Bullpen Report: September 8, 2015
• Rough night for the Nationals pen against the Mets. With a six run lead in the seventh, Blake Treinen, Felipe Rivero and Drew Storen walked six batters, allowing six earned runs to blow the lead. In the next inning Jonathan Papelbon gave up the go-ahead homer to Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Jeurys Familia wasn’t perfect allowing a few baserunners but held on for his 38th save of the season. The Mets have done a nice job with their in-season additions this year and it’s no different with the bullpen where Addison Reed (two strikeouts in a scoreless seventh) and Tyler Clippard (two strikeouts in a perfect eighth) have helped strengthen the bridge to Jeurys.
• Glen Perkins saw a spine specialist today for his back and this is after his spasms got “under control” yesterday. Without any specific word on a return as he’s seeing more specialists and only a few more weeks left in the season, I wouldn’t count on Perkins returning to the Twins this year. Expect Kevin Jepsen to continue to see the ninth inning.
• Kyle Barraclough was never a particularly touted prospect as he was 25 years old when he finally hit Double-A this season and he wasn’t ranked high among the 58 prospects traded at the deadline but he’s been an intriguing pitcher in the Marlins bullpen of late. Acquired by the fish for Steve Cishek earlier this season, Barraclough missed a lot of bats while struggling mightily with his control in the minors and now in the majors as well. After tonight’s outing (1.2 perfect innigns and four strikeouts) Barraclough now has a 0.65/2.14/3.24 ERA/FIP/xFIP pitching line in 16 innings with 23 strikeouts against ten walks at the major league level. Barraclough doesn’t figure to factor into the closing or set up situation this year or next necessarily but with his 95+ mph fastball and ability to miss bats (15.5 SwStr%), Barraclough could be of use for fantasy teams fishing for strikeouts. The Marlins don’t figure to be a threat next year but A.J. Ramos, Carter Capps and now Barraclough are among the best at generating whiffs in the majors.
• Zach Britton threw a perfect ninth with a strikeout for his 31st save on the season. Darren O’Day got the last two outs of the eighth and earned the win when the O’s took the lead in the bottom half. O’Day lowered his ERA to 1.69 with Britton’s ERA dropping to 1.93. If Zach Britton is one of the more underrated closers then his righty set up has to be considered one of the most unheralded at his position in the league. In his Baltimore career from 2012 on, Britton has thrown 250.1 innings with an ERA under two (1.98) and a whip under one (0.95) . Guys like Dellin Betances and his strikeouts are deserving of more praise but O’Day picks up a few wins and saves year in and year old while helping your ratios. Don’t forget about him next March.
• Quick Hits: He wasn’t a factor in the decision but Mark Melancon threw a dud tonight, allowing three earned runs without finishing the ninth inning. Everyone’s entitled a few blips, nothing to see here. No save situation for Toronto but the Blue Jays aren’t in a situation to risk anything and Roberto Osuna threw a scoreless 10th inning to secure the win. The Jays were another team with a weak bullpen earlier this year and it’s now become a strength. Brett Cecil, Mark Lowe, Aaron Sanchez and Osuna threw four perfect innings this evening, not many teams can match their depth.
Closer Grid:
[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]
When he's not focusing on every team's bullpen situation, Ben can be found blogging at Ben's Baseball Bias and on Twitter @BensBias
What’s up with Machi pitching in the 6th tonight (1-1 game, 1 out, runners on the corners) to relieve Henry Owens? Robbie Ross got the top half of the 9th in a tie game. Any thoughts other than figuring out the save situation in BOS is a total mess?
It’s Ross. Or better be, since I dumped Machi for him Monday morning. But he’s gotten the last 2 ‘opportunities’, counting tonight as one.