Hottest – In a committee, or on the verge of losing their job right now
30. Sean Doolittle (cuff: Drew Pomeranz)
29. Junichi Tazawa (cuff: Jean Machi)
28. Bruce Rondon (cuff: Alex Wilson)
-Sean Doolittle is ostensibly still the most likely reliever in the A’s bullpen to be closing by the end of the year, but his return to the majors thus far has included two seventh inning appearances where he’s allowed runs. So Drew Pomeranz is still worth holding on to. Junichi Tazawa has been awful — the best thing going for him is the lack of any other decent arms in the Boston bullpen. Similarly, the best thing going for Bruce Rondon is that the Tigers are out of the playoff hunt and are giving him a longer leash to see if he can win the job. But he’s been unconvincing at best, thus far, while Alex Wilson continues to get outs.
Hot – Closers who could be in danger after their next blown save
27. Greg Holland (cuff: Wade Davis)
26. John Axford (cuff: Scott Oberg)
25. Glen Perkins (cuff: Kevin Jepsen)
24. Santiago Casilla (cuff: Sergio Romo)
-Holland is kinda hurt and definitely not the pitcher that Wade Davis is at this point. Axford would be in more trouble if there was even a single reasonable alternative in the Colorado bullpen. Perkins is coming off injury and Kevin Jepsen pitched very well in his absence, while Casilla continues to just kinda make us nervous.
Warmish – Two blown saves in a row and these players might be in trouble
23. Tom Wilhelmsen
22. Luke Gregerson
21. Brad Boxberger
-Tom Wilhelmsen has posted three efficient saves in six days since taking over the job and has already earned himself a leash. Gregerson has been decent lately, but the bullpen behind him is excellent. Boxberger had a better outing on Thursday after a rough stretch.
Cool – These players would have to blow 3 consecutive saves for their jobs to be in jeopardy
20. Brad Ziegler
19. AJ Ramos
18. Hector Rondon
17. Arodys Vizcaino
16. David Robertson
15. Francisco Rodriguez
14. Jeurys Familia
13. Huston Street
12. Roberto Osuna
11. Kenley Jansen
10. Cody Allen
9. Ken Giles
8. Mark Melancon
7. Shawn Tolleson
6. Aroldis Chapman
-The fact that Brad Ziegler and his 1.46 ERA ranks last in this category shows how solid all of these guys are. Aroldis Chapman tops this section of the list after proving himself healthy and should re-enter Sub-zero as long as he doesn’t have a setback. Shawn Tolleson drops into this category after a blown save and with the recent additions to the Texas bullpen (Sam Dyson, Jake Diekman) pitching exceptionally well.
Sub-zero – These players would have to blow 4+ consecutive saves for their jobs to be in jeopardy
5. Zach Britton
4. Jonathan Papelbon
3. Trevor Rosenthal
2. Andrew Miller
1. Craig Kimbrel
-Not much to be said about the pitchers in this group, who are all locks to close for the rest of the season, barring injury.
