• Edwin Diaz avoided the IL and after a few games of rest he returned to the mount last night against the Cubs. This was a low leverage situation with the Mets behind but Diaz struck out the side and should be back in the committee in Queens. We still have Lugo atop the committee but if Diaz keeps up performances like last night he could gain his old job back.

• Speaking of the Cubs, Craig Kimbrel closed out the 9th for his 12th save, pitching around a hit and a walk in scoreless inning. Overall, Kimbrel continues to be disappointing with a 4.00 SIERA and declining K%. His velo is still an impressive 96.3 mph but it’s also a tick below last year and while he  still generates whiffs at a great rate with a 15.5% SwStr% his K% this year is a career low. In spite of his average-ness this year he’s the best option on the Cubs and should be a consistent source of saves, even if his name is more valuable than his expected performance.

Read the rest of this entry »

Héctor Neris has been reliable for much of this season, and especially in the second half. Prior to the Phillies’ current series with the Pirates, Neris had reeled off a string of 13 consecutive appearances — each lasting one full inning — in which he had not allowed a run. That does not fully illustrate how dominant Neris had been, as he allowed only two singles, a double, an unintentional walk and an intentional walk over that span.

In Monday night’s series opener, Neris blew a chance at a save when he gave up a Josh Bell solo homer, which was the first home run he had allowed since July 18. On Tuesday night, Neris entered in the top of the ninth inning with a 4-4 tie, and uncharacteristically, he issued back-to-back walks with one out. He would wind up paying for those free passes when the next batter, Kevin Newman, hit what appeared to be a double play ball to César Hernández. Melky Cabrera was out at second, but Rhys Hoskins dropped the throw from Jean Segura, which allowed Newman to be safe at first base and Adam Frazier to score the go-ahead run.
Read the rest of this entry »

During a limited slate of eight game, Monday could provide some clarity in the Rockies bullpen. Even though Jairo Diaz suffered his second blown save, he pitched in the ninth inning working after Carlos Estevez. Diaz recorded a strikeout of Dansby Swanson starting the ninth with a one run lead but yielded a triple to Francisco Cervelli. Billy Hamilton replaced Cervelli as a pinch runner and Diaz walked Rafael Ortega trying to set up a double play opportunity. However, a sacrifice fly by Adeiny Hechavarria tied the game. Diaz rebounded striking out Ronald Acuna to end the inning. Read the rest of this entry »

The Mets did not need a closer in Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Braves, but if they did, it would not have been Edwin Díaz. On Saturday, Díaz came in for the top of the ninth inning, one inning after Brad Brach had already allowed the Braves to unlock a 5-5 tie on Ronald Acuña Jr.‘s RBI single. He allowed the Braves to increase their lead on Freddie Freeman’s leadoff homer, and two batters later, Díaz was lifted due to tightness in his trapezius muscle. He was unavailable for Sunday’s game, and an IL stint is not off the table.

For however long Díaz is out, it is probably safe to assume that Seth Lugo would be used as the closer, Lugo already has a pair of saves in August, and he was essentially used as the closer against the Braves on Friday, when he pitched the top of the eighth and ninth innings in a tie game. Regardless of Díaz’s health status, owners — particularly those in saves-plus-holds leagues — should keep tabs on Paul Sewald. Since getting recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on Aug. 16, he has struck out 10 batters in five innings, including four batters in two innings on Sunday. Sewald did allow his first run since getting promoted, giving up Josh Donaldson’s second home run of the game.
Read the rest of this entry »

It feels like bullpens settled in over the last few days but blips always arise. There’s no impending change in Cincinnati, but it will be intriguing to see if the Reds move Raisel Iglesias in the off-season. Iglesias entered last night’s outing having converted his last nine save chances. However, a lead-off single by Colin Moran followed by consecutive hits from Jose Osuna and Adam Frazier tied the game in Pittsburgh resulting in Igelsias’ fourth blown save and first in over a month. Jacob Stallings bunted two runners into scoring position, the only out recorded by Iglesias before a walk-off single by Pablo Reyes resulted in loss number nine for Iglesias. With the Reds retooling for next year, they seem to be building a solid bullpen leading up to their closer, especially Amir Garrett and Robert Stephenson. Garrett recorded his 19th hold with a clean eighth inning striking out one. Stephenson tossed a clean seventh with a strikeout during a tied game. Over his last 11 appearances, Stephenson owns a 0.73 ERA with a 0.65 WHIP and 15:4 K:BB spanning 12.1 innings.

