A belated bullpen report, with notes from Saturday and a few quick hits from the early games today.

• It’s been a rough return for Craig Kimbrel who gave up a homer in his return from the IL on Thursday and then blew the save last night to the Cardinals after allowing home runs to Yadier Molina and Paul Dejong. Kimbrel was on the IL with right elbow inflammation and although his velocity in his most recent outings has been on par with this season (~96 mph) it’s still a tick lower than his previous years. Kimbrel should be able to succeed with that velo but while we gave a pass of sorts earlier on since he didn’t have a full spring training, it’s more likely that Kimbrel will have to adjust with a slight loss rather than expect a return. Joe Maddon said he is worried about Kimbrel’s confidence but when asked if he would turn to Kimbrel again Maddon said “I want to continue to do so.”  The Cubs season is on the brink with little time left but it seems as though Kimbrel will continue to be their main option as save opportunities arise in the final games.

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• After a string of scoreless appearances, Kenley Jansen struggled again last night allowing three baserunners and two runs for his 8th blown save this season. Jansen’s seasonal line (3.81/3.57/3.71/3.19 ERA/FIP/xFIP/SIERA) isn’t particularly bad but it’s far from the relief ace we have grown accustomed too and since July 16th, Jansen has a 5.23 ERA and 3.78 SIERA. Jansen’s job is secure but I’d be more concerned about his status next year. Jansen has a recent history of early season struggles and velocity concerns, and while he has mostly put those in the rear view mirror, if he continues this trend with slightly diminished stuff next year, he may not make it to May as a closer.

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After the shocking news broke of Felipe Vazquez’s arrest, Pirates saves will be earned by someone else in the bullpen over the final week and a half of the season. Fantasy owners don’t even have to play in deep leagues to speculate here, but luckily, all the candidates are lightly owned.

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Yesterday, I discussed the idea of picking up current dominant relievers in your keeper league who could potentially close next year. Cheap closers are gold in mono leagues, especially if they could hold onto the role all season. Now we’ll flip to the guys who could join the starting rotation next season, but aren’t currently. These are all young pitchers who have posted at least a 25% strikeout rate. The idea here is if you’re in a keeper league, you could pick up these pitchers, some of which have little current season value, for cheap and potentially end up with a starting pitcher heading into the season with solid upside.

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If you’re in a keeper league who could potentially keep players picked up through the end of the season, or just enjoy discovering the newest crop of relievers with eye-popping strikeout rates, let’s discuss some possible future closers. I’m basically filtering for non-closer relievers with elite strikeout rates and not-terrible walk rates, suggesting they could become dominant closers in the future, or at the very least, earn some positive value in deeper mixed or mono leagues from their strikeouts and strong ratios alone.

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• James Karinchak, the newly called up reliever on the Indians with the fabulous strikeout rates made his seasonal debut last night against the Twins in a low leverage situation down in the 9th and he didn’t disappoint getting four outs with three via strikeout. In 27.1 IP across AA and AAA this year, Karinchak struck out an incredible 64 batters, and yes, you are reading that correctly. While I don’t expect Karinchak to post a K% near 60% in the majors, he will undoubtedly pile on the strikeouts and could find himself in high leverage work in Cleveland. Brad Hand has a long leash but he has had a few warts this season and while Tyler Clippard and Nick Goody have been pretty solid, they don’t have the ceiling as someone with Karinchak’s arsenal. If Karinchak is throwing multi-inning mini-Hader outings in the 7th and 8th innings in close games, I wouldn’t be shocked.

• Elsewhere in the Twins and Indians double header, Taylor Rogers was called on for a five-out save and struck out four batters en route to his 26th save. Rogers started out the season as a low key relief ace and he has since forced himself as a main part of the discussion. Although he’s a lefty, Rogers has become a shutdown reliever who can go multi-innings if need be and now sits at a 2.64 SIERA and 28.6% K-BB% which ranks 10th and 11th among qualified relievers in the MLB this year. Rogers should enter next season as the Twins closer and a top 10 option off the board. In the second game of the double header, there was no save situation but top pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol pitched two perfect frames with three strikeouts and received the first win of his career. Graterol has filthy stuff and could be a compelling end of season relief option for strikeouts before likely seeing more of the rotation next season.

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• Brad Hand wasn’t available to pitch last night with an arm injury that demanded a MRI which thankfully came back clean but it might be several days until Hand is back in his familiar role in the 9th. A save situation arrived for the Indians last night though and they went with a three-headed committee with Nick Wittgren, Oliver Perez, and Adam Cimber each recording an out in the 9th. Although Hand hasn’t been too dominant of late and is dealing with an injury, he’s still their closer. In his place while he gets back should be a committee of the aforementioned along with Tyler Clippard and Nick Goody who pitched in the 7th and 8th innings respectively last night.

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• With Emilio Pagan pitching in back to back games, the Rays went with Oliver Drake for the 9th inning last night, who secured his second save of the season. Nick Anderson pitched in the 8th inning in a tie game and remains the obvious second in line, and received the win last night for the Rays.  After his scoreless inning last night, Anderson has now thrown 14 innings for the Rays with a 27 strikeouts against…zero walks. On the year, Anderson has a somewhat inflated ERA of  3.12 but an incredible 2.27 SIERA and 34.3% K-BB%.  After a season of committees the order of operations in Tampa is pretty secure with Anderson –> Pagan with Colin Poche, and Oliver Drake behind them along with Diego Castillo when he’s not being used as the opener.

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• 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.

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• 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.

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