Archive for Bullpen Report

With Steve Cishek going on the 10-day IL with hip inflammation on Saturday, the Cubs are without four of the relievers in the back end of their bullpen. Kyle Ryan has been on the bereavement list since Friday, and Craig Kimbrel (knee) and Brandon Kintzler (pectoral) are both on the IL. However both Kimbrel and Kintzler could be back by this weekend.

In the meantime, who’s left to get saves? Pedro Strop, who served in the role before the Kimbrel came on board, pitched a scoreless ninth inning against the Reds with a 6-3 lead on Sunday, picking up his 10th save. David Phelps, who recorded the Cubs’ previous save on Aug. 5, got the win in this contest, as his 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth inning preceded Kris Bryant’s go-ahead three-run homer in the top of the seventh. Sandwiched in between Phelps and Strop was Rowan Wick, who got his second hold as a result of pitching two scoreless innings. It would seem that any of the three could collect saves this week, as well as Ryan, who will be eligible to return on Monday.
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As the Wild Card standings and divisional races take shape, it’s obvious bullpens will play a part in the final outcomes. A wild night in the National League East featured one save conversion, an implosion in New York and a change in who closes in Atlanta. It’s been a rough transition for Shane Greene and Chris Martin since arriving with their new team. Martin allowed two hits, three earned runs and a walk with one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning in Miami. Shane Greene did record his first hold with the Braves but let an inherited runner from Martin score on a single by Starlin Castro in the bottom of the eighth inning. Bouncing back to strikeout Lewis Brinson, Greene left with his team still ahead by four runs. Mark Melancon pitched the ninth giving up a lead-off single to Jorge Alfaro then striking out two before inducing a game ending ground out to shortstop. However, it’s the post-game quotes by manager Brian Snitker which grabs the attention of those still chasing saves: Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday night’s schedule consisted of only eight games, and even for a small slate, there weren’t many high leverage situations to speak of. It was a big night, however, for some long relievers, so let’s check in on them and what they might have to offer us in fantasy.

Luis Cessa was one of only three relievers to notch a save on Thursday night, but his required him to pitch the final three innings of the Yankees’ 12-6 win over the Blue Jays. The 27-year-old righty has had issues with the long ball, and the one run he allowed was a Reese McGuire solo home run — the 11th homer he has allowed over 58.1 innings. He also tallied five strikeouts, giving him 61 on the season, which is as many as Ken Giles has and more than either Kenley Jansen or Sean Doolittle has. It was Cessa’s first save of the season, so he is nowhere close to Giles, Jansen or Doolittle in value, but in deeper formats,  you may not be able to find a reliever who can help more with strikeouts.
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Tuesday night’s game in Cleveland was rained out, but the visiting Rangers generated one of the bigger stories regarding closers. Chris Woodward told Levi Weaver of The Athletic that José Leclerc would continue to be the team’s closer, even after Shawn Kelley’s (biceps) activation from the IL. Kelley was officially activated on Wednesday morning, and he will join the Rangers’ cadre of setup relievers, which also includes Jesse Chavez, Rafael Montero and the recently-promoted Emmanuel Clase.

Aside from a pair of subpar performances last week, Leclerc has been generally solid over the past month, as he did not allow a run in any of his 10 other appearances. In those outings, he struck out 10 batters over 8.2 innings with no walks and two hits allowed. However, Leclerc also compiled a 35.3 percent Zone% and a 29.3 percent O-Swing% over the entire one-month stretch, so walks could still be an issue going forward.
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It’s been a rough ride recently for the Cubs in regards to injuries. Craig Kimbrel landed on the 10-day injured list with right knee inflammation backdated to August fourth throwing the high leverage innings in flux. It seemed like Steve Cishek and his seven saves this year could be primed to close in the interim, but his usage on Monday night, nor performance, does not indicate he’s atop the bullpen hierarchy. Cishek entered with a four run lead in the top of the eighth inning serving up a lead-off double to Jurickson Profar before recording a strikeout of Chris Herrmann. Pinch-hitter Nick Martini hit a two-run home run off Cishek followed by a solo-home run by Marcus Semien. Cishek issued a walk to Robbie Grossman before being lifted. Read the rest of this entry »

The Mets were hardly in need of a closer during Sunday’s 13-2 win over the Pirates, but on a day full of reliever drama, they were the biggest story in terms of closer news. After Sunday’s game, Mickey Callaway said to reporters, “I don’t think we can lock ourselves into one thing,” and in this context, the “thing” was the team’s closer. The incumbent, Edwin Díaz, has allowed at least one run in each of his last four appearances, so that has opened the door for the primary setup reliever, Seth Lugo, to at least enter the saves mix. For now, Díaz and Lugo are listed in the closer grid as co-closers with Lugo designated in the lead role.

