August 27, 2019
Colorado Rockies – Jairo Diaz got the first Rockies save chance since the demotion of Wade Davis and promptly gave up the game-tying run. The Rockies walked off in the bottom half of the inning, though, so this wasn’t a total failure for Diaz. We’ll bump him to the top of the committee and see what the Rockies do next.
Updated hierarchy: *Diaz | Estevez | Shaw.
* = closer-by-committee
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Zack Britton – Aroldis Chapman has gone back to back.
2. Andres Munoz – Kirby Yates has gone three straight.
Tomorrow
1. Michael Lorenzen – Raisel Iglesias scuffled through an inning of work yesterday; another long outing today and he’ll be off tomorrow.
Ryne Stanek logs first Marlins save in over a month
August 26, 2019
Toronto Blue Jays – Ken Giles returned from the paternity list and should resume closing immediately. Look for Derek Law to join Jason Adam and others in bridging the gap to Giles.
Updated hierarchy: Giles | Law | Adam.
Miami Marlins – The Marlins posted their first save in over a month, and it was deadline acquisition Ryne Stanek who did the honors. We’ll bump him to the top of the hierarchy and watch to see what the Marlins do once Jose Urena comes back.
Updated hierarchy: *Stanek | Garcia | Quijada.
* = closer-by-committee
Kansas City Royals – After Ian Kennedy blew the save in the 9th, the Royals regained the lead, and Jorge Lopez closed out the 10th for his first save of the season. Despite the bad outing, Kennedy has been mostly solid and shouldn’t lose the job any time soon.
Hierarchy remains: Kennedy | Barlow | Hill.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Yoan Lopez – Archie Bradley threw 33 pitches across 1.1 innings yesterday.
2. Jorge Lopez – Ian Kennedy threw 29 pitches in a rough outing yesterday, while Scott Barlow, Tim Hill, and Kevin McCarthy are all overworked. Lopez could make it two saves in two days.
Tomorrow
1. Tony Watson – If Will Smith goes today, it’ll be three straight.
2. Andres Munoz/Craig Stammen – If Kirby Yates or Andres Munoz goes today, it’ll be three straight.
3. Kyle Crick – If Felipe Vazquez goes today, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
Marlins could have a new closer in September
August 25, 2019
Miami Marlins – The Marlins, who haven’t recorded a save since July 24th, could have a new closer in September. Their opening day starter Jose Urena will likely be used as closer when he returns from the IL. Urena throws hard and could do well in the closer’s role, but don’t expect many saves out of a team who hasn’t converted one in over a month.
Hierarchy remains: *Garcia | Quijada | Stanek.
* = closer-by-committee
Toronto Blue Jays – Derek Law picked up a five out save last night. Ken Giles is expected to rejoin the team on Sunday after the birth of his son but his time away has confirmed that Law is certainly the handcuff at this point.
Hierarchy remains: Giles | Law | Shafer.
Houston Astros — Roberto Osuna got a much needed day off on Saturday after pitching in five of the previous six days and Will Harris converted the vulture save chance. Harris should continue to see save chances when Osuna is unavailable.
Hierarchy remains: Osuna | Harris | Rondon.
Cleveland Indians – Brad Hand converted his second straight save chance yesterday with a scoreless ninth inning. Meanwhile in the minor leagues, perhaps the Indians’ closer of the future, James Karinchak, is striking out batters at a ridiculous rate. Fantasy owners will want to keep an eye on Karinchak in the future.
Hierarchy remains: Hand | Wittgren | Goody.
Minnesota Twins — Taylor Rogers retired all five batters that he faced, including three strikeouts, to close out a Twins 8-5 victory yesterday. Rogers has now recorded the last two saves for the Twins after Sergio Romo got the prior two saves. This will likely continue as a committee through the rest of the season with Rogers getting a few more save chances that Romo.
Hierarchy remains: *Rogers | Romo | Dyson.
* = closer-by-committee
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Nick Wittgren – Brad Hand has pitched in two straight and three of four.
