Bullpen Report: May 31, 2018

• On one hand, Brad Ziegler is 9/10 on save opportunities. That’s pretty good! On the other hand, he has a 7.83 ERA and 5 losses. That’s pretty bad! Ziegler entered last night’s contest in a 2-1 game in the bottom of the ninth and walked Franmil Reyes to start the inning. Raffy Lopez flied out for an out, then Freddy Galvis hit a double. With runners on first and second, Ziegler walked Manuel Margot to face Hunter Renfroe who hit the game winning, two RBI single.  After the game, Don Mattingly said “you want to get something dependable at the end of the game.” At the moment, it’s clear that isn’t the case. Whether someone else sees the next save chance we don’t know, but Miami is on red alert. I would run to pick up Kyle Barraclough with Tayron Guerrero and Drew Steckenrider behind him. Barraclough has a pretty 1.48 ERA but a 4.06 FIP and 4.07 SIERA suggest some regression might come.  Barraclough’s SwStr% and K% are essentially matching last year’s numbers but they’re also down from his 2016 when he was a whiff monster. A 5.55 BB/9 may not hold for too long in the ninth inning, so despite Steckenrider’s inflated 5.01 ERA he’s also someone to keep an eye on as his ERA indicators are a bit bteter with a 3.12 FIP and 2.98 SIERA, along with Guerrero ahd his 3.55 FIP/3.40 SIERA and 98 mph heater.

• Jeurys Familia pitched around two hits for a scoreless inning last night but it occurred in the eighth with Robert Gsellman pitching a perfect ninth for his second save on the year. This isn’t something that Terry Collins would ever use but coming from Cleveland with Andrew Miller and Cody Allen, using the top reliever for the better part of the lineup might be something Mickey Callaway tries out in New York. Familia faced the top of the Braves lineup in the eighth with Gsellman getting the bottom third for the easy save.  I won’t catapult off of this to change the grid but it does confirm Gsellman is next in line and if Callaway continues to use Familia like this, Gsellman could see a few more saves moving forward.

• After experiencing some forearm discomfort this weekend, Felipe Vazquez pitched a scoreless ninth for his 10th save of the year last night. Vazquez threw the day before and was hitting 99 mph last night so any concerns about his arm should be alleviated for the time being.

• Mark Melancon has been on the shelf all year for the Giants but he might be returning to the team on Friday. Hunter Strickland has filled in admirably for Melancon going 11/13 on saves with a 3.28 FIP and 3.56 SIERA, including a save last night. Melancon is getting paid the big bucks so it’s likely the Giants would allow him to regain the job again but he will have to earn it. Strickland owners can’t be happy about a Melancon return but depending on how both perform, he could stand to still see several more saves.

• Carl Edwards Jr. is hitting the DL and we have moved Steve Cishek onto the grid. Edwards has been one of the top set up men this year and hopefully he’s able to return to form sooner rather than later. Justin Wilson is another name to keep tabs on behind Pedro Strop and Cishek as leading candidates for holds in Chicago.

• Quick Hits: Corey Knebel only faced one batter for his 5th save. Josh Hader threw 1.2 innings previously, striking out four but was taken out for Knebel for the final out. Hader could still see some occasional multi-inning saves but Knebel is the closer. When Max Scherzer is on the bump you likely won’t need many relievers and the Nationals only needed one inning from the pen with Sean Doolittle picking up his 13th save. Kelvin Herrera threw a perfect ninth, lowering his ERA to 0.83 and getting his 12th save in the process. He’s likely one of the top relief options that oculd be had at the deadline. Normally this would be cause for concern to lose his job but it’s possible he goes to a team where he is the closer as well. If you’re targeting him in fantasy, I would make sure to be mindful of any and all trade rumors, and acknowledge he could be moved and lose the ninth on the new team. Keone Kela allowed two hits and a run en route to his 12th save. The Rangers will also be in sell mode in July, so Kela is another name that could lose his hold on the job if he’s moved.