Pittsburgh’s Felipe Vazquez notched his fourth win in relief working a clean top of the ninth. It’s been slim pickings for Vazquez in terms of save chances since the inception of the second half, which could create a unique buying opportunity for 2020 when fantasy players focus on save totals, not performance. Focus on Vazquez’s 14 strikeouts versus two walks in 11.2 innings since the All-Star break with no earned runs and a minuscule 0.51 WHIP in them.

Perhaps turning the corner, Brad Hand snapped a personal three game skid of blown saves securing his 30th save last night. Hand yielded a lead-off single to Alex Gordon but erased him quickly inducing a double play ground ball by Cheslor Cuthbert before ending the game on a Bubba Starling ground out. More important than the save, Hand getting his outs via grounders compared to fly balls. Hand’s 41.8 fly ball percentage this year represents a career high, but any migration towards his old career 43 percent ground ball rates would be welcomed by his owners. There’s no guarantee Carlos Carrasco will even make it back to Cleveland despite all of our best wishes. First, here’s an update regarding his rehab outings going forward:

Carlos Carrasco will throw “2ish” innings for Columbus on Sunday. He’ll take a few days off, then pitch another inning, take another few days off and toss another frame after that.

Tito: “Put him in the bullpen and he has a chance to do some special things.”

— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) August 23, 2019

Second, Carrasco could figure into late inning match-up situations like Cody Allen used to share with Hand in September as covered in this link from Indians beat writer, Paul Hoynes. Stay tuned and continued prayers for Cookie in his battle with Leukemia.

A marathon in New York ended with the Braves emerging victorious after 14 innings. Mark Melancon locked down his fifth save, and fourth in a row striking out one in a scoreless appearance. Luke Jackson garnered his seventh win in relief working two scoreless frames allowing two hits with two strikeouts. Shane Greene logged his fifth straight scoreless outing with a clean eighth inning. Chris Martin pitched a scoreless ninth inning and has retired 12 of the last 13 hitters he’s faced. Seth Lugo fired two scoreless innings for the Mets in a tied game walking two and striking out four. He lowered his home ERA to 1.86 in the process. But, Lugo needed 38 pitches over his two innings so he’s likely unavailable on Saturday. This could result in a save chance for Edwin Diaz. He turned in a clean 10th inning keeping the game tied with two strikeouts and riding a four game scoreless streak. Jeurys Familia absorbed his second loss allowing two hits, an earned run and two walks with three strikeouts in the top of the 14th inning. He’s only given up five earned runs since July seventh but owns an 18:16 K:BB in this stretch, tread lightly.

Matt Magill recorded his third save with a clean ninth inning against the Blue Jays. Since he’s received each of the last four save chances for the Mariners, his shared status with Anthony Bass has been removed on the closer chart. Not sure Magill can stay hot, but since joining Seattle, his 15 strikeouts versus three walks in 12.1 innings will keep him in the ninth inning. Austin Adams will continue his rehab in the minors and could be a factor down the stretch, but his health can be fickle. Do not forget about Adams next year if he makes it back from his rehab.

Quick Hits: Aaron Slegers gets his first save working the last three innings against the Orioles. Slegers allowed three hits and an earned run, but all saves count the same in the books…Speaking of Baltimore, they placed Shawn Armstrong (right forearm strain) on the injured list to provide him with some rest. This puts Hunter Harvey even closer to a save chance and probably the last chance to stash him if desperate for a save in the Orioles bullpen…Kyle Zimmer will work exclusively from the stretch going forward. He fired two scoreless innings against Cleveland yielding a hit and walking one with two strikeouts last night…Save number 31 for Roberto Osuna working for the fourth time in the last five games. With Ryan Pressly on the injured list, Houston will likely ride Osuna hard. Monitor his workload…Jeremy Jeffress allowed an unearned run in the ninth inning. Josh Hader would have worked if the no-hitter was in play…Buck Farmer gets his 12th hold giving up two runs on a home run to Miguel Sano. Joe Jimenez coughed up a solo home run to Jake Cave in a non-save outing in the ninth…Sergio Romo allowed two urns on three hits in two-thirds of an inning…Alex Colome tossed a clean ninth inning getting in work with a strikeout…Luke Farrell fired two clean innings with two strikeouts for Texas…Miami’s not recorded a save since July 24th.

With a handful of closers unavailable to pitch, Thursday turned into Substitute Closer’s Day. The appearance by a fill-in that could signal the biggest fantasy impact was Derek Law’s foray into a save opportunity against the Dodgers. That’s because the Blue Jays’ placed Ken Giles on the paternity list prior to Thursday night’s game, and the incumbent closer could be miss the entire upcoming weekend series in Seattle. In other words, Law could have more save chances over the next three days.

