Paul Sewald, Jason Foley, and JoJo Romero record saves

August 13, 2023

Detroit Tigers – Jason Foley returned from the bereavement list yesterday and recorded the last five outs of a 6-2 win to pick up his 5th save of the season.  Foley will likely be the best bet for a save on any given night at this point and we will monitor this to see how it shakes out over the next few weeks.

Hierarchy remains: *Foley | Brieske | Cisnero.
* = closer-by-committee

St. Louis Cardinals — The Cardinals swapped their top two relievers again yesterday as Giovanny Gallegos started the 8th and JoJo Romero got the 9th inning.  Both pitchers struggled as they each gave up three hits and an earned run but Romero was able to get the last five outs for his second save.  We will see if the Cardinals go back to Gallegos for the next save chance or if Romero can move himself back to the head of this committee.

Hierarchy remains: *Gallegos | Romero | Pallante.
* = closer-by-committee

Arizona Diamondbacks – The Diamondbacks finally won a game after trading for Paul Sewald and Sewald closed it out for his first save with his new team.  The win snapped a nine game losing streak and fantasy owners will hope this leads to more wins for the Diamondbacks and more saves for Sewald.

Hierarchy remains: Sewald | Ginkel | McGough.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Yennier Cano (BAL) – Felix Bautista has pitched in two of three and three of five, throwing a total of 81 pitches.
2. Mark Leiter Jr. (CHC) – Adbert Alzolay has pitched in two straight.
3. Joel Payamps (MIL) – Devin Williams has pitched in two straight and four of five.
4. Lucas Sims (CIN) – The Reds play a doubleheader today…
5. Colin Holderman (PIT) – …against the Pirates.

Monday
1. Austin Cox (KC) – If Carlos Hernandez pitches today, it will be three straight.

Jordan Luplow is funny

August 12, 2023

Boston Red Sox – We took a shot in the dark yesterday in predicting that Kyle Barraclough would get a vulture save, and while that didn’t happen, Barraclough did get a win, posting 1.1 scoreless innings. The save went to Chris Murphy, who pitched three scoreless to finish off the 5-2 victory.

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.

Milwaukee Brewers – Abner Uribe picked up a save in the 10th inning after the rest of the Milwaukee hierarchy had pitched, stranding the automatic runner with a flyout and two groundouts. The 23-year-old righty has only allowed two earned runs in his first 13.1 big league innings, and could push for setup opportunities soon.

Hierarchy remains: Williams | Payamps | Peguero.

Minnesota Twins – Outfielder Jordan Luplow, who pitched the 8th inning for the Twins in a blowout loss, was heartily booed when doing his best Craig Kimbrel impression on the Citizens Bank Ballpark mound. We found it amusing, though, and so did Kimbrel. Keep being you, Jordan.

Hierarchy remains: Duran | Jax | Pagan.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Jason Adam – Pete Fairbanks threw 30 pitches in a blown save last night.
2. AJ Minter – The Braves have a doubleheader…
3. Adam Ottavino – …against the Mets.

Tomorrow
1. Joel Payamps – If Devin Williams goes today, it’s back to back and four of five.
2. Aaron Bummer – If Gregory Santos goes today, it’s back to back and three of four.
3. Tommy Kahnle – If Clay Holmes goes today, it’s back to back.
4. Austin Cox – Same for Carlos Hernandez…
5. Aroldis Chapman – …and Will Smith…
6. Mark Leiter Jr. – …and Adbert Alzolay.

Say hello to Beau [insert nickname here] Brieske

August 11, 2023

Pittsburgh Pirates – After throwing 54 pitches in a four-day span, David Bednar got a second consecutive day off, which allowed Colin Holderman to get his second save of the season.

Hierarchy remains: Bednar | Holderman | Mlodzinski.

Detroit Tigers – After AJ Hinch’s weekend comments, we figured the Tigers would start mixing and matching in the 9th, and that strategy continued Thursday, with Beau Brieske picking up the save with two scoreless innings. It’s his second save in six days, so we’ll add him to this hierarchy and bounce off Lange, who hasn’t seen any high-leverage action lately. More importantly, we’re still deciding on whether to call Brieske “Ice Cold,” “12-Hour Smoked,” or to appropriate beat writer Jason Beck’s brilliant SNL reference. Sound off in the comments. (Just kidding, we don’t have comments and never will; you guys are psychos.)

Updated hierarchy: *Foley | Brieske | Cisnero.
* = closer-by-committee

Los Angeles Dodgers – Here’s one we did predict, as Brusdar Graterol notched his 5th save of the year in place of a resting Evan Phillips. VSW +1.

Hierarchy remains: Phillips | Graterol | Ferguson.

