Bullpen Report: May 3, 2016

Seattle’s Tony Zych will be placed on the 15-day DL for rotator cuff tendinitis, as the origins and timetable for return are not known. Last year in a small sample Zych looked very strong. Zych was continuing to open eyes with a 14.25 K/9 this season, but his control was also concern with a BB/9 of 6. Steve Johnson was called up to fill his roster spot, but not his role as the second set-up man. Johnson impressed in AAA this year with 20 K’s and 2 BB’s over 16 innings. Yet in his limited major league exposure, Johnson has produced a 4.25 ERA (4.33 FIP) with a good K rate (10.49 per 9) and poor BB rate (5.46 per 9). Nick Vincent will be second in line for saves it seems, and he has performed well this season. Vincent had been a solid low leverage reliever for the Padres, and there appears to have been improvements made this year. His strikeouts are slightly up from the past and he has yet to issue a walk. The two dings on his numbers this year have been the two home runs he gave up this year, but I’m still intrigued by the batted ball data. His previous career high GB/FB ratio was 1.26. This season: 2.17. I know, it’s early and we need to see more if we can conclude whether something has changed. He can still be a nice source for Holds while Zych is sidelined.

Carson Smith has been activated from the DL, and he was already thrown into action. He pitched a clean inning striking out one, with his velocity right where it was last season. Admittedly, it may be a little early putting him as the second set-up man. Despite having a rough night tonight allowing 2 runs and leaving the bases loaded, Junichi Tazawa has been solid this year. Still think Smith’s upside is higher and he will see more high leverage action shortly.

John Gibbons is going to stick with Drew Storen late in games despite his struggles. Jesse Chavez, however, is making it quite difficult. Down 1-0 to Texas, Chavez struck out two and walked one over an inning of work. Unlike Storen whose average fastball has dropped by 2.1 MPH from last season, Chavez has seen an increase of 2.8 MPH from last season. Storen has given up at least a run in 5 of his 11 appearances, and has a 9.00 ERA (5.96 FIP). Chavez has fallen victim to the long ball twice in his ten innings, but I really like the increase in the strikeouts and the walks since moving to the pen.

Zach McAllister made a 7-2 lead more interesting than it should have been, allowing two hits, a walk, and a run. Thankfully, Bryan Shaw bailed him out getting the next two batters out. If you are looking to protect your Allen investment, don’t be fooled by McAllister’s now sub-2.00 ERA. Not a huge fan of Shaw necessarily, but I certainly like him more than McAllister and that 95.67% LOB rate, along with the low K’s and high BB’s.

Quick Hits: Brad Brach pitched the 8th for Baltimore earning the Hold (3), and did not tally a strikeout, which is only the third time in 13 games. The K rate is slightly down, but so are the walks and he was used in the 8th because of Zach Britton‘s injury. That also led the way for Darren O’Day’s second save. Caleb Cotham gave up two runs in the 8th inning of a tied game, making that the third straight game he has given up at least a run. Kyle Barraclough earned a hold (5) striking out two improving his K% to 40%. Barraclough showed his ability to strike batters out last season, but the drop in his BB% to  6.7% is a 12 percent improvement. Shawn Tolleson blew his second save giving up a homer to Justin Smoak after the Rangers bullpen did a wonderful job of shutting out Toronto. Tolleson then loaded the bases for Jose Bautista while striking out two, but somehow escaped by getting Bautista out.

Closer Grid:

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