Hidden Holds: Lindblom, Padilla, Choate
With 13 holds, Josh Lindbolm has the third highest total in all of baseball. This past year, Lindblom was rated the fourth best prospect in the Dodger’s system by Marc Hulet (8th by Baseball America), so the talent in the arm is certainly there. He has a big ERA-FIP split, as his 2.51 ERA is nearly half of his 4.98 FIP. Both numbers should begin to converge, as his HR/FB% will likely not remain at 18.2%. Lindblom has a nice fastball and slider mix, with both his four-seamer and two-seamer sitting in the low 90’s. A guy like Lindblom can help right now in a holds league and should be in the set up role for the next number of years. In dynasty or deep keeper leagues with high keeper totals that use holds, Lindblom is definitely an attractive target.
Choate’s 11 holds in 17.1 innings is very nice, specifically in a league with an innings cap that counts holds. Ottoneu is a league where Choate’s services can benefit most, as his WHIP sits under 1.00 and his hold total adds substantial value from what is more-or-less a LOOGY. In ERA leagues that use holds, Choate is also great as his 0.52 ERA tremendous. He has an ERA below 1.30 over the past two years, though he as totaled just 42 innings in 83 games over that span. Again, innings limit leagues is where Choate’s value is highest, but he can still be useful in other types of holds leagues.
Vincente Padilla
The Red Sox bullpen looks pretty odd at this point, but Vincente Padilla has taken to his new role as set up man with great success. He has 9 shutdowns to 4 meltdowns, which isn’t a great ratio but is certainly a serviceable one. His first 7.1 innings were pretty terrible in terms of runs allowed, as he had a 9.82 ERA in his first five appearances, but in his last 15.2 innings he has a 2.30 ERA with 12 strikeouts and four walks. Over that span, he has 13 holds, which is the third highest total in the league. Padilla may not be the David Robertson or Jonny Venters-esque set-up man of the past few seasons, but he has produced well in the role and has helped solidify Boston’s bullpen, who greatly needed it when he was put into the set up role.
Ben has been at RotoGraphs since 2012 and focuses most of his fantasy baseball attention toward dynasty and keeper leagues.
I don’t know, I hate to be the guy who complains about free fantasy advice, but … these guys are all in the top-10 in holds this year. They’re owned in any holds league, with the exception perhaps of Padilla because he’s not a very good pitcher who won’t make your fantasy baseball team better.
What about Greg Holland and Kelvin Herrera? Looks like Holland has overtaken the 8th there, and he may still be available.