Adam Ottavino could get save chances soon

July 29, 2014

Tampa Bay Rays – After notching his fifth post-All-Star-Break save on Monday, Jake McGee has now closed out Tampa victories in six of his last seven appearances. Will he get every opportunity for the surging Rays the rest of the way? With Joe Maddon around, probably not. But if he’s getting 86% of the save chances, that’s good enough to kick our closer-by-committee asterisk for the time being.

Hierarchy remains: McGee | Boxberger | Balfour.

Colorado RockiesTrade rumors are swirling around Rockies closer LaTroy Hawkins, and since it’s extremely unlikely that he closes should he land somewhere like Pittsburgh, the fantasy spotlight has turned to what he’ll be leaving behind in the Colorado bullpen. Unfortunately, the Rockies haven’t been winning very much at all lately, so there isn’t a very big sample size to look at, in terms of July usage. Rex Brothers has been the “closer of the future” seemingly forever, and he did get the ball in the 8th inning of a tie game on Sunday. But in that appearance, he allowed two home runs and took the loss, the latest in a string of mediocre appearances for the lefty. So it might be righty Adam Ottavino who gets the first nod should Hawkins be traded. Ottavino had a tough June but has since rebounded, posting a 2.00 in 10 July appearances. Our best bet is probably the dreaded committee, with Ottavino getting save opps against righties and Brothers getting the call against lefties, but either way, Ottavino is probably worth an add if you’re hunting for saves in a deep league.

Updated hierarchy: Hawkins | Ottavino | Brothers.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Pedro Strop, Chicago Cubs – Hector Rondon has pitched in back to back games and four of five.
2. Tyler Clippard, Washington Nationals – Rafael Soriano has pitched in back to back games and three of four, including a disastrous outing yesterday in which he gave up four runs while recording only one out. His job is not in jeopardy, but he could get the day off.