Kendall Graveman returns to form

June 23, 2021

Seattle Mariners – Kendall Graveman looked like his old self on Tuesday, needing just nine pitches to complete a 1-2-3 ninth and earn his sixth save of the season. 

Hierarchy remains: *Graveman | Montero | Steckenrider.
* = closer-by-committee

Cincinnati Reds – Activated prior to Tuesday’s game, Tejay Antone immediately got called upon to protect a two-run lead in the eighth after Lucas Sims allowed a homer, single and double. Antone’s second pitch after coming off the IL resulted in a game-tying double, but he recovered to retire the next two hitters and get out of the frame. When the Reds took the lead in the top of the ninth, Amir Garrett came to face the lefty-heavy top of the Twins order and earn the save.

Hierarchy remains: *Sims | Antone | Hembree.
* = closer-by-committee

Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland picked up his fifth save of the season on Tuesday, with Scott Barlow securing the final two outs of the eighth inning. Josh Staumont hasn’t pitched since June 16, which is a little concerning given his previous IL stint.

Updated hierarchy: *Holland | Barlow | Staumont.
* = closer-by-committee

Atlanta Braves — Chris Martin hasn’t pitched since he allowed three earned runs on June 15. Meanwhile, A.J. Minter pitched the eighth last night and got the sixth in the second game of a doubleheader on Monday, earning a hold both times.

Updated hierarchy: Smith | Minter | Jackson. 

San Diego Padres — With guys like Emilio Pagan and Craig Stammen unavailable on Tuesday, the Padres had to turn to Nabil Crismatt and rookie Mason Thompson to get the ball to Mark Melancon. Thompson, in his MLB debut, came into the eighth inning with two outs and a two-run lead.. He threw a wild pitch during a leadoff walk, but bounced back to induce an inning-ending groundout. It remains to be seen if Thompson gets any more high-leverage work this year, but he could be a candidate to close next season.

Hierarchy remains: Melancon | Pagan | Stammen.

Arizona Diamondbacks – Stefan Crichton pitched the sixth last night with his team trailing, 1-0, and promptly turned that into a 4-0 deficit. Joakim Soria is the most likely guy to get the next save chance, whenever that actually happens. Meanwhile, Kevin Ginkel recently got demoted to Triple-A Reno, where the organization’s pitchers actually have a chance to earn a save every now and then. In fact, Ginkel earned the save for the Aces last night, and hopefully he remembered how to do postgame handshakes with his team on the field since the Diamondbacks have won just twice in June.

Updated hierarchy: *Soria | Crichton | Ramirez.
* = closer-by-committee

Oakland A’s – In case you missed our alert last night, Sergio Romo is the new stripper in Oakland.

Updated hierarchy: *Romo | Scherzer | Miller.
* = stripper-by-committee     

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Luke Jackson (ATL) – Will Smith has pitched in three straight while A.J. Minter has thrown on back-to-back days.
2. Emilio Pagan (SD) – Mark Melancon has pitched in three of four.
3. Kyle Finnegan (WAS) – Brad Hand has also gone in three of four, including a 34-pitch outing last night.

Tomorrow
1. Adam Ottavino (BOS) – If Matt Barnes pitches today, that’s two in a row.
2. Ryne Stanek (HOU) – Same goes for Ryan Pressly…
3. Scott Barlow (KC) – …and Greg Holland.
4. Dylan Floro (MIA) – A Wednesday appearance for Yimi Garcia will be two straight and three of four.

Tejay Antone returns from the IL

June 22, 2021

Cincinnati Reds – Tejay Antone was activated from the IL this morning and should reclaim a high-leverage position in Cincinnati’s committee. Given how short he was out, it should be safe to get him back into your lineup right away.

