Zach Duke looking sharp; was J.J. Hoover tipping pitches?

April 25, 2016

Chicago White Sox – Zach Duke had been used more like a LOOGY in the early going — he didn’t pitch a full inning in any of his first six outings — but he’s now had five straight outings where he’s gone an inning or more, including Sunday, when he pitched the 7th ahead of Nate Jones and David Robertson. Look to him as a possible source of holds going forward.

Updated hierarchy: Robertson | Jones | Duke.

Pittsburgh Pirates – Arquimedes Caminero picked up a save in the 13th inning on Sunday. Though he’s the reigning “best name in baseball” (having taken the title from Coco Crisp, who wrested it from Boof Bonser, who claimed it from Tim Spooneybarger, who won it from Quinton McCracken), Caminero does not factor in to the Pirates’ usual late inning plans.

Hierarchy remains: Melancon | Watson | Feliz.

Cincinnati Reds – Finally, a glimmer of hope for those who have stuck with J.J. Hoover this whole time: the embattled former closer says he’s been tipping his pitches, and thinks he’s corrected the problem. He backed this claim up with a scoreless outing on Sunday, and could re-enter the mix for 9th inning opportunities if he can post a few more zeroes.

Hierarchy remains: *Cingrani | Cotham | Ohlendorf.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Pat Neshek, Houston Astros – Luke Gregerson threw 2 innings last night, while Ken Giles has pitched in back to back games (including a 33-pitch loss yesterday).
2. Jake Petricka, Chicago White Sox – David Robertson, Nate Jones, and Zach Duke have all pitched in back to back games, meaning we have to reach all the way off of the hierarchy for this one. If Chicago’s top three get a rest, look for Petricka to get the save chance.
3. Joe Blanton, Los Angeles Dodgers – Another big reach here, but Kenley Jansen has gone four of five and so has Chris Hatcher, while Pedro Baez and Luis Avilan have pitched in three straight.

 

Tony Cingrani moves to top of Reds’ committee

April 24, 2016

Detroit Tigers — Francisco Rodriguez has been placed on the emergency family medical leave list.  It’s unclear how long K-Rod will be out but Mark Lowe and Justin Wilson will see save changes while he out is gone.

Hierarchy remains: Rodriguez | Lowe | J. Wilson.

Cincinnati Reds — Blake Wood pitched pretty well yesterday, throwing 1.1 scoreless innings.  However, the fact that he was brought on in the 5th inning with the Reds losing would suggest he isn’t likely to see any save chances soon.  Caleb Cotham, who had a 0.00 ERA coming into the night, pitched in the 7th and 8th innings and gave up five baserunners and two earned runs, so that’s not helping his chances of securing save opportunities.  Tony Cingrani got the last out of the 8th and then stayed on for a scoreless 9th to finish off a Reds’ blowout victory.  Since he pitched the best and latest in the game, we will move Cingrani to the top of the committee. Also, Wood drops off the hierarchy and we will throw Ross Ohlendorf on there for now (mostly because we like his old-school delivery).  The Reds bullpen is still a mess, and it will take some time to sort out roles, so we will continue to monitor usage and any comments from manager Bryan Price.

Updated hierarchy: *Cingrani | Cotham | Ohlendorf.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Fernando Salas, Los Angeles Angels – Huston Street and Joe Smith have both pitched in three straight.
2. David Hernandez, Philadelphia Phillies – Jeanmar Gomez has pitched in two straight and three of the last four.
3. Ross Ohlendorf, Cincinnati Reds – Tony Cingrani is the only lefty in the Reds’ bullpen so if he is needed before the 9th, Ohlendorf might get the call since Caleb Cotham threw 41 pitches yesterday.

Blake Wood becoming key in the Reds’ brutal bullpen

April 23, 2016

Cincinnati Reds — J.J. Hoover is having a very rough April. Even a relatively low-pressure outing, down three in the ninth, turned into a four-run, five-hit implosion. It’s unclear whether Hoover will still be on the team through the weekend, but we have to believe he’s not sniffing any save chances for a while. Blake Wood and Ross Ohlendorf should move up accordingly.

Updated hierarchy: *Cotham | Cingrani | Wood.
* = closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies — Miguel Castro joined Jason Motte on the disabled list Friday, caused by inflammation in his right shoulder. It ain’t pretty, what’s left behind Jake McGee in the Rockies pen: new set-up guy Chad Qualls has a 6.35 ERA, Justin Miller averages two baserunners an inning, and Christian Bergman is giving up hits to everyone he doesn’t strike out. We’ll give the slot to lefty Boone Logan for now, but callup Gonzalez Germen could make it his before long.

Updated hierarchy: McGee | Qualls | Logan.

Oakland A’s — Although Bob Melvin says Oakland still has a closer committee, Sean Doolittle allowed two inherited runners to score before Ryan Madson earned save number seven with a perfect ninth. The A’s have been keeping their bullpen busy, with nine saves in their ten wins.

Hierarchy remains: *Madson | Doolittle | Axford.
* = closer-by-committee

Atlanta Braves — It doesn’t look like much of a committee in Atlanta either. Jason Grilli’s only save was of the vulture variety, and he came in on Friday night with the Braves down three in the eighth.

Updated hierarchy: Vizcaino | Grilli | Johnson.

