Surprise! Cleveland uses Andrew Miller in sixth inning

August 5, 2016

Cleveland Indians – Losers of three straight games against the hapless Minnesota Twins, the first-place Indians were desperate for a win Thursday. Things were so desperate that manager Terry Francona turned to Andrew Miller with a 4-2 lead in the sixth inning — no, not the 9th… or even the 8th. Miller recorded four outs to secure a hold (though some ESPN Fantasy players may have seen that for a time Thursday, ESPN credited Miller with a hold AND a save). Tito’s explanation after the game? “I prefer not to use him that early,” said Francona. “That won’t have happen a lot. This was a little bit of a unique situation. Cody (Allen), Bryan Shaw and Miller were probably going to finish the game. So to wait, didn’t seem to make any sense.” Notice the order Francona said those names. We’ll read into it a little bit, but not too much, and designate this situation a committee. Miller may be called upon to get the most crucial outs at any point in a game, while Allen may pick up more saves if Miller has already been used.

Updated hierarchy: *Miller | Allen | Shaw.
* = closer-by-committee

Seattle Mariners – Former closer Steve Cishek was placed on the disabled list Thursday with a hip injury. Tom Wilhelmsen and the recently acquired Drew Storen may see opportunities when 22-year-old phenom Edwin Diaz isn’t available to close for the M’s.

Updated hierarchy: Diaz | Wilhelmsen | Storen.

Texas Rangers – Former Brewers closer Jeremy Jeffress got into his first game with the Rangers Thursday, pitching a scoreless seventh inning in an eventual 4-1 win. After the game, manager Jeff Banister called Jeffress’s arm “electric.” As for the other Texas arms, Matt Bush pitched the eighth inning while Jake Diekman, who hasn’t pitched since July 31, warmed in the bullpen. It’ll be interesting to see who gets any save chances when Dyson is unavailable, but our money is on Jeffress – for now – in a crowded-but-talented bullpen.

Hierarchy remains: Dyson | Jeffress | Diekman.

Boston Red Sox – Brad Ziegler earned the vulture save for the Red Sox in an extra-innings victory over the Mariners Thursday night. Craig Kimbrel earned the win after getting the last out in the ninth and striking out the side in the 10th.

Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Ziegler | Tazawa.

Oakland A’s – Ryan Dull picked up his second of the season on Thursday after pitching a clean 10th inning. John Axford and Ryan Madson had already appeared in the game. In related bullpen news, injured reliever Sean Doolittle is scheduled to throw a bullpen session this weekend.

Hierarchy remains: Madson | Axford | Dull.

Cincinnati Reds – Opening Day closer JJ Hoover, armed with a 13.50 ERA, hasn’t pitched in the majors since late June. He cleared waivers Thursday and was outrighted to Triple-A Louisville. He’s completely off the Reds’ 40-man roster.

Hierarchy remains: Cingrani | Iglesias | Lorenzen.  

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jason Grilli, Toronto Blue Jays — Roberto Osuna has pitched in two straight and in three out of the last four days.
2. Cody Allen, Cleveland Indians — Who will get the next Cleveland save? Andrew Miller or Cody Allen?
3. Fernando Salas/J.C. Ramirez, Los Angeles Angels — Mike Scioscia has labeled this a committee, so any one of Cam Bedrosian (the favorite), Fernando Salas or J.C. Ramirez could get the next Angels save.

Jonathan Papelbon’s struggles continue

July 27, 2016

Washington Nationals – Jonathan Papelbon suffered his second loss in as many outings, blowing a three-run lead in the ninth without recording an out. He has now allowed six earned runs in his last two appearances, raising his ERA from 2.56 to 4.45. After the game, Papelbon’s confidence in himself hasn’t wavered, but manager Dusty Baker may not share that same confidence. He said it was “too soon after the loss” to think about removing Papelbon from the closer’s role, but with the Nationals having lost six of eight and still clinging to first place in the NL East, they may begin to look elsewhere for help before August 1.

Hierarchy remains: Papelbon | Kelley | Rivero.

