August 26, 2015
Kansas City Royals – After being kept out of a save situation on Sunday, Greg Holland was also held out of last night’s game, and is experiencing a “cranky” arm. The ever-reliable Wade Davis got the save in his place. Holland has been solid this year despite four blown saves, but Davis has been nearly unhittable and Holland’s grumpy old arm may be signaling a bit of unrest at the back end of one of the best bullpens in the majors. Holland will keep his spot for now based on his track record, but we will be monitoring this situation closely.
Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.
Minnesota Twins – In a radio interview on Tuesday, Glen Perkins said he felt “better than [he] had in a long time” after his return to the bullpen Sunday. His velocity was down, which he attributed to not pitching in six days. He wasn’t used in last night’s game, but it wasn’t a save situation and Jepsen took the 9th inning. While Perkins is saying all the right things, the Twins are likely to be cautious with Perkins in the short term, and he may lose out on some save opportunities until he can get back to where he was. He keeps his spot for now, but with Jepsen pitching well, this is a situation that is far from resolved.
Hierarchy remains: Perkins | Jepsen | May.
Seattle Mariners – In one of the most unsettled bullpens in the league, it was Logan Kensing that pitched the 7th ahead of Carson Smith and Tom Wilhelmsen. Edgar Olmos got the win after 3.2 innings of long relief. This is Kensing’s second straight hold since being called up on Aug. 23, and that is enough to jump into our hierarchy.
Updated hierarchy: Wilhelmsen | Smith | Kensing.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Keone Kela, Texas Rangers – Shawn Tolleson has thrown in 4 of 5 games, including 24 pitches in a blown save last night.
2. Wade Davis, Kansas City Royals – Greg Holland’s arm may still be cantankerous.
