Bullpen Report: May 7, 2019

Fantasy owners expect a blown save on occasion, it’s an occupational hazard. However, Pedro Strop did not record an out on Monday night handing out three walks and a hit leading to three earned runs and his second loss. Strop walked more batters in this outing than his previous 10.2 innings this year. Of course, Strop did not benefit from Kyle Ryan freezing during a rundown letting in a precious insurance run for the Marlins. Chalking this up to one of those nights. Strop’s ERA jumped to 5.06 as a result but his 3.88 xFIP and 1.13 WHIP do not suggest a collapse. Especially with Brandon Morrow still sidelined. Brad Brach and Carl Edwards Jr. each recorded their first hold leading up to Strop for the Cubs.

Benefiting from the Cubs meltdown, Sergio Romo held on for his sixth save working around two hits, one a home run by Kris Bryant, and striking out three. Since giving up four runs in his season debut, Romo’s only allowed four over his last 12 outings (11.2 innings) retiring 18 of the last 22 batters he’s faced. Adam Conley garnered his first win pitching a scoreless eighth yielding a hit with a strikeout.

With closers getting the night off, this opened the door for fantasy owners to see who to roster for latent saves. Josh Hader did not pitch for the Brewers paving the way for Junior Guerra to notch his second save of the season and first since April third. Guerra pitched a clean ninth with two strikeouts. Jeremy Jeffress did pitch a clean eighth inning en route to his first hold and could retake his shared closer role with Hader soon. Jeffress has retired the last 12 hitters he’s faced and continues to increase his fastball velocity, making him an attractive add for teams desperate for saves.

Knowing the Dodgers would manage the workload for Julio Urias, it surprised no one to see him transition to the bullpen when Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill returned to the rotation. His owners may want to hold him due to his usage last night. Urias looked comfortable hitting 98 MPH on the radar with his fastball and dropping curves which dazzled:

Also: pic.twitter.com/ITDxAE36T5

— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) May 7, 2019

Pedro Baez also worked a clean eighth for his seventh hold with a strikeout, but, the potential upside of Urias being used in a “Hader-lite” role makes him an intriguing option going forward.

Since San Diego used Kirby Yates on back-to-back days this weekend, Craig Stammen stepped up with 1.1 clean innings and a strikeout versus the Mets. Stammen did struggle a bit in the middle to end of April giving up a run in five of his six outings, but his 15:1 K:BB through 19.1 innings so far and strong finish to last year keeps him valuable in deeper formats.

After a rough spring, Mychal Givens seems to be finding his groove. He entered the game with a runner on second and two outs in the eighth then struck out Mookie Betts. Givens then fired a clean ninth recording his fourth save. He’s one of five relievers this year with at least three holds and three saves. Since April 24th, Givens has notched the save in each of his four outings and could be an attractive arm for contenders near the trade deadline. Paul Fry retired the only two hitters he faced for his sixth hold.

Roberto Osuna rolled to his eighth save with a clean ninth and a strikeout. He’s not only 8-for-8 in save chances this year, but he’s locked down 23 in a row dating back to April of last year. Osuna’s made 15 appearances this year with 13 clean outings giving up only three singles resulting in his minuscule 0.20 WHIP. Also, Osuna’s not issued a walk over his last 21 contests dating back to September 10th of last season.

Quick Hits: Pablo Sandoval became the second player in modern history (since 1900) with a home run, stolen base and scoreless inning in the same game. He joins Christy Mathewson (May 23, 1905) in the feat. Information courtesy of Elias Sports…Connor Sadzeck pitched two scoreless giving up a hit and a strikeout in an eventual loss. Less than optimal in hoping he could get saves…Adam Ottavino entered with the bases loaded in the top of the sixth and thwarted the rally stranding all three runners. He gets his sixth hold with two strikeouts in 1.1 innings…Another nice outing in relief by Sam Gaviglio. He threw 1.2 clean innings with a strikeouts. Through 24 innings, he owns a 24:2 K:BB with a 0.54 WHIP due to ramping up his slider usage inducing more swinging strikes…Jordan Hicks retired the only two batters he faced via strikeout preserving a shutout win, but in a non-save appearance.