July 23, 2019
Texas Rangers – With Shawn Kelley officially on the IL, Chris Woodward indicated that Jose Leclerc and Chris Martin would handle 9th inning duties in Kelley’s absence. We detailed their recent work in yesterday morning’s post, and figure this might come down to who converts successfully first. From an organizational perspective, the Rangers may want to give Martin the first few cracks in the hopes that he succeeds and bolsters his trade value. But Leclerc has been viewed as the closer of the future for some time, so they might just give him back the job he lost at the end of April.
Hierarchy remains: *C.Martin | Leclerc | B.Martin.
* = closer-by-committee
Cincinnati Reds – Raisel Iglesias couldn’t escape the 8th inning last night, allowing an inherited run to score, plus three more, as the Reds relinquished the lead. They got it back in the top of the 9th, allowing Jared Hughes to convert his first save of the season. Michael Lorenzen and Amir Garrett had already pitched earlier in the night.
Hierarchy remains: Iglesias | Lorenzen | Garrett.
San Francisco Giants – The Giants gave Will Smith the night off after he’d appeared in three of the last four, and Sam Dyson got the 9th, converting for his 2nd save of the season.
Hierarchy remains: Smith | Dyson | Watson.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. John Gant/Andrew Miller – Carlos Martinez has gone back to back and three of four.
2. Michael Lorenzen – Raisel Iglesias has gone back to back, throwing 50 pitches.
Tomorrow
1. Blake Parker – If Taylor Rogers goes tonight, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
Rangers await word on severity of Shawn Kelley’s injury
July 22, 2019
Texas Rangers – Shawn Kelley hurt his arm on one of his warm up pitches on Sunday, and was removed from the game before he threw a single pitch. He was sent for an MRI, and we await word on the severity of his injury. If he’s going to miss significant time, then we’re leaning very slightly towards Chris Martin over Jose LeClerc as his replacement. Martin has posted two straight months with a sub-2 ERA and — get this — he hasn’t walked a batter since April (31/0 K/BB ratio since May 1). It’s very possible, though, that Chris Woodward does turn to former closer Leclerc, who does have more experience in the role and has also been pitching well as of late, having struck out 32 hitters in his last 22.2 IP. We’ll send an update if Woodward makes the call today.
Hierarchy remains: Kelley | Martin | Leclerc.
Tampa Bay Rays – A tired Rays bullpen turned to Adam Kolarek for the save opportunity on Sunday, and the lefty converted with a perfect inning of work for his first save of the year. Though the Rays use everybody everywhere, Kolarek will be pretty low on the list of likeliest 9th inning man on most nights.
Hierarchy remains: *Castillo | Pagan | Drake.
* = closer-by-committee
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Joakim Soria – Liam Hendriks has gone three straight.
2. Ryan Pressly – Roberto Osuna has gone in three of the last four.
Tomorrow
1. Jeremy Jeffress – If Josh Hader goes tomorrow it’ll be three straight.
2. Kyle Crick – If Felipe Vazquez goes tonight, it’ll be three straight.
3. Sam Dyson – If Will Smith goes tonight, it’ll be back to back and four of five.
4. John Gant/Andrew Miller – If Carlos Martinez goes tonight, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
Carlos Martinez records save while Craig Kimbrel market should heat up very soon
June 2, 2019
St. Louis Cardinals — Jordan Hicks got Saturday off as we expected, and the Cardinals turned to their closer from the end of last year, Carlos Martinez. Martinez responded with a perfect ninth for his first save of the season. After missing the beginning of the season, Martinez is beginning to settle in and even though he had pitched the prior two games, the Cardinals knew he was going to get the ninth inning yesterday. It looks like Martinez will be the most likely to see any save chances when Hicks is unavailable moving forward.
Updated hierarchy: Hicks | Martinez | Miller.
Atlanta Braves – After Jacob Webb allowed back-to-back doubles with one out in the eighth inning, the Braves went straight to their closer Luke Jackson. Jackson struck out both batters he faced in the eighth and then after a leadoff single in the ninth, he went on to strike out the side. Former Braves’ closer Craig Kimbrel will no longer cost a draft pick if signed after midnight tonight and this story picks the Braves as a likely landing spot for the free agent.
Hierarchy remains: Jackson | Newcomb | Webb.
Chicago Cubs — Pedro Strop will make another rehab appearance at AAA Iowa today and could be activated after that. The Cubs are also rumored to be interested in Craig Kimbrel.
Hierarchy remains: *Cishek | Kintzler | Chatwood.
* = closer-by-committee
Washington Nationals — The Nationals bullpen got it done last night as Wander Suero pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth inning for his fifth hold of the season and Sean Doolittle pitched a perfect ninth for his eleventh save. However, they still have one of the worst bullpens in the league and at least one beat writer thinks the Nationals should keep an eye on the market for Kimbrel and make a play for him if the price drops.
Hierarchy remains: Doolittle | Barraclough | Suero.
Colorado Rockies — After a ninth-inning error extended the game and a double cut the Rockies lead to two, Scott Oberg was summoned for the last out of the game. He was able to induce a ground out from the only batter he faced to pick up his second save of the season. Meanwhile, Wade Davis had no problems after his bullpen session, which was the first since his injury. Although there is no exact timetable for his return, it should be relatively soon barring any setbacks.
Hierarchy remains: Oberg | Shaw | Estevez.
Seattle Mariners — Brandon Brennan was used in a tie game yesterday but ended up taking the loss after being charged with a run. Brennan has now given up at least one earned run in three of his past four outings. Veteran Anthony Bass has been pitching well and should see more time in the later innings with Brennan struggling.
Updated hierarchy: *Elias | Bass | Brennan.
