Helsley Returns and Yates gets the Vulture Save.

September 2, 2023

Atlanta Braves – With only 4 games on the schedule on Thursday, there weren’t ever going to be many vulture save possibilities, but we picked Kirby Yates as one of them. With both Raisel Iglesias and AJ Minter unavailable, Yates indeed got the save chance and converted for his 3rd save on the year. Expect Iglesias and Minter to be back in action over the weekend.

Hierarchy remains: Iglesias | Minter | Yates.

St. Louis Cardinals — Ryan Helsley was activated before Friday’s game and immediately pitched a clean 8th inning in a tie game. JoJo Romero took the loss in extra innings, which may be just the crack in the door that Helsley needs. It’s a bit too early to hand him the top of the committee, but Helsley makes for a great speculative add in leagues where you’re chasing saves as he has an excellent chance to be in the mix for the rest of the season. 

Updated hierarchy: *Romero | Helsley | Gallegos.
* = closer-by-committee


Chicago Cubs — In the first game of a doubleheader the Cubs brought Keegan Thompson on to protect a 3 run lead in the 8th inning. When the Cubs extended the lead to 5 he stuck around for the 9th to earn his first save on the season. Thompson has exactly one save in each of his first 3 years in the majors, and with a month left in the season he has a chance to achieve a career high if he can get another opportunity, but it would likely have to be a similar situation to last night. 

Hierarchy remains: Alzolay | Leiter Jr. | Merryweather.

New York Mets – When the Mets took a 1 run lead in the bottom of the 8th it was Drew Smith who got the call to try to shut the door. Smith had given up solo homers in each of his last 2 appearances, but Buck Showalter felt good enough to run him out there again, and he delivered. Things looked dicey after a leadoff walk, but he picked off the pinch runner and got the last two outs to earn his 3rd save on the year. This is about as pure a committee as you could find right now, but given Smith’s most recent save he bumps up to first in line. 

Updated hierarchy: *Ottavino | Smith | Raley.
* = closer-by-committee

Vulture Save Watch:

  1. Giovanny Gallegos/Ryan Helsley (STL) — JoJo Romero threw 35 pitches in a loss last night, while Helsley may not be ready for back to back games.
  2. Andrew Nardi (MIA) — Tanner Scott threw 30 pitches last night.
  3. Matt Brash (SEA) — Andres Munoz threw 27 pitches last night and has gone in 2 of 3.
  4. Jason Foley (DET) — Today would be 3 in a row for Alex Lange.

For Sunday:

  1. Joel Payamps (MIL) — Devin Williams threw 20 pitches last night, so another long outing could earn him a rest.
  2. Lucas Sims (CIN) — Today would be back to back and 3 of 4 for Alexis Diaz.
  3. Mark Leiter Jr./Julian Mayweather (CHC) — The entire Cubs hierarchy pitched during yesterdays double header and has gone in 3 of 4.
  4. Griffin Jax/Emilio Pagan (MIN) — Today would be back to back and 3 of 4 for Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax.
  5. Trevor Stephan/Matt Moore (CLE) — Today would be 4 of 5 for Emmanuel Clase.

Jose Leclerc — and not Will Smith — earns save for Rangers

August 29, 2023

Texas Rangers – After Aroldis Chapman worked in back-to-back games over the weekend, he was apparently unavailable Monday. But that meant Will Smith did the job in a save situation, right? Well, no. Enter old friend Jose Leclerc, who mixed in a walk with two strikeouts to earn his second save. Reading between the lines, recent usage would indicate Chapman is the committee leader and Leclerc is a part of the mix with Smith. Smith not being used in an obvious situation for a closer Monday is very telling. It’s also worth noting Rangers beat writer Evan Grant said that Leclerc got the save chance after Chapman and Brock Burke had worked in the previous two days — and he did not mention Smith. We’ll make the swap in our hierarchy now and this situation is definitely worth monitoring.

Updated hierarchy: *Chapman | Smith | Leclerc.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Mets – For the first time since undergoing patellar tendon surgery, Edwin Diaz threw a bullpen session. He maintains that his goal is to return to pitch for the Mets before the end of the season even though the club is out of contention, so if he happens to be available in your league (only 16% rostered in Yahoo!, for example), he could be worth stashing if you have IL space.

Hierarchy remains: *Ottavino | Raley | Smith.
* = closer-by-committee

St. Louis Cardinals — Ryan Helsley expects to be activated from the injured list on Wednesday. Whether he jumps right back into the saves mix upon his return remains to be seen.

