Ian Hamilton, Adbert Alzolay, and Zach Jackson record saves

May 7, 2023

New York Yankees – Clay Holmes pitched a scoreless 8th inning with the Yankees down 2-0.  After the Yankees rallied for three runs in the top of the 9th, Ian Hamilton pitched a scoreless bottom of the 9th to pick up his first career save.  Hamilton and Michael King have both pitched much better than Clay Holmes this season, and with King working to be available more often moving forward, we think Holmes is losing his grip on the closer role.  We will throw an asterisk on this for now and see if anybody can establish himself as the primary closer moving forward.

Updated hierarchy: Holmes | King | Hamilton.
*=closer-by-committee

Chicago Cubs – The Cubs rallied for three runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to take a two run lead and Adbert Alzolay came out for the 9th to try and close it out.  Alzolay pitched a perfect inning for his first save of the season.  This bullpen is wide open right now and we will monitor this to see what everybody’s usage will be moving forward.

Updated hierarchy: *Boxberger | Leiter Jr. | Alzolay.
* = closer-by-committee

Oakland A’s – Don’t look now, but those feisty A’s have won two games in a row and this one even ended in a save! Zach Jackson pitched a scoreless 9th inning for his first save of the season.  Jackson should see the majority of save chances and if the A’s actually keep winning some games, we might get a better idea of what the back-end of their bullpen will look like moving forward.

Hierarchy remains: *Jackson | Moll | Lovelady.
* = closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies — Pierce Johnson pitched a scoreless 9th inning with a pair of strikeouts for his 5th save of the season.  Daniel Bard still has not allowed a run since returning but continues to be used in low-leverage situations.  Johnson is clearly the guy to own right now but we will see if Bard can work his way back to save situations or if Johnson will run away with the job.

Hierarchy remains: *Johnson | Bard | Lawrence.
* = closer-by-committee

Los Angeles Dodgers – Evan Phillips struck out the side to pick up his 4th save of the season.  Brusdar Graterol recorded the 8th inning hold ahead of Phillips.  Phillips now has the last two Dodgers’ saves and should continue to be the best bet for saves in this committee.

Hierarchy remains: *Phillips | Graterol | Ferguson.
* = closer-by-committee

Kansas City Royals – Josh Staumont pitched a perfect 8th inning, including two strikeouts, with the Royals down one.   Staumont now has seven straight scoreless appearances and has only given up three hits against twelve strikeouts during that time.

Updated Hierarchy: Barlow | Chapman | Staumont.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Chris Martin – Kenley Jansen has pitched in two straight.
2. Richard Lovelady – Zach Jackson and Sam Moll have both pitched in two straight and three of four.
3. Carl Edwards – Kyle Finnegan blew the save yesterday and has pitched in four of five.
4. Scott McGough – Andrew Chafin has pitched in two straight and three of four.
5. Tyler Rogers – Camilo Doval has pitched in two straight and four of five.

Monday
1. Justin Topa – If Paul Sewald pitches on Sunday, it will be two straight and three of four.
2. Dylan Floro – Same with AJ Puk…
3. Daniel Bard/Justin Lawrence – …and Pierce Johnson.

Shelby Miller collects his first MLB save

April 26, 2023

Los Angeles Dodgers – Evan Phillips’ move to the bereavement list was indeed procedural and he rejoined the Dodgers on Tuesday following the birth of his child, while Brusdar Graterol replaced Phillips on the paternity list. With his team trailing by two in the bottom of the sixth, Phillips made sure he got some work in and pitched a 1-2-3 inning. The Dodgers eventually took the lead, and after Caleb Ferguson left the bases loaded in the eighth, Shelby Miller completed the ninth for his first career save, which the Vulture Save Watch thought might happen. Miller has allowed just two earned runs all season but has not yet recorded a hold.  

Hierarchy remains: *Phillips | Graterol | Ferguson.
* = closer-by-committee

Seattle Mariners – The Mariners used Gabe Speier in the seventh and Justin Topa in the eighth to get the ball to closer Paul Sewald for the save. Both Speier and Topa have yet to allow a run this season, while Matt Brash has been up and down this season and pitched the sixth on Tuesday. Brash did face the heart of the Phillies’ lineup in the sixth, but it’s hard to ignore a pair of 0.00 ERAs.

Updated hierarchy: Sewald | Topa | Speier.

Detroit Tigers — Jason Foley picked up his second save of the season on Tuesday, just as the Vulture Save Watch predicted.

Hierarchy remains: Lange | Foley | Cisnero.

Los Angeles Angels – Carlos Estevez got the save on Tuesday, with Jose Quijada yet to pitch after Saturday’s disastrous outing. We’ll keep Quijada at the top of this committee for now and see if he gets the next save chance, as he had been fantastic up until that blown save. 

Hierarchy remains: *Quijada | Estevez | Moore.
* = closer-by-committee

Kansas City Royals – Taylor Clarke allowed one run but picked up a seventh-inning hold on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Josh Staumont hasn’t pitched since Friday and hasn’t seen much high-leverage work in his three outings since returning to Kansas City, so Clarke moves into the hierarchy for now.

