Adam Ottavino heads to the DL

May 31, 2017

Colorado Rockies — Adam Ottavino was placed on the 10-day DL thanks to shoulder inflammation. The Rockies called up Carlos Estevez from Triple-A and he rewarded the club by giving up five hits and three earned runs on Tuesday in a low-leverage spot during an eventual 10-4 loss. Chris Rusin and Jake McGee (1.74 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 12.63 K/9) will serve as the bridge to Greg Holland, with McGee riding a stretch of seven straight scoreless appearances and earning the praise of manager Bud Black.

Updated hierarchy: Holland | Rusin | McGee.

San Francisco Giants — Hunter Strickland was suspended six games for plunking and then brawling with Bryce Harper. He will appeal his suspension, but prepare to be without Strickland for at least a few games, if not all six of his original sentence, in the near future.

Hierarchy remains: Melancon | Law | Strickland.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Paul Sewald – Addison Reed has pitched in two straight, three of four, and five of the last seven games.
2. Joaquin Benoit – Hector Neris threw 31 pitches on Tuesday.
3. Shawn Kelley – Koda Glover has pitched on consecutive days and four of five.

Tomorrow
1. Matt Barnes – Craig Kimbrel got a four-out save on Tuesday and despite not being overworked may get Thursday off if he pitches again tonight.

Felipe Rivero breathing down Tony Watson’s neck

May 30, 2017

New York Mets – Up by 2 runs in the 8th, the Mets summoned Paul Sewald to bridge the gap to Addison Reed, and Sewald responded with a perfect inning that included two strikeouts. Terry Collins had Jerry Blevins and Fernando Salas warming in case Sewald (20.1 IP, 24 Ks/4 BBs, 2.21 ERA) got into trouble, but the young righty may have seized the 8th inning with the strong outing.

Updated hierarchy: Reed | Sewald | Blevins.

Pittsburgh Pirates – Tony Watson blew his third save of the year on Monday, earning the win when Andrew McCutchen hit a walkoff homer in the bottom half of the inning. Watson’s ERA is now 4.03, and he should be looking over his shoulder at Felipe Rivero, Pittsburgh’s prize acquisition in the Mark Melancon deal last year. Rivero, who earned his 12th hold of the season on Monday with a scoreless 8th inning, throws 100 mph and has an ERA of 0.68. That groan you heard just now was from the fans in Washington.

Hierarchy remains: Watson | Rivero | Nicasio.

San Diego Padres – After two straight saves for Brad Hand last week, Brandon Maurer has gotten two straight chances for the Padres this week, converting them both. We’ll leave Hand at the top of the committee for now, as he actually had the tougher assignment on Monday, entering with the bases loaded and one out in the 7th. He induced a double play ball, then stayed on for a clean 8th.

Hierarchy remains: *Hand | Maurer | Buchter.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Danny Farquhar – Alex Colome has gone in back to back and three of four (4.1 total IP).
2. Tommy Kahnle/Anthony Swarzak – David Robertson has pitched in three straight. Tommy Kahnle can probably go, but he’s also had a heavy workload, having pitched yesterday and in five of the last seven.
3. Kyle Barraclough – AJ Ramos has gone back to back and three of four.

Tomorrow
1. Kyle Barraclough – If AJ Ramos is able to go tonight, he’ll surely have tomorrow off.
2. Nick Vincent – If Edwin Diaz goes tonight, it’ll be three straight.
3. Ryan Buchter – If Brad Hand and Brandon Maurer go tonight, it’ll be three straight for both of them.
4. Shawn Kelley – If Koda Glover goes tonight, it’ll be back to back and four of five.
5. Paul Sewald/Jerry Blevins – If Addison Reed goes tonight, it’ll be back to back, three of four, and five of seven.
6. Felipe Rivero – If Tony Watson goes tonight, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
7. Alex Wilson – If Justin Wilson goes tonight, it’ll be back to back and three of four.

The Padres were serious about this committee thing

May 29, 2017

New York Yankees – Adam Warren entered the game with 2 outs in the 8th inning with the tying run on deck, retired the first man he faced, then stayed on for the 9th for his first save of the season. He remains the Yankees’ 7th-inning man for now.

Hierarchy remains: Betances | Clippard | Warren.

Milwaukee Brewers – Jacob Barnes picked up a save that was pretty much identical in every way to Adam Warren’s — the final scores of their respective games were even the same — and he remains the Brewers’ 8th-inning man.

Hierarchy remains: Knebel | Barnes | Torres.

San Diego Padres – Brad Hand collected consecutive saves against the Mets earlier this week, but Andy Green said that he wasn’t the new closer, and that they’d play matchups in the 9th inning going forward. Green turned out to be a man of his word, and Hand was used in the 8th inning yesterday while Brandon Maurer got the 9th. Look for Maurer and Hand to continue splitting opportunities.

Hierarchy remains: *Hand | Maurer | Buchter.
* = closer-by-committee

Tampa Bay Rays – Erasmo Ramirez, who had been shifted to the rotation less than two weeks ago, was summoned in the 15th inning of Sunday’s marathon game against the Twins, where he picked up his first save of the season. Amazingly, Ramirez still plans to start today for the Rays. That’s pretty cool.

Hierarchy remains: Colome | Farquhar | Alvarado.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Jose Alvarado – Alex Colome threw two innings (35p) last night, two days after throwing 20 pitches in a 1.1-inning appearance, while Danny Farquhar has gone back to back games, throwing 3.1 innings and 50 total pitches.
2. Taylor Rogers – Brandon Kintzler has thrown back to back games, racking up 50 total pitches including 32 last night.

Tomorrow
1. Tommy Kahnle – If David Robertson goes today, it’ll be three straight.
2. Michael Lorenzen – If Raisel Iglesias goes today, it’ll be back to back games and three of four.
3. Keone Kela – If Matt Bush goes today, it’ll be back to back and three of four.

Norris able to pitch a day after injury scare, Harris records save

May 28, 2017

Los Angeles Angels — Bud Norris was able to pitch on Saturday, just a day after leaving the game with a knee injury.  The knee appears to be fine for Norris so he should continue to see saves for now.  Huston Street threw another perfect inning at Triple -A, and looks to be on track to return from the DL around the time he becomes eligible on June 1st.

Hierarchy remains: Norris | Hernandez | Parker.

Houston Astros – Will Harris pitched a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts to pick up his second save of the year.  Ken Giles got the day off after pitching in two straight.

Updated hierarchy: Giles | Harris | Devenski.

Los Angeles Dodgers — The three inning save seems to be trendy this year, as Ross Stripling was the latest reliever to pick one up on Saturday night.  Stripling has pitched well in relief for the Dodgers this year, but he is currently being used mostly in middle and long relief for now.

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Baez | Fields.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. David Hernandez – Bud Norris has pitched in two straight and the Angels might rest him and his knee on Sunday.
2. Shawn Kelley – Koda Glover has appeared in two straight games and has yet to go in three straight this season.

Monday
1. Alex Wilson – Justin Wilson threw 32 pitches on Saturday so if he has another high pitch count on Sunday he would likely get Monday off
2. Joakim Soria/Mike Minor – Kelvin Herrera has pitched in two straight.  Soria has also gone in two straight so if they both pitch Sunday, Minor could get the call on Monday.
3. Fernando Salas – If Addison Reed pitches on Sunday, that will be four of five.
4. Tyler Clippard – Delin Betances got five outs for the save on Saturday and could get Monday off if he pitches again Sunday.
5. Joe Smith/Ryan Tepera – Roberto Osuna, Smith and Tepera have all pitched in two straight so whoever gets Sunday off would like get the save chance on Monday if necessary.

Huston Street should be back soon for the embattled Angels

May 27, 2017

Los Angeles Angels — Bud Norris hadn’t pitched since Monday, so Mike Scioscia called on him in the eighth inning of a game the Angels trailed by five. And, naturally, because these are the Angels, he left the game with a right knee injury. The good news for LA is twofold: Norris is supposedly day-to-day, and both Huston Street and Cam Bedrosian are almost ready to return from the disabled list. Street should be back first (eligible Thursday), but if both he and Bedrosian are healthy come mid-June, we’d give the edge to Cam. If Norris does miss any time before June, we expect David Hernandez and Blake Parker to split save chances. Hernandez has been lights-out with the exception of one bad outing on May 16, while Parker strikes out more than 1.5 batters per inning.

Hierarchy remains: Norris | Hernandez | Parker.

Toronto Blue Jays — Jason Grilli has been a major disappointment in Toronto this year. His ERA is an ugly 7.20, he hasn’t been locating his slider, and he’s been relegated to low-leverage situations. Filling in at the back of Toronto’s bullpen has been Ryan Tepera, who has yet to give up a run in May (15 IP, 17 K). Tepera struggled in April, but seems to have found his footing, pitching with a late lead in his last two outings. Look for him to be the long-shot option for saves going forward.

Updated hierarchy: Osuna | Smith | Tepera.

Oakland A’s — Santiago Casilla gave up a run in a non-save situation, bumping his ERA to 4.91 on the year. Meanwhile, Ryan Madson picked up his sixth hold in a perfect eighth inning, lowering his ERA to a tidy 1.86. Casilla hasn’t been terrible, but his K rate is down from the past two years, and he’s walking more batters than normal. With Madson pitching so well behind him, Casilla may be on a shorter leash, making Madson a solid speculative add.

Hierarchy remains: Casilla | Madson | Axford.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. David Hernandez — Bud Norris has a right knee injury.
2. Jacob Barnes — Corey Knebel blew the save Friday and has gone in two straight.

Sunday:
1. Archie Bradley — Fernando Rodney has gone in three of four.
2. Ryan Madson — Santiago Casilla has pitched in two of three (51 pitches).
3. Chris Devenski/Will Harris — Ken Giles has gone back-to-back.
4. Danny Farquhar — Alex Colome got four outs last night and has gone in two of three.