Law had already filled in for Giles on a short-term basis earlier this month, when he was out with right elbow inflammation. Since returning on Aug. 13, Giles has made only three appearances, and only one of those outings was for a save opportunity. Because of Giles’ relative inactivity, we have kept Law in the grid as a co-closer, as it’s conceivable he could get saves if the Jays want to be careful with Giles’ workload.
Read the rest of this entry »

• While the Indians have been playing very well, Brad Hand has not as he struggled again last night getting his 5th blown save and 4th loss  allowing two earned to the Mets. Over his last 16.2 innings pitched, Hand has allowed 15 runs for a 8.10 ERA. The 4.83/4.35/3.61 FIP/xFIP/SIERA tell a bit of a better story than the inflated ERA but Hand is still struggling nonetheless. With that said, Terry Francona said that “we can’t run from Brad. To get where we want to go, we gotta get him hot.” So, Brad Hand’s job is still safe in spite of his struggles, and with the Indians still fighting for the division he should continue to get opportunities. If Hand has another blow up or two in his next appearances we will sound the alarm, but for now we will leave him as yellow on the grid.

Read the rest of this entry »

On Saturday, Matt Magill became eighth Mariner to record a save this season, and on Tuesday night, he joined a more selective group, becoming the fifth Mariner to record a second save. Given that the Mariners are just 53-73, have a staff with a collective 5.07 ERA that doesn’t hand off many leads in the late innings and have recorded only 26 saves on the season, we can be excused for not having much of an appetite for chasing saves in Seattle. That apathy could be compounded by Magill’s status as a 29-year-old journeyman with a history of pedestrian strikeout rates, questionable control and a propensity for allowing homers.

However, this version of Magill is not the same as the earlier one we may be more familiar with. He is throwing fewer four-seam fastballs, but he has roughly doubled his SwStr% on the pitch from 6.4 percent to 12.9 percent. Magill has also increased his curveball usage, and it’s a pitch that has been less prone to hard contact over the last two season (90.9 mph EV FB/LD) than his four-seamer has been (95.1 mph EV FB/LD). As a result, Magill has a more impressive strikeout rate (28.1 percent) and SwStr% (14.5 percent), and he also has an HR/9 ratio (1.13) that is well below the major league average.
Read the rest of this entry »

Chasing saves in Colorado could be tenuous, but avoiding Wade Davis for fantasy right now would be advisable. Davis entered a tied game on the road and promptly served up a go-ahead solo home run to Carson Kelly. He rebounded to strikeout Adam Jones then yielded a single to Jarrod Dyson, who stole second moving up on a throwing error to third. Davis also struck out Ketel Marte but a walk to Eduardo Escobar with two outs led to his exit. Jake McGee entered putting gas on the fire giving up a triple to David Peralta with two more earned runs charged to Davis’ ledger. It’s been a tough stretch for Davis allowing runs in five of his last 19 appearances, but he’s given up at least three runs in each of these occasions. Plus, Davis entered with a 0.63 ERA on the road in 14.1 innings prior to this outing which jumps to 2.40 courtesy of the last night’s results. There’s no clarity as to which Rockies reliever will get the next save chance, but:

#Rockies manager Bud Black said he's not ready to anoint the next closer, but expect to see Jairo Diaz and Carlos Esteves get chances to pitch the ninth.

— Patrick Saunders (@psaundersdp) August 19, 2019

If using August as a guide, Carlos Estevez pitched after Jairo Diaz on Saturday when trying to gauge the pecking order. However, Diaz owns the better numbers this month with a robust 13:1 K:BB, 2.16 ERA and 1.08 WHIP over 8.1 innings. As for Estevez, his 5:4 K:BB this month in six innings includes a meltdown on the third when he did not retire a batter yielding two hits along with two walks leading to two earned runs. It remains to be seen who Black will turn to, but time will tell. Archie Bradley racked up his fifth save working around a solo home run by Charlie Blackmon preserving Arizona’s win. Bradley’s been scoreless in 16 of his last 18 appearances with a 1.30 ERA over 20.2 innings with 26 strikeouts. Yoan Lopez garners his second win inducing an inning ending double play.

Extra innings before a doubleheader does not bode well for the Angels and Rangers bullpen. Cam Bedrosian suffered his third blown save allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk with a strikeout. Consecutive singles by Hunter Pence and Rougned Odor tied the game for Texas versus Bedrosian who entered unscored upon in 11 of his previous 12 outings. Hansel Robles navigated 1.1 scoreless innings giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout. Since June first, he’s recorded a 1.73 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 31.1 innings. Noe Ramirez incurs the loss serving up a walk and two hits in the bottom of the 11th resulting in his second loss. Jose LeClerc survived walking the bases loaded with two outs inducing a pop out to second base by Luis Rengifo. This marks LeClerc’s first three walk game since July 28th. He held on for his fifth straight scoreless contest, but his struggles usually include issuing free passes. Rafael Montero gets his second win logging two innings giving up two hits and two walks in them.