* = closer-by-committee
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Jose Leclerc – Shawn Kelley has pitched in two straight and three of four.
2. Bryan Shaw – Scott Oberg has pitched in three of four and five of seven.
3. Kyle Crick – Felipe Vazquez has gone in two straight, including a 21 pitch blown save yesterday.
Monday
1. Archie Bradley – If Greg Holland pitches on Sunday, it will be three in a row.
Jose Leclerc may not be the Rangers closer much longer
May 1, 2019
Texas Rangers – Jose Leclerc’s struggles continued on Tuesday night, as he blew a 3-0 lead thanks to two doubles and two infield singles. He hasn’t pitched a clean inning since April 3, which is not optimal. After the game, Chris Woodward declined to outright remove Leclerc from the closer’s role. However, he did say that the team will discuss that option and perhaps give Leclerc some outings that are a little less stressful. We wouldn’t be shocked if Woodward makes a decision this afternoon, so if Chris Martin or Shawn Kelley are available in your league, they are worth stashing. Martin pitched the eighth and Kelley pitched the seventh last night, but Kelley has better numbers this year and that all-important closing experience.
Hierarchy remains: Leclerc | Martin | Kelley.
Los Angeles Angels — Ty Buttrey faced the 2-3-4 hitters in the eighth inning and retired them all to keep the game tied. After the Angels took the lead in the bottom half of the frame, Hansel Robles got the ball in the ninth and recorded his second save of the season. We had mentioned earlier this month that Buttrey may get the highest-leverage work of the game, which would free up Robles for more save chances. That seems to have been the case here. Buttrey certainly could get save opportunities of his own, but we’ll move Robles up to the top spot in the hierarchy based on tonight’s usage.
Updated hierarchy: *Robles | Buttrey | Garcia.
* = closer-by-committee
New York Mets – With Edwin Diaz getting a night off, Jeurys Familia was in line for a multi-inning save and secured five outs in a row, which pleased manager Mickey Callaway. Unfortunately for Familia, he needed six outs for the save, and after a walk and three singles, the Reds tied the game. The Mets came back and won, but Familia proved that the Vulture Save Watch can only predict save chances. It can’t convert them, too.
Hierarchy remains: Diaz | Familia | Lugo.
St. Louis Cardinals – As the Vulture Save Watch predicted, Jordan Hicks got the night off and Andrew Miller recorded the final two outs of Tuesday’s win to collect his first save of the season.
Hierarchy remains: Hicks | Miller | Gant.
Chicago Cubs – With Pedro Strop presumably unavailable, Steve Cishek got the final out of the eighth and stayed on for the ninth with the Cubs leading by a run. Cishek allowed the first two runners to reach, but his defense turned a 6-4-3 double play and Cishek struck out Jay Bruce looking with a runner on third to earn his first save of the season.
Hierarchy remains: *Strop | Cishek | Kintzler.
* = closer-by-committee
Milwaukee Brewers – Junior Guerra nearly completed a three-inning save on Tuesday, striking out the first six hitters he faced before finding trouble in the ninth. Guerra got one out before a walk and an RBI double was enough to summon Josh Hader to finish the job. Hader allowed a two-run homer but closed out the game. Expect Guerra to continue to get high-leverage work now that Alex Wilson has been designated for assignment.
Updated hierarchy: Hader | Jeffress | Guerra.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Kelvin Herrera/Jace Fry/Aaron Bummer – Both Alex Colome and Kelvin Herrera got yesterday off due to a postponement after they had gone back to back and three of four. Depending on how the first game goes today, Herrera, or Jace Fry or Aaron Bummer could vulture a save in the nightcap.
2. Jared Hughes – Raisel Iglesias pitched two innings (28 pitches) on Monday and threw 17 more pitches on Tuesday.
3. Seth Lugo – Edwin Diaz should be available tonight, but Seth Lugo may vulture a save chance if Diaz is held out again.
Tomorrow
1. Jeurys Familia/Seth Lugo – If Diaz does make his fourth appearance in five days on Wednesday, there’s a good chance he’s held out of Thursday’s matinee.
Reyes Moronta becoming a key cog in Giants bullpen
April 30, 2019
Boston Red Sox – The Red Sox were up by 5 going into the ninth, but Hector Velazquez allowed three runners to reach, creating a save situation for Matt Barnes, who shut the door for his second save of the year. Ryan Brasier remains the preferred option here, while Barnes is doing well in his fireman role.
Hierarchy remains: *Brasier | Barnes | Workman.
* = closer-by-committee
Atlanta Braves – With AJ Minter and Luke Jackson both unavailable after pitching two straight, the Braves used just-acquired Jerry Blevins and rookie Jacob Webb to navigate the 9th. Webb picked up his first career save and has pitched 3.2 scoreless innings to start his major league career.
Hierarchy remains: Minter | Jackson | Winkler.
San Francisco Giants – The hard-throwing Reyes Moronta picked up his sixth hold of the season, pitching the 8th ahead of Will Smith. Moronta has ascended to an important role in this bullpen and should be a reliable source for holds going forward.
Updated hierarchy: Smith | Moronta | Melancon.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Jeurys Familia – Edwin Diaz has gone three straight.
2. Andrew Miller/John Gant – Jordan Hicks has gone in three straight.
3. Jace Fry/Aaron Bummer – Both Alex Colome and Kelvin Herrera have gone back to back and three of four, so someone weird is getting the save chance tonight if there is one.
4. Jared Hughes/Amir Garrett – Raisel Iglesias pitched 2 innings last night.
Tomorrow
1. Reyes Moronta/Mark Melancon – Will Smith and Reyes Moronta have gone in back to back games.