2. Matt Barnes – Brandon Workman has pitched in three of the past four, throwing a total of 61 pitches.
Monday
1. Shane Greene – If Mark Melancon pitches on Sunday, it will be his third appearance in four days.
Win free Premium if you were crazy enough to start Aaron Slegers
August 24, 2019
Baltimore Orioles — Shawn Armstrong has landed on the IL with a forearm strain, but he’s expected to return in early September. This could be a chance to see how rookie Hunter Harvey handles high-leverage work, assuming the Orioles get any.
Updated hierarchy: *Givens | Fry | Harvey.
* = closer-by-committee
Tampa Bay Rays — Up seven in the seventh, Tampa turned to recent callup Aaron Slegers. The 6’10” Hoosier pitched well enough to finish the game, spreading out three hits and a run to earn his first career save. If you were desperate enough to start him yesterday on your team, send proof to [email protected] and we’ll give you free Premium for a year!
Hierarchy remains: *Pagan | Alvarado | Anderson.
* = closer-by-committee
Philadelphia Phillies — The Phils have been searching for a bridge to get the ball to Hector Neris, running through every relief pitcher on their roster to find a reliable setup option. Maybe they’ve been looking in the wrong place. Utility man Sean Rodriguez (6.75 K/9; 0.00 ERA; lineal champion, Gatorade cooler division) got Curtis Granderson to line out on a wicked slider. If the Phillies get tired of their roller-coaster relief corps, they’ve got a 34-year-old with only a couple innings on his arm waiting in the wings.
Hierarchy remains: Neris | Morin | Alvarez.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Will Harris — Roberto Osuna has pitched in back to back games and five of the last six.
2. Shane Greene — Mark Melancon has thrown back to back days, and Greene is the best rested option in the Atlanta bullpen.
3. Michael Lorenzen — Raisel Iglesias has pitched in three of the last four and blew a save last night.
4. Edwin Diaz — Seth Lugo threw 35 pitches last night and has pitched in two of three.
Sunday:
1. Nick Wittgren — Today would be back to back and three of four for Brad Hand.
2. Buck Farmer/Nick Ramirez — Same for Joe Jimenez.
3. Anthony Bass — Today would be back to back and four of five for Matt Magill.
Astros lose their best reliever for the rest of the regular season
August 23, 2019
Houston Astros — Righty Ryan Pressly is out for the next four to six weeks after arthroscopic knee surgery. Joe Biagini took his place, but ran into trouble while pitching the ninth with a six-run cushion, so Roberto Osuna, who’s been busy lately, tossed seven pitches to secure the save. Will Harris will continue to see high-leverage looks, but manager AJ Hinch prefers to use him in tight spots with runners on base, so he might not be used to begin an eighth inning very often. Holds will also be available for Hector Rondon and Joe Smith.
Updated hierarchy: Osuna | Harris | Rondon.
New York Mets — As we figured, Seth Lugo didn’t get the save on Thursday, but Mother Nature intervened to make sure Edwin Diaz didn’t either. Diaz was warming while Paul Sewald tossed a clean eighth, but when the rain took over, Sewald walked away with the sneaky vulture save.
Hierarchy remains: *Lugo | Diaz | Wilson.
* = closer-by-committee
Oakland A’s — The Vulture Save Watch correctly predicted Liam Hendriks’s day off — but instead of Blake Treinen, who had thrown only five pitches since last Saturday, the A’s used Joakim Soria, who allowed a run but managed to record his first save. Neither Soria nor Treinen has been very good lately, but we’ll give Soria the leg up based on usage.
Updated hierarchy: Hendriks | Soria | Treinen.
Chicago Cubs — Rowan Wick did get that vulture save we predicted, closing out a 1-0 win for the Cubs on Thursday.
Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Wick | Strop.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Matt Barnes — Brandon Workman has pitched in two straight.
2. Jose Alvarado — Emilio Pagan has thrown 40 pitches over the last two days.
3. Will Harris/Hector Rondon — Roberto Osuna threw just seven pitches Thursday but has pitched in four of five.
4. Ty Buttrey — The Angels were off Thursday, but Hansel Robles has still pitched in three of four and four of six.
Today/tomorrow:
1. Derek Law/Justin Shafer — Ken Giles is on paternity leave, and the Blue Jays might not go right back to Law after he blew the save Thursday.
2. Joe Kelly — Kenley Jansen’s limited workload plan means he will only pitch once per series for the rest of the season.