Baltimore Orioles – With Danny Coulombe on the IL, we welcome Shintaro Fujinami to the hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Bautista | Cano | Fujinami.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Yennier Cano – Felix Bautista has thrown 53 pitches over the last three days and is probably off today.
2. Kyle Barraclough – Remember him? After a year in the indy leagues, Barraclough is back in the bigs and could get a save chance with virtually the entire Boston bullpen running on fumes.
3. AJ Minter – Raisel Iglesias went three straight from Monday to Wednesday, and might get a second day off today.
4. Beau Brieske/Jose Cisnero – Jason Foley is on the bereavement list and may not return today.

Tomorrow
1. Trevor Stephan – If Emmanuel Clase goes today, it’s back to back and three of four.
2. Gregory Soto – Same for Craig Kimbrel.
3. Griffin Jax – If Jhoan Duran goes today, it’s back to back.
4. Brusdar Graterol – If Evan Phillips goes today, it’s three of four.

Let the Phil Bickford era begin

August 10, 2023

New York Mets — Wednesday night, the save opportunity was all Adam Ottavino’s. But the veteran just didn’t have it, yielding a homer, a single, and a walk to put the go-ahead run on base. Naturally, the Mets turned to journeyman Phil Bickford, he of the 5.96 ERA, most famous for earning a seventh-inning save in a rainout and giving up Albert Pujols’s 700th home run. A bunt, a walk, and two strikeouts later, the Mets had the win, Bickford had his first ninth-inning save, and New York? Well, New York had a brand new hero. 

Hierarchy remains: *Raley | Ottavino | Smith.
* = closer-by-committee

St. Louis Cardinals — It’s been almost two weeks since St. Louis needed a save, but this time Oliver Marmol used JoJo Romero in the seventh and eighth, and Giovanny Gallegos in the ninth. This is more like what we expected after Jordan Hicks moved to Toronto, but don’t be surprised if Romero and Gallegos continue to split opportunities.

Updated hierarchy: *Gallegos | Romero | Pallante.
* = closer-by-committee

Oakland A’s — Dany Jimenez’s return didn’t keep him in Oakland long; he was sent to Las Vegas on Wednesday. Taking his place in the A’s hierarchy is 25-year-old rookie Angel Felipe, who has three holds in his last three appearances. Felipe has struggled with control this season, but has also induced a lot of groundouts and strikeouts.

Updated hierarchy: May | Felipe | Long.

Detroit Tigers — Jose Cisnero’s entry into the game up five with the bases loaded was enough to earn him a save on the strength of a single strikeout. Cisnero was probably second in line Wednesday due to Jason Foley’s temporary placement on the bereavement list.

Hierarchy remains: *Lange | Foley | Holton.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Yennier Cano (BAL) — Felix Bautista threw 30 pitches on Tuesday and might get two days off.
2. AJ Minter (ATL) — Raisel Iglesias has pitched in three straight.
3. Daniel Bard/Jake Bird (COL) — Justin Lawrence has gone in two straight and three of four.
4. Brusdar Graterol (LAD) — Evan Phillips has gone back-to-back.

Friday:
1. Chris Martin (BOS) — If Kenley Jansen goes today, it’ll be three of four.
2. Erik Swanson (TOR) — Same for Jordan Hicks.
3. Colin Holderman (PIT) — And David Bednar.

Dominic Leone earns a save

August 9, 2023

Los Angeles Angels – All three members of the Angels’ hierarchy were unavailable on Tuesday, which left the save chance to deadline acquisition Dominic Leone. He converted for his first save as an Angel.

Hierarchy remains: Estevez | Lopez | Moore.

Miami Marlins – Andrew Nardi pitched a perfect seventh inning and Tanner Scott followed with a perfect eighth inning in last night’s win, and we’ll adjust the hierarchy accordingly.

Updated hierarchy: Robertson | Scott | Nardi.

Pittsburgh Pirates – Yerry De Los Santos was sent down to Triple-A on Tuesday, making room for Carmen Mlodzinski on the hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Bednar | Holderman | Mlodzinski.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Yennier Cano (BAL) – Felix Bautista threw 30 pitches in last night’s blown save.
2. Colin Holderman/Carmen Mlodzinski (PIT) – David Bednar has gone two straight and four of five. Holderman threw 20 pitches last night and has gone in two of three.
3. AJ Minter (ATL) – Raisel Iglesias has gone back to back.
4. Robert Garcia (WAS) – The entire Washington hierarchy has pitched in four of five, so we’re going off the board with Garcia, who was one of the few relievers who did not pitch during yesterday’s doubleheader.

Tomorrow
1. Jason Adam/Colin Poche (TB) – If either Poche or Pete Fairbanks pitch today, that’ll be two straight.
2. Trevor Stephan/Enyel De Los Santos (CLE) – If either Stephan or Emmanuel Clase pitch today that will be two straight and three of four.
3. Bryan Abreu (HOU) – An appearance today will be two in a row for Ryan Pressly.
4. Seranthony Dominguez/Gregory Soto (PHI) – Same is true for Craig Kimbrel and the rest of the Philadelphia hierarchy…
5. Brusdar Graterol/Caleb Ferguson (LAD) – …as well as Graterol and Evan Phillips.