Bullpen Report: September 7, 2014

– With Greg Holland nursing a sore triceps, Wade Davis got his second save opportunity of the weekend and for the second time he converted. Davis has been one of the more elite setup men in baseball this season, and his 0.71 ERA and 0.82 WHIP have undoubtedly helped fantasy owners, even if he hasn’t been racking up the “SV” all season. Some of the righty’s success has been driven by a low BABIP and high strand rate, but a 38% K% and 14% SwStr% don’t just grow on trees. Even with his success, he’s still only owned in 40% of Yahoo! leagues, meaning he might still be available to help your roto push. It’s worth noting that Holland said earlier on Sunday that he was feeling ready to go, so don’t expect him to be on the sidelines for much longer. While somewhat risky, I’d probably activate him in head-to-head leagues this week. Unfortunately, that’ll push Davis back to a setup role.

– Ryan Cook was given a chance at a save in Oakland today but didn’t make the most of it. See, walking the bases loaded in a one-run game is not typically a recipe for success. Since he was yanked before giving up any runs, he technically didn’t get charged with the “BS” today. That tag went to Fernando Abad, who walked a pair of his own while allowing two of Cook’s runners to score. Cook’s peripherals continue to be rather pedestrian in 2014, thanks in large part to a middling strikeout rate and below average command. With Eric O’Flaherty temporarily sidelined with back issues, the Oakland bullpen continues to be a bit rudderless, although Sean Doolittle plans to throw off a mound Monday and could be back by the end of the week (barring setbacks, of course).

– Neftali Feliz notched save number eight, polishing off a 1-0 gem started by Derek Holland. It wasn’t the purest of ninths, as Feliz danced around a hit and a walk before getting Justin Smoak to fly out to end it. The Dominican’s 2.55 ERA paints a nice picture, but his peripherals are far less rosy. A horribly flat 15% K% is a far cry from what Feliz used to bring and his velocity is showing no positive trend. You could argue there is some whiff upside with a SwStr% a touch below 10%, but if you can sell Feliz on name value alone this offseason in keeper/dynasty formats, do it and don’t look back. He just isn’t the same pitcher he was a few years ago.

– Quick hits: Tyler Clippard in the eighth, Drew Storen in the ninth for the Nationals today. Both tossed scoreless innings. Will move Storen to head of this pen, but expect Clippard to mix in as well with Soriano out of the gig for now. Josh Fields got the save Sunday after Tony Sipp started the ninth for the ‘Stros. Chad Qualls struggled on Saturday, but it’s possible he was just given a breather. Regardless, I wouldn’t be speculating too hard in this pen unless I really, really needed the few SV it might cough up over the last three weeks. Cody Allen only needed three pitches to retire the last batter of a Carlos Carrasco gem in Cleveland today. Jenrry Mejía continues to pitch through a sports hernia and wrapped up save number 24. It wasn’t pretty, however, as he allowed four hits (two runs) and barely scraped by.

Closer Grid:

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