Bard gets first save in 9 months

July 8, 2023
Colorado Rockies — With a 3 run lead in the 8th inning the Rockies gave the ball to Justin Lawrence, which left the 9th inning for Daniel Bard. Bard converted for his first save on the year and his first since October of 2022. This wasn’t purely matchup based, as Lawrence got the 8-9-1 hitters while Bard got heart of the order. Bard started the year on the IL while dealing with anxiety, but has pitched very well since his return, sporting a tidy 1.76 ERA (although walking hitters at a much higher rate than usual). Bard was the presumptive closer to start the year, so if this signals a shift in how the Rockies view their bullpen he may be worth a speculative add if you’re chasing saves. Lawrence hasn’t done anything to really lose the job though, so we will leave him at the top of this committee for now. 

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

Miami Marlins – A.J. Puk blew a save and took a loss last night. This was his second straight blown save, and he’s given up 5 runs over that span. Puk had emerged as the clear top option in the Miami pen, but these past two outings have been tough for the contending Marlins. It’s a bit too early to say that this is back to a committee, but we will keep an eye on any changes for the Marlins in the next week or two. 

Hierarchy remains: Puk | Floro | Brazoban.

Vulture Save Watch:

  1. Yennier Cano (BAL) — Felix Bautista threw 30 pitches last night, and has gone in 2 of 3.
  2. Gregory Santos/Reynaldo Lopez (CHW) — Kendall Graveman has gone in back to back and 3 of 4, while Santos has also pitched in back to back.
  3. Jose Alvarado (PHI) — Craig Kimbrel has thrown in back to back and 3 of 4.
  4. Dylan Floro (MIA) — AJ Puk has pitched in 2 of 3, throwing 43 pitches in that span.
  5. Mark Leiter Jr. (CHC) — Adbert Alzolay has pitched in 3 of 4, throwing 49 pitches.

For Sunday:

  1. Joel Payamps (MIL) — Today would be back to back and 3 of 4 for Devin Williams

Jordan Hicks is a hoss; Alex Lange bounces back

June 20, 2023

Detroit Tigers – After a brutal outing on Sunday, Alex Lange turned in a perfect 9th inning, needing just 12 pitches to dispatch the Royals for his 11th save. The Tigers have been mixing and matching more with Lange and Jason Foley, so the committee tag stays for the time being, but Lange owners can breathe a sigh of relief.

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

St. Louis Cardinals – That’s three saves in three days for Jordan Hicks, who is on the verge of seizing the closer role in St. Louis. Due to both his injury history and the Cardinals’ organizational penchant to avoid using relievers in three straight, this probably wouldn’t have happened had Hicks not insisted on it, but we’re not complaining about getting to watch a guy throw 104 mph every night.

Hierarchy remains: *Hicks | Gallegos | VerHagen.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Giovanny Gallegos – Jordan Hicks has gone in three straight.
2. Jason Foley – Alex Lange has gone back to back.
3. Tyler Rogers – Same for Camilo Doval.

Tomorrow
1. Joe Kelly/Reynaldo Lopez – If Kendall Graveman and/or Joe Kelly go today, it’s back to back.
2. Josh Sborz/Grant Anderson – Same for Will Smith and Josh Sborz…
3. Lucas Sims – …and Alexis Diaz…
4. Daniel Bard – …and Justin Lawrence.

Winn records first career save

June 14, 2023

Colorado Rockies – Matt Carasiti nearly got his second Major League save 24 hours after securing his first Major League save, but he had to settle for a 10th-inning hold instead. After Carasiti allowed a leadoff homer that brought Boston within one, he induced a groundout and issued a walk. Bud Black then summoned the recently demoted Pierce Johnson to the mound. Johnson got the job done, working around a wild pitch and retiring both batters he faced for the save. Daniel Bard put together a perfect ninth inning against the top of the Boston order to send the game to extras, while Justin Lawrence got the Rockies out of a one-out jam in the seventh, stranding runners on second and third to keep the game tied.

Updated hierarchy: *Lawrence | Bard | Bird.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Yankees – After Wandy Peralta ran into trouble in the eighth inning, Clay Holmes came on to strike out both batters he faced, stranding runners on second and third and preserving the Yankees’ one-run lead. That set the stage for Michael King to earn his first save since May 15 with a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Despite King’s first save in a month, Holmes remains at the top of this committee; he would have most certainly gotten the save chance if he didn’t have to bail out Peralta in the eighth.

Hierarchy remains: *Holmes | King | Peralta.
* = closer-by-committee

San Francisco Giants – Keaton Winn, who believe it or not had never even been in a Major League ballpark until he got called up on Monday, pitched the final four innings of Tuesday’s 11-3 victory to earn his first MLB save. 

Hierarchy remains: Doval | Ty. Rogers | Brebbia.

Philadelphia Phillies – Luis Ortiz, who had previously been in a Major League ballpark prior to this week, was recalled from Triple-A on Tuesday and immediately earned his first MLB save, pitching the final three innings of a 15-3 win.

Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Alvarado | Dominguez.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Chris Devenski (LAA) – Carlos Estevez has pitched in two straight.
2. Jake Bird (COL) – Justin Lawrence threw 28 pitches last night while Daniel Bard has gone back-to-back.
3. Tommy Kahnle (NYY) – Clay Holmes and Wandy Peralta have both gone in three of four, and Michael King won’t pitch back-to-back days. This could lead to a chance for Kahnle, who threw another scoreless inning last night.

Tomorrow
1. Nick Martinez/Steven Wilson (SD) – If Josh Hader goes today, that will be two straight. Same is true of Martinez and Wilson.
2. Brusdar Graterol/Caleb Ferguson (LAD) – Same goes for Evan Phillips, Graterol and Ferguson, though Graterol only threw four pitches last night.

Kendall Graveman to lead closer committee after Hendriks injury

June 12, 2023

Arizona Diamondbacks – After Andrew Chafin allowed two of the first three hitters to reach in the 9th inning, Scott McGough was summoned to bail him out. McGough (2.97 ERA, 0.87 WHIP) has not allowed an earned run in a month, a stretch of 14.2 innings. He may be entering the closer committee here and could be worth adding in deeper leagues.

Updated hierarchy: *Chafin | Castro | McGough.
* = closer-by-committee

Oakland A’s – Trevor May got roughed up in a non-save situation which subsequently turned into a save situation due to the aforementioned roughing. The beneficiary was Sam Long, who recorded the final out and picked up his second save of the season.

Updated hierarchy: *May | Lovelady | Long.
* = closer-by-committee

Boston Red Sox – After Kenley Jansen kept the game tied in the 9th, the Red Sox plated the automatic runner in the top of the 10th, allowing Chris Martin to pick up an impressive save.

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.

Chicago White Sox – Liam Hendriks has been placed on the IL with right elbow inflammation. Kendall Graveman should lead this committee while Hendriks out with Joe Kelly and Renaldo Lopez also being in the mix.

Updated hierarchy: *Graveman | Kelly | Lopez.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Dylan Floro – AJ Puk has gone back to back.
2. Ian Gibaut – Same for Alexis Diaz and Lucas Sims…
3. Jake Bird/Daniel Bard – …and Justin Lawrence.

Tomorrow
1. Chris Martin/Josh Winckowski – If Kenley Jansen or Chris Martin goes today, it’s back to back and three of four.
2. Jason Foley – If Alex Lange goes today, it’s back to back.
3. Jose Alvarado – Same for Craig Kimbrel.

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.