Tyler Clippard blows a save; Keone Kela ascends

April 27, 2015

Oakland A’s — Oakland’s bullpen has been struggling lately, turning Evan Scribner into an eighth-inning fixture, and leading Bob Melvin to give Ryan Cook the seventh-inning role in his season debut. Cook pitched well, but Tyler Clippard blew the save. Clippard has enough good will built up, though, that he’s not on the Hot Seat yet. Sean Doolittle is throwing from flat ground, but he still isn’t expected back until June.

Updated hierarchy: Clippard | Scribner | Cook.

Texas Rangers — While Tanner Scheppers sorts things out in the earlier innings, Keone Kela will be counted on in higher-leverage spots. He pitched a scoreless ninth in a tie game on Sunday. Kela’s performance has been a source of inspiration at a difficult time for the scout who signed him.

Updated hierarchy: Feliz | Tolleson | Kela.

New York Yankees — David Carpenter has been absent from close games lately; maybe he’s not tall enough for Joe Girardi’s liking. In a bullpen full of literal giants, 6-foot-8 Chris Martin stands as tall as any — and the five straight outs he recorded during last night’s two-run win over NY (NL) gets him into a hierarchy that’s now only an inch short of 20 feet tall.

Updated hierarchy: Miller | Betances | Martin.

Chicago White Sox — After making some mechanical adjustments recently, Jake Petricka was used in a tight seventh, and should continue to get important innings for the Sox.

Updated hierarchy: Robertson | Duke | Petricka.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Keone Kela/Roman Mendez, Texas Rangers — Neftali Feliz threw 38 pitches on Sunday and Shawn Tolleson was heavily used as well. Kela and Mendez are next in line.
2. Zach Duke, Chicago White Sox — David Robertson picked up a win and a save on Sunday, and needed 37 total pitches to do it. If he can’t go on Monday, Duke should get the nod.
3. Roberto Osuna/Brett Cecil, Toronto Blue Jays — The Jays’ relievers are being used situationally.

Dodgers’ closer committee changes, Seth Maness records save

April 26, 2015

Los Angeles Dodgers — Joel Peralta is experiencing “dead arm” and could be headed to the DL.  Peralta was the head of the Dodgers’ closer committee; it looks like Yimi Garcia could take his place while the Dodgers wait for Kenley Jansen to get back.  Chris Hatcher pitched the 9th protecting a four run lead on Saturday, and both he and Pedro Baez could still get looks as well.

Updated hierarchy: *Garcia | Baez | Hatcher.
*closer-by-committee

St. Louis Cardinals — Seth Maness recorded his first save of the season last night, as Trevor Rosenthal and Jordan Walden were given the night off.  Maness had three saves last season, and could continue to see save chances when the Cardinals’ closer and set-up man are unavailable.  Mitch Harris also made his major league debut yesterday for the Cardinals’ bullpen.  Harris spent five years in the Navy, where he would throw with the cook who was from the Dominican Republic.  Harris won’t factor into the Cardinals’ late inning bullpen plans, but that doesn’t mean the Monkey won’t be rooting for him.

Updated hierarchy: Rosenthal | Walden | Maness.

Toronto Blue Jays – All three members of the Blue Jays’ hierarchy contributed to a blown save on Saturday.  Roberto Osuna struck out the first two batters of the 8th inning protecting a one-run lead, but was pulled after he gave up a single to Evan Longoria.  Brett Cecil came on and gave up a single to the only batter he faced.  Finally, the Blue Jays brought in Miguel Castro.  Castro gave up back-to-back doubles, allowing both inherited runners to score, along with one of his own.  Cecil took the loss while Castro got the blown save, his second of the season.  Manager John Gibbons continues to say he will use his relievers situationally, instead of a traditional closer.

Hierarchy remains: *Castro | Osuna | Cecil.
*closer-by-committee

Detroit Tigers – Tom Gorzelanny picked up his first hold of the season yesterday, pitching 1.1 scoreless innings before closer Joakim Soria came on to pitch the 9th.  With Al Alburquerque struggling, Gorzelanny could see more action in the later innings.

