will be losing a closer, I would still advise to hold on tight as he’s been one of the top relievers in the game thus far with a 1.29/1.59/1.79 ERA/FIP/xFIP and the sexy strikeouts (36.6 strikeout rate) that fantasy owners crave. Also, if Boxberger has a set back Colome will slide right back into the ninth. With all of that said, I would expect Colome to have the day off tomorrow after throwing last night and two frames this evening.
• Sam Dyson recorded his fifth save with a perfect ninth inning and two strikeouts tonight. Jake Diekman threw a scoreless seventh and Matt Bush pitched in the eighth allowing one earned. I expect Tolleson to have a chance to regain higher leveraged innings if he succeeds out of the closer’s chair moving forward, but I’m going to take a mini leap and put Matt Bush in his place on the grid.
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
Very thorough vetting of a very messy situation in Minny. You’re a braver man than I am…