Save number five for Andrew Miller working 1.1 scoreless against the Brewers. Miller opted to work around Christian Yelich in the eighth inning with runners on second and third with two outs getting Mike Moustakas to ground out to second base ending the threat. Returning for the ninth inning, Miller retired all three Milwaukee hitters in a row closing out a win for St. Louis. Miller’s recorded three saves in the second half. This month, he’s allowed more walks (5) than strikeouts (4) registered. No longer a ratio protector, Miller maintains his value with ancillary save chances. Giovanny Gallegos notched his 12th hold with a scoreless inning. He did give up the only hit in the game to Yasmani Grandal, but been scoreless in 13 of 14 appearances in the second half with a 0.51 ERA and 20:5 K:BB over 17.2 innings since the break.

Holding on for his 24th save, Alex Colome yielded three hits leading to an earned run while striking out one in Minnesota. Although Colome owns a 1.37 ERA in save situations this year spanning 26.1 innings, he’s allowed runs in five of his last seven outings. He’s also given up multiple hits in three of these contests resulting in eight runs (three earned) and seven walks with nine strikeouts within this sample. Evan Marshall gets his 11th hold striking out one in a clean eighth inning. Aaron Bummer coughed up a solo home run to Jorge Polanco en route to his 17th hold allowing two hits with a strikeout.

Oakland will be adding some potential upside to its bullpen with A.J. Puk set to be activated prior to Tuesday’s game. Puk features a high-90’s fastball with a plus slider and a change-up in his arsenal. He’s allowed six runs as a reliever at Triple-A in 11 innings with 16 strikeouts against three walks. Puk recorded a 36.4 strikeout percentage while in the Pacific Coast League and could work his way into high leverage spots with a strong start. But, he’s more of a deep league target for fantasy purposes unless he can channel his inner Chris Sale from 2010 cutting his teeth in the majors as a relief pitcher for the White Sox (21 games, 23.1 IP, two wins, four saves, 34.8 strikeout percentage, 1.07 WHIP). Also of interest, Carlos Carrasco made his debut as a reliever with Double-A Akron last night:

Carlos Carrasco finishes off his inning with a strikeout and a roaring ovation. He threw 16 pitches, 9 for strikes.

0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K pic.twitter.com/FQO2RGMoRF

— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) August 20, 2019

Carrasco hit 97, 96, 96 and 96 MPH on the radar gun on his first four pitches returning from his treatments for Leukemia. Rooting hard for Carrasco not only to overcome his fight with leukemia, but to return for high leverage moments with Cleveland. With Brad Hand struggling of late, perhaps Carrasco could reprise the role of Cody Allen with Hand providing the Indians with match-up options late in games. It’s too early to predict, but not out of the realm of possibilities. Reports also indicate the Cubs will activate Steve Cishek before Tuedsay’s game having sent David Bote to Triple-A. This adds much needed length to its bullpen for the stretch run.

Quick Hits: Javy Guerra vultures the win taking over for Joe Ross in Pittsburgh. Guerra tossed 3.2 innings with a strikeout for the Nationals…Save number 22 for Ian Kennedy working around a solo home run to Rio Ruiz in the ninth. It’s his first run allowed since July 23rd snapping a seven game scoreless streak…Kirby Yates held on for his third straight save, and 36th this season. Yates allowed three hits, an earned run and hit a batter with a strikeout. He will get Tuesday off. Those chasing saves hope an Andres Munoz chance lies in the offing…Lucas Sims fired two clean innings for the Reds striking out three. He’s not given up a run in his last five contests (6.1 innings)…Roberto Osuna notched his 28th save yielding a hit with two strikeouts.

When the Rockies opened their series against the Marlins on Friday night, it was business as usual for Scott Oberg, who tossed a scoreless inning to record his fifth save of the season. On Saturday, in response to feeling heaviness in his right arm, Oberg ultimately underwent a procedure to remove a blood clot from the arm. He was placed on the IL on Sunday, and in all likelihood, he will not pitch again this season.

With Oberg out, the Rockies turned to recently deposed closer Wade Davis to finish off a game they were leading 4-3 heading into the top of the ninth inning. Davis faced three batters, but he did not retire any of them. He began by walking Jorge Alfaro and then had two runners in scoring position as a result of a Lewis Brinson double. Then Davis blew the save by allowing a Neil Walker single. Carlos Estévez took over from there, but he allowed the Marlins to tack on two more runs, which were both charged to Davis.
Read the rest of this entry »