Mark Lowe notched his third hold of the young season for the Tigers despite allowing an earned run on three hits in just over an inning of work. Then trusty “old” Francisco Rodriguez came in during the final frame to seal Detroit’s victory for his second save of the season and 388th of his career. He needed just 22 pitches (17 strikes – zero swinging) to close out the Pirates. At just 34 years of age, KRod keeps climbing the all-time saves leaders list and appears to be on his way to a top four or five finish if health and father time is on his side.
Read the rest of this entry »

• After a four game slide Terry Collins didn’t play around today calling on Jeurys Familia for a five-out save. Familia answered the call pitching around a couple of hits for his second save of the year. Hansel Robles got the last two outs of the seventh (both via strikeout) and Jerry Blevins got the call to start the eighth inning with the left-handed Ichiro and Christian Yelich due up. Addison Reed still figures to be the main eighth inning set up man with Blevins playing the matchups. Although he doesn’t have the “closer experience” like Reed, Robles has some real strikeout potential and could end the year in a more prominent role behind Familia.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Yeah, Pete Mackanin won’t say it, but Jeanmar Gomez seems to have the Phillies gig until further notice. Pitching for the third time in four days, the 28-year-old tossed a scoreless ninth for his third consecutive save. He’s not whiffing a ton of guys (2 strikeouts over 14 batters faced), but two-thirds of the balls put in play against him this season have been on the ground. I wouldn’t expect the worm-burning ways to continue since Gomez has hovered around 50% GB% the last few years, but if he can minimize the walks (5% last season) he can be a passable reliever (3.79 SIERA last season) who won’t kill your rates. He should be owned if you need saves (and my guess is he’s gone in almost all deeper leagues by now), but he has the skillset that opens itself up to BABIP luck, so be forewarned. It’s tough to see him holding the gig without hiccups all season, so don’t invest heavily on the trade market. Of note, David Hernandez tossed a scoreless eighth and has looked competent since his April 4th blowup against the Reds. He should be snagged in very deep mixed or NL-onlies where save speculation is all the rage.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Although he nailed down the last two save opportunities for the Phillies, Jeanmar Gomez has not yet been named closer with Pete Mackanin saying “I don’t want to jump to conclusions here […] Let’s keep playing it out until we see what happens.” Mackanin won’t say it, but I will – Gomez is the closer in Philadelphia. He may not have a long leash if he were to start struggling but David Hernandez and company likely won’t be seeing the next opportunity.

• Craig Kimbrel had a forgettable night for the Red Sox. Entering the ninth inning in a tie game Kimbrel allowed three runs with Chris Davis taking him deep for a 449 foot, three run homer. Kimbrel’s velocity (97.6 mph) was right in line with what you would expect from him and he still ranks among the elite closers in the game. Keep walking, nothing left to see here except future saves and loads of strikeouts.

• Fernando Rodney was able to shoot his first arrow of the year, closing the door on the Phillies today. Rodney is unlikely to be a safe haven for saves all year, whether it’s due to poor performance and a role change or a strong performance and a mid-season trade but owners should be happy with the clean save nonetheless. Rodney is certainly secure for now but Brandon Maurer is the guy to own as a handcuff.

• Jumbo Diaz received the ball in the eighth inning tonight and blew the lead for the Reds. It’s early on but Diaz’ 3.86/6.64/4.95 ERA/FIP/xFIP pitching line is certainly less than impressive. J.J. Hoover isn’t a stud by any means but with Diaz and Tony Cingrani (who gave up two runs of his own for the loss) struggling his job remains secure.

•Quick Hits: David Robertson threw a scoreless ninth for his third save of the year. Robertson’s ERA was a little inflated last year at 3.41 but his underlying numbers were strong as normal and he remains a great option. After Chris Davis gave the O’s the lead, Britton pitched around a Mookie Betts solo shot for his third save as well. Jonathan Papelbon (4), Mark Melancon (3) and Hector Rondon (2) also recorded clean saves tonight.