Updated hierarchy: Soria | Chamberlain | Gorzelanny.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Joe Smith, Los Angeles Angels – 
Huston Street has appeared in three straight games.
2. Tony Watson, Pittsburgh Pirates Mark Melancon has pitched three days in a row.
3. Sergio Romo, San Francisco Giants Santiago Casilla blew the save yesterday and has pitched in four out of the last five days.
4. Edward Mujica, Boston Red Sox Koji Uehara has pitched in two straight and hasn’t pitched in three straight games so far this season.
5. Pedro Baez/Chris Hatcher – Los Angeles Dodgers With Joel Peralta injured, the Dodgers’ committee becomes a little more unsettled.

Yimi Garcia and A.J. Ramos excelling; complications for Bobby Parnell

April 25, 2015

Los Angeles Dodgers — With 16 strikeouts in nine appearances, rookie Yimi Garcia has been the best pitcher in the Dodgers’ bullpen this season. On Friday night, he finally got a shot at closing — and he mowed down the Padres with two strikeouts and a foul pop. Don Mattingly isn’t ready to abandon the committee system, but Garcia will surely be a huge part of it going forward, and a strong candidate for the setup role after Kenley Jansen returns.

Updated hierarchy: *Peralta | Garcia | Baez.
*closer-by-committee

Miami Marlins — Steve Cishek earned his first save of the year, lowering his ERA to 10.38 in the process. If you’re a Cishek owner, it’s worth noting that his absence would likely create a closer triumvirate of Mike Dunn, A.J. Ramos, and Bryan Morris. We think Dunn’s recent ineffectiveness would give Ramos the inside track at this point.

Updated hierarchy: Cishek | Ramos | Dunn.

New York Mets — The Mets’ success is overshadowing their terrible luck with injuries — on Friday came news that Bobby Parnell’s minor league rehab would be shut down for a week because of forearm soreness. Parnell has been out for a year now after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Hierarchy remains: Familia | C.Torres | A.Torres.

Detroit Tigers – Al Alburquerque had his second putrid outing in three days, giving up two home runs in mop-up duty and running his ERA into double digits. He has now given up more home runs in his last three innings than in his first 80 as a major leaguer. Although his velocity is down, he says he feels fine. Bruce Rondon threw on Tuesday and Thursday, and his return can’t come soon enough for this beleaguered pen.

Hierarchy remains: Soria | Chamberlain | Alburquerque.

San Diego Padres — Kevin Quackenbush and his newly trimmed beard have been recalled from Triple-A, and he could move into the Padres’ hierarchy very quickly. On Friday night, he was used in the eighth and ninth with the Padres narrowly trailing.

Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Benoit | Thayer.

Tampa Bay Rays — Matt Andriese gave up his spot in the rotation to Drew Smyly today, but wound up earning a three-inning blowout save instead — and his first Closer Monkey reference. I’d take that deal. While we’re here, we should mention that Jake McGee will throw a bullpen session tomorrow and, if all goes well, will start rehab with the High-A Stone Cutters Crabs.

Hierarchy remains: *Boxberger | Jepsen | Frieri.
* closer-by-committee

Houston Astros — After Luke Gregerson blew a save in the ninth and Pat Neshek gave up two-thirds of a three-run lead in the tenth, Chad Qualls grabbed a vulture save. Josh Fields was also activated from the disabled list; A.J. Hinch says that after a few low-leverage appearances, Fields could be used in “a number of roles.”

Hierarchy remains: Gregerson | Qualls | Neshek.

Colorado Rockies — Adam Ottavino returned from his brief rest and earned an uneventful save on Friday night.

Hierarchy remains: Ottavino | Axford | Betancourt.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Matt Belisle, St. Louis Cardinals
— Jordan Walden (45 pitches in four days) and Trevor Rosenthal (pitched in three straight) have gotten a lot of work lately. We think Belisle is next in line.
2. Ken Giles/Luis Garcia, Philadelphia Phillies — Giles got the win in Friday night’s game in a spot that normally would have featured Jonathan Papelbon. After the game, Ryne Sandberg explained that Papelbon was sick in bed all day. If he needs a little more rest, Sandberg could call on Giles again, or Luis Garcia.
3. Joe Smith, Los Angeles Angels — Huston Street needed 26 pitches to get Friday’s save; he threw 15 on Thursday.
4. Jumbo Diaz, Cincinnati Reds — Aroldis Chapman has pitched in three of four games. Jumbo Diaz is better-rested, and poor Tony Cingrani? He hasn’t pitched in 10 days, leading to some (more) criticism of Bryan Price.
5. Tony Watson, Pittsburgh Pirates — Mark Melancon got another 1-2-3 save on Friday, but he’s now pitched on three of four days.

