June 13, 2021
Washington Nationals — The Nationals placed Daniel Hudson on the IL with elbow inflammation. Manager Davey Martinez mentioned Kyle Finnegan, Tanner Rainey, and Wander Suero as candidates to receive more high leverage spots while Hudson is out. Finnegan recorded the 6th inning hold (it was a doubleheader so the equivalent of an 8th inning hold) ahead of closer Brad Hand in game 1 yesterday so we will slide him into Hudson’s spot as 1st in line. Tanner Rainer has a modest three-game scoreless streak, including an extra-innings save and the 6th inning of a tie game ahead of closer Brad Hand, so we will slide him to 2nd in line despite his high ERA.
Updated hierarchy: Hand | Finnegan | Rainey.
New York Yankees – Zack Britton returned from the IL and pitched a scoreless inning yesterday. Meanwhile, closer Aroldis Chapman took the loss for the second straight game, and it was also the first time in the regular season that he has allowed walk-off hits in back-to-back outings.
Updated hierarchy: Chapman | Britton | Green.
Miami Marlins – As predicted in the Vulture Save Watch yesterday, Yimi Garcia got the day off on Saturday. Dylan Floro pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save of the season.
Hierarchy remains: Garcia | Floro | Bass.
Tampa Bay Rays – Another day and another save for the Rays’ bullpen. Fantasy owners will be happy to see that this one went to committee leader Diego Castillo. The Rays lead the majors with 41 wins and have generated saves in over half of those wins. Castillo is up to 11 saves, and although a bunch of other random Rays’ relievers will continue to get saves, Castillo is the best guy to own.
Hierarchy remains: *Castillo | Feyereisen | Fairbanks.
* = closer-by-committee
Arizona Diamondbacks – With the Diamondbacks up 1 heading into the 9th inning yesterday, veteran Joakim Soria was summoned to try and close out the win. Unfortunately, Soria was not able to get the job done as he gave up 3 runs while blowing the save and taking the loss. It is worth noting that Stefan Crichton pitched earlier in the game and that’s two straight games where Crichton appeared earlier than Soria. That usage makes us think that this is a committee at the very least, and if Soria had converted the save, he might have moved to the top. We will throw an asterisk on this, and keep an eye on usage moving forward.
Updated hierarchy: Crichton | Sorial | Ginkel.
* = closer-by-committee
Seattle Mariners — Kendall Graveman saw his first action since coming back from the IL and ended up giving up his first earned run of the season. However, the other members of the Mariners’ hierarchy had worse days as Rafael Montero gave up 3 runs in the 9th inning for his 6th blown save of the season, and Paul Sewald didn’t record any outs in extra innings while taking the loss. Graveman should be the best bet for saves moving forward.
Hierarchy remains: *Graveman | Montero | Sewald.
* = closer-by-committee
Minnesota Twins — Taylor Rogers struck out a pair in a perfect 9th inning for his 6th save of the season. Hansel Robles pitched a scoreless 8th inning. This is still a committee and yesterday was likely match-up based with two righties due up in the 8th and 2 lefties due up in the 9th. However, Rogers has now gotten the past two saves so we will monitor this to see if there is a change at the top of the committee moving forward.
Hierarchy remains: *Robles | Rogers | Duffey.
* = closer-by-committee
San Francisco Giants — Caleb Baragar picked up the extra-innings save yesterday for the Giants. The three members on the Giants’ hierarchy pitched earlier in the game and Baragar is likely still behind each of them despite his ERA of 0.49 on the season. The Giants bullpen is really good.
Hierarchy remains: *Rogers | McGee | Littell.
* = closer-by-committee
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Kevin Ginkel (ARI) – Stefan Crichton and Joakim Soria have both pitched in two straight and three of four.
2. Andrew Chafin (CHC) – Craig Kimbrel has pitched in two straight and three of four, though he only threw 3 pitches yesterday
3. Mike Mayers (LAA) – Raisel Iglesias has also pitched in two straight and three of four.
4. Devin Williams (MIL) – Josh Hader has pitched in two straight.
5. Miguel Castro (NYM) – Edwin Diaz has also pitched in two straight, including a multi-inning appearance on Friday.
6. Jose Alvarado (PHI) – Hector Neris has pitched in two of three, throwing a total of 58 pitches in those outings including 30 yesterday.
7. Tanner Rainey (WAS) – Brad Hand and Kyle Finnegan both pitched in each game of the doubleheader yesterday.
Monday
1. Aaron Bummer (CHW) – If Liam Hendriks pitches today, it will be three of four.