Weekly Hot Seat Update: May 29, 2015

With all the closer changes so far this season, it’s easy to see the value in owning guys who are first in line.  But while it’s always nice to have a new closer, wouldn’t it be even better to get the next dominant one?  Back in 2012, Greg Holland was first in line to saves for the Royals, behind Jonathan Broxton.  After the Royals traded Broxton, Holland stepped in and solidified himself as a top-five closer over the next several seasons.  Who could be the next Greg Holland?

Jake McGee, Tampa Bay Rays — McGee is a little different than the other guys on this list since he closed for a while last year, and could even see save chances right now, in a committee with Brad Boxberger.  Still, with McGee coming back from injury, and coming off a rough outing, this seemed like a good time to talk about him.  McGee was an elite reliever last year, striking out 90 batters to go along with an ERA under 2 and a WHIP under 1.  He gave up a grand slam on Tuesday to raise his ERA over 8.00 in limited appearances this season.  McGee’s strikeout numbers are still there (6 in 3.1 innings), and in his first three appearances he only gave up one hit.  If Boxberger gets hurt or starts to struggle, McGee could take the job and run with it.

Carson Smith, Seattle Mariners — Smith is probably the least well-known reliever on this list, but some people think he should take over as the Mariners closer right now.  Called up in September last year, Smith impressed in limited action, giving up only five baserunners in 8.1 innings.  Smith has continued to dominate hitters this season, giving up 9 hits while striking out 24 in 21 IP.  With over 40 saves in his minor league career, Smith has shown the ability to close out games, and should be a guy to watch the rest of this season.

Ken Giles, Philadelphia Phillies — When Ken Giles joined the Phillies last year in June, he gave up a run in his first appearance.  It took almost a month and a half before he gave up another one.  He finished 2014 with 64 strikeouts in 45.2 innings, good enough to rank him in the top 15 in K/9 among relief pitchers with more than 40 IP.  Giles has not been as dominant this year, but he’s still striking out about a batter per inning.  It’s no secret that the Phillies would like to trade their current closer, Jonathan Papelbon, and if that happens, Giles could step right in and be a lights-out closer.

Dellin Betances, New York Yankees — Remember when Dellin Betances was supposed to be the Yankees’ closer this season after David Robertson left?  Andrew Miller had a little something to say about that, but that hasn’t stopped Betances from remaining one of the best relievers in the game.  Betances has yet to allow an earned run in 26 innings so far this season, and his 41 strikeouts lead all relievers.  Although he wasn’t able to capitalize on Robertson’s departure early this season, he still looks like a guy who could be one of the best fantasy closers in baseball if he can get the full-time gig.

Wade Davis, Kansas City Royals – Let’s finish up with the guy who’s currently pitching behind the example we mentioned at the top.  Like Betances, Wade Davis has yet to allow an earned run this season, and has only given up 8 hits in 20 innings.  He also has 7 saves from when closer Greg Holland was hurt earlier this season.  Davis’s strikeout numbers aren’t as good as some of the other guys listed above, but he is still at almost one per inning, and he finished last season with over 100 Ks.

Jake Petricka earns first save; Dan Jennings can’t pitch either

May 29, 2015

Chicago White Sox — Before Thursday’s doubleheader with the Orioles, manager Robin Ventura expressed support for closer David Robertson, who has allowed six earned runs in his last eight outings. With Robertson unavailable, the White Sox turned to Zach Duke, as predicted in Thursday’s VSW, in the first game. Duke got the last out in the eighth and the first two in the ninth before allowing a two-run home run to Chris Davis. In relief of Duke came old friend Jake Petricka, who got the final out to earn his first save of the season. Petricka has moved ahead of Dan Jennings, who allowed three hits and a run with the team behind in game two. Jennings has had a difficult time adjusting to his unprecedented dual role as White Sox reliever and Marlins manager, with a 8.31 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP since the move was made on May 18.

Updated hierarchy: Robertson | Duke | Petricka.

