Ken Giles passed over for save chance, but A.J. Hinch denies any closer controversy

April 5, 2018

Houston Astros — Ken Giles owners have some reason for concern after A.J. Hinch chose a third inning of Brad Peacock rather than going to Giles with a one-run lead in the ninth. Hinch gave Giles a vote of confidence after the game, saying that the decision was all about “the way that Peacock was spinning the ball,” and that Giles would have come in at the first sign of trouble. Memories of Giles’s postseason struggles are unlikely to fade until he again proves himself effective in a tight spot.

Hierarchy remains: Giles | Devenski | Harris.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Yoshihisa Hirano — Not a huge chance here, but Brad Boxberger has thrown 51 pitches over the last three days, and Archie Bradley has thrown 48. Maybe Hirano gets his first shot at a save.

Friday:
1. Jake McGee — An outing on Thursday would be Wade Davis’s third in four days and fourth in six.

Anthony Swarzak heads to the DL

April 4, 2018

New York Mets – Anthony Swarzak officially hit the DL on Tuesday. Seth Lugo, who was supposed to make his first start of the season this week, pitched out of the bullpen on Tuesday and earned a hold. However, with Lugo likely to return to the rotation, we like Robert Gsellman to see some more high-leverage work while Swarzak recovers from his injury.

Updated hierarchy: Familia | Ramos | Gsellman.

Kansas City Royals – Justin Grimm retired all three hitters he faced in Tuesday’s eighth inning for his second hold of the season. That’s two more holds than Brad Keller, who has pitched well but has yet to pitch in a meaningful situation.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | Maurer | Grimm.

St. Louis Cardinals – It was a rough Tuesday for Tyler Lyons and Dominic Leone, as the duo allowed four earned runs in a comeback win for the Brewers. Leone gave up two dingers in the ninth to blow his first save opportunity. He doesn’t project to get too many more chances, as Greg Holland is close to joining St. Louis and take over as closer.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Leone | Hicks.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Josh Fields was placed on paternity leave, which means he will likely be back Friday. Expect Pedro Baez, who allowed two inherited runners to score on Tuesday night when he entered a bases-loaded jam, to see some more high-leverage work in Fields’ absence.

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Fields | Cingrani.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Jordan Hicks – Dominic Leone threw 26 pitches during his blown save on Tuesday, and Hicks may be in line for one of the Cardinals’ last save chances before Greg Holland arrives.

Tomorrow
1. Jordan Hicks – If Leone does pitch again today, it’d be unlikely that he appears in a third straight game on Thursday.
2. Kevin Jepsen – If Keone Kela pitches today (19 pitches yesterday), that will be two straight.
3. Nick Vincent – If both Edwin Diaz and Juan Nicasio pitch today, it will be two straight and three of four. Vincent only threw three pitches yesterday.
4. Robert Gsellman – If both Jeurys Familia (23 pitches yesterday) and AJ Ramos (will be three of four) get the ball today, they may get Thursday off.

Kenley Jansen’s velocity rebounds, but he still blows the save

April 3, 2018

Cincinnati Reds – For the second straight day, Wandy Peralta pitched the 8th inning ahead of Raisel Iglesias. Peralta was one of the more reliable relievers in the Cincinnati pen last year, particularly in the first half of the season, and for now, he looks to be among the relievers who will benefit, holds-wise, until Michael Lorenzen returns.

Updated hierarchy: Iglesias | Hughes | Peralta.

Colorado Rockies – Jake McGee got his second hold of the year on Monday, pitching the 8th inning in a 3-run game. The season is only a few days old, but early usage suggests McGee is the clear handcuff for offseason acquisition Wade Davis.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | McGee | Shaw.

St. Louis Cardinals – In making the ballclub out of spring training this year, Jordan Hicks skipped over AA and AAA entirely, and the Cardinals have shown no reluctance to use him in big spots. Yesterday, he closed out the 8th inning with a gross diving slider followed up by a front-door offering, and stayed on for the 9th with the Cardinals up four runs, upping his season line to 3.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 Ks. Hicks is ascending fast.

Updated hierarchy: Holland | Leone | Hicks.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Kenley Jansen, who turned heads with both his low velocity and reluctance to even discuss said velocity after his season debut on Friday, was throwing a little bit harder on Monday night. The results were still bad, though — he got two quick outs, but then walked back to back hitters and surrendered a 3-run home run. Dave Roberts doesn’t seem concerned at all, calling Jansen “our guy” after the game. And of all the closers in baseball, Jansen has earned perhaps the longest leash of anyone. But if you have roster space, Josh Fields isn’t the worst guy in the world to own right now — he posted three clean 8th innings thus far. Tony Cingrani is also off to a good start.

Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Fields | Cingrani.

Pittsburgh Pirates – With Felipe Rivero pitching both ends of the doubleheader on Sunday, George Kontos was summoned for the save chance on Monday night, and he responded with a clean inning. To all our little Monkeymaniacs out there, say your prayers, take your vitamins, and read your Vulture Save Watch every day.

