On Friday, for the second time in 11 days, Kelvin Herrera was pulled from an existing ninth inning because of discomfort in his throwing arm. Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reported on Saturday that the Royals expect Herrera to be unavailable for at least three days because of what Dodd calls a “mild strain in the lower part of his right forearm.”

With Hererra still unavailable on Sunday, Scott Alexander struck out two in a scoreless inning (spanning the sixth and seventh), Peter Moylan retired the lone batter he faced in the seventh, Mike Minor walked two in a scoreless eighth, and Brandon Maurer worked around a leadoff two-base error and struck out one to secure his 21st save.

The Royals were blown out 17-0 on Saturday, so Sunday offered the only glimpse into their plan of attack with Herrera on the shelf. Herrera has not been very good season, so his job could be in jeopardy to some degree even if he comes back healthy in the next few days.

Alexander successfully converted the save both times Herrera had to depart mid-inning, and his numbers (2.24 ERA/3.33 FIP/3.12 xFIP) suggest he could enjoy continued success in the ninth if given the opportunity. Entering Sunday, he boasted a ridiculous 74.8 percent ground ball rate, a solid 20.5 percent strikeout rate, and an acceptable 9.6 percent walk rate in 45 appearances spanning 56.1 innings. Minor (2.86 ERA/2.71 FIP/3.60 xFIP in 66 innings) also seems like someone capable of closing out games. Read the rest of this entry »

My thoughts on four of the newest closers to be inserted into the role:

Alex Claudio
Rangers

To start with, here’s a video of Claudio throwing.

A lefty sidearmer. I’m really surprised the Rangers rolled the dice with Claudio after their previous side-arming closer, Sam Dyson, couldn’t keep the job and was eventually released.

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Another messy outing for Greg Holland on Saturday. With a three-run lead in the ninth, he allowed two singles and a home run and was pulled with one out and the Rockies clinging to a one-run lead. Jake McGee was brought in to put out the fire, and he induced a game-ending double play.

After the game, when asked if he would continue to use Holland in save situations, Bud Black said, “Possibly. But maybe not. His next outing might be a closing situation. I can’t answer that right now. We haven’t definitively made that decision.”

On Sunday, again with a three-run lead, Black elected to use McGee to start the ninth, and he delivered a one-two-three inning. This, of course, looks like trouble for Holland and his fantasy owners.

In eight appearances dating back to August 6, Holland has faced 39 batters over 6.1 innings and has allowed 14 earned runs on four homers, 13 hits, and six walks while amassing just four strikeouts. His ERA has jumped from 1.56 to 4.05 over that span, which is a good reminder about the uselessness of past ERA as a predictor of future ERA, especially for relievers who pitch over tiny samples.

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• Andrew Miller left last night’s game and his knee tendinitis seems to be acting up again, causing a quick return to the DL. Joe Smith moves up a notch to the next-in-line and Bryan Shaw makes another return to the grid.  As far as saves go, this isn’t a major move as Cody Allen has been receiving most, if not all, of the save opportunities of late. However, there aren’t many setup men better than Andrew Miller so it’s naturally a big loss for those in holds leagues, duh. As we all saw in October, Cleveland used Miller quite a bit in the playoffs and with a five game lead in the division they have no reason to rush him back. There is no real timetable on Miller’s return but I wouldn’t rely on him pitching significant innings the rest of the year as the Indians prepare for him to be at his best in October again.

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• After getting the save in yesterday’s outing, Juan Minaya followed it up with another save today for the White Sox in the first half of a double header against the Twins. Minaya has converted the last three save opportunities he’s been handed and certainly looks to be the closer.  Minaya’s triple slash line of 4.50/4.57/4.26 doesn’t look too fancy but his 3.59 SIERA and 30.5% K% paints a more palatable picture. Not many saves to be expected for the rest of the season here, but I’m upgrading Minaya to yellow.

