June 21, 2017
Los Angeles Angels – Some confusing bullpen usage for the Angels last night, who used Blake Parker in the 6th and Cam Bedrosian — our pick to close after Bud Norris went on the DL — in the 7th before putting the game out of reach. It looked like they were lining up to use David Hernandez as their closer, and the veteran still pitched the 9th even though it wasn’t a save opportunity. (Most confusing of all was the use of Keynan Middleton, who got the 8th. Middleton had given up 4 runs in his last three appearances and was summoned in the 4th inning last time he pitched.) Maybe Mike Scioscia wanted to give Bedrosian another tune-up before moving him back to the 9th. Or maybe he’s going to use Bedrosian all over, like the above article suggests — that would allow him to deploy Huston Street, who has previously claimed he’d rather retire than be used in different innings, exclusively in the 9th. If it’s the latter, then Hernandez is worth an add for the time being, since we’re not entirely convinced Street still has what it takes to get the job done there.
Updated hierarchy: *Hernandez | Bedrosian | Parker.
* = closer-by-committee
Baltimore Orioles – With Mike Wright on the DL, it seems the Orioles have settled on Miguel Castro as their 7th inning man for the time being. Castro got the win yesterday after an impressive outing that saw him wriggle out of a bases loaded, 1-out jam.
Updated hierarchy: Brach | Givens | Castro.
Washington Nationals – It had been a week since we’d last seen Matt Albers, but on Tuesday night, he needed just 11 pitches to strike out the side in the 9th inning. It was a four-run game, but that’s as dominant of an outing as we’ve seen from any Washington reliever in a while, which means Albers makes his way to the top of the committee.
Updated hierarchy: *Albers | Romero | Turner.
* = closer-by-committee
San Francisco Giants – Derek Law was sent to AAA after he was knocked around for the third straight outing on Monday. With set-up man Hunter Strickland in the midst of his 6-game suspension, the Giants are likely to mix and match in the 8th inning for the next few days, as they did last night — when Sam Dyson, Josh Osich, and George Kontos got one out apiece.
Updated hierarchy: Melancon | Strickland | Kontos.
Los Angeles Dodgers – Appearing in his first major league game of the season, Brock Stewart pitched three solid innings for the Dodgers in a 12-0 blowout, earning the save. If you somehow had Stewart in your lineup, email us a screenshot and win free Closer Monkey Premium for a year.
Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Baez | Avilan.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Nick Vincent – Edwin Diaz has gone three straight.
2. Mychal Givens – Brad Brach threw 30 pitches last night and has pitched in three of the last four.
Tomorrow
1. Mychal Givens – See above; if Brach goes today he’ll definitely be off tomorrow.