• If you’re a fan of triple digits flashing up on the radar gun, you were obviously a happy guy today. One day after being activated from the disabled list, Aroldis Chapman made his 2014 debut, striking out the side (around a walk) to nail down his first save of the season. His arm looked no worse for the wear, as he averaged 101 mph with his fastball (touching 102.9). Wow. One thing we didn’t see today was a ball put in play. One potential issue that all pitchers who take liners off the body have to deal with is their reaction to balls hit back up the box. We’ll have to wait at least another outing to see how the Cuban lefty handles it, but if he brings the heat like he did today, having hitters square up pitches to rip back up the middle might be a rare occurrence.

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The Ax Man leaveth. John Axford has (at least for now) been removed from Cleveland’s ninth inning role. So everyone rush to the wire to pick up… wait, is “committee” owned in my league? Axford and his 5.45 xFIP have been touched on a couple times over the past week and little has changed in the peripherals department.

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Another relatively slow night here at the Bullpen Report. Here are a few updates regarding closers returning from the disabled list, Darren O’Day and Fernando Rodney.

-The end of Casey Janssen’s rehab stint could be near. Sounds like the right-hander will take the next few days off, then pitch on Saturday for Double-A New Hampshire. According to John Gibbons, Janssen could be back with the Blue Jays as early as Sunday or Monday, but the brass will likely make that decision following Saturday’s scheduled outing. Janssen made appearances in two consecutive games earlier this week for New Hampshire, going two innings without allowing an earned run or a walk, fanned two and surrendered three hits. In Janssen’s absence, Sergio Santos, Brett Cecil and Aaron Loup have combined to go 9-for-14 in save opportunities.
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• Giddy up, Jim Johnson owners. We’ve been imploring people to pick up the worm-burning righty if he’s been dropped in leagues, and the window to snag him has likely come to a close. One night after getting BABIPed around, the formerly deposed closer was called up on again, this time to polish off a 2-0 win versus the Mariners. He didn’t disappoint, retiring the side in order. Johnson’s 3.90 SIERA (coming into today) remains nothing to write home about, but he has gotten much better results since being removed from the closer role. Oakland also has a vested interest in the big money man finishing games as it could spike his trade value (should something happen and they go that route) while also keeping Ryan Cook from garnering too many saves (thereby driving up his arbitration cost). We can’t go green with this bullpen just yet, but assuming Johnson can look decent during his next few outings, he’ll be back on good standing fairly quickly.

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• Ernesto Frieri received the save opportunity last night but before we anoint him the closer again, it’s important to note that he  Joe Smith was throwing up in the bullpen but more importantly, felt tightness in his right side. The Angels plan is likely for Frieri to regain the role again but Joe Smith has also been effective in the role thus far. If anyone let Frieri go in your league I would be sure to use your waiver wire on him if need be. I don’t think Scioscia intended to throw Frieri in the ninth inning right away but this injury might have forced his hand. The situation is obviously in flux and both guys are worth owning but I’d put my money on Frieri finishing with more saves from here on out.

• Aroldis Chapman is currently pitching on a rehab assignment. The good: There hasn’t been a setback. The bad: He only threw two-thirds of an inning allowing four hits, five runs, a walk and a HBP.  Chapman likely will have some rust as he works himself into form but I’d focus more on the health without a setback than the results. Johnathan Broxton will still receive the save opps with Aroldis on the shelf, but it shouldn’t be too long before Chapman is back in his familiar role.

• Cody Allen and John Axford have pitched in the last few days and it was Bryan Shaw that received the save opportunity for the Indians tonight. Shaw allowed a hit and an unearned run for his first save of the season. As of now, John Axford is still the closer in Cleveland but a change could be imminent as Axford hasn’t left Francona with much wiggle room. Bryan Shaw has been sneaky effective over the last couple of years and has a 1.65/1.89/3.32 ERA/FIP/xFIP line on the season. Cody Allen is still the best reliever in the pen if the Indians were to make a move, but he’s likely already owned in your league, taking a flier on Bryan Shaw couldn’t hurt for a team in need of saves as the Indians could rationalize keeping Allen in his setup spot.

