Presented with a two-run lead against the Dodgers, Pete Fairbanks took the mound trying to snap his team’s eight-game losing streak. Things did not go as planned. His outing began with Andy Pages drawing a leadoff walk, followed by a Dalton Rushing walk, and a pop-out bunt by Miguel Rojas, which would be the only out recorded by the veteran closer. Shohei Ohtani hit a ground-rule double, driving in a run, and after an intentional walk to Freddie Freeman, Fairbanks left with the team’s trainer.
He only threw nine of his 23 pitches for strikes (39.1 Strike%) without a whiff:
Tyler Phillips replaced him, recording a strikeout against Will Smith, followed by a walk-off, two-RBI single by Kyle Tucker. This put three earned runs on Fairbanks’ ledger, but the concern lies in the postgame comments, found in this column by Christina De Nicola of MLB.com:
Fantasy players know about his existing Raynaud’s Syndrome, though it usually triggers when it’s cold for the veteran. He went on:
This leaves fantasy managers in limbo, and on the precipice of another closer-by-committee if Fairbanks requires a stint on the 15-day injury list. Last year, Calvin Faucher led the team in saves with 15, but Anthony Bender and Tyler Phillips also chipped in four apiece. As the team’s Win Probability Added chart illustrates, the unit has not been terrific this season:
One anticipates Clayton McCullough using a matchups-based approach in the near term, with Faucher, Bender, Phillies, Andrew Nardi, and others involved during the late-inning mix. A sleeper could be Michael Petersen. He’s posted a 0.92 WHIP with 13 strikeouts against five walks (17 K-BB%) across 10 games, spanning 12 innings, following a similar path blazed by Ronny Henríquez last year. From a fantasy perspective, it’s best to adopt a wait-and-see approach while awaiting news on how the team will handle Fairbanks moving forward.
Faucher and Bender are the most likely pivots if necessary, but it will not be a smooth ride. Tread lightly.
For now, if Fairbanks lands on the IL:
Projected Hierarchy: *Calvin Faucher | *Anthony Bender | *Tyler Phillips
*= closer-by-committee
Thanks for being a part of the Closer Monkey community. Stay safe, and be well.
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