September 11, 2019
New York Mets – Justin Wilson got a four-out save for the Mets, taking over for Brad Brach in the 8th and staying on through a tumultuous 9th for his second save of the year. Notably absent was Edwin Diaz, though Mickey Callaway said postgame that Diaz would still get his chances. Wilson seems like the handcuff for now, though.
Updated hierarchy: Lugo | Wilson | Diaz.
Milwaukee Brewers – Josh Hader got a second day off after pitching twice over the weekend, so it was Drew Pomeranz who got the 9th inning on Tuesday. He converted for his first save. Junior Guerra and Matt Albers appeared earlier in the game.
Hierarchy remains: Hader | Guerra | Albers.
Tampa Bay Rays – Peter Fairbanks got his first save of the season, closing out an 11th inning victory. Even in the unpredictable Rays bullpen, Fairbanks is unlikely to get many chances to close out games.
Hierarchy remains: Pagan | Anderson | Drake.
Oakland A’s – Daniel Mengden pitched the final three innings of a 21-7 blowout on Tuesday. He does not factor in to the A’s usual late game plans.
Hierarchy remains: Hendriks | Soria | Petit.
Colorado Rockies – Jairo Diaz picked up a 2-inning save on Tuesday and clearly Bud Black’s go-to guy in Colorado. We’ll kick away his asterisk.
Updated hierarchy: Diaz | Estevez | Shaw.
San Francisco Giants – Will Smith’s lingering back issues and the recent news that Tony Watson will miss the rest of the year led to a save chance for Shaun Anderson last night. Anderson converted, which is all he needed to do to jump up to handcuff status on this hierarchy.
Updated hierarchy: Smith | Anderson | Gustave.
Seattle Mariners – Anthony Bass picked up his third save of the season on Tuesday; he’ll continue to be an option alongside Matt Magill.
Hierarchy remains: *Magill | Bass | Tuivailala.
* = closer-by-committee
Pittsburgh Pirates – Kyle Crick will miss the rest of the season with a hand injury after getting into a fight with Felipe Vazquez in the clubhouse. Your 2019 Pirates, everyone.
Updated hierarchy: Vazquez | Rodriguez | Liriano.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Carlos Estevez – Jairo Diaz went two innings yesterday.
Tomorrow
1. Derek Law – If Ken Giles goes tonight, it’s back to back and three of four.
2. Andres Munoz – If Kirby Yates goes tonight, it’s back to back and four of five.
3. Mike Morin – Same for Hector Neris.
Seth Lugo continues to be Mets only reliable reliever
September 10, 2019
New York Mets – Seth Lugo had another dominant performance, striking out four hitters over two perfect innings. We’ve talked about his durability before, and he’ll still need regular rest even as the Mets attempt a last ditch run for the Wild Card, but he’s the clear top option here; we’re removing his asterisk.
Updated hierarchy: Lugo | Diaz | Wilson.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Edwin Diaz/Justin Wilson – Seth Lugo will likely get a day off after throwing 2 innings on Monday.
Tomorrow
1. Ryne Stanek – If Jose Urena goes today, he’ll likely get Wednesday off.
Yoshihisa Hirano returns from IL
September 9, 2019
Arizona Diamondbacks – The surging Diamondbacks activated Yoshihisa Hirano from the IL on Sunday. Hirano could get a high-leverage spot sooner rather than later, as Arizona’s efforts to muddle their way through the late innings with their top two relievers unavailable did not go well yesterday. That said, we’ll wait to see how Torey Lovullo deploys him before adding him back to this hierarchy.
Hierarchy remains: Bradley | Ginkel | Lopez.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Junior Guerra/Matt Albers – Josh Hader has gone back to back.
2. Mike Morin – Hector Neris threw 23 pitches last night and has gone in three of four.
Tomorrow
1. Joakim Soria – If Liam Hendricks goes today, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
2. Andres Munoz – If Kirby Yates goes today, it’ll be three straight.
Lots of Vulture Saves on a Saturday in September
September 8, 2019
Tampa Bay Rays — Oliver Drake struck out the side for his second save of the season yesterday. Emilio Pagan got the day off after pitching in two straight and four of the previous five games. Nick Anderson ended up with the win after pitching the eighth inning of a tie game and that left Drake for the save after the Rays took the lead in the bottom of the eighth.
Updated hierarchy: Pagan | Anderson | Drake.
Houston Astros — The Astros gave closer Roberto Osuna the day off after pitching on Thursday and Friday. Will Harris pitched a scoreless 9th for his second save of the season.
