Bullpen Report: September 3, 2014
– Casey Janssen may be losing his grip on the ninth inning. For the third time in the last four opportunities, the Jays turned to someone else other than their ninth inning guy… in the ninth inning. Today, Aaron Sanchez notched his second save tossing a scoreless frame (one hit, one strikeout). Manager John Gibbons has said that Sanchez might see more save opportunities going forward, and the right-handed prospect has done nothing to imply he’s not ready for the show, as his 24 inning sample contains a solid whiff rate (27%) and above-average command (4%). Don’t cut Janssen lose just yet, but scoop up the fireballing righty where you can. He may help you in saves, but even if he doesn’t, he should help stabilize those rates as we head into the last few weeks of the fantasy season.
– Not a good afternoon for Kenley Jansen who blew a save in ugly, ugly fashion. It wasn’t one of those 1-run, blooped to death “BS”s, the hard-throwing righty gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in what should have a fairly easy two-run save. Jansen’s xFIP remains a tidy 1.88 and he’s actually throwing the hardest he has ever thrown. His SwStr% matches his elite K% and he has incredible command for a guy who punches out more than a third of the batters he faces. He’ll duke it out with Craig Kimbrel and Aroldis Chapman for the top reliever off the board next spring.
– Mark Melancon and Trevor Rosenthal each got decisions in today’s 1-0 matinee final. Rosenthal picked up the win, tossing a scoreless top of the ninth. Melancon (who came in on the eighth), ended up giving up walk, single, single after punching out the first two batters. A bummer for those in points leagues which dock for losses, but Melancon’s 2.37 SIERA — while not quite as good as it was in 2013 — keeps him in the upper third of major league closers for the remainder of the season.
– Adam Ottavino has been widely forgotten after a brief ownership spike early in the season when it seemed likely that Latroy Hawkins was not long for the ninth inning in Colorado. After a few mid-season hiccups (and Hawkins pitching well enough to hold down the job on a middling team for fantasy saves), many owners jumped ship. However, the Rockies righty has turned on the jets as of late. His 1.87 xFIP is 9th best in all of baseball over the last month, and his fastball velocity has increased nearly 3 mph (!) as the season has gone along. Those in dynasty/keeper leagues deep enough where you hold onto closers/elite holds arms should be grabbing him everywhere if you can. Hawkins can’t pitch forever and Ottavino’s stuff is playing up big time.
Closer Grid:
[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]
There are few things Colin loves more in life than a pitcher with a single-digit BB%. Find him on Twitter @soxczar.
With Aaron Sanchez likely to be in the rotation next season, how do you see the Blue Jay bullpen shaking out next year?
Long way off. Brett Cecil has performed admirably at the backend of that pen, and could slot in in the ninth. He’s maybe the best internal keeper? There’s always a chance Janssen comes back if the team likes him and he’s cheap. It wouldn’t shock me to see AA go out and snag a young arm (similar to what he did with Sergio Santos).
Long-term, it’s possible Sanchez or Stroman end up at the backend of the pen with their stuff, but they’ll surely have a couple years in the rotation first.