With Opening Day three sleeps away, we will be shifting from Spring Vibes into this new format for the regular season.
Chicago White Sox – A tough day for this leverage ladder. Deivi García allowed two hits, including a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth. John Brebbia suffered his first loss, issuing two walks and serving up a three-run home run during the seventh. Jordan Leasure encountered adversity. He gave up four hits and two earned runs while striking out two in the sixth. This snapped his nine-game scoreless streak. He owns a 1.18 WHIP with 11 strikeouts against four walks over 9.1 innings this spring.
There’s still no word on how Pedro Grifol will structure his bullpen, but those hoping Michael Kopech receives save chances appreciate his manager’s thoughts about the reliever’s performance after being deployed as a reliever rather than starting games.
Projected Hierarchy: *Michael Kopech | *John Brebbia | Jordan Leasure
Boston Red Sox – Encouraging outings by the high-leverage Red Sox relievers on Sunday featured Kenley Jansen firing a clean seventh, striking out one, throwing eight pitches (87.5 Strike%). Reports suggested his cutter sat at 93 m.p.h. and he had good shape with pitches. Chris Martin retired the side in order in the eighth, recording a strikeout. Both will face Texas in an exhibition game before Opening Day, and with no setbacks, each will be ready for the season.
Projected Hierarchy: Kenley Jansen | Chris Martin | Josh Winckowski
Cincinnati Reds – Appearing on consecutive days did not end well for Alexis Díaz. He allowed two hits, including a three-run home run, and a walk while striking out two, resulting in his first loss. Following this outing, he owns a 1.70 WHIP this spring with 11 strikeouts versus four walks. Lucas Sims worked a scoreless eighth, giving up a hit and striking out two. Emilio Pagán fired a clean seventh, striking out one. One hopes Díaz will improve once the season begins with increased adrenaline, but fantasy players should monitor his results early on, especially his WHIP and K-BB percentage.
Projected Hierarchy: Alexis Díaz | Lucas Sims | Emilio Pagán
Detroit Tigers – Logging two shutout frames, Beau Brieske secured his first spring save, scattering two hits and striking out two. He’s recorded 13.1 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and a 0.38 WHIP through seven appearances. Will Vest collected his first win, tossing a scoreless seventh, yielding a hit, and striking out one. Alex Lange fired a clean sixth, striking out one on 16 pitches (62.5 Strike%) with two whiffs (12.5 SwStr%). He’s been scoreless in his last five outings with seven strikeouts against one walk. Andrew Chafin retired his only batter faced, stranding a runner in the fifth.
Whether or not Lange maintains the gains he’s displayed in recent appearances, through seven innings this spring, he owns a 62.3 Strike percentage. It’s a small sample, but last year he finished with a 51 percent strike rate per Baseball Reference. His ability to throw strikes, and get ahead of hitters will determine if he keeps the primary save share in a deep, pliable leverage ladder.
Projected Hierarchy: Alex Lange | Jason Foley | Shelby Miller
Los Angeles Dodgers – During an exhibition game with the Angels, Evan Phillips fired a clean eighth, striking out the side on 13 pitches (9 strikes – 69.2 Strike%) and producing four whiffs (30.8 SwStr%). With a save under his belt, he’s ready for his stateside Opening Day on Thursday. Ryan Brasier had a rough outing, giving up three hits, three earned runs, and a walk over two-thirds of the seventh. Alex Vesia retired his only batter faced in the sixth, stranding an inherited runner.
Hierarchy Remains: Evan Phillips | Joe Kelly | Daniel Hudson
Miami Marlins – Collecting his first win, Andrew Nardi logged 1.2 innings, giving up three hits and an earned run while striking out four. Tanner Scott secured his first spring hold, tossing 1.1 scoreless frames, allowing a hit, and striking out three. He threw 20 pitches (65 Strike%) and produced seven whiffs (35 SwStr%). He owns a five-game scoreless streak with six strikeouts against two walks over his last 4.2 innings. Sixto Sánchez worked two scoreless innings, yielding two hits and striking out four. Anthony Bender retired the side in order in the ninth.
Projected Hierarchy: Tanner Scott | Andrew Nardi | Anthony Bender
New York Mets – With trumpets playing for his entrance, Edwin Díaz bounced back with a clean sixth, striking out one in his third spring appearance. He threw 10 pitches (70 Strike%) and generated three whiffs (30 SwStr%). He’s posted a 0.55 WHIP with five strikeouts versus two walks over 3.2 innings. His velocity was down two m.p.h. in this contest. Jake Diekman allowed a hit and recorded two strikeouts in a scoreless seventh. Jorge López tossed a clean eighth, striking out one.
Projected Hierarchy: Edwin Díaz | Adam Ottavino | Brooks Raley
Pittsburgh Pirates – Rounding into form, David Bednar allowed two hits and an earned run while striking out one in the fourth inning during his second appearance this spring. He threw 15 pitches (66.7 Strike%) producing one whiff. Aroldis Chapman worked around two walks for a scoreless fifth on 20 pitches (40 Strike%) getting one whiff with reduced velocity. Through six games this spring, he owns a 1.17 WHIP with seven strikeouts versus three whiffs.
The biggest concern for this leverage ladder will be depth. There’s a chance Colin Holderman (illness) and Carmen Mlodzinski (forearm) may open the year on the injured list per Jason Mackey.
Projected Hierarchy: David Bednar | Aroldis Chapman | Ryan Borucki
Toronto Blue Jays – During a shutout loss, Yimi García tossed a scoreless eighth, giving up a hit and striking out two. He threw 13 pitches (9 strikes – 69.2 Strike%) producing three whiffs (23.1 SwStr%). Following eight outings this spring, he owns a 0.67 WHIP with nine strikeouts versus two walks. Génesis Cabrera navigated around a hit and a walk while striking out one in the eighth. Chad Green turned in his best spring outing, striking out the side in the seventh on 14 pitches (71.4 Strike%) and inducing seven whiffs (50 SwStr%). He’s made eight appearances this spring, posting a 1.57 WHIP with 11 strikeouts and one walk over 7.2 innings.
Anticipated Hierarchy: Yimi García | Chad Green | Génesis Cabrera
Washington Nationals – Making his first game appearance since March 12, Kyle Finnegan suffered his first blown save, giving up three hits, two runs (one earned), and striking out one over two-thirds of the seventh. After six outings this spring, he owns a 0.94 WHIP with 10 strikeouts through 5.1 innings, but his back tightness must be monitored moving forward. The good news, he did use the slider (sweeper) discussed in a previous note:
Projected Hierarchy: Kyle Finnegan | Hunter Harvey | Matt Barnes
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Closer Monkey’s filthy pitch of the day, nasty sliders by Emmanuel Clase against the Reds on Sunday, courtesy of the Pitching Ninja.
Until next time, stay safe and be well.
Statistical Credits:
Fangraphs.com | Baseball-Reference.com | BaseballSavant.com