Toronto Blue Jays — After designating Drew Storen for assignment on Sunday, the Jays traded him to Seattle for Joaquin Benoit, who sports a 5.18 ERA and troubling walks-per-nine rate of 5.5. Benoit actually faced Toronto in his last outing on July 24 and he retired all three batters he faced. Manager John Gibbons thinks Benoit can help Toronto in the late innings, much like Jason Grilli, another veteran the Jays acquired this year. Gibbons said Benoit may be available Wednesday, but no matter when he officially joins the club, he should see high-leverage spots ahead of Grilli and Roberto Osuna.

Updated hierarchy: Osuna | Grilli | Benoit. 

Seattle Mariners — The Mariners traded Joaquin Benoit to Toronto for the recently DFA’d Drew Storen late Tuesday night. Storen comes to Seattle with a 6.21 ERA, though GM Jerry Dipoto is confident that Storen can get back on track over the next two months. Tom Wilhelmsen picked up his fifth hold of the season on Tuesday in a Mariners win and should see more of the seventh inning with Benoit heading north of the border.

Updated hierarchy: Cishek | Diaz | Wilhelmsen.

Oakland A’s – With Ryan Madson unavailable after pitching in two straight and three of four, John Axford got the final two outs of the ninth to preserve a 6-3 win. Prior to the game, manager Bob Melvin maintained that Madson, who blew a save on Monday (his third in his last eight outings), is still the closer. However, Melvin also clarified that Axford, and not Ryan Dull, will close when Madson is unavailable.

Updated hierarchy: Madson | Axford | Dull.

Atlanta Braves — Chris Withrow now has eighth-inning holds in each of the last two Atlanta wins and has surpassed Dario Alvarez in the Braves hierarchy. Meanwhile, Mauricio Cabrera is still throwing gas, as he hit 102 twice on Tuesday.

Updated hierarchy:  Johnson | Cabrera | Withrow.

Detroit Tigers – With Justin Wilson getting some rest Tuesday after throwing 45 pitches over the last two games, Bruce Rondon and Shane Greene were each sharp in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively. After the game, manager Brad Ausmus singled out Rondon, who reached triple digits with his fastball, saying that he needed to see more of that from the righty. Greene has been great of late as well, however, having allowed just one run in 8.2 innings during July. Based on recent usage, we’ll move Greene up in the hierarchy, though he and Rondon should both see chances for holds.

Updated hierarchy: Rodriguez | J.Wilson | Greene.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Adam Liberatore was unavailable on Tuesday because of a sore right knee, which he injured while covering a base Sunday in St. Louis. If the injury, which is not serious, keeps him out for another couple days, expect Pedro Baez to see more high-leverage opportunities in Liberatore’s stead.

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Liberatore | Blanton.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Adam Warren, New York Yankees – Both Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances have pitched in two straight and four of the last five, making them very unlikely to appear Wednesday.
2. Jason Grilli, Toronto Blue Jays – Roberto Osuna has appeared in three straight games.
3. Shawn Kelley, Washington Nationals – Jonathan Papelbon has pitched in four of the last five, including a blown save last night.
4. Justin Wilson, Detroit Tigers – K-Rod has thrown 29 pitches over the last two days while Wilson got Tuesday night off.

Ryan Dull setting records; Luke Gregerson pitching well

July 5, 2016

Milwaukee Brewers – Tyler Thornburg has not pitched in a week and it is not entirely clear why. Last night Will Smith set-up Jeremy Jeffress, but there is little to suggest that Thornburg is injured or otherwise in Craig Counsell’s doghouse. Considering the fact that the Brewers batted out of order last night, pure incompetence cannot be ruled out. We’ll switch Thornburg and Smith for now.

Updated hierarchy: Jeffress | Smith | Thornburg.

Tampa Bay Rays – Ryan Garton snagged a sneaky vulture save last night with Xavier Cedeno getting the night off. The Rays have used a number of pitchers in the late innings recently, but Kevin Cash has shown confidence in Garton in the last few weeks. We expect him to continue to get late inning work going forward.

Updated hierarchy: Cedeno | Ramirez | Garton.

Houston Astros – In the last week, the Astros have used Luