Scheming For Relief: Delabar, Soria and Siegrist

Back at it with another edition of “Scheming For Relief” after a well-deserved two-week vacation. I apologize to the middle relief “die-hards” out there for the absence of this piece over that time, but I know my colleague Ben at the Bullpen Report kept y’all up to speed nicely.

This week I went an arm on the rise, an arm on the mend and an unowned arm. While the first is likely owned in holds leagues, he’s on the verge of being owned in all formats. The other two, well, read for yourself and hope it helps! Cheers!

All ownership percentages reflect Yahoo! leagues.

Steve Delabar | Blue Jays | 3%

Over the past two weeks, Steve Delabar owns a 0.00 ERA with three holds and a league-best 14 strikeouts among relievers. On the season the Blue Jay boasts a 30% K% and a 13.6% BB%, but his numbers against the most recent 28 batters he’s faced are far superior: 50% K% and 10.7 BB%. The right-hander is inducing swinging strikes at an 18.1% clip over that time frame, up from 13.9% SwStr% on the year and 15% SwStr% for his career. It appears as if he’s been using his slider a tad less and relying on the splitter a bit more as of late, which could be one cause for the jump in missed bats. At any rate, Delabar is moving from the “should be owned in holds leagues” classification to the “useful middle reliever in all formats” category for those in need of steady whiffs, ratios and the occasional scab win. If your WHIP is a major concern, keep an eye on the 29-year-old’s walks to make sure the recent improvement isn’t just a mirage.

Joakim Soria | Rangers | 1%

Soria notched 160 saves during his tenure in Kansas City, but fell victim to the torn ulnar collateral ligament and underwent Tommy John surgery to correct said injury. But after suffering a short setback due to an injury unrelated to the elbow, Soria appears to be headed to Double-A Frisco to begin a rehab assignment this evening. A successful assignment could lead Soria to the Majors sometime in July, so if you’re digging for holds in deeper leagues, Soria makes for a fair target. Ron Washington seems to have his path to Joe Nathan mapped out nicely, with Robbie Ross and Tanner Scheppers paving the way for the closer, however, “the Mexicutioner” should work his way into the mix at some point in the near future. Add him now in relative formats if you’re speculating for holds and have a DL spot to spare.

Kevin Siegrist | Cardinals | 0%

In deeper leagues that roster middle relievers, Kevin Siegrist could be a sneaky add for those in need of whiffs, ratios and the occasional hold. The 23-year-old southpaw put forth fine efforts in 18 appearances between Double and Triple-A this season, posting a 47.3% and 30% K% at each level respectively. The lanky lefty maintained a BB% of 10% or better at each level — which we’d like to see improve — but his FIP hovered around the 2.00 mark in just under 30 frames on the farm, which appears to be more than manageable. Since being recalled, Siegrist has been stellar in his six appearances (6.2 IP) with a 43.5% K% and a 0.00 ERA (0.95 FIP). The Cardinals’ late-inning road to Edward Mujica seems to be pretty clear so Siegrist may not get a ton of holds, but like I said earlier, the young lefty could aid your whiffs and ratios if you need a boost in those categories.