Archive for Closers

• As Dave Cameron predicted, Danny Farquhar has regressed and he’s now yet to allow a run in his last eight appearances, including tonight’s scoreless inning for his third save. Farquhar’s 4.95 ERA is certainly misleading as his 1.88 FIP and 2.04 xFIP paint a different picture. Although he’s barely warmed his closer’s seat, I’m going to go out on a limb and change the Mariners to yellow. Farquhar doesn’t have much of a track record in the majors but he has shown some great skills (13.62 K/9) and has done an admirable job in place of Tom Wilhelmsen. Also, considering Wilhelmsen is getting stretched out  to pitch in the rotation, I like Faruhar’s chances of holding onto the job over Yoervis Medina and Oliver Perez.

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• Bobby Parnell and his ailing neck have been placed on the 15-day DL. It was initially not expected to be too serious, but at the moment there isn’t necessarily a timeline for Parnell’s return and surgery remains an option as well. As we mentioned last night, David Aardsma and LaTroy Hawkins are expected to get looks for saves as the Mets mix and match at closer. After Aardsma blew the Mets last save chance, Hawkins was called on for the save tonight and he delivered, pitching around two hits for his first save of the year.  Hawkins hasn’t been anointed closer but expect him to receive the next opportunities until he gives the Mets a reason to make a change.

If the Mets are to mix and match,  the matchup may dictate a Scott Rice opportunity in the ninth. Rice walks way too many batters (5.18 BB/9) but he kills worms at a fantastic rate (58.6% ground ball rate) and he holds lefties to a .222 wOBA. That number rises to an absurd .418 wOBA against right handed hitters making the chances of Rice seeing extended time at closer likely nil (especially if Hawkins keeps converting his chances) but Parnell’s injury certainly makes Rice an intriguing saves + holds option in deep or NL-Only leagues.

• With Tom Wilhelmsen sent to the minors, Carter Capps is coming to Seattle. Capps was a sneaky preseason pick for saves in but the season hasn’t quite gone according to plan as a 6.37 ERA in 35.1 innings brought him a ticket to Tacoma. Capps’ 6.37 ERA is quite unsightly but with a .388 BABIP and 19.6% HR/FB his 3.56 xFIP illustrates he wasn’t pitching quite that terribly. Capps allowed only two earned runs in 11 innings in AAA but actually had worse ratios there than he did struggling in the majors. Capps is currently low on the Mariners bullpen totem pole but he certainly has a chance to make some noise and pitch in more higher leverage innings.

• Josh Fields hasn’t had much success at the major league level thus far in his career, but he looked quite impressive last night recording his first save of the year for Houston. The Astros’ closer situation is very fluid right now  but striking out all four batters you see for the save is a good way to receive the next opportunity. Josh Fields is likely the man right now but Jose Cisnero is still lurking behind.

• Not a bad evening for the back of the Braves bullpen. Jordan Walden and Craig Kimbrel each tossed a perfect inning while striking out the side. Even without Johnny Venters the Braves pen has remained top notch with the best bullpen ERA in baseball (2.41).

Closer Grid:

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

• The Biogenesis fallout today didn’t have too much of an effect on the Bullpen Report but it did snag one victim of note, Philadelphia Phillies lefty and set up man Antonio Bastardo.  Bastardo wasn’t in the initial Biogenesis rumors but he was handed a 50 game suspension today, effectively ending his season. Bastardo was gaining some traction as Papelbon has been more pedestrian this year but any hopes of him sneaking saves for the Phillies will have to wait until 2014 now.

It’s slim pickings as far as Bastardo’s replacements are concerned but one name to keep an eye on is fellow lefty Jake Diekman. Diekman’s numbers (3.72/4.13 FIP/xFIP; 7.11 K/9) aren’t great, but as a lefty in the late innings for Philly, he could be in line for a holds boost.

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• “I wish they all could be California girls beards.” The Beard returns, this time to LA as Brian Wilson signed with the Dodgers today. The deal is worth $1 million with incentives. Wilson will start in the minors but should be in LA by mid-August, at which point he should be used as a righty in late innings, setting the table for Kenley Jansen. I’m not sure what to expect from Wilson but the Dodgers weren’t the only interested team, so he certainly showed something enticing during his throwing sessions. We’ll have to see how Wilson looks like before making any conclusions but Wilson certainly has a good chance of pitching in big spots in LA and should be monitored by those in hold leagues. And if it doesn’t work out, I guess Wilson just wasn’t meant for these times.