Updated hierarchy: *Sims | Antone | Hembree.
* = closer-by-committee

Toronto Blue Jays – With more than half of their projected opening day bullpen on the IL, the Blue Jays have made a couple moves in recent days in the hopes of holding things together. The more relevant, but less interesting, acquisition was Jacob Barnes, who struggled early in the season for the Mets but had a decent run of competence for the Brewers earlier in his career and could potentially crack the hierarchy if he starts off well in Toronto. But the move that made the Monkeys happy was the minor league contract they just gave to John Axford — now 38 and with a greying (whiting, even) beard — who popped up earlier this year when he pitched for the Canadian team in Olympic qualifiers. Suffice it to say we’re cheering for him to make it back to the bigs.

Hierarchy remains: *Romano | Chatwood | Mayza.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Bryan Shaw/Nick Wittgren – Emmanuel Clase has gone back to back and James Karinchak has gone three straight.

Tomorrow
1. Josh Sborz/Joely Rodriguez – If Ian Kennedy goes today, it’s back to back.
2. Seth Lugo – If Edwin Diaz goes today, it’s back to back.

Indians, Twins continue to mix and match

June 21, 2021

Cleveland Indians – Emmanuel Clase pitched the 8th against Pittsburgh’s 2-3-4 hitters, allowing James Karinchak to pitch the 9th and collect his 8th save. Clase is still in the lead here, but Terry Francona continues to show a willingness to be flexible in the late innings.

Hierarchy remains: *Clase | Karinchak | Shaw.
* = closer-by-committee

Toronto Blue Jays – Tyler Chatwood collected his first save of the season on Sunday with a scoreless 9th inning. Jordan Romano had pitched 2 innings on Saturday so got the day off, but this bullpen remains relatively unsettled.

Hierarchy remains: *Romano | Chatwood | Mayza.
* = closer-by-committee

Minnesota Twins – Taylor Rogers got the day off on Sunday, allowing Hansel Robles to collect his 6th save of the season. The Twins will continue to mix and match when all their relievers are available, but Rogers remains the favorite for saves on most nights.

Hierarchy remains: *Rogers | Robles | Duffey.
* = closer-by-committee

Milwaukee Brewers – Josh Hader got the day off after pitching two straight, so Brad Boxberger got the 9th inning and collected his third save.

Hierarchy remains: Hader | Williams | Boxberger.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Emilio Pagan – Mark Melancon has gone back to back and three of four.
2. Seth Lugo/Chris Martin – The Mets and Braves have a doubleheader today.

Tomorrow
1. Tanner Rainey – Brad Hand has gone three straight and has seen a lot of usage lately; the Nats don’t play today but they might give him a second day off tomorrow to recover.
2. Blake Treinen – If Kenley Jansen goes today, it’s back to back and three of four.

Taylor Rogers records another save while Brad Hand enjoys an easy save opportunity

June 20, 2021

Minnesota Twins — With the Twins protecting a one-run lead, Hansel Robles got the 8th inning hold, and Taylor Rogers got the 9th inning to pick up his 7th save of the season.  Rogers has now recorded the last three non-extra inning saves for the Twins and that is enough to move him to the top of the committee.  However, this is still a pretty fluid situation as evidenced by Rogers getting the 8th and Robles getting the 9th on Friday in a tie game.

Updated hierarchy: *Rogers | Robles | Duffey.
* = closer-by-committee

Washington Nationals — Fantasy owners can thank Wander Suero for gifting Brad Hand an easy save yesterday.  With the Nationals up by four in the last inning of the second game of the doubleheader, Suero put a couple runners on with two outs, and that allowed Hand to come in and retire one batter on one pitch for the save.  About a month ago it looked like Hand might be losing his grip on the closer’s role in Washington but he has now converted eleven straight save opportunities.  

Hierarchy remains: Hand | Finnegan | Rainey.

Seattle Mariners – Kendall Graveman got the save opportunity yesterday but he could not get the job done as he allowed a two-out game-tying homer for the blown save.  Graveman has now given up an earned run in three of his four appearances since returning from the IL after not allowing any earned runs in his first 14 appearances.  We will see if Graveman can settle back in and take control of the Mariners’ job or if this opens up more opportunities for Rafael Montero and Drew Steckenrider.

