Robbie Ross tightening grip on Red Sox closer position

September 14, 2015

Boston Red Sox – Amidst the back-and-forth and general ineffectiveness of the two pitchers jockeying for the Red Sox closer role the past month (Junichi Tazawa and Jean Machi), the best pitcher in the Boston bullpen was actually lefty Robbie Ross. Last week, Torey Lovullo indicated for the first time that he was considering using Ross in the closer role, and last night, Ross finally picked up his first save. He’s not dominant by any means, but he has a healthy K/BB ratio of 31/8 over his past 27 outings and has posted an ERA around 3 every month since June.

Hierarchy remains: *Ross | Tazawa | Machi.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Mets – With Jeurys Familia and Tyler Clippard getting the night off, Addison Reed picked up his first save since June 15, pitching a scoreless 10th inning. Reed has now pitched eight scoreless innings as a Met.

Hierarchy remains: Familia | Clippard | Reed.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Luis Garcia, Philadelphia Phillies – Ken Giles has pitched 2.1 innings over the past two games, throwing 44 pitches.
2. Addison Reed, New York Mets – Jeurys Familia and Tyler Clippard both got Sunday off, but with both having been used heavily in the past week — and with the Mets now 9.5 games clear of the Nationals in the NL East — a second day off for their two most prominent relievers might be in the cards.
3. Chris Hatcher, Los Angeles Dodgers – Kenley Jansen has pitched in back to back games, including a shaky, 33-pitch effort last night.
4. Joe Smith/Trevor Gott, Los Angeles Angels – Huston Street and Joe Smith have both pitched in three straight, though Smith could probably go again tonight since he hasn’t thrown many pitches. If not, Trevor Gott is the best bet for a vulture save.

Drew Storen likely out for the season

September 13, 2015

Washington Nationals – The Washington Nationals have likely lost Drew Storen for the season after injuring his right thumb.  Matt Williams mentioned several options to replace Drew Storen, including Casey Janssen, Matt Thornton, Blake Treinen and Felipe Rivero.  Janssen has given up nine runs in his last six appearances and taken three loses during that time.  Blake Treinen has also struggled recently, giving up five runs in his last five appearances.  Matt Thornton has made eleven straight scoreless appearances so we will slot him into Storen’s spot for now.

Updated hierarchy: Papelbon | Thornton | Rivero.

Oakland A’s – Ryan Dull pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth inning last night.  He now has eight scoreless innings, with ten strikeouts, to begin his career and should continue to see time in the later innings for the A’s.

Updated hierarchy: *Doolittle | Pomeranz | Dull.
* = closer-by-committee

Toronto Blue Jays — The Blue Jays swept a doubleheader with the Yankees yesterday.  The first game went into extra innings and Ryan Tepera got the last three outs in the eleventh inning to protect a four run lead and pick up his first save of the season.  Brett Cecil, Aaron Sanchez,and Roberto Osuna pitched earlier in the game.  In the second game, Mark Lowe pitched a perfect ninth to record the save.

Hierarchy remains: Osuna | Sanchez | Cecil.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Joe Smith, Los Angeles Angels – Huston Street has pitched in two straight and three of four.
2. Mike Dunn, Miami Marlins – AJ Ramos has pitched in two straight and four of the last five.
3. Addison Reed, New York Mets – Jeurys Familia and Tyler Clippard have both pitched in two straight and four of the last five.

Addison Reed getting important work for the surging Mets

September 12, 2015

New York Mets — With Hansel Robles in the Dominican Republic for his grandfather’s funeral, the Mets turned to former Diamondbacks closer Addison Reed in the seventh inning of a one-run game. Reed, who has a 0.00 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in seven appearances as a Met, struck out the side. Robles has been excellent, but Reed has experience that the team might value even more down the stretch.

Updated hierarchy: Familia | Clippard | Reed.

Kansas City Royals — Kelvin Herrera is pitching again, and he got a key strikeout to close out the seventh inning with a one-run lead on Friday. Although he later got touched for three earned runs in a ten-run eighth, it was due to an error and an infield single that set up a grand slam — and when Franklin Morales relieved Herrera, Morales pitched even worse. We think Herrera keeps the seventh inning role going forward.

Updated hierarchy: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

Colorado Rockies — Justin Miller, who spent July and much of August getting high-leverage work for Colorado, has been moved back into that role since returning from Albuquerque. Miller pitched the seventh after Scott Oberg on Thursday, and entered a tight eighth on Friday night to strike out Nelson Cruz.