Weekly Hot Seat Update: April 24, 2015

This week, we’ll spotlight the Pirates and check in on the four committees on our depth chart.

Pittsburgh Pirates

We’ve already written a lot about Mark Melancon’s velocity. Now, we’ll look at the arms behind him. But before we dive in, let’s state one thing up front so the rest of this section doesn’t get misconstrued: Tony Watson is the handcuff. He’s the guy you want. But for two reasons, we’re still going to spend a little time talking about the Pirates.

-Lefthandedness: Watson wouldn’t be the first set-up man who gets passed over just because he happens to be a lefty. But he’s got a few things going for him, chief among them that he’s faced a greater percent of righthanded batters every year since 2012 — this year, 29 of the 33 hitters that he’s retired have been righthanded. This makes him the farthest thing from a LOOGY this side of Aroldis Chapman. Also in Watson’s favor is that he’s not the only lefty in the bullpen — the Pirates can also look to Antonio Bastardo if they want to play matchups.

-Clint Hurdle: In 2012, Jason Grilli was one of the best set-up men in baseball. Pitching the 8th inning ahead of Joel Hanrahan, he put up 90 strikeouts in 58.2 innings, a 2.91 ERA, and 32 holds. And every time Hanrahan needed a night off, Grilli would still pitch the 8th inning and Juan Cruz would get the save opportunity. So Clint Hurdle has pulled the “I like my 8th inning guy to stay in the 8th inning no matter what” thing before. Fortunately, he’s already looked to Watson on nights when Melancon is unavailable.

If either of these factors does end up trumping Watson’s handcuff status, there are two guys who could potentially benefits. Jared Hughes had been the most effective reliever in the Pittsburgh bullpen until Wednesday, when he gave up 2 runs without recording an out. The wild card is Arquimedes Caminero, who throws 101 mph and has 11 strikeouts in 8.2 innings so far.

Quick takes on the committees:

Dodgers: Joel Peralta probably could’ve kicked his asterisk if he’d managed to lock down a 4-out save on Thursday. Instead, he walked the first two hitters he faced and didn’t have enough to return for the 9th inning. He’s still the best guy to own until Kenley Jansen comes up, though the newly recalled Sergio Santos might be someone to watch. Yimi Garcia is also having quite a season, and his save on Friday night could be a sign of big things to come.

Yankees: Despite all the turmoil that faced Dellin Betances in the early going, he’s still got a 0.00 ERA. And since starting the year with 6 walks in 3.1 innings, Betances has looked a lot more like his former self, posting 9 strikeouts and only 1 walk and 2 hits in his past 6 innings. Betances’s resurgence is probably why Joe Girardi stubbornly refuses to declare that Andrew Miller is the full-time stopper. Despite Miller’s early-season brilliance, Betances’s rally means the lefty is probably on a short leash.

Rays: The Rays know that Brad Boxberger is far and away their best reliever. They’re just using him the way sabermetricians have been urging for years — against the strongest portion of the other team’s lineup. So look for other relievers in Tampa to get a save opportunity every other week or so, with Kevin Jepsen being the best non-Boxberger reliever to own.

Blue Jays: Despite a powerful arsenal, Miguel Castro hasn’t been generating a ton of strikeouts, managing just 7 Ks (and 4 BBs) in 9.1 innings so far. Roberto Osuna is the one with the better ratios thus far (10 Ks, 3 BBs in 9.2 innings), while Brett Cecil continues to lurk with the “experience” trump card in his back pocket. Still hard to predict what’s going to happen here, though Castro obviously remains the guy with the leg up. (Though if the Jays stay in contention, their closer at the end of the season might be more the equine type.)

Other Hot Seat notes: Fernando Rodney has put up three scoreless innings since getting wrecked in back to back games earlier this month. Just as encouraging, his control seems to have returned, as he’s posted 5 Ks and 0 BBs in that span, compared with 1 K and 4 BBs in his first four outings… Cody Allen rebounded nicely the day after his meltdown on April 20. He’s probably bought himself at least a couple more blown saves before the Indians look elsewhere… Tyler Clippard’s ratios are alarming (2 Ks and 5 BBs in 6 innings), but he’s only allowed one run so far and no one else in the A’s bullpen has looked particularly sharp… Neftali Feliz still hasn’t pitched since his 47-pitch outing on April 19, but he’d probably need to blow another save before his seat gets hot.