• Marcus Stroman is expected to see the Blue Jays rotation at some point this season but for now he’s in Toronto to fortify the bullpen. In his first outing Stroman threw two-thirds allowing a run on a triple but he looked better tonight, throwing 1.1 innings allowing a single while striking out a batter for his first win of the year. Aaron Loup came on to get the last two outs for his second save of the year.  Loup is a lefty and I would imagine he’s still behind Cecil in the pecking order but this all might be for naught when Casey Janssen returns. If you’re desperate for saves, feel free to chase Loup if you have the roster spot and Cecil isn’t available but I wouldn’t expect a big save return on the investment rest of season.

Closer Grid:

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

• John Axford did not pitch well last night and lucky for Cody Allen owners he did not pitch well this evening either, getting the loss against the Twins. Axford has a blown save and a loss in his last two outings and his seasonal ERA/FIP/xFIP is now 4.85/6.59/5.29. Not good. In the same game Cody Allen threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts, continuing his great start to the season. We have known for a while that Allen is the better pitcher but it’s finally time that he starts seeing save opportunities. No switch has been made yet but my guess is that something is imminent. I can’t imagine Allen is still unowned in any active leagues, but he is a must have for any fantasy team. Allen won’t be sitting on your waiver wire but you still might be able to snag him in a trade, netting a possible top-ten closer at a discounted price.

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• John Axford did not pitch well today. Because of this, the Indians did not win a baseball game. While Twitter may imply otherwise, the mustachioed man hadn’t been scored upon in about three weeks, so the implosions aren’t a regular occurrence. Yet. Unfortunately, Axford has seen a steep decline in his punchout rate over the last three years. It corresponds to a fairly noticeable decrease in velocity, which seems to be at its worst this season. These facts, combined with his notoriously iffy control, have pushed his SIERA to 4.48. That would represent the highest mark of The Ax Man’s career and continues a four-year trend of worsening performance. Not cool, John. While his AL-leading nine saves likely give him some additional job security, Read the rest of this entry »

–Francisco Rodriguez’s grasp on the ninth-inning role in Milwaukee may have grown little tighter this evening, without even throwing a pitch. The Brewers’ former closer, Jim Henderson, who had been lurking in Rodriguez’s shadows waiting for another shot to close games, imploded in the eighth-inning of a tie-game and took his first loss on the year. Henderson yielded five earned runs on four hits and an intentional walk, while striking out one in his two-thirds of an inning, 18 pitch effort. Prior to tonight’s implosion, Henderson was 2-0 with two holds and a 3.38 ERA (1.22 WHIP). He’s been striking out more (37.2% K%) and walking less (7.0% BB%) batters than he has in the past despite the velocity on his two primary offerings being down a tick. Henderson sat 91-94 on the 4-seam fastball tonight, while his sliders came in at 84-85. Rodriguez is a perfect 13-for-13 in save chances this season with a 0.00 ERA. All green here for the time being.
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Four rainouts and a few blowouts leave us with just a few items to discuss in this evening’s Bullpen Report.

–Greg Holland dished a (pretty) clean ninth-inning to notch his seventh save of the season in a 4-2 Royals victory over the Blue Jays tonight. He induced two quick outs off the bats of Josh Thole and Jose Bautista before surrendering an Edwin Encarnacion double to deep center. But Dioner Navarro flied out to left stranding Encarnacion at the keystone sack and ending Toronto’s comeback bid. The Royals’ closer ends April a perfect 6-for-6 in save situations with a 2.70 ERA (1.68 xFIP).
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• It started raining late in the Yankees/Mariners game. It seemed fitting since it appeared Fernando Rodney started to melt to open the inning. Ol’ Crooked Hat was called upon in a non-save situation and notched an easy punchout before giving up three straight hits. Suddenly the tying run appeared at the plate in what was a four-run game. Luckily for the Mariners, Rodney was able to punch out what appeared to be an old man imitating Derek Jeter and got a highly generous strike three call on a full-count pitch to Carlos Beltran to send everyone home. Seattle’s big money man has struck out nearly one-third of all comers in 2014, keeping his ERA predictors down below 3.50. There are a few chinks in the armor which bear watching, however. Rodney’s fastball velocity is down over a mile per hour from last year. Additionally, his SIERA has been boosted by an absurdly high line drive rate so far — batters are whiffing a lot, but they are also making some loud outs. Time to panic? Not particularly, but it would be nice for Rodney to turn a few trends the other direction for the Mariners to make sure they get their money’s worth.

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