Detroit Tigers – Bruce Rondon is slowly making his way back for the Tigers, tossing a scoreless inning in his most recent rehab appearance Tuesday night. The Tigers, though, want him fully pain-free before he returns to the big leagues. In the meantime, Tom Gorzellany allowed two hits, two walks and a grand slam against the Angels Thursday night, saddling him with a 1.56 WHIP and 5.06 ERA. Al Alburquerque came on to quiet things down with a scoreless eighth inning. Alburquerque hasn’t allowed a run since April 24 (12 appearances, 11 K), so for now we’ll slide him back to second in line, even if he’s only keeping the seat warm for Rondon.

Updated hierarchy: Soria | Chamberlain | Alburquerque.

Oakland A’s — With Sean Doolittle still being eased back into the closer’s role after his first appearance on Wednesday (a scoreless sixth inning with 1 hit allowed), the A’s called upon Tyler Clippard for Thursday’s save. Clippard allowed one run on a Brett Gardner double, but was able to close the door for his fifth save. We still strongly believe that Doolittle is back in the big leagues to close, and close soon, but it could be worth hanging onto Clippard until Doolittle gets the ball in the ninth inning — though it remains to be seen just what he’ll choose to “ride” to the mound.

Hierarchy remains: *Doolittle | Clippard | Scribner.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Darren O’Day, Baltimore Orioles — Zach Britton has pitched in two straight and three out of four.
2. Tyler Clippard, Oakland A’s — Sean Doolittle leads our committee and is the eventual closer but, as noted above, the A’s could turn to Clippard until they’re absolutely sure Doolittle is ready to go in the ninth.
3. Jake McGee, Tampa Bay Rays — Brad Boxberger took two consecutive losses against the Mariners this week, allowing four runs in the process. The Rays will probably give Boxberger another crack this weekend, but manager Kevin Cash uses his bullpen situationally, as the biggest outs sometimes come before the ninth. Keep an eye on old closer Jake McGee, but it’s worth noting he also struggled mightily on Wednesday, allowing a three-run blast.

Brandon Maurer pitching well; Brad Boxberger not so much

May 28, 2015

San Diego Padres – Brandon Maurer got the 8th inning ahead of Craig Kimbrel on Wednesday to pick up his fifth hold on the year. Although he gave up a run to break his 13-inning scoreless streak, Maurer currently sports the best ERA and WHIP on the team at 2.25 and 0.83, respectively. Bud Black and pitching coach Darren Balsley recently praised the young righty, saying he has found his niche in the 7th inning. Expect Maurer to continue to get the ball in that spot, and on nights when Benoit is unavailable, to see the 8th as well.

Updated hierarchy: Kimbrel | Benoit | Maurer.

Tampa Bay Rays — After converting nine straight save opportunities, Brad Boxberger has taken losses in his last two appearances. Last night he gave up three runs on two walks and a Nelson Cruz moonshot. Boxberger has been great right up until this recent rough patch, and his primary competitor Jake McGee is coming off his own disaster outing on Tuesday, so its unlikely that he would slide out of his spot as the top guy in the committee just yet. However, if he blows a save in his next loss, it could be McGee getting the next look.

Hierarchy remains: *Boxberger | McGee | Jepsen.
* closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Joaquin Benoit, San Diego Padres -Craig Kimbrel has made three consecutive appearances and has yet to pitch four days in a row this season.
2. Zach Duke/Dan Jennings, Chicago White Sox – David Robertson has blown two straight saves, meaning he may get a full day off during Thursday’s doubleheader. Duke should be the first guy to get a save chance, with Jennings in the mix if Duke has an especially long outing in the first game.
3. David Carpenter, New York Yankees – Both Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances have pitched three of the last four, so Carpenter may get a chance if both guys get the night off.
4. Sergio Romo, San Francisco Giants – Santiago Casilla has pitched in back-to-back days and in five of the last seven.
5. Joba Chamberlain, Detroit Tigers – Joakim Soria has thrown 19 pitches in consecutive outings.

