Kevin Jepsen gets a vote of confidence

April 30, 2016

Minnesota Twins — Injured Glen Perkins has kept busy flipping off photographers, hawking pretzels, and pranking Phil Hughes, but evidently hasn’t been cleared to throw baseballs yet. Kevin Jepsen has been mediocre thus far, but Paul Molitor is vowing to stick with him. Trevor May lurks.

Hierarchy remains: Jepsen | May | Fien.

Los Angeles Dodgers — From last Friday to yesterday, Chris Hatcher made four appearances, yielding eight runs and 11 baserunners over three innings. Pedro Baez earned three holds over the same time period, and we have to believe he’d be the choice if Kenley Jansen needs a break.

Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Baez | Hatcher.

Baltimore Orioles — Brad Brach gave up the tying run in the seventh, then earned the win when the Orioles came back in the bottom of the inning. Both Brach and Mychal Givens have been pitching well, but Buck Showalter routinely goes to Givens first, and Brach has allowed half as many baserunners while pitching a few more innings.

Updated hierarchy: Britton | O’Day | Brach.

Colorado Rockies — Jason Motte had a good bullpen session on Friday in his rehabilitation from a sore shoulder, and will travel with the team on its upcoming road trip. There’s still no target date for his return, however.

Hierarchy remains: McGee | Qualls | Logan.

New York Yankees — When Aroldis Chapman returns from his domestic violence suspension on May 9, he will do so as an American citizen.

Hierarchy remains: Miller | Betances | Shreve.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. David Phelps, Miami Marlins — Up six in the ninth, Jose Urena gave away Adam Conley’s no-hitter, then allowed three runs on a series of hits. A.J. Ramos was summoned for a cheap save, but he made it interesting by walking the bases loaded before striking out the would-be winning run. He’s now pitched in two straight and five of six (86 pitches).
2. Bryan Shaw, Cleveland Indians — Cody Allen was called on in the tenth to escape a bases-loaded jam, but when he came back out for the eleventh, he gave up a walk-off home run. He’s now pitched on three of the last four days (58 pitches).
3. Nate Jones, Chicago White Sox — David Robertson remains on bereavement leave.

Kyle Barraclough, flaky and delicious

April 29, 2016

Miami Marlins — Hard-throwing righty Kyle Barraclough, acquired by the Marlins in the Steve Cishek trade, is off to a torrid start this season (6.2 innings, 0 ER, 11 Ks), and yesterday picked up his third consecutive hold, pitching the seventh inning ahead of David Phelps and A.J. Ramos. He’s only 25 years old, his fastball averages 96 mph, and the correct pronunciation of his name is wonderful. What’s not to love?

Updated hierarchy: Ramos | Phelps | Barraclough.

Atlanta Braves — When wins are as rare as they’ve been for the 5-17 Braves so far this season, you tend to make sure that your best pitchers are pitching when you actually have a chance to win a game. And with the Braves actually holding a lead late in Thursday’s game, Jason Grilli was nowhere to be found. Instead, for the second straight time, Jim Johnson picked up the eighth-inning hold ahead of Arodys Vizcaino. The Braves are still probably hoping they can get a prospect for Grilli midseason, but his poor start has kept him out of high-leverage chances since the season’s first week.

Updated hierarchy: Vizcaino | Johnson | Grilli.

Philadelphia Phillies — Hector Neris, who has been among the biggest surprises in any bullpen this season (13 IP, 1 ER, 20 Ks) needed a night off after pitching two games in a row. Despite the need for a bridge to closer Jeanmar Gomez, the Phillies still stayed away from veteran David Hernandez, instead allowing Elvis Araujo and Dalier Hinojosa to navigate the eighth inning. Much of what Hernandez has done this year has been positive — he has 16 strikeouts in just 9.1 innings. But he’s also had two particularly tough outings, and yesterday is an indication that he needs to do a little more if he’s ever going to push Gomez for the closer role again.

Updated hierarchy: Gomez | Neris | Hernandez.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Nate Jones, Chicago White Sox — David Robertson will miss at least three games on the bereavement list.
2. Hector Neris, Philadelphia Phillies — Jeanmar Gomez has pitched in three straight.

Huston Street headed to DL

April 28, 2016

Los Angeles Angels — Closer Huston Street suffered a strained oblique and is expected to be placed on the DL.  Joe Smith picked up the save last night, and should continue to see save chances while Street is out.

Updated hierarchy: Smith | Salas | Alvarez.

New York Mets – As predicted in the Vulture Save Watch, Addison Reed picked up his first save of the year protecting a three-run lead. Hansel Robles took the 8th inning ahead of Reed, and he retired the heart of the Reds’ lineup while striking out two. Robles has been taking the 7th inning recently, and while Jim Henderson has been solid in the early going, Robles has gotten the higher-leverage situations of late.

Updated hierarchy: Familia | Reed | Robles.

Miami Marlins — AJ Ramos was unavailable after throwing in three straight games last night and the Vulture Save Watch predicted that David Phelps would get the save opportunity. However, it didn’t predict that he and manager Don Mattingly would be ejected from the game for arguing balls and strikes in the 8th inning. This left recently recalled Jose Urena to get out of a bases-loaded jam, which he did by striking out Yasiel Puig and getting a pop out from Adrian Gonzalez. Urena stuck around for the 9th and picked up his first career save. Urena is a converted starter, who was initially tagged for middle relief, but after this impressive outing he may find himself in higher-leverage situations quickly.

Hierarchy remains: Ramos | Phelps | Morris.

Detroit Tigers — Francisco Rodriguez was activated from the family medical emergency list, and immediately took the 9th inning in a five-run game. He pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts, and should see the next save opportunity.

Hierarchy remains: Rodriguez | Lowe | J. Wilson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. David Hernandez, Philadelphia Phillies — Jeanmar Gomez has pitched in back-to-back games.

 

Hector Neris rising in Phillies ‘pen

April 27, 2016

Philadelphia Phillies — Hector Neris pitched a clean eighth inning on Tuesday to lower his ERA to 0.75. Not only is he second on the Phillies with four holds, but he is also second among all MLB relievers with 20 strikeouts. The team believes that Neris is one of its best relievers, and that means he should be getting more high-leverage chances as the season progresses.

Updated hierarchy: Gomez | Hernandez | Neris.

Tampa Bay Rays — With Danny Farquhar optioned to Triple-A, Erasmo Ramirez has picked up back-to-back holds. Ramirez is a versatile pitcher that can also start, but it seems as if Kevin Cash likes the righty in the late innings.

Updated hierarchy: Colome | Cedeno | Ramirez.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Mark Lowe, Detroit Tigers — K-Rod is still on emergency leave.
2. David Phelps, Miami Marlins — A.J. Ramos has pitched in three straight games.
3. Trevor May, Minnesota Twins — Kevin Jepsen blew a save last night in his third appearance in as many games.
4. Addison Reed, New York Mets — Jeurys Familia has pitched in three straight games and four of the last five, while Reed has appeared in just two consecutive contests.