Hierarchy remains: *Graveman | Montero | Steckenrider.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Cole Sulser (BAL) – Paul Fry has pitched in two straight and three of four.
2. Kyle Crick (PIT) – Richard Rodriguez has also pitched in two straight and three of four.
3. Tyler Duffy (MIN) – Taylor Rogers has pitched in two straight and three of four while Hansel Robles has gone in two straight.
4. Drew Steckenrider (SEA) – Kendall Graveman has pitched in two straight, including the blown save yesterday while Rafael Montero has pitched in three of four.
5. Kyle Finnegan (WAS) – Brad Hand has pitched in two straight and three of four, although he only needed one pitch yesterday for the save.
6. Brooks Raley (HOU) – Ryan Pressly and Ryne Stanek have both gone in two straight.

Monday
1. Devin Williams (MIL) – If Josh Hader pitches today, it will be three straight.
2. Seth Lugo/Miguel Castro (NYM) – The Mets have a doubleheader on Monday and their bullpen has been used a lot recently.
3. Chris Martin (ATL) – The Braves are playing the Mets in that doubleheader.
4. Emilio Pagan (SD) – If Mark Melancon pitches today, it will be two straight and three of four.

Greg Holland and Jake McGee jump to the top of their committees

June 19, 2021

Kansas City Royals — After the Royals had the day off on Thursday, they used Scott Barlow in the 8th and then turned to Greg Holland for the 9th inning on Friday. Holland converted the save for his 4th of the year. This save comes right after he gave up 3 runs and took the loss pitching in the 7th inning on Wednesday, so to see him get this save chance, especially with a rested Josh Staumont, was surprising. Staumont has yet to pitch with a lead since returning from the IL, mostly because the Royals have lost 10 of their last 12, but he’s had a small dip in velocity since the injury as well. Based on last night’s usage, we will shift Holland back to the top of the committee, but Staumont isn’t worth dropping just yet.

Updated hierarchy: *Holland | Staumont | Barlow.
* = closer-by-committee

San Francisco Giants – The Giants committee keeps spinning, with Tyler Rogers taking the 8th inning and Jake McGee getting the 9th. McGee converted for his 14th save on the year. This is the second time this week that Rogers has pitched the 8th ahead of McGee, and in his other appearance, he picked up the clear save himself. It seems like McGee has edged ahead of Rogers in the committee, but they are both likely candidates for saves on any given night. In other news, Dominic Leone pitched a clean 7th inning ahead of them for his 3rd hold of the year and has only given up 1 run in June. That is enough to jump into second in line for the Giants.

Updated hierarchy: *McGee | Rogers | Leone.
* = closer-by-committee

Minnesota Twins — Taylor Rogers took the 8th inning and Hansel Robles got the 9th in a tie game. This left the save opportunity to Tyler Duffey when the Twins took the lead in the 10th. This is pretty much how you would expect the twins to use their pitchers in a tie game. 

Hierarchy remains: *Robles | Rogers | Duffey.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Carlos Estevez (COL) – Daniel Bard has pitched in back to back and 4 of 5. Estevez has also gone in 3 of 4, but his only pitch last night resulted in a double play. 
2. Josh Staumont (KC) – Greg Holland has pitched in 3 of 4, while Josh Staumont did not pitch in last night’s game. 
3. Seth Lugo (NYM) – Edwin Diaz has thrown in 2 of 3 and 3 of 5, including 20 pitches last night. 

Sunday
1. Cole Sulser/Hunter Harvey (BAL) – Today would be back to back and 3 of 4 for Paul Fry… 
2. Jake Diekman (OAK) – … and Lou Trivino … 
3. Kyle Crick (PIT) – … and Richard Rodriguez…
4. Josh Sborz (TEX) – …and Ian Kennedy…
5. Kyle Finnegan/Tanner Rainey (WAS) – … and Brad Hand and Tanner Rainey.