Bullpen Report: May 6, 2015

• Recently reinstated closer Brett Cecil threw tonight, but unfortunately for fantasy owners, he didn’t pick up a save in a four-run game. However, the outing provided an interesting data point with respect to Cecil’s velocity. Two nights ago, Cecil sat between 93-94 mph — a far cry from the mid-80’s mark he was posting early in the season, and even a tick above last year’s average. Tonight, that number sagged a touch, with the Toronto lefty working closer to 91-92 mph with the heater. The degree of velocity variance he has had amongst his outings this year continues to be somewhat worrisome, but at the macro-scale, he appears to be headed in the right direction. With Miguel Castro suffering from some control issues and ending back in Triple-A, expect Cecil to have a touch more leash to smooth out the rest of the kinks. He may still be a low-risk buy-low in some leagues if some owners think this bullpen is unstable. Roberto Osuna (2.77 SIERA) continues to be used in multi-inning situations, but represents the most upside should Cecil crash and burn. Steve Delabar has snuck back into this bullpen after dominating early at Triple-A and should work his way into high-leverage situations as well.

• Cubs closer Hector Rondon danced around a hit (and an intentional walk) this evening to polish off a one-run victory versus the Cardinals. The righty was a revelation last year and his fantasy owners are excited to see he’s picked up right where he left off. Rondon’s velocity is actually up just a touch in 2015 (95.8 mph compared to 95.7 mph last year) and his SIERA in the early going is an impressive 2.28. While his 10% SwStr% is solid, but not elite, his strikeout and walk rates are in line with 2014’s breakout marks. Rondon’s big question is not so much stuff, but injury. If his arm can stay in one piece, he should return positive value for those that gambled on him after the top 15 closers came off the board.

• A couple closers are on the comeback trail. Jake McGee pitched in his third minor league game on Tuesday, putting him one step closer to joining the Rays bullpen. While chatter has centered around him being possibly called up as early as the next few days, conventional wisdom implies he’ll probably build up strength a little while longer. He’s unlikely to immediately assume the end-game gig when he returns — partly due to the time off, partly due to Brad Boxberger being good, and partly due to the Rays perpetually having a messy ninth inning. Feel free to add him if he’s been dropped, however. A’s closer Sean Doolittle is a few steps behind McGee in the return process, but he’ll throw to live hitters on Friday. If all goes well over the next week or so, one would assume the lefty would head out on a rehab assignment — lining him up for a return sometime during the last third of the month. He’s more likely to regain the closer role upon return, although we’ll have to keep an eye out on velocity in the minors. Of note, fellow Rotographer Brett Talley had an interesting piece today about these two situations and whether or not the more established guys should get their jobs back. Check it out.

• Middle relievers who could make a difference? After a rocky first couple outings, Kevin Gausman has really settled down over the last few weeks, posting a 7/0 K/BB ratio over his last 4 innings. More importantly, the righty is flirting with triple-digits on the fastball out of the bullpen. While he really should be in the starting rotation, he has SP eligibility in most fantasy leagues and is a great option to try and stabilize rates when you have a slot that generally would be used on a starter on an off day. A.J. Ramos has the 7th best SwStr% rate among RP over the last few weeks (behind guys like Aroldis Chapman, Koji Uehara, and Dellin Betances). With Steve Cishek’s velocity still down (although better last outing), Ramos is not only a nice source of ERA/WHIP/K, but also a good long-term speculative play. Speaking of Betances, his velocity scare seems like a thing of the past. He may be pushed out of regular saves for now with Andrew Miller in the mix, but he appears to have returned to his status as “elite relief option.”

Closer Grid:

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