Diego Castillo a candidate for occasional saves

April 2, 2019

St. Louis Cardinals – John Gant picked up his first save of the season on Monday afternoon, pitching the 11th inning after almost every other reliever in the pen had already pitched. He does not factor in to the Cardinals’ usual late inning plans.

Hierarchy remains: Hicks | Miller | Brebbia.

Milwaukee Brewers – For the second straight outing, Alex Wilson got the ball before Josh Hader and successfully kept the opponent off the board. He looks to be the 8th inning man in Milwaukee for the time being.

Updated hierarchy: Hader | Wilson | Barnes.

Baltimore Orioles – After Mike Wright Jr. gave up a leadoff single to start the 9th inning, Richard Bleier came on and converted a shaky save, allowing his inherited runner to score, plus one more. The Orioles will be mixing and matching in the late innings, but Mychal Givens remains the one to own here; he was unavailable after throwing 49 pitches on Sunday.

Hierarchy remains: *Givens | Bleier | Fry.
* = closer-by-committee

Tampa Bay Rays – For the second game in a row, Diego Castillo got the 9th inning of a Rays victory. Yes, it was a six-run game, but that didn’t stop Tampa from using its would-be closer Jose Alvarado in the 8th. Look for Castillo to get occasional save chances here when Alvarado is unavailable or when matchups are right.

Updated hierarchy: Alvarado | Castillo | Roe.

Houston Astros – For the second straight game, recently-extended set-up man Ryan Pressly got the 8th inning ahead of Roberto Osuna. He looks to be the handcuff here going forward.

Updated hierarchy: Osuna | Pressly | Rondon.

Seattle Mariners – The Seattle closer carousel on Monday landed on Roenis Elias, who converted for his first save of the season. We’ll add him to the hierarchy with the understanding that we still have no idea what’s going on here and that this looks to be a full-fledged full-bullpen approach on any given night.

Updated hierarchy: *Gearrin | Elias | Bradford.
* = closer-by-committee

Arizona Diamondbacks – Rookie Jon Duplantier pitched the final three innings of a blowout for Arizona, earning a save in his MLB debut. He doesn’t factor in to the Diamondbacks’ usual late inning plans.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Bradley | Hirano.

San Francisco Giants – Carrying a two-run lead into the 7th inning against the rival Dodgers, the Giants went with the trio of Mark Melancon, Tony Watson, and Will Smith to close the door. Assuming usual rest and health, it looks like that’s the way they’re going to line up going forward when they can.

Updated hierarchy: Smith | Watson | Melancon.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Jeurys Familia/Seth Lugo – Edwin Diaz labored through 29 pitches last night and may get the night off; if not, it’ll be back to back and three of four and he’ll be off tomorrow. Jeurys Familia also has a high workload, so monitor usage tonight.

Tomorrow
1. Alex Wilson – If Josh Hader pitches tonight, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
2. Tony Watson/Mark Melancon – If Will Smith and/or Tony Watson pitches tonight, it’ll be back to back and three of four.