While Díaz — one of last season’s elite closers — has had his ups-and-downs throughout the season, two of this season’s best closers faltered on Sunday. Kirby Yates blew his third save in 35 tries in the Padres’ 11-10 loss to the Dodgers, as he gave up Max Muncy‘s walk-off two-RBI double in the bottom of the ninth. Yates was also charged with his third loss, though he may have been spared that fate if not for a fielding error by Luis Urías that allowed Alex Verdugo to be safe at second base on Corey Seager’s fielder’s choice, just before Muncy’s double. The one earned run that Muncy drove in was the first allowed by Yates since June 23 and just the sixth he has allowed all season.
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While fantasy owners try to discern who could end up closing with so many situations in flux following the trade deadline, a change occurred in Colorado seemingly below the radar. Although Wade Davis only owns two blown saves, his home ERA (11.29 over 18.1 innings) and 1.74 WHIP this season sealed his fate moving forward. Scott Oberg will take over as closer going forward for the Rockies and, he could run with it. Over the last statistical year, here’s a comparison between the two pitchers:

• Oberg: 7 wins, two losses, four saves, 78.2 innings, 84:23 K:BB, 1.72 ERA, 3.19 xFIP, 0.93 WHIP, 20.5 K-BB percentage
• Davis: three wins, eighth losses, 27 saves, 52 innings, 61:24 K:BB, 5.71 ERA, 4.12 xFIP, 1.40 WHIP, 16.4 K-BB percentage

On Friday night, Oberg yielded two hits but emerged unscathed not giving up a run for his fourth save of the season. Jairo Diaz logged two scoreless innings allowing a hit with three strikeouts for his fourth win. There’s no guarantee Oberg will hold the position until the end of the season, but it’s in Colorado’s best interest to find out how he does in the role. Stay tuned.

For Jose LeClerc owners, the good news, he held on for his sixth save on Friday night. However, he also allowed two hits, two earned runs and two walks in the process. It’s been a tough year for LeClerc and when he struggles, it’s due to his command. Over his last two outings, LeClerc’s issued five walks in 1.1 innings. Jesse Chavez also yielded an earned run on three hits in the eighth inning. Keep tabs on newly promoted Emmanuel Clase. Armed with a fastball which can hit triple digits, he should make his debut this weekend with Texas. Clase converted 11 of 13 save chances in Double-A with 39 strikeouts against eight walks in 37.2 innings.

With both Ken Giles and Justin Shafer unavailable, Toronto turned to Derek Law for a two inning save. Law answered the call in spite giving up two hits and two wild pitches for two scoreless innings with one strikeout. This marks the first two inning save for the franchise since Roberto Osuna’s on June 22nd in 2015. As for the Blue Jays bullpen, when Giles returns he will get save chances but Shafer remains in the conversation and should not be dropped in 12-team or deeper formats for save speculators.

Perhaps a change in the bullpen hierarchy in Minnesota. Once again, newly acquired Sam Dyson struggled serving up four hits leading to three earned runs in the top of the eighth inning last night. Dyson departed with a runner on base stranded by Sergio Romo. Romo notched his first save with the Twins, and 18th this year working 1.1 scoreless innings allowing a hit with two strikeouts. Another day of rest should benefit Taylor Rogers but the closer chart reflects the change of Romo moving ahead of Dyson for save chances going forward.

