Bullpen Report: May 25, 2016

• Ben covered the Twins bullpen in fair detail last night, but we got to see them operated with one of those “lead” things today. Kevin Jepsen actually looked mildly competent in locking down save number four, tossing a clean inning working around a hit (striking out one). Of additional relevance is that the team moved Glen Perkins to the 60-day DL earlier in response to his latest setback (although this was somewhat procedural given that he wasn’t coming off the DL soon). As Ben pointed out, Jepsen remains the guy to own here but let’s not pretend his peripherals are good. While Paul Moliter confirmed what we’ve all seen (that guys like Fernando Abad will start seeing high-leverage innings), I’m not ready to sell all my shares of Trevor May yet. Yes, the 5.56 ERA is ugly, but the 15% SwStr% (top 25 in baseball) and 30% K% are elite. The walk rate remains below 10% and the SIERA sits at 2.86. Yeah, part of that .373 BABIP is the 37% Hard%, but the stuff is too good for him to be this bad going forward. He’s backed up in this pen based on his performance to date, but if there’s one guy you can buy here who possesses the biggest upside as a fantasy option in the second half, it’s May. I scooped him up dirt cheap in all my deep leagues.

• Don’t look now, but Ken Giles is putting it back together. Well, he never really lost it, but the results are coming back in line with the peripherals. Giles garnered a hold tonight by whiffing the side (albeit, it’s the Orioles), working around a walk. The SIERA is back below 3.00 and he should be scooped up for holds/rates in leagues of sufficient depth. Will Harris seems to still be just a hair ahead of him in this bullpen, and he tossed a scoreless eighth tonight. Wouldn’t shock me to see them flip flop in the next couple weeks, though. As maligned as Luke Gregerson has occasionally been this year, he notched his 10th save and also has a SIERA below 3.00. This is a situation where he might not be the best overall RP in this pen, but there’s really no reason for A.J. Hinch to make a change because his ninth inning guy still looks well above-average as far as late-inning pitchers go.

• Interesting names on the 30-day rolling leaderboard. Michael Feliz has a 25/0 K/BB over 13.2 innings. His 13% SwStr% isn’t super elite and the fact that he’s never had a K% higher than 28% in the minors (in A-ball no less) give me pause, but he shouldn’t be unowned if you need rate help, especially since he’s SP eligible in some leagues. Alex Colome has a healthy 1.03 SIERA over the last month. I know the Rays have said this is Brad Boxberger’s job when he comes back (soon), but it’s going to be awfully tough to take Colome out of the ninth right now. Sean Doolittle has a 41% K% and 1.69 xFIP during the time period of interest. He’s leapt back over John Axford on the grid and Ryan Madson owners should be trying to handcuff (or maybe selling high).

• Quick hits: You probably know by now, but Carson Smith is done for the next 12+ months with Tommy John surgery. Shawn Tolleson gave up three runs without recording an out. He’s not making it back onto the grid anytime soon. Jeanmar Gomez keeps trucking along. Cody Allen, Jeurys Familia, Mark Melancon, A.J. Ramos, and Hector Rondon all hit the SV column as well. Allen has worked three straight days, so Bryan Shaw might be an option for a scab save tomorrow.

Closer Grid:

Closer First Second DL/Minors
Arizona Brad Ziegler Daniel Hudson Tyler Clippard
Atlanta Arodys Vizcaino Jason Grilli Hunter Cervenka
Baltimore Zach Britton Darren O’Day Mychal Givens
Boston Craig Kimbrel Koji Uehara Junichi Tazawa
CHI (NL) Hector Rondon Pedro Strop Justin Grimm
CHI (AL) David Robertson Nate Jones Zach Duke
Cincy Ross Ohlendorf Tony Cingrani Blake Wood Jumbo Diaz
Cleveland Cody Allen Bryan Shaw Dan Otero
Colorado Jake McGee Carlos Estevez Jason Motte
Detroit Francisco Rodriguez Mark Lowe Justin Wilson Bruce Rondon
Houston Luke Gregerson Will Harris Ken Giles
KC Wade Davis Kelvin Herrera Joakim Soria
LAA Joe Smith Fernando Salas Jose Alvarez Huston Street
LAD Kenley Jansen Pedro Baez Joe Blanton Yimi Garcia
Miami A.J. Ramos David Phelps Kyle Barraclough Carter Capps
Milwaukee Jeremy Jeffress Tyler Thornburg Michael Blazek Will Smith
Minnesota Kevin Jepsen Fernando Abad Michael Tonkin Glen Perkins
NY (NL) Jeurys Familia Addison Reed Hansel Robles
NY (AL) Aroldis Chapman Andrew Miller Dellin Betances
Oakland Ryan Madson Sean Doolittle John Axford
Philly Jeanmar Gomez Hector Neris David Hernandez
Pittsburgh Mark Melancon Tony Watson Neftali Feliz
St. Louis Trevor Rosenthal Kevin Siegrist Seung Hwan Oh
SD Fernando Rodney Brandon Maurer Ryan Buchter
SF Santiago Casilla Cody Gearrin Hunter Strickland Sergio Romo
Seattle Steve Cishek Joaquin Benoit Joel Peralta
TB Alex Colome Erasmo Ramirez Xavier Cedeno Brad Boxberger
Texas Sam Dyson Jake Diekman Matt Bush Keone Kela
Toronto Roberto Osuna Gavin Floyd Drew Storen Brett Cecil
Wash. Jonathan Papelbon Blake Treinen Shawn Kelley

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





There are few things Colin loves more in life than a pitcher with a single-digit BB%. Find him on Twitter @soxczar.

8 Comments
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AutomatedTellermember
7 years ago

Why does the cincy pen show Ohlendorf as the closer when Cingrani has all 3 saves and Ohlendorf 0? That seems incorrect.

KobraCola
7 years ago

Yeah, it seems like Cingrani is getting the first shot at saves these days to me too.

Richiemember
7 years ago
Reply to  KobraCola

I guess because Colin has been paying attention lately to how Cincy actually has been using Cingrani and Ohlendorf, and you guys haven’t.

KobraCola
7 years ago
Reply to  Richie

Huh? I’ve been paying close attention to the Reds bullpen. The only piece of evidence that says that Ohlendorf MIGHT be the leader in the bullpen is the fact that Cingrani came in in the 7th inning on 5/20. But Price may have been using Cing to put out a fire in the highest-leverage situation in the game. Cing came in to try to end the threat after Blake Wood allowed a run to cut the Reds’ lead to 3-2. Besides that 7th inning appearance, Cing has been used in save situations on 5/18, 5/15, 5/9, 5/6, etc. Meanwhile, Ohlendorf has garnered a hold on 5/18 and….. um…. I’m looking for a recent situation, any situation, in which he was used like a closer, and I’m having trouble finding one. So please tell me how Ohlendorf is the closer, I’d love to hear it.

KobraCola
7 years ago
Reply to  Richie

Now it seems even more like Cing is the closer.