Updated Hierarchy: Barlow | Chapman | Clarke.

Washington Nationals – Mason Thompson pitched the final three innings of a 5-0 win over the Mets on Tuesday to collect the save.

Hierarchy Remains: *Finnegan | Edwards | Harvey.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Ian Gibaut (CIN) – Alexis Diaz has gone back-to-back.
2. Taylor Clarke (KC) – Scott Barlow threw 25 pitches last night and Aroldis Chapman has gone in two straight.

Tomorrow
1. Aroldis Chapman (KC) – If Scott Barlow does pitch, that will be two in a row, and we presume Chapman will get Wednesday off.
2. Justin Topa (SEA) – Wednesday would be two straight for Paul Sewald.
3. Giovanny Gallegos (STL) – And for Ryan Helsley.

2023 AL Central Preview

March 13, 2023

Chicago White Sox — All-Star closer Liam Hendriks is expected to begin the season on the IL after announcing in January that he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  The White Sox have a number of options to close games while Hendriks is out, but it looks like they will not have a set closer in his absence.  Kendall Graveman was the primary set-up man for Hendriks last year and should start the year at the head of the committee.  Righties Joe Kelly and Reynaldo Lopez, as well as lefties Aaron Bummer and Jake Diekman, could also be in the mix.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: *Graveman | Kelly | Bummer.
* = closer-by-committee
Holds candidates: Kelly, Bummer, Lopez, Diekman, Garrett Crochet.

Cleveland Guardians – The back-end of the Guardians’ bullpen was very strong last year and they bring back all the key members.  Closer Emmanuel Clase led the league with 42 saves last season and also had the best WHIP among qualified relievers at 0.73.  James Karinchak missed the first part of the season but pitched well after returning and had a 23-game scoreless streak at one point.  Trevor Stephan emerged as another dominant late-inning reliever last season and led the Guardians with 20 holds.  

Starting 2023 hierarchy: Clase | Karinchak | Stephan.
Holds candidates: Karinchak, Stephan, Sam Hentges, Eli Morgan, Nick Sandlin.

Detroit Tigers – The Tigers traded closer Gregory Soto in January, and two other key members of their bullpen last year, Andrew Chafin and Joe Jimenez, are not on the roster.  That leaves a pretty open bullpen and the Tigers will probably add another piece before the season starts.  Alex Lange seems like the most logical candidate to close out games as he posted some elite numbers last year, including a whiff rate of 44.1 percent and an exit velocity that ranked in the top ten percent of the league.  However, he also led the league in wild pitches, so control is definitely an issue.  Veteran Jose Cisnero could be in the mix if Lange struggles with walks, and Jason Foley is another candidate to round out the back end of the Tigers’ bullpen. Another guy to watch is Trevor Rosenthal; the Tigers signed him to a minor league deal, and there is certainly an opportunity here if he can regain his past form.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: Lange | Cisnero | Foley.
Holds candidates: Cisnero, Foley, Will Vest, Tyler Alexander.

Kansas City Royals – Scott Barlow had a strong 2022 season as he led the Royals with 24 saves and had a solid ERA of 2.18 and a WHIP of 1.00.  Barlow should start the season as the closer, but there are question marks behind him.  Josh Staumont has looked dominant at times, but he battled injuries and serious control issues last season.  Speaking of control issues, the Royals went out and signed veteran flamethrower Aroldis Chapman.  Chapman walked 28 batters in just over 36 innings last year, but the Royals will hope he can regain the form that saw him strike out 97 batters just a couple seasons ago.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: Barlow | Staumont | Chapman.
Holds candidates: Staumont, Chapman, Amir Garrett, Taylor Clarke.

Minnesota Twins – Jhoan Duran was electric out of the Twins’ bullpen last year as he recorded 89 strikeouts in just 67.2 innings.  However, he was often needed before the 9th inning, limiting him to just eight saves.  Duran has all the makings of a dominant closer, but with Jorge Lopez returning, the Twins could prefer to use Duran in a more flexible role instead of as a traditional closer.  We still think Duran is the best option, but we think he will share save chances with Lopez, especially at the beginning of the season.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: *Duran | Lopez | Thielbar.
* = closer-by-committee
Holds candidates: Lopez, Caleb Thielbar, Griffin Jax.

Clay Holmes appears to continue to lead Yankees’ closer committee

September 23, 2022

New York Yankees — The Yankees activated Scott Effross and Zack Britton on Thursday. A corresponding move led them to place Wandy Peralta on the IL. So what does the back end look like now? Well, manager Aaron Boone essentially said this week the Yankees will use a closer-by-committee approach, so we’ll keep the committee tag and insert Effross and Aroldis Chapman, who has been up and down of late. Other late-inning options include Jonathan Loaisiga, Lou Trivino and Britton. Holmes earned the extra-inning win Thursday, pitching the game’s final two innings, so he will continue to lead this ‘pen.