Closer Grid:

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

• Santiago Casilla blew his first save of the season against the Dodgers today, though a key bobble by Kelby Tomlinson is taking away some of that heat. Casilla loaded the bases with one out, then induced what seemed to be a game-ending double play ball to Tomlinson. Tomlinson bobbled the ball, allowing the run to score, and only getting one out. Casilla’s job is safe for now, but Sergio Romo and Hunter Strickland both pitched scoreless innings, earning themselves holds, and would be next in line for saves. Again, don’t see it happening just yet as a result of today’s blown save since Casilla is not 100% to blame. Romo pitched the 7th and Strickland came in with a runner on in the 8th. Don’t think this is indicative of who is necessarily next in line, just thought it was worth noting.

Read the rest of this entry »

Limited slate of games today, but not necessarily a limited slate of news…

• Round and round the closer wheel goes in Philadelphia. David Hernandez? You blew it. Dalier Hinojosa? Eh, not endearing yourself to the eastern half of the Keystone State. Next up? Well, sounds like Pete Mackanin may be turning his current affections to Jeanmar Gomez. The former mediocre Cleveland starter transitioned has been a full-time reliever for two years now, posting 4.16 and 3.79 SIERAs in 2014 and 2015. He doesn’t have overpowering stuff (8% SwStr%, even in relief) and while he isn’t wild, his command isn’t exactly stellar, either (8.5% BB%). Moreover, his already mediocre fastball was actually down a couple ticks in his only outing this season. If you are in a league where saves are hoarded so much that they should have their own reality show, there’s probably no harm in picking up Gomez. However, in standard leagues, I’m staying far, far, away from the dumpster fire that is the Phillies bullpen. There just isn’t enough upside to warrant the risk.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Bullpen Report team worked a bit earlier than normal on Wednesday to compile notes and observations revolving around the earlier contests, so if by chance we publish before the Best Coast games go final, we’ll catch up with you on Thursday with the necessary details.

-After constant chatter on the comment section, it looks like the mob was right about Sam Dyson in Texas. Keone Kela came on in the seventh inning and struggled a bit allowing three baserunners and an earned run only getting two outs in the inning. Sam Dyson finished the seventh and also threw a scoreless eighth and he looks to be next in line for saves in Texas. Those save opportunities might be a bit closer too after Shawn Tolleson’s no good very bad day today. Tolleson entered the ninth with a 5-4 lead and proceeded to allow five hits and five runs without recording an out. Tolleson was never the most talented in the Rangers relief corps but he was the one getting saves. He hasn’t lost his job yet but I would run to the waivers to put a claim on Dyson.
Read the rest of this entry »

• As expected, the Astros looked towards Luke Gregerson with their first save chance of the year and he rewarded the team with a clean save, throwing a perfect inning along with a strikeout against the Yankees. Ken Giles threw in the eighth allowing a solo shot to Didi Gregorious but otherwise looked effective, striking out two. Giles’ velocity (96.4 mph) was in line with last season and I would expect him and Gregerson to comprise a darn effective end of game tandem moving forward.

Read the rest of this entry »

• It seemed like a safe guess that Ken Giles would be closing games in Houston after the Astros gave up some real talent (Mark Appel, Vincent Velasquez and others) for him this offseason but A.J. Hinch announced that Luke Gregerson will be the closer to start the year. Baseball wise this might be a solid decision, especially if Giles can be used more freely in the seventh or eighth innings in higher leverage situations.  Gregerson is no slouch though, having saved 31 games in 36 tries last year with a 3.10/2.86/2.71 ERA/FIP/xFIP line. For what it’s worth, Hinch said that Gregerson will be the “primary closer”, which doesn’t suggest a committee but Giles could see save opportunities as well.

Read the rest of this entry »

• The Phillies have not named a closer yet, and it’s not as if they have an answer and are not telling anybody. For now, our chart lists David Hernandez as the closer despite giving up a home run to the Phillies future squad. One time closer favorite Andrew Bailey has been demoted to the minors, along with Ernesto Frieri. Hernandez has appeared in 5 games this spring, and has surrendered a run in two of them. Dalier Hinojosa is not out of the picture to close games, but has struggled this spring giving up three home runs 8.2 innings. I’d avoid this situation unless you are in the deepest of leagues. Hernandez very strong numbers in Arizona in 2011 and 2012, so that would take some serious optimism to think he could get back to those numbers.

Read the rest of this entry »