June 20, 2017
Kansas City Royals – Mike Minor got into a bit of a mess in the 8th inning last night, allowing two hits and a walk before getting himself out of it with a big strikeout. It was the lefty’s 8th hold on the season, and it came against the Red Sox, a team that might be employing him by the end of July. If Minor is traded, then from a fantasy perspective, it’s unlikely that he’ll be very interesting for the remainder of 2017. But if he stays in Kansas City, there’s a good case to be made that he, and not Joakim Soria, should inherit the closer role from Kelvin Herrera, should Herrera be dealt. We’ll keep an eye on his usage going forward.
Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Soria | Minor.
Texas Rangers – Matt Bush’s recent struggles continued last night, as he blew the save and took the loss against the Blue Jays. In his past seven outings, Bush has allowed 7 runs (6 earned) in 6.1 IP, vaulting his ERA from 0.96 to 2.88, and you won’t find much sympathy for him on Twitter. Keone Kela (20 Ks in his last 12.2 IP) and Jose LeClerc (14 Ks in his last 6.1 IP) are lurking.
Updated hierarchy: Bush | Kela | LeClerc.
Toronto Blue Jays – Joe Smith was placed on the disabled list yesterday. Set-up roles in the Blue Jays bullpen have been a bit nebulous all season, but with Smith on the shelf, our best guess for 8th inning duties is Ryan Tepera, with Danny Barnes spelling him when necessary.
Updated hierarchy: Osuna | Tepera | Barnes.
Los Angeles Dodgers – For two months, Josh Fields toiled in obscurity, racking up strikeouts and posting awesome ratios while mostly pitching when the game wasn’t especially close. But maybe the Dodgers knew something we didn’t, as Fields started to unravel when he was given higher-leverage opportunities, and yesterday, the Dodgers sent him down so he could work out the issues. In a corresponding move, Sergio Romo returns to the bullpen, and will make his way on to the hierarchy if he can prove he’s effective again.
Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Baez | Avilan.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Keone Kela – Matt Bush has gone back to back games, including a 28-pitch blown save yesterday.
2. Drew Storen – Raisel Iglesias has gone back to back games and hasn’t gone three straight all year, while Michael Lorenzen is likely unavailable after pitching 2 innings yesterday, his second straight day of work.
Tomorrow
1. Ryan Tepera – If Roberto Osuna goes today, it’ll be three straight.
2. Nick Vincent – If Edwin Diaz goes today, it’ll be three straight.
3. Joakim Soria – If Kelvin Herrera goes today, it’ll be three straight.
4. Kyle Barraclough – If AJ Ramos goes today, it’ll be back to back and three of four with a high pitch count.
5. Keone Kela – See above. If Bush goes today, he’ll definitely be off tomorrow.
6. Michael Lorenzen/Drew Storen – See above and monitor usage for who will be available for the Reds tomorrow.