Updated hierarchy: Axford | Diaz | Miller.

Los Angeles Dodgers — Jim Johnson pitched the fourth down 10, which is enough to elevate Chris Hatcher past him in the Dodger pecking order.

Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Hatcher | Johnson.

Toronto Blue Jays — Brett Cecil set a Blue Jays record with his 26th consecutive scoreless appearance on Friday night.

Hierarchy remains: Osuna | Sanchez | Cecil.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Mike Dunn, Miami Marlins — A.J. Ramos has pitched in three of four (50 pitches).
2. Antonio Bastardo, Pittsburgh Pirates — Stay with us here. Mark Melancon has gone in three of four (57 pitches). Joakim Soria has pitched in three straight and Tony Watson has thrown 60 pitches in three days. Arquimedes Caminero has been used in four of five, and he gave up two hits in his brief Friday appearance. Bastardo got a vulture save back in July, so don’t be surprised to see him ring up another.
3. Tyler Clippard/Addison Reed, New York Mets — Terry Collins is riding Jeurys Familia hard in the playoff push, using him on four of five days (55 pitches). If Hansel Robles is back, he might get this chance, since both Clippard and Reed have been used a lot too.
4. Jairo Diaz, Colorado Rockies — John Axford has gone in two straight and threw 27 pitches yesterday.

Glen Perkins loves him some cortisone

September 11, 2015

Minnesota Twins — Glen Perkins received a cortisone shot earlier this week, and tweeted yesterday morning that he “felt great” after doing “40 back bridges, 10 min on elliptical, 30 wall squats, 30 calf raises.” Perkins added that he intends to play catch on Saturday, which could lead to a return during your fantasy playoffs. Of course, he won’t be the closer immediately when he does return.

Hierarchy remains: Jepsen | May | Fien.

Milwaukee Brewers — Kyle Lohse has been in the league for 15 years, and through 400+ career appearances before this year, he never converted a save opportunity. He’s now 2-for-2 this year after protecting a one-run lead in the 13th inning last night. K-Rod had his own chance in the 12th, but allowed a run for a blown save (but also the win). Lohse does not and should never figure into the regular late-inning plans for the Brewers.

Hierarchy remains: Rodriguez | Smith | Jeffress.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Zach McAllister/Jeff Manship, Cleveland Indians — Cody Allen (65 pitches) and Bryan Shaw (64) have each pitched four of the last five days, and we could get a chance to see if McAllister or Manship is next up in this pen. We’re also rooting for this vulture save to give us an excuse to update the Indians for the first time in eight weeks.
2. Drew Pomeranz, Oakland A’s — Don’t get us wrong: Sean Doolittle is likely taking over the closer’s role for the rest of the season after recording his first save earlier this week. (He was so happy with the accomplishment that he was seen staying late to sign autographs for fans. Nice touch!) But until we see Doolittle convert a second straight save, or get any further confirmation from the A’s, keep an eye on Pomeranz too.
3. Jean Machi/Junichi Tazawa, Boston Red Sox — The Red Sox have actually played pretty well for about a month, so the save chances could keep on coming. But who will convert them? Leading a hodgepodge of options is Robbie Ross Jr., it seems. Look for Junichi Tazawa or maybe even Jean Machi to compete for interim manager Torey Lovullo’s trust, too. 

Kevin Jepsen to remain Twins closer

September 10, 2015

Minnesota Twins — Kevin Jepsen has been excellent since taking over the closer role, including a perfect 12th inning last night to pick up his 12th save. The only run he has given up in his time as the closer was in a game on Sept. 5, and he still earned the save. Manager Paul Molitor has taken notice as well and has said that Glen Perkins will not immediately be the closer if/when he comes back. The injured reliever is currently considering a cortisone injection in his lower back.

Hierarchy remains: Jepsen | May | Fien.

Arizona Diamondbacks – David Hernandez has made four straight appearances with the Diamondbacks trailing and seems to have lost responsibility for the 7th inning. Randall Delgado has been the beneficiary, as he took the 7th for the second straight time last night. That’s enough to slide into our hierarchy, but, barring injury, Ziegler and Hudson have a lock on any save opportunities.

Updated hierarchy: Ziegler | Hudson | Delgado.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Joakim Soria, Pittsburgh Pirates – Mark Melancon has thrown 47 pitches over the last two games.
2. Tyler Clippard, New York Mets – Jeurys Familia has pitched in three straight games.