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Another busy weekend for bullpen activity around the major leagues. We’ll start with a few notes from Saturday:

• Yankees manager Joe Girardi announced on Saturday that Aroldis Chapman was removed from the closer role. Dellin Betances got save later that night, striking out two in a perfect inning. It’s been well documented that something doesn’t look right with Chapman this season, especially lately, and thankfully for the Yankees Betances is more than capable of filling in for the remainder of the season if need be. Despite struggling with command more than usual this season, Betances has an outstanding 40.5 percent strikeout rate, and he’s allowed just one home run this year in 47 innings. He’s been an superb reliever in his career, and this year doesn’t look very different except for the uptick in walks. Girardi didn’t “officially” name Betances the closer just yet (in fact, he said that David Robertson was also in the mix), but Betances should be the heavy favorite. Chapman pitched in the sixth and seventh on Sunday, allowing one walk and striking out two.

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• With Tyler Clippard moving to Houston the White Sox bullpen is a bit of a mess. Juan Minaya, Jake Petricka and Gregory Infante could all see the ninth but I’m going to roll out Juan Minaya to start. As of now we haven’t quite heard enough out of White Sox camp to make an exact call but Minaya is probably the best of the bunch. In 27.1 innings pitched Minaya has a 6.61/4.31/3.94 ERA/FIP/xFIP line but also has a 3.26 SIERA and a 31.9% K% and 10.6% BB%. You would like to see fewer walks but beggars can’t quite be choosers. Petricka and Infante aren’t particularly exciting or even usable for that matter in fantasy and I would look to grab Minaya first.

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The Twins blew an 11-6 seventh-inning lead on Saturday. Their new (interim?) closer Matt Belisle relieved Trevor Hildenberger in eighth after Hildenberger allowed a two-run homer with two outs. Belisle got a strikeout to end the inning, but then allowed a leadoff single and a walk-off home run to Justin Upton in the ninth.

The next day, Hildenberger was summoned with two outs in the eighth to face Upton, who represented the tying run. He struck him out on three pitches, then came back out for the bottom of the ninth. He remained very sharp as he struck out two and induced two weak ground balls for his first career save.

The strong appearance, coupled with Belisle’s struggles in the ninth on Saturday, mean that Hildenberger could seize the closer’s role and run with it. His numbers in his brief major league career are impressive: in 23 innings this year, Hildenberger has a 26.8 percent strikeout rate, a 3.1 percent walk rate, and a 58.5 percent ground ball rate. He has a 3.13 ERA/2.79 FIP/2.67 xFIP. He’s allowed just two home runs. He seems more than capable of handling the closer’s role, and he’s probably worth grabbing in all formats before he successfully converts a few more save chances and gains national attention. It’s worth noting that Glen Perkins is expected to return from the disabled list sometime this week, and his presence may further complicate the outlook for Belisle and Hildenberger. Read the rest of this entry »

• Roberto Osuna has had a rough end of July into early August having allowed 9 earned runs in his previous five appearances but he threw a perfect ninth for his 29th save tonight. A slew of bad outings raised Osuna’s ERA which now stands at 3.40 but he still supports a 1.44/2.54 FIP/xFIP and a 2.04 SIERA proving he remains an elite option. Osuna has been an above average closer since he came onto the scene at age 20 and a few years later at age 22 he’s one of the best. He upped his Swinging Strike rate to 18.8% this year which ranks second among all qualified relievers, only trailing Craig Kimbrel and those swings and misses has led Osuna to a career high 35.4% K%. Given his ridiculously young age we expected Osuna could take the leap this year and he’s done exactly that. The Blue Jays might not offer the same amount of opportunities moving forward as a Kimbrel or Kenley Jansen but in 2018 and beyond, that’s the company he will keep.

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As usual, not a full slate of games on Monday but a few things to note…

• After throwing two scoreless innings last night, Trevor Hildenberger was back again tonight getting the first two outs in the seventh inning. Ryan Pressley threw a scoreless eighth, handing the ball off to Matt Belisle. Belisle converted his first opportunity last night and continued operating as the Twins closer tonight as he secured his second save of the year and it sure looks like Belisle is the man to own for saves in Minnesota. He’s not a sexy name but he hasn’t allowed an earned run since June and in his last 22.2 innings, he’s only allowed the one earned run with 19 strikeouts against 5 walks. Hildenberger is still the exciting name to own and probably the best option in the pen but given the recent usage, I’m putting moving this situation to yellow.

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