September 2, 2013
Kansas City Royals – Aaron Crow, who spent the better part of two months as a rock-solid 8th inning man, has fallen out of favor over the last few weeks in Kansas City. He hasn’t been particularly awful — despite a few recent hiccups, he still sports a 3.09 ERA for the year — but he hasn’t gotten a hold in over two weeks, as the Royals have been more apt to use Kelvin Herrera and Luke Hochevar to bridge the gap to Greg Holland. The flame throwing Herrera has long been the organizational favorite to hold the set-up role, while Hochevar has revitalized his career in the bullpen and got the call in the 8th last night. Hierarchy change: Kelvin Herrera to Set-up, Luke Hochevar to 2nd in line.
| . | Closer | . | Set-Up | . | 2nd in line | . | 2014 Closer | . | Updated | |
| KC | Greg Holland | Kelvin Herrera | Luke Hochevar | Greg Holland | 9/2/13 |
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Seattle Mariners – Tom Wilhelmsen was among Seattle’s September callups, and though The Bartender won’t be getting into any high-leverage spots right away, a few good outings could compel the Mariners to put him in to some tighter spots. If he performs, it could raise his trade value prior to 2014, which is the last year before he is eligible for salary arbitration. No hierarchy change.
| . | Closer | . | Set-Up | . | 2nd in line | . | 2014 Closer | . | Updated | |
| SEA | Danny Farquhar | Yoervis Medina | Charlie Furbush | Danny Farquhar | 9/2/13 |
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VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Dane de la Rosa, Los Angeles Angels – Ernesto Frieri has pitched in back to back games and three of the last four days, pitching 3.1 innings and throwing 79 pitches in that span. Dane de la Rosa also appeared in each of those games, but only logged 2.1 innings and 46 pitches; he’s more suited for the save opportunity today.
2. Jose Veras, Detroit Tigers – Joaquin Benoit has pitched in back to back games and three of the last four, and yesterday’s outing was particularly ugly, as he gave up a grand slam and took the loss. He might get the day off today.
