Bullpen Report: September 11, 2018

• Due to Brad Boxberger’s recent struggles, the Diamondbacks are going to the most hated word in fantasy baseball – a committee, with Boxberger out. While it’s possible that Boxberger can string together a solid run and get back into the mix, we are going to take him off of the grid for now. In his place I would expect a combination of Andrew Chafin, Archie Bradley, Yoshihisa Hirano, Jake Diekman, and Brad Ziegler to see the ninth. It’s not that helpful to list off 5 names in a committee but that’s why it’s such a pain in our butts. Archie Bradley was always the presumptive favorite but he’s been terrible of late and unless the Diamondbacks want to give him a chance to prove himself in the middle of a playoff race, I’d expect them to mix and match with the other guys. For the first stab I’m putting Hirano, Diekman and Chafin on the list. Hirano is a righty so I’m guessing he could see more than the rest of the committee but with multiple lefty options in Diekman and Chafin it’s possible they see more saves, along with Brad Ziegler who just won’t go away!

• Andrew Miller is back off of the DL and although he’s not likely to leapfrog Cody Allen and Brad Hand for saves, he’s back on the grid! In related news, Brad Hand blew the save last night for the Indians after Ji-Man Choi hit a walk-off homer for the Rays to give them the victory. Although the Indians have some quality relievers behind Hand in Cody Allen, Andrew Miller, and Adam Cimber it’s just his first blown save on the Indians and I still expect him to see the majority of save chances moving forward. In his return Miller did look sharp at least, striking out a pair in a perfect inning. Cody Allen also threw a scoreless inning but pitched around two walks. The Indians main focus is getting everything in line for the playoffs and it’s possible they use their bullpen drastically different in October but for the rest of the season I’d expect fairly traditional usage with Hand still at the helm.

• Jeremy Jeffress received his 11th save lats night for the Brewers and although Corey Knebel is making a comeback into the committee picture, Jeffress looks like the more primary option. Of more interesting note might be the mini Josh Hader run with 11 strikeouts in his last two appearances over four innings. Hader hasn’t been as consistently dominant after his insane start but he’s still incredible and can continue to wow us. On the year Hader already has 73 innings pitched which is somewhat impressive on its own, but the fact he’s paired that with 127 striekouts and a 2.08 ERA/1.83 FIP/1.66 SIERA is just insane. Due to his ability to throw 2-3 innings at a time for a save Hader is still in the committee in Milwaukee but Jeffress and Knebel should see the majority of saves moving forward. The Brewers are only down 1 game against the Cubs and if they’re able to get their three main relievers going at the same time they will be a tough beat in September and into October.

• Quick Hits: Roberto Osuna got his 16th save on the year with Ryan Pressley getting the hold in the 8th. Ryan Pressley could be entering the main set up option for Houston but with Rondon filling in as closer previously, he’s probably the next in line option for saves so we will keep the grid as is. Carlos Martinez was named closer this week and he recorded his 3rd save last night allowing a run but striking out a pair as well. We will see how often Martinez pitches on back-to-back days but he’s the guy in St. Louis now. Jose LeClerc got his 10th save for the Rangers last night lowering his ERA to 1.71 in the process. LeClerc doesn’t have amazing control and allows a few too many fly balls, but he also has a 1.85 FIP and a K% approaching 40% at 39.2%. He won’t run a .216 BABIP and 2.1% HR/FB all next year which prevents him from being an elite closer option but he’s cementing himself near the top of the next level.