It’s tough to ignore the wild 15 inning game between the White Sox and Phillies on Friday night. Philadelphia eventually lost with Roman Quinn on the mound. Due to Hector Neris serving a three-game suspension, he will not be available this weekend. Juan Nicasio entered the ninth inning for the save but served up a one-out double to Eloy Jimenez before striking out James McCann. Playing match-ups, Gabe Kapler replaced Nicasio with Jose Alvarez to face left-handed hitting Ryan Goins with two outs. Goins recorded an infield hit then pinch hitter Matt Skole singled to right field scoring Jimenez resulting in Alvarez’s second blown save. Then, things got crazy with Zach Eflin leaving the mound during his warm-up pitches in the top of the 14th inning due to triceps soreness. Ranger Suarez could not get loose to throw, so Quinn took the mound leading to Vince Velasquez playing left field. Velasquez threw one runner out at home, just missed a second assist and made a diving catch which made Statcast data take notice. After all of this, John Osich tossed two clean innings with two strikeouts in a White Sox win on the road. Alex Colome logged a scoreless ninth inning giving up a hit. For the Phillies, Blake Parker fired two clean innings with four strikeouts putting him on the radar for the next save chance with Neris out through Sunday.

Quick Hits: Felipe Vazquez worked a clean ninth with a four run lead…Save number 28 for Aroldis Chapman striking out one in a much needed clean outing after a rough July (11 walks in 8.2 innings). Zack Britton recorded his 21st hold with a clean eighth and Tommy Kahnle his 21st hold as well giving up a hit with a strikeout in the seventh. Kahnle owns a 0.66 ERA his last 14 appearances (one earned run in 13.2 innings)…Nathan Eovaldi worked his first clean outing this year as a reliever in the loss to New York. He’s been scoreless his last two games…Raisel Iglesias converted his 21st save with two strikeouts in a clean inning against Atlanta…Save number 24 for Sean Doolittle firing a clean ninth striking out one in Arizona…Kirby Yates recorded his first save since July 17th yielding a hit with a strikeout in Los Angeles. Yates has locked down 32 saves in 34 chances this year. Andres Munoz notched his second hold and has yet to give up a run in nine innings this year with a 11:2 K:BB and 0.56 WHIP.

When the Braves acquired Shane Greene and Chris Martin ahead of Wednesday’s trade deadline, there didn’t seem to be much mystery as to how they would be used. Given Luke Jackson’s struggles in closing out games for the Braves and Greene’s success as the Tigers’ closer, it would have been an upset for the latter reliever to be used as anything but a closer. It also was a natural fit for Martin, who racked up 12 holds (and four saves) with the Rangers, to set Greene up. On Thursday, Brian Snitker confirmed that Greene will, in fact, be his closer, and Martin will be his primary setup reliever.

What was less clear was how Snitker might use Mark Melancon, who was just acquired from the Giants. While Melancon was typically the fifth option in a deep Giants bullpen, the Braves’ manager indicated that he could pitch the seventh inning in addition to other situations. This suggests that Jackson won’t see much action in hold situations, much less as a fill-in closer when Greene is unavailable. During his recent three-week slump, Jackson allowed nine runs on 11 hits (including three homers) and four walks over six innings. Still, there were some positives, such as a 15.0 percent SwStr% and a 60.0 percent ground ball rate, which were right in line with his season-to-date numbers. Despite these impressive skill indicators, there is not much point in rostering Jackson, even in holds leagues.
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The closer grid will likely look much different on Thursday, but for now, Felipe Vázquez, Alex Colomé, Raisel Iglesias, Ken Giles, Edwin Díaz and Shane Greene, among other potential trade candidates, have yet to switch teams.

The Mets did not shy away from using Díaz on Tuesday night, as he came in to protect a 2-1 lead over the White Sox in the bottom of the ninth inning. He was wild from the start, walking Ryan Goins on five pitches and, two batters later, he plunked James McCann on the shoulder. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and then Goins scored on Tim Anderson’s sacrifice fly. The Mets ultimately prevailed in the 11th inning, after Colomé shut them down in the 10th inning.
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In what feels like the calm before the storm one day prior to the trade deadline, not one of the seven games on Monday night ended with a save. However, with so many teams searching for bullpen help this article will focus on some of the key points leading up to the deadline. Starting in Washington, the Nationals relief corps yielded a run for the eighth time over the last 11 games and it was the closer who served it up. Read the rest of this entry »