Enrique Burgos hits DL; two relievers steal saves

May 27, 2015

Arizona Diamondbacks – Enrique Burgos was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis. Arizona will surely miss his MLB-best 16.46 K/9, but help may soon be on the way in the form of David Hernandez, who is close to rejoining the Diamondbacks after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. Until Hernandez’s rehab stint is complete, Daniel Hudson and LOOGY Oliver Perez will compete for holds ahead of Addison Reed and Brad Ziegler.

Updated hierarchy: *Ziegler | Reed | Hudson.

Seattle Mariners –Following a Fernando Rodney blown save in which Rodney allowed three runs, Joe Beimel picked up his first save since June 11, 2009. Rodney may have pulled off the save if not for Robinson Cano not being able to turn a double play in the ninth, but his ERA climbed to 6.98 instead. Manager Lloyd McClendon doesn’t care about ERA, and Rodney is indeed third in the AL with 13 saves, but you wonder how long McClendon can ignore Carson Smith’s 0.86 ERA and 0.67 WHIP.

Hierarchy remains: Rodney | Smith | Wilhemsen.

St. Louis Cardinals — As predicted in Tuesday’s Vulture Save Watch, Seth Maness picked up his third save of the season while Trevor Rosenthal and Kevin Siegrist each received a day off.

Hierarchy remains: Rosenthal | Siegrist | Maness.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Tony Cingrani, Cincinnati Reds – Aroldis Chapman has pitched in three straight games and thrown 73 pitches during that stretch, including 27 on Tuesday.
2. Chad Qualls, Houston Astros – Luke Gregerson has appeared in three of four.
3. Carlos Torres, New York Mets – Jeurys Familia has tossed 54 pitches over back-to-back games, including 32 on Tuesday.
4. Carson Smith, Seattle Mariners – Fernando Rodney has pitched in four of the last five games, including a 29-pitch outing on Tuesday.
5. Keone Kela/Ross Ohlendorf, Texas Rangers – Shawn Tolleson has pitched on three consecutive days for only the second time this season.

Sean Doolittle activated; Greg Holland struggling

May 26, 2015

Oakland Athletics – Sean Doolittle will be activated from the disabled list today. Bob Melvin has repeatedly said that while Doolittle won’t close right away, he will be serving in that role in short order. So we’re moving him to the top of the hierarchy because the assumption is that he will be the closer by the end of the week; we’ll tag him with an asterisk for now and remove it once he gets his first save.

Updated hierarchy: *Doolittle | Clippard | Scribner.
* = closer-by-committee

Texas Rangers – Neftali Feliz had only gotten into one game since the blown save that cost him his job, and on Monday we were given the reason — an abscess on his right side that has now resulted in a trip to the disabled list. Shawn Tolleson just picked up his fourth save in six games, and Feliz would have to do a lot upon returning to even get himself into the 1st in line spot. So if you don’t have a DL spot open, he’s probably droppable in most leagues at this point.

Hierarchy remains: Tolleson | Kela | Ohlendorf.

Kansas City Royals – In his first appearance since May 14, Greg Holland had a discouraging outing against the Yankees, allowing two runs while only recording one out. It was a blowout, and many closers are notoriously ineffective without the context of a save situation to jack up their adrenaline, but Holland wasn’t throwing as hard as usual. As we alluded in last week’s Hot Seat column, it might be time to buy some Wade Davis shares.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Casey Janssen/Aaron Barrett, Washington Nationals – Drew Storen has pitched in back to back games, three of four, and five of seven. He could get the night off.
2. Seth Maness, St. Louis Cardinals – Trevor Rosenthal has pitched three innings over the last two days.
3. Tony Cingrani, Cincinnati Reds – Aroldis Chapman has pitched in back to back games, throwing 46 pitches.
4. Chris Hatcher, Los Angeles Dodgers – Kenley Jansen has pitched in three of four and is coming off an injury.