NEW FEATURE ALERT! We have added an upgraded version of RosterResource’s Closer Depth Chart to FanGraphs. Read more about it here.

We will always include a link to the full Closer Depth Chart at the bottom of the Bullpen Report each day. It’s also accessible from the RosterResource drop-down menu and from any RosterResource page. Please let us know what you think.

The 2021 version of Bullpen Report includes five different sections, as well as the closer chart, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

1. Notable Workloads: Primary closers or valuable members of a closer committee who have been deemed unavailable or likely unavailable for the current day due to recent workload.
2. Injury News 
3. Outlier Saves: Explanation for a non-closer earning a save during the previous day.
4. Committee Clarity: Notes on a closer committee that clarify a pitcher’s standing in the group.
5. Losing A Grip: Struggling closers who could be on the hot seat.

The “RosterResource” link will take you to the corresponding team’s RosterResource depth chart, which will give you a better picture of the full bullpen and results of the previous six days (pitch count, save, hold, win, loss, blown save.)
Read the rest of this entry »

It is getting ugly out on the wire trying to find any servicable roster help. Injuries, moving to and from the alternate site, and platoons make it hard to locate regular contributors, let alone ones that are good baseball players. For those managers in deeper leagues, their rosters may be set for a while until some minor leaguers begin to be promoted.

In the following article, I’m going to at least cover the players in demand using CBS’s (40% or less initial roster rate) and Yahoo’s ADD/DROP rates. Both hosting sites have the option for daily and weekly waiver wire adds. CBS uses a weekly change while Yahoo looks at the last 24 hours. Yahoo is a great snapshot of right now while CBS ensures hot targets from early in the week aren’t missed. The players are ordered for redraft leagues by my rest-of-season preference grouped by starters, relievers, and hitters. Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone liked last week’s new format, so I’ll keep it going into the season.

American League

Angels

• Consistent.

• David Fletcher has led off every game this year.

• For the time being, Chris Rodriguez will remain in the bullpen.

With his success in long relief, it’s fair to wonder if it would make sense to move Rodriguez to the rotation at some point this season. But considering Rodriguez entered the season having thrown just 9 1/3 innings in the Minors since 2017 due of back issues, the Angels would rather keep him in the bullpen to monitor his innings.

Maddon, however, wouldn’t rule out a move to the rotation in the future.

“He can do either thing, but right now, we’re set at the back end [of the rotation],” Maddon said. “Making him a starter right now would be difficult. He hasn’t pitched a lot of innings. It’s almost like you’d have to build him up three years somehow.

Read the rest of this entry »

NEW FEATURE ALERT! We have added an upgraded version of RosterResource’s Closer Depth Chart to FanGraphs. Read more about it here.

We will always include a link to the full Closer Depth Chart at the bottom of the Bullpen Report each day. It’s also accessible from the RosterResource drop-down menu and from any RosterResource page. Please let us know what you think.

The 2021 version of Bullpen Report includes five different sections, as well as the closer chart, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

1. Notable Workloads: Primary closers or valuable members of a closer committee who have been deemed unavailable or likely unavailable for the current day due to recent workload.
2. Injury News 
3. Outlier Saves: Explanation for a non-closer earning a save during the previous day.
4. Committee Clarity: Notes on a closer committee that clarify a pitcher’s standing in the group.
5. Losing A Grip: Struggling closers who could be on the hot seat.

The “RosterResource” link will take you to the corresponding team’s RosterResource depth chart, which will give you a better picture of the full bullpen and results of the previous six days (pitch count, save, hold, win, loss, blown save.)
Read the rest of this entry »

Most platforms have a feature where you can click something by the player’s name to put them on a virtual watchlist. It is smart to use this feature before the season starts because once it starts you be sorting by stats and you could miss out on someone you really want about to get a new role because you sorted by PA and he just didn’t show very high.

• Previous Watchlists

Last week I said when Jesús Aguilar “starts to hit homers, he will be an all-formats play for sure” and he promptly reeled off five dingers in his next six games, taking his OPS from .739 to .921 in the process.

SHALLOW LEAGUES (mixed leagues – 10 or fewer teams)

Tyler O’Neill | OF, STL

On fire since returning from the IL, O’Neill is a power/speed profile whose lofty strikeout rate (39% this year; 35% career) often curbs his overall fantasy viability. He had just a .143/.172/.286 line in eight games before hitting the IL but has surged with a .273/.304/.682 line in seven games since his groin injury healed.