Kansas City Royals — With Joakim Soria struggling, the Royals used Luke Hochevar in the seventh and Kelvin Herrera in the eighth, in a two-run game. Soria has earned enough goodwill to keep his slot through this one snub, but we’ll be watching to see who gets the next high-leverage eighth.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Soria | Herrera.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Bryan Shaw, Cleveland Indians — Cody Allen didn’t take Friday off, but Saturday could be a different story. He’s now thrown 41 pitches in two days.
2. Joaquin Benoit, Seattle Mariners — Steve Cishek has gone in three straight.
3. Neftali Feliz, Pittsburgh Pirates — Both Mark Melancon and Tony Watson had lengthy outings on Friday night. Melancon also pitched on Thursday.
4. Joe Smith/Fernando Salas, Los Angeles Angels — Huston Street has pitched in two straight (37 pitches).

Alex Colome becoming clear option at closer for Rays

April 22, 2016

Tampa Bay Rays — The days of Kevin Cash’s closer committee appear to be over, as Alex Colome has picked up a save in three straight games. Thursday, Colome was called upon in the middle of the ninth inning of a wild 12-8 game against the Red Sox. With two men on and one out, he retired Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia — and Tampa’s asterisk, at least for now.

Updated hierarchy: Colome | Cedeno | Farquhar.

Oakland A’s — Ryan Madson continues to solidify his role atop Oakland’s committee, getting a two-out save on Thursday and solidifying a road sweep of the Yankees. With six saves, Madson is now tied for the league lead, as everyone predicted.

Hierarchy remains: *Madson | Doolittle | Axford.
* = closer-by-committee

Miami Marlins — With the Marlins struggling, Don Mattingly treated a four-run game like it was even tighter, using David Phelps in the eighth and A.J. Ramos in the ninth. When it comes to Phelps getting more use late in games, Donnie Baseball is a man of his word.

Updated hierarchy: Ramos | Phelps | Morris.

Philadelphia Phillies — The Phillies called up former A’s closer Andrew Bailey from the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (book your workplace visit from Hambone or Chris P. Bacon here!) on Wednesday. You may see some speculative pickups in your leagues, but it’s too early to tell whether Bailey can bounce back from his late spring struggles and factor into manager Pete Mackanin’s late-inning plans.

Hierarchy remains: Gomez | Hernandez | Hinojosa.

Texas Rangers — Erstwhile setup man Keone Kela (7.11 ERA) was placed on the disabled list Thursday with a right elbow impingement. Kela will have surgery Friday to remove a bone spur in his elbow, putting him out of action for about three months.

Hierarchy remains: Tolleson | Dyson | Diekman.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Sam Dyson, Texas Rangers — Shawn Tolleson pitched in his third straight game Thursday, nailing down his third consecutive save. (Now his ERA is lower than catcher Bryan Holaday’s uniform number, which is a HUGE improvement.) Expect Sam Dyson to take the reins if Tolleson can’t go Friday.
2. Bryan Shaw, Cleveland Indians — Cody Allen pitched a clean ninth inning but was knocked around in the tenth, yielding two walks, a wild pitch, and a three-run go-ahead shot to Robinson Cano. He threw 30 pitches and should get a night off. Shaw has been bad lately, but he threw just two pitches Thursday and should be fresh. Zach McAllister could also be an option, though he threw 21 pitches yesterday.
3. Anyone, Cincinnati Reds — The Reds have the most volatile bullpen in baseball, and they showed it again in a 16-0 loss to the Cubs last night, allowing 11 runs over the final five innings. It’s a full-blown committee now, so although we expect to see Caleb Cotham (who did not pitch as his team was no-hit Thursday) to get the first crack at a save chance, it’s hard to be certain.
4. Sean Doolittle, Oakland A’s — Ryan Madson should be available after throwing only seven pitches, but manager Bob Melvin has said that he’ll choose a closer based on matchups. So Sean Doolittle could get the call on Friday.

Caleb Cotham to lead the committee in Cincinnati

April 21, 2016

Cincinnati Reds – In a meeting with manager Bryan Price, JJ Hoover was told that he would not be the closer going forward, but could still see some save chances. The Reds’ bullpen has a league-worst 6.04 ERA, so this is likely to be a wide-open committee. Our best bet to take the lead, and potentially hold the job, is Caleb Cotham, who came over from the Yankees in the Aroldis Chapman deal, and has yet to give up an earned run this year. Price seems oddly committed to the idea of Hoover as closer, so he might get some save chances and keep a little value. Also in the mix will be Tony Cingrani, Blake Wood, and Ross Ohlendorf, none of whom are particularly attractive options. Cingrani is the only lefty in the Reds bullpen and may be used situationally. Wood saved 29 games for AAA Indianapolis last year, but has just one major league save. Ohlendorf picked up the win yesterday, but he has struggled with command early and sports an 8.22 ERA. Expect this to be a volatile committee which we will monitor closely going forward.

Updated hierarchy: *Cotham | Cingrani | Hoover.
* = closer-by-committee

Seattle Mariners — Joel Peralta took the seventh inning for the Mariners on Wednesday and picked up his second hold of the year. Tony Zych has been used mainly in longer relief, so Peralta takes his spot in the hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Cishek | Benoit | Peralta.

Oakland A’s – As predicted in yesterday’s Vulture Save Watch, Ryan Madson got the day off and it was Sean Doolittle who got the ball in the ninth to protect a three-run lead. He converted the save, throwing only eight pitches. This is still a committee in Oakland, but Madson has been the clear leader, taking the bulk of save opportunities in the early going.

Hierarchy remains: *Madson | Doolittle | Axford.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Mark Lowe, Detroit Tigers – Francisco Rodriguez struggled in picking up the save yesterday, throwing 29 pitches and giving up a pair of home runs. He may get the day off.
2. Sam Dyson, Texas Rangers – Shawn Tolleson has pitched in back-to-back games, throwing 36 pitches over that span.