Hierarchy remains: *Romero | Gallegos | Pallante.
* = closer-by-committee

Toronto Blue Jays – As predicted by the Vulture Save Watch, Jordan Romano did not appear Monday after throwing 36 pitches Sunday, leaving Jordan Hicks there to earn his fourth save since being traded to Toronto.

Hierarchy remains: Romano | Hicks | Garcia.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Evan Phillips did not pitch Monday, as projected by the Vulture Save Watch, but it was Caleb Ferguson and not Brusdar Graterol who got the opportunity in the ninth, earning his third save. He has been used as an opener recently, but this save chance proves he still belongs in the hierarchy. Graterol last worked Friday, throwing 31 pitches, so perhaps manager Dave Roberts wanted an additional day of rest to keep him fresh.

Hierarchy remains: Phillips | Graterol | Ferguson.

Minnesota Twins – The Vulture Save Watch correctly predicted an off-day for Jhoan Duran, but it certainly did not foresee Josh Winder pitching three hitless innings to earn his first career save. He won’t normally factor into the late-inning plans.  

Hierarchy remains: Duran | Jax | Pagan.

Houston Astros – Jose Urquidy covered the final four innings (4 hits, 1 ER, 2 walks 1 strikeout) of what became a blowout Astros win Monday to earn his first career save.

Hierarchy remains: Pressly | Abreu | Neris.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Jose Alvarado (PHI) – Craig Kimbrel has pitched in two straight.
2. Taylor Rogers (SF) – Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers have each gone in two consecutive games.
3. Andrew Nardi (MIA) – The Marlins were off Monday but Tanner Scott has been busy lately (he pitched in both weekend games).

Wednesday:
1. Shintaro Fujinami (BAL) – If he goes Tuesday, that would be three of four for Yennier Cano.
2. Brooks Raley (NYM) – Same as above for Adam Ottavino.
3. Griffin Jax (MIN) – The above is also true for Jhoan Duran.

Two days, two saves for Matt Brash

August 18, 2023

New York Mets – With Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley getting the day off, the Mets used Drew Smith to get out of a tight spot in the 7th inning. That left the save chance to Trevor Gott, who converted for his first of the season.

Hierarchy remains: *Ottavino | Raley | Smith.
* = closer-by-committee

Seattle Mariners – As we suspected, Andres Munoz got another night off, allowing Matt Brash to collect his second save in as many nights. Munoz should slot back in to the highest-leverage role going forward.

Hierarchy remains: Munoz | Brash | Topa.

Arizona Diamondbacks – We figured that almost every relevant reliever would get the night off here, but we didn’t think that Justin Martinez, who prior to last night had a 13.50 ERA across 4.2 innings, would be the one getting the 9th inning. But good on you, Justin, who struck out three in his 1.1 innings of work to pick up his first career save.

Hierarchy remains: Sewald | Ginkel | McGough.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today

1. Hunter Harvey – Kyle Finnegan has gone back to back.
2. Kevin Ginkel – Paul Sewald pitched in four out of five from Saturday to Wednesday and might need a second day off.

Tomorrow
1. Brooks Raley/Drew Smith – Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley have seen heavy workloads lately; if either goes today they’re probably off tomorrow.
2. Brusdar Graterol – If Evan Phillips goes today, it’s back to back.
3. Austin Cox – Same for Carlos Hernandez.

Blown-save-a-palooza hits bullpens across baseball

August 14, 2023

New York Yankees – Clay Holmes has been great lately, but yesterday was bad, as he coughed up a 4-run lead and then took the loss after Tommy Kahnle was unable to stem the damage. Holmes was in and out of a committee earlier this season, and we’ll see if this outing changes the way the Yankees approach the 9th inning. Our guess is it won’t… yet. In other news, Michael King is being stretched out to potentially start games, so we’ll swap Wandy Peralta into the hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Holmes | Kahnle | Peralta.

Oakland A’s – Trevor May had also been going well, having allowed just 1 earned run in his last 10.2 innings. But he coughed up an even bigger lead than Holmes, allowing five baserunners to reach while only recording two outs. Kirby Snead (and the A’s defense) did him no favors, as the Nats plated six runs in the inning to walk it off. May is still likely the closer here but we’ll watch to see if he falters again.

Hierarchy remains: May | Felipe | Long.