Updated hierarchy: *Holmes | Effross | Chapman.
* = closer-by-committee

Arizona Diamondbacks — In a tight game on Thursday, the Diamondbacks turned to Reyes Moronta for the save chance, but he could not close out the Dodgers, loading the bases with one out. Arizona turned Joe Mantiply to save things, but he allowed a game-tying infield single and a walk-off single. While Moronta didn’t finish the job, we probably need to reshuffle this Diamondbacks hierarchy given Thursday’s usage. Ian Kennedy had a scoreless eighth inning in a five-run game Wednesday, but he has been terrible as of late, allowing 11 earned runs over his past six appearances (4.1 IP), to balloon his ERA to 4.91.

Updated hierarchy: *Melancon | Moronta | Mantiply.
* = closer-by-committee

Chicago Cubs — Mark Leiter Jr. pitched the final 2.1 innings Thursday to earn his third save. It was his second save in three appearances, and that’s enough to enter him into the hierarchy for the Cubs. Brandon Hughes leads this committee, but he was shaky on Thursday, getting just one out in the seventh while allowing a hit and two walks, to make way for Leiter Jr. Hughes is still the best bet for Cubs saves down the stretch.

Updated hierarchy: *Hughes | Wick | Leiter Jr..
* = closer-by-committee

San Francisco Giants – Three of John Brebbia’s past four appearances have been opener-type “starts,” and if he’s starting games, he can’t earn saves. With this recent usage we’ll move Tyler Rogers back into the hierarchy behind Scott Alexander and Camilo Doval, who pitched the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, on Thursday. Brebbia could be in the mix, too, so we’ll keep an eye on things.

Updated hierarchy remains: Doval | Alexander | Rogers.

Pittsburgh Pirates — David Bednar was activated from the injured list Thursday and will likely resume his role as Pirates closer down the stretch.

Updated hierarchy: Bednar | Crowe | Underwood.

Philadelphia Phillies — Jose Alvarado got the last out of the eighth and was left in to finish things off in the ninth Thursday for his second save. David Robertson, Seranthony Dominguez and Alvarado all pitched the day before, but the Phillies stuck with Alvarado, who came into the game against a tough lefty (Matt Olson) and retired him on just one pitch. After the game, interim manager Rob Thomson explained the decision to stick with Alvarado in the ninth, saying, “We wanted to see by the end of the year if Alvarado could pitch the ninth and more than one inning and he did that tonight.”  

Hierarchy remains: *Robertson | Dominguez | Alvarado.
* = closer-by-committee

St. Louis Cardinals – Ryan Helsley pitched the eighth inning on Thursday, allowing a solo shot but earning a hold ahead of Giovanny Gallegos, who tallied his 13th save with a clean ninth. Helsley had the team’s previous six saves so he’s the clear closer, but there are times when St. Louis will use Helsely in the game’s tightest spots before the final inning, like on Thursday when he was called in to face the 3-4-5 hitters.

Hierarchy remains: Helsley | Gallegos | Pallante.

Kansas City Royals — Brad Keller earned his first career save on Thursday, notching two strikeouts in a scoreless ninth inning against the Twins. Scott Barlow, Dylan Coleman and Amir Garrett had all pitched in back-to-back games and all were given the night off Thursday, so Keller won’t normally factor into the team’s late-inning plans.

Hierarchy remains: Barlow | Coleman | Garrett.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Jonathan Hernandez (TEX) – Jose Leclerc has pitched in two straight games.
2. Scott Effross (NYY) – Clay Holmes threw two innings Thursday and has gone in two of three.

Saturday:
1. Scott Alexander (SF) – If Camilo Doval pitches Friday, it would be two straight and four of six.
2. Rafael Montero (HOU) – An outing Friday would be four of six for Ryan Pressly.
3. James Karinchak (CLE) – A Friday outing would be three of four for Emmanuel Clase.
4. Dylan Coleman (KC) – If he goes Friday, it’d be three of four for Scott Barlow.
5. Anthony Bass (TOR) – Jordan Romano recorded four outs Wednesday and if he has a taxing outing Friday, he’d likely need Saturday off.
6. Raisel Iglesias (ATL) – If he goes Friday, it’d be three of five for Kenley Jansen.

Josh Staumont to the injured list, Zack Britton on the way back

August 25, 2022

Kansas City Royals — The day after a 42-pitch outing, Josh Staumont hit the injured list with biceps tendinitis. The righty doesn’t believe the injury is serious. Now that Amir Garrett is done with his two-game suspension for throwing a drink at a fan, he should take over the seventh inning.

Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Coleman | Garrett.

New York Yankees — Zack Britton made his first rehab appearance ahead of a planned mid-September return to the big leagues. Britton retired both hitters he faced.

Hierarchy remains: *Peralta | Loaisiga | Chapman.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Rafael Montero/Hector Neris (HOU) — Although Ryan Pressly is likely to avoid the IL, it’s not clear whether he’s ready to pitch yet.
2. Diego Castillo (SEA) — Paul Sewald has gone in two straight, picking up the loss Wednesday.

Friday:
1. Pete Fairbanks (TB) — Jason Adam has already thrown in four of the last six.