He has 3 HR and 1 SB over that time (23 PA), though his palatable 26% K rate might be the most important number behind this run. He will likely never be an AVG asset because of his swing-and-miss tendencies, but if he can get back to last year’s 27% K/10% BB then we could finally see a true breakout (something like a .245 AVG with 30 HR and 15 SB).

Read the rest of this entry »

NEW FEATURE ALERT! We have added an upgraded version of RosterResource’s Closer Depth Chart to FanGraphs. Read more about it here.

We will always include a link to the full Closer Depth Chart at the bottom of the Bullpen Report each day. It’s also accessible from the RosterResource drop-down menu and from any RosterResource page. Please let us know what you think.

The 2021 version of Bullpen Report includes five different sections, as well as the closer chart, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

1. Notable Workloads: Primary closers or valuable members of a closer committee who have been deemed unavailable or likely unavailable for the current day due to recent workload.
2. Injury News 
3. Outlier Saves: Explanation for a non-closer earning a save during the previous day.
4. Committee Clarity: Notes on a closer committee that clarify a pitcher’s standing in the group.
5. Losing A Grip: Struggling closers who could be on the hot seat.

The “RosterResource” link will take you to the corresponding team’s RosterResource depth chart, which will give you a better picture of the full bullpen and results of the previous six days (pitch count, save, hold, win, loss, blown save.)
Read the rest of this entry »

4/29/21

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live. Support the show by subscribing to our Patreon!!

Follow us on Twitter

• @sporer – Host
• @justinmasonfwfb – Co-Host/Producer

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES/RUMORS

• Jazz Chisholm to IL (1:32)
• Marco Gonzales to IL (6:36)
• Ryan Weathers leaves early w/joint inflammation (9:55)
• Rowdy Tellez sent down (12:26)
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s surge (17:35)

Read the rest of this entry »

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A while back, I investigated how a varied pitch mix helps produce weak contact. At the time, I wondered if varying pitch location would be a benefit for the pitcher. After a first stab at the data, the answer is somewhere between no and just not known.

The theory goes that a hitter would have a tough time squaring up a ball as it gets located in different parts of the strike zone. The results could even be more swing-and-miss. With this focus, I just dove in to see what stuck.

The first hurdle was finding a way to measure pitch location variation. I ended up using nine zones with nearly the same number of pitches in each zone. Deciding on just nine zone drives the rest of the results. Should there be more? Fewer? Some removed? If/when I reexamine the data, I’ll start here with some adjustments.
Read the rest of this entry »

There have been some really exciting starts from young pitchers so far this season. On Sunday, Michael Kopech pitched five innings, faced 18 batters, and struck out 10 of them. When I saw that he was starting in place of Lucas Giolito on Sunday morning, I totally rolled the dice and got lucky. Adding a young pitcher who I’ve been rooting for over the past few years and it paying off was great. But, I’ll admit, it made me feel a little empty inside.

As I stared at the tv and excitedly encouraged whiff after whiff I slowly began to realize that a win wasn’t going to be possible. I knew Kopech would be on a pitch count and I knew he wasn’t going to suddenly become a rotation mainstay, but I went for it anyway, dropping a set-up reliever in order to gain some strikeouts. I felt oh-so-sad when Tony La Russa effectively looked into the camera and told me not to get used to it. Monday morning had me reflecting, was it worth it? Which is better to roster, low-pitch count starters like Kopech or middle/set-up relievers?

Read the rest of this entry »

NEW FEATURE ALERT! We have added an upgraded version of RosterResource’s Closer Depth Chart to FanGraphs. Read more about it here.

We will always include a link to the full Closer Depth Chart at the bottom of the Bullpen Report each day. It’s also accessible from the RosterResource drop-down menu and from any RosterResource page. Please let us know what you think.

The 2021 version of Bullpen Report includes five different sections, as well as the closer chart, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

1. Notable Workloads: Primary closers or valuable members of a closer committee who have been deemed unavailable or likely unavailable for the current day due to recent workload.
2. Injury News 
3. Outlier Saves: Explanation for a non-closer earning a save during the previous day.
4. Committee Clarity: Notes on a closer committee that clarify a pitcher’s standing in the group.
5. Losing A Grip: Struggling closers who could be on the hot seat.

The “RosterResource” link will take you to the corresponding team’s RosterResource depth chart, which will give you a better picture of the full bullpen and results of the previous six days (pitch count, save, hold, win, loss, blown save.)
Read the rest of this entry »