Texas Rangers – In the least awful — but perhaps most consequential — blown save of the evening, Will Smith had the Giants down to their final out, but then served up a walkoff 2-run home run to Patrick Bailey. Given how good Aroldis Chapman has been, this could push Bruce Bochy back to a committee. We’ll see how it plays out.

Hierarchy remains: Smith | Chapman | Sborz.

Baltimore Orioles – With Felix Bautista getting the day off, the Orioles still used setup man Yennier Cano in the 8th inning, leaving the 9th to Mike Baumann, who promptly blew the save. Shintaro Fujinami ended up shutting the door in extra innings for his first career save. (By the way, Cedric Mullins was the real story of this game, as he robbed a homer then hit a go-ahead homer minutes later, but we don’t really care about hitters that much.)

Hierarchy remains: Bautista | Cano | Fujinami.

New York Mets – Adam Ottavino pitched a perfect 9th inning, inducing three groundouts, to pick up his 7th save. Brooks Raley had a forgettable outing in the 8th, allowing a home run and a walk before Drew Smith bailed him out. We’ll switch up the committee accordingly, though this is still a fluid situation.

Updated hierarchy: *Ottavino | Raley | Smith.
* = closer-by-committee

Pittsburgh Pirates – Carmen Mlodzinski was placed on the IL over the weekend, so we’ll welcome Angel Perdomo to this hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Bednar | Holderman | Perdomo.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today

1. Tommy Kahnle – Clay Holmes has gone two of three, including the aforementioned 23-pitch blown save yesterday.
2. Matt Brash – Andres Munoz has gone back to back.
3. Scott McGough – Same for Paul Sewald and Kevin Ginkel.

Tomorrow
1. Yennier Cano – If Felix Bautista goes today, he’s likely off tomorrow given his recent workload and pattern of usage.
2. Reynaldo Lopez – If Carlos Estevez goes today, it’s back to back.
3. Tyler Rogers – Same for Camilo Doval.
4. Aroldis Chapman/Josh Sborz – If Will Smith or Aroldis Chapman go today, it’s back to back and three of four.
5. Colin Holderman/Angel Perdomo – The whole Pirates hierarchy — plus a few others — pitched yesterday so monitor usage today for a potential vulture tomorrow.

Let the Phil Bickford era begin

August 10, 2023

New York Mets — Wednesday night, the save opportunity was all Adam Ottavino’s. But the veteran just didn’t have it, yielding a homer, a single, and a walk to put the go-ahead run on base. Naturally, the Mets turned to journeyman Phil Bickford, he of the 5.96 ERA, most famous for earning a seventh-inning save in a rainout and giving up Albert Pujols’s 700th home run. A bunt, a walk, and two strikeouts later, the Mets had the win, Bickford had his first ninth-inning save, and New York? Well, New York had a brand new hero. 

Hierarchy remains: *Raley | Ottavino | Smith.
* = closer-by-committee

St. Louis Cardinals — It’s been almost two weeks since St. Louis needed a save, but this time Oliver Marmol used JoJo Romero in the seventh and eighth, and Giovanny Gallegos in the ninth. This is more like what we expected after Jordan Hicks moved to Toronto, but don’t be surprised if Romero and Gallegos continue to split opportunities.

Updated hierarchy: *Gallegos | Romero | Pallante.
* = closer-by-committee

Oakland A’s — Dany Jimenez’s return didn’t keep him in Oakland long; he was sent to Las Vegas on Wednesday. Taking his place in the A’s hierarchy is 25-year-old rookie Angel Felipe, who has three holds in his last three appearances. Felipe has struggled with control this season, but has also induced a lot of groundouts and strikeouts.

Updated hierarchy: May | Felipe | Long.

Detroit Tigers — Jose Cisnero’s entry into the game up five with the bases loaded was enough to earn him a save on the strength of a single strikeout. Cisnero was probably second in line Wednesday due to Jason Foley’s temporary placement on the bereavement list.

Hierarchy remains: *Lange | Foley | Holton.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Yennier Cano (BAL) — Felix Bautista threw 30 pitches on Tuesday and might get two days off.
2. AJ Minter (ATL) — Raisel Iglesias has pitched in three straight.
3. Daniel Bard/Jake Bird (COL) — Justin Lawrence has gone in two straight and three of four.
4. Brusdar Graterol (LAD) — Evan Phillips has gone back-to-back.

Friday:
1. Chris Martin (BOS) — If Kenley Jansen goes today, it’ll be three of four.
2. Erik Swanson (TOR) — Same for Jordan Hicks.
3. Colin Holderman (PIT) — And David Bednar.