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• By now you have heard the news, Jose Veras has been shipped out of Houson to Detroit. Veras was closing games for the Astros but in Detroit he will be relegated to setup duty as Joaquin Benoit will continue to pitch in the ninth, something he’s done quite well going 10/10 on save opportunities. When Benoit needs a break, I’d put Veras second in the pecking order ahead of Drew Smyly. Smyly has been the better pitcher this year and even  fares well against opposite handed hitters with a .281 wOBA against right-handed batters this year. However, Veras comes with the Closer Experience™ label that  Jim Leyland seems to prefer, and this could also allow Smyly to throw multiple innings on occasion.

As far as the Astros side is concerned, Mike Petriello had a great breakdown on what Houston’s bullpen will look like following the trade. I also agree with Mike that Jose Cisnero will take over the ninth in Houston and rather than echo all of his points, I suggest you read his take. Setting up Cisnero should be lefty Wesley Wright who has a pretty solid 3.55 xFIP on the year, but has struggled against right-handed batters his whole career (.369 wOBA against righties in 126.1 IP). Placing whoever is behind Wright might be anyone’s guess at the moment. Previously I might have said Hector Ambriz but he was sent to AAA today with Josh Zeid and Chia-Jen Lo getting the promotion to Houston. Although he just got the call, with names like Travis Blackley, Brett Oberholtzer and Josh Fields my money is on Josh Fields seeing some of the more higher leverage innings that are left. Acquired from Philadelphia in the Hunter Pence trade, Fields is a tall right-hander with some swing and miss stuff (10.92 K/9 in AAA this year), the Astros should be curious to see what he has.

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When you’re a team that’s going absolutely nowhere in 2013 like the Houston Astros, this is exactly how it’s supposed to work. You pick up a decently effective reliever like Jose Veras on a reasonably-priced contract, you let him inflate his value by making him your Capital-C Closer, and then you trade him to a contender for a potentially useful prospect.

Yet while most of the baseball world will focus on what Veras can do to help the Detroit Tigers get to October, his departure creates a hole in the Houston bullpen. There’s suddenly a hole at closer for the Astros, and that means that fantasy owners have the rare opportunity to pick up free saves off the waiver wire. With apologies to Wesley Wright, who has pretty harsh platoon splits and might be on his way out the door as well, that man is likely to be Jose Cisnero. Who is he, and is he likely to be valuable in any way other than saves? Read the rest of this entry »

The Pittsburgh Pirates have gone all in on Mark Melancon’s rebound. After a disastrous season with the Boston Red Sox, Melancon has returned to form. With Jason Grilli currently on the disabled list with a forearm injury, Melancon will be relied upon as the team’s closer. Due to Melancon’s failures last season, he developed a reputation as a pitcher who can’t handle pressure-packed situations. He should have no trouble dispelling that notion this season.

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• We still don’t know the extent of Jason Grilli’s injury and even though some of the early signs have been encouraging, he’s been placed on the 15-day DL. As we mentioned last night, Mark Melancon will take over as closer and it should be fun to watch Melancon take his 0.95/1.78/2.21 ERA/FIP/xFIP line from the eighth inning to the ninth. I’ve long agreed with Aaron Gleeman’s premise that “closing is a rollrole, not a skill” and Melancon owners should fully expect him to continue his great season just with saves instead of holds. As we find out more information on how much time Grilli is expected to miss we will be sure to inform you here. In the meantime, Melancon pitched a scoreless ninth today, something we might be saying a few more times here on out.

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Apologies for interrupting your Ryan Braun coverage but here is tonight’s Bullpen Report.

• In the midst of one of the worst outings of the season, Jason Grilli had to exit tonight’s game with his pitching arm in pain. Grilli certainly looked uncomfortable and left the game without even throwing a warm up/test pitch. We don’t know of any specifics as to the severity of the injury at the moment, but for the sake of all Pirates fans and Grilli owners, let’s hope it’s nothing major. Fellow all-star Mark Melancon should fill in if Grilli were to miss time. With a 0.97/1.75/2.20 ERA/FIP/xFIP line, Melancon should make for a solid option and should be picked up immediately in most, if not all, leagues.

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Time to rank the closers!

Again, we’re going to the bullpen report guys to do the rankings — Alan Harrison, Ben Pasinkoff and Colin Zarzycki at your service.

Take a good look now, because any minute now things might change. The Brewers, Phillies, Mets, Astros, Marlins, Cubs, and Padres all look like they could sell a bullpen piece. Problem is, there are fewer identifiable buyers with that need. Detroit is obvious. Maybe the Braves could use a lefty. Maybe the Orioles would buy a closer. Maybe the Dodgers would trade for a reliever, Ned Colletti is crazy like that.

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