Archive for Marlins

How will the Rockies make do with two of their infielders hurt? How are the Marlins using the newest member of their outfield? These questions and many others are answered in this week’s set of National League lineup analyses!

Arizona

Jarrod Dyson sat on Thursday against Jeff Hoffman and the Rockies, and that was only the third time in the last 16 games against a right-handed starter that he was left out of the starting lineup. He has started twice in place of Adam Jones in right field, with all of the other starts coming in center field. That bodes well for Dyson to start all three games against the Giants this weekend, as they are scheduled to go with an all-righty contingent of Jeff Samardzija, Tyler Beede and Shaun Anderson.
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Why do bullpens matter? It’s a question worth pondering, especially for Max Scherzer owners. Scherzer’s recorded nine quality starts this year and the Nationals own a 2-10 record in his starts. He left with a one run lead after six innings and 103 pitches. Tanner Rainey walked the lead-off hitter, Miguel Rojas, never a great start for a reliever. A sacrifice bunt, fielding error, then a lineout by Curtis Granderson moved Rojas to third. He scored on a groundout resulting in an unearned run, but Scherzer’s lead evaporated. Basically, a microcosm of frustrated Scherzer owners and Nationals fans alike. Read the rest of this entry »

It would not be a Saturday edition of the Bullpen Report without a litany of questions which pervade the saves landscape. Starting in Chicago, the Cubs failed to convert a save chance leading to a loss. Steve Cishek entered this outing riding a 13.1 inning scoreless streak and failed to record an out. He walked Joey Votto prior to serving up the go ahead two run home run to Eugenio Suarez. Cishek then hit Jesse Winker with a pitch before being replaced by James Norwood. This marks Cishek’s second loss and second blown save of the season. During his scoreless streak, Cishek limited hitters to a .133 batting average against (six-for-45) but did not fare well on Friday, which coincides with the possible return of Pedro Strop on Sunday. Brad Brach also incurred his second blown save giving up four hits, an earned runand a walk with three strikeouts in 1.2 innings. Read the rest of this entry »

In the moment Jose Alvarado owners yearned for, a save chance, things did not go as planned in New York. Alvarado last recorded a save on April seventh against the Giants on the road. He’s also registered five holds and two losses in 12 outings since. After Diego Castillo retired the Yankees in order in the eighth with two strikeouts, Alvarado entered to face Luke Voit, a known southpaw killer. Voit hit his 11th home run, and second off a lefty, leading off the inning. Alvarado allowed a single to Gary Sanchez, another hitter who fares better versus lefties, before striking out Kendrys Morales. But, a Gleyber Torres double put the go ahead run at second base. Struggling a bit with command, Alvarado uncorked a wild pitch after intentionally walking Clint Frazier scoring the tying run. Read the rest of this entry »

Fantasy owners expect a blown save on occasion, it’s an occupational hazard. However, Pedro Strop did not record an out on Monday night handing out three walks and a hit leading to three earned runs and his second loss. Strop walked more batters in this outing than his previous 10.2 innings this year. Of course, Strop did not benefit from Kyle Ryan freezing during a rundown letting in a precious insurance run for the Marlins. Chalking this up to one of those nights. Strop’s ERA jumped to 5.06 as a result but his 3.88 xFIP and 1.13 WHIP do not suggest a collapse. Especially with Brandon Morrow still sidelined. Brad Brach and Carl Edwards Jr. each recorded their first hold leading up to Strop for the Cubs. Read the rest of this entry »

Perplexing bullpen situations did not get less perplexing on Sunday.

After the Phillies’ 3-1, 14-inning win over the Marlins, I am leaving their portion of the closer grid untouched, but that hardly means that the saves picture is getting clearer. Brian Anderson‘s home run in the bottom of the sixth inning knotted the game up at 1-1, and it would stay that way for seven-and-a-half innings. Because the Phillies were the visiting team, it’s hard to read too much into Gabe Kapler’s choice to use Pat Neshek in the seventh, Adam Morgan and Hector Neris in the eighth and David Robertson in the ninth and 10th.
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With New Year’s Day rapidly approaching and Pitchers-and-Catchers-Report Day less than eight weeks away, plenty of closer situations are still in flux. Potential contenders like the Cardinals, Phillies and Twins have reportedly been in the closer market and look like strong candidates to add to the back ends of their bullpens. Rebuilding teams are less likely to do so. If anything, they could be sellers in the coming weeks.

So while teams that are long shots to contend in 2019 may not have their bullpens completely set just yet, they are more likely to ultimately settle their closer situations by turning to in-house options. It is premature to speculate on the value of someone like Jordan Hicks, who could inherit the Cardinals’ closer role, but could also find himself setting up for a free agent signee like Zach Britton. It is not too early, though, to start scoping out the fantasy value of potential closers for non-contenders.
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There are a number of TBDs still listed for starting pitchers on Wednesday’s slate. The Orioles still need a starter for Game 1 in their doubleheader at Boston, and the Astros, Padres and Giants have yet to announce their starters. The same goes for the Rays, but that’s true for three out of every five games for them. It would be Jalen Beeks‘ turn to be their primary pitcher, but he has not lasted more than three innings in any of his last five appearances dating back to Aug. 29. Even if Beeks is at his best against the Yankees, it is doubtful that he will pitch enough innings to make a difference for your fantasy squad.
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Although most of the focus within this column caters to the saves chasers, with just over a week remaining in the season, teams will need to protect ratios as well. Owners of Josh Hader realize this through the value he provides in strikeouts and his ERA which dropped below two last night along with his 0.74 WHIP in 77 innings this season. Hader’s been a heater but his consecutive strikeout streak ended on Friday when Colin Moran lifted a pop fly to left field caught by Christian Yelich. However, Hader recorded 16 straight outs via strikeout over five outings to set a major league record. He also set a record for all southpaw relievers for strikeouts in a season with 136 so far with a chance to add to this in Milwaukee’s last eight contests. In September, Hader’s registered a strikeout minus walk percentage of 60, produced a 24.2 swinging strike percentage and allowed only 54.4 contact through 10 innings with a ridiculous 23:2 K:BB with a 0.50 WHIP. A different southpaw remains on the waiver wire in many leagues due to his lack of saves production, but Taylor Rogers extended his scoreless streak to 23.1 innings in Oakland last night. Since July 30th, spanning 25 games, Rogers has faced 80 hitters giving up only nine hits and three walks with 27 strikeouts. Yes, saves matter, but so do southpaws like these two who can ratio erasers to preserve spots in the standings. Read the rest of this entry »

Adam Conley did not have a save opportunity on Sunday against the Phillies, but nonetheless, I have moved him to the head of the Marlins’ closer committee in the grid. Don Mattingly, like many managers, will sometimes use his closer with a four-run lead in the ninth inning, and that’s what he did on Sunday. With a 6-2 lead, Conley retired the first two batters, but he allowed a hard-hit Aaron Altherr double followed by Roman Quinn’s RBI single. The lefty could have limited the damage to the lone run if Starlin Castro had not been eaten up by a Cesar Hernandez grounder, but the error allowed the Phillies to cut the lead to 6-4. Then the rally ended when Conley struck out Rhys Hoskins.
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