Hierarchy remains: Osuna | Harris | Rondon.
Kansas City Royals – The Vulture Save Watch correctly predicted that Ian Kennedy and Scott Barlow would get yesterday off and Tim Hill would get the save chance. It wasn’t your normal save chance as Hill came on in the 8th with two runners on and a 4 run lead, but a save is a save and anybody fortunate enough to have Hill in their lineup yesterday will certainly take it.
Hierarchy remains: Kennedy | Barlow | Hill.
San Francisco Giants — Closer Will Smith was unavailable yesterday after his back tightened up and set-up man Tony Watson is day-to-day with a wrist injury. Even without their two best relievers, the Giants bullpen combined for 4 scoreless innings to close out a 1-0 shutout win. Jandel Gustave got the ninth inning and now has two holds and a save in his last three appearances. Gustave didn’t have very good numbers in the minors and doesn’t strike out many batters, but he got the job done yesterday and could get more chances if Smith and Watson miss time.
Updated hierarchy: Smith | Watson | Gustave.
Arizona Diamondbacks — With Archie Bradley and Kevin Ginkel getting the night off, Arizona played matchups in the ninth inning. Lefty Andrew Chafin started the inning and then gave way to Jimmie Sherfy. Sherfy struck out both batters that he faced for his first save of the season. Sherfy got called back up in September after being up for a couple of weeks in May, and we will see if the Diamondbacks turn to him more in the later innings down the stretch.
Hierarchy remains: Bradley | Ginkel | Lopez.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Luke Jackson – Mark Melancon has pitched in two of three, while Shane Greene has gone in three straight.
2. Ty Buttrey – Hansel Robles has pitched in back-to-back games, throwing a total of 38 pitches.
Monday
1. Junior Guerra – Josh Hader pitched two innings on Saturday so if he pitches again on Sunday, he will likely get Monday off.
Looks like Edwin Diaz will keep getting chances to blow saves
September 7, 2019
Atlanta Braves — A day after Mark Melancon gave up two runs on 28 pitches, he got the night off. Shane Greene came in to close out a one-run game, and impressed with a perfect inning and two strikeouts. This is Greene’s first save with the Braves, but he showed why he was such a valuable trade target. When Melancon needs rest, Greene is a solid backup for the contending Braves.
Hierarchy remains: Melancon | Greene | Jackson.
New York Mets — With a two-run lead, the Mets went to Edwin Diaz to try to close out the Phillies. Diaz gave up the tying home run, but vultured a win when Pete Alonso drew a walk-off walk. Despite resting on Thursday, Seth Lugo needed another day. Mickey Callaway’s announcement that Diaz would continue to be Lugo’s backup was not welcome news to Mets fans.
Hierarchy remains: *Lugo | Diaz | Wilson.
* = closer-by-committee
Colorado Rockies — Jairo Diaz earned his first save since taking over as head of the Rockies’ closer committee, and is the guy to own for the rest of the season in Colorado.
Hierarchy remains: *Diaz | Estevez | Shaw.
* = closer-by-committee
Detroit Tigers — Jose Cisnero has three holds in the last week and pitched a scoreless ninth in a tie game last night.
Updated hierarchy: Jimenez | Farmer | Cisnero.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Yoan Lopez — Both Archie Bradley and Kevin Ginkel had long outings yesterday, and for Bradley it was his third out of four.
2. Gregory Soto — The Detroit bullpen has been very active; Soto is well-rested and has a five-game scoreless streak and a pair of recent holds.
3. Tim Hill — Today would be two straight and four of five for both Ian Kennedy and Scott Barlow.
4. Ryan Buchter — Liam Hendricks and Joakim Soria have pitched in three of four. Yusmeiro Petit is out of the country after his father’s death.
5. Jose Alvarez — Both Hector Neris and Mike Morin have pitched back-to-back and three of four. Alvarez got Friday off.
6. Tony Watson — Will Smith has thrown 50 pitches in the last three days.
7. Nick Anderson — Emilio Pagan has pitched in four of the last five.
8. Shawn Kelley — Jose Leclerc has appeared in three of four.
Sunday:
1. Carlos Estevez — Today would be back-to-back and three of four for Jairo Diaz, who earned his first career save last night.
2. Michael Lorenzen — An appearance Saturday would be three of four for Raisel Iglesias.
3. Will Harris — Roberto Osuna has pitched in back-to-back games, although he’s kept his pitch count low.