Hierarchy remains: Rivero | Kontos | Feliz. 

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today/Tomorrow
1. Liam Hendriks – Blake Treinen threw 29 pitches over 1.2 innings last night. He’s probably fine today since his workload has been light, but there’s an outside chance he gets the day off. (And if he goes today, he’ll definitely be off tomorrow.)

Tomorrow
1. Seung-Hwan Oh – If Osuna (and Tepera) appear today, it’ll be back to back and four of five.
2. Jake McGee – If Davis goes today, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
3. Josh Fields – If Jansen goes today (24 pitches yesterday), it’ll be two straight.
4. Archie Bradley – If Boxberger (27 pitches yesterday) goes tonight, it’ll be two straight.

Blake Parker struggles; Jordan Hicks is awesome

April 2, 2018

Toronto Blue Jays – Seung Hwan Oh picked up his first save of the season on Sunday, pitching a clean 9th inning after Tyler Clippard handled the 8th. Roberto Osuna pitched on Friday and Saturday, so he was given the night off, as was Ryan Tepera, who we currently have at the 1st in line spot. Given his past experience, though — as well as his good start to the season so far — Oh might be the guy to get save chances even when Tepera is available. We’ll monitor those two going forward.

Updated hierarchy: Osuna | Tepera | Oh.

Boston Red Sox – Two straight appearances for Craig Kimbrel on Friday and Saturday meant a day off Sunday, which allowed Joe Kelly to pick up his first save of the season. Kelly is the best handcuff to own at the moment; Matt Barnes and Carson Smith also figure to be in the mix on nights when Kimbrel isn’t available.

Updated hierarchy: Kimbrel | Kelly | Barnes.

St. Louis Cardinals – The Cardinals hierarchy is suddenly a very crowded place. We’ve opted to keep Greg Holland in the closer spot even though he won’t be up for another week or two, and we’d also like to keep Leone and Lyons on our chart, as they’re still the duo likely to get save chances in his absence. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the head-turning stuff possessed by Jordan Hicks. Last night, Hicks and his 102-mph fastball handled the 8th inning with the Cardinals up four runs; look for him to get more chances for holds as he continues to prove himself.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Leone | Lyons.

Los Angeles Angels – Keynan Middleton remains behind Blake Parker and Cam Bedrosian — and possibly Jim Johnson, too — in the Angels hierarchy, but last night, he still managed to get his first save of the season. Bedrosian had already pitched earlier in the night, while Johnson had thrown 29 pitches the night before, so when Parker got into trouble in the 9th inning, it was Middleton who was summoned to bail him out. The quick hook on Parker suggests that he’s still got a ways to go to earn Mike Scioscia’s trust this season, and this bullpen continues to be worth a discerning eye as April progresses.

Hierarchy remains: *Parker | Bedrosian | Middleton.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. George Kontos – Felipe Rivero pitched both games of yesterday’s doubleheader and likely can’t go today.

Tomorrow
1. Ryan Madson – If Doolittle goes today, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
2. Alex Wilson – If Greene goes tonight, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
3. Darren O’Day – If Brach goes tonight, it’ll be two straight.
4. Jared Hughes – If Iglesias goes tonight, it’ll be two straight.
5. Chris Devenski – If Giles goes tonight, it’ll be two straight.

Joakim Soria records save, Greg Holland will report to Single A

April 1, 2018

Chicago White Sox – Joakim Soria picked up the first save of the season for the White Sox yesterday.  Soria worked around a hit and a walk to throw a scoreless ninth inning.  Nate Jones struck out two in a scoreless eighth inning.  It is worth noting that the Royals had 3-4-5 in their order due up in the eighth so Jones had the tougher assignment.  At this point, we will leave the committee tag up there with Soria on top.

Hierarchy remains: *Soria | Jones | Minaya.
* = closer-by-committee

St. Louis Cardinals – The Cardinals have finalized their deal with Greg Holland, and he will report to Single A to get ready.  Holland could be ready to join the Cardinals in as few as 10 days.  We will leave Holland at the top of the hierarchy since he was clearly signed to be their closer, but Dominic Leone and Tyler Lyons should see save chances until he is ready to join the team.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Leone | Lyons.

New York Mets – Anthony Swarzak left yesterday’s game with a sore left oblique.  Swarzak is optimistic that this is not something serious, but he will likely miss some time.  Look for Robert Gsellman to see more time in the later innings if Swarzak is placed on the disabled list.

Hierarchy Remains: Familia | Ramos | Swarzak.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today/Monday
1. Joe Kelly – Craig Kimbrel has pitched in back-to-back games and the Red Sox could be cautious early in the season.
2. Kyle Barraclough – Brad Ziegler has gone in two straight, including a 31 pitch outing yesterday.
3. Jared Hughes – Raisel Iglesias is on paternity leave.
4. A.J. Ramos – Jeurys Familia has pitched in two of three, throwing a total of 47 pitches.
5. Aaron Loup/Seung-Hwan Oh – Roberto Osuna and Ryan Tepera have both pitched in back-to-back games