Adam Ottavino picks up his fifth save

August 11, 2018

Colorado Rockies — One night after Wade Davis had another rough outing, Adam Ottavino shut the door in the ninth inning for his fifth save of the year. Ottavino’s ERA now sits nearly four full runs better than Davis’. Davis has taken the loss in three of his last four appearances, though he claims to have found some easy fixes to his issues. Bud Black still has not officially made a change at closer, but the Rockies still have playoff ambitions and Ottavino’s numbers are too good to ignore. You should pick Ottavino up if he is still available in case Black finally makes a decision and removes Davis from the ninth inning.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Ottavino | Oh. 

Los Angeles Dodgers — Kenley Jansen will miss at least a month with a recurrence of an irregular heartbeat. With Jansen out, Dave Roberts plans to use a committee to close out games. Roberts said that Scott Alexander is the team’s best reliever and he will be deployed in the highest-leverage moments, not just the ninth inning. In addition, Kenta Maeda is also likely to join the bullpen and compete for saves, though that subject has not yet been broached with Maeda yet. We’ll leave Maeda out of our hierarchy for the moment, but his owners should be prepared for his eventual shift to the late innings.

Updated hierarchy: *Alexander | Floro | Chargois.
* = closer-by-committee

San Diego Padres — Lefty Matt Strahm picked up his third hold of the season on Friday. Meanwhile, Phil Maton has not secured a hold since July 23.

Updated hierarchy: Yates | Stammen | Strahm.

St. Louis Cardinals — Rookie Daniel Poncedeleon pitched the final three innings of a 7-0 win for his first career save. When Poncedeleon is not pitching, he enjoys being the first European to walk on the beaches of Florida and searching for the Fountain of Youth.

Hierarchy remains: Norris | Hicks | Hudson. 

Miami Marlins – Former closer Kyle Barraclough was placed on the 10-day DL with lower back stiffness. We’ll see if this break will help him eventually get right and get back into his early-season form.

Hierarchy remains: *Steckenrider | Conley | Guerra.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Adam Ottavino — Wade Davis’ status as closer is still up in the air.
2. Craig Stammen — Kirby Yates has thrown 38 pitches over the last two days. Stammen has gone in two straight and three of four, but has not been taxed nearly as much.

Sunday:
1. Alex Colome/James Pazos — Both Edwin Diaz and Colome have pitched in two straight entering today, so they both may get a day off on Sunday depending on Saturday’s usage.
2. Craig Stammen/Matt Strahm — If Yates and Stammen both pitch today, Strahm may vulture a save on Sunday.
3. Joe Jimenez — Shane Greene threw 24 pitches last night and another long outing may make him unavailable on Sunday.
4. Jose Alvarado — Sergio Romo got the night off on Friday, but he had pitched in 3 straight prior to last night. A high pitch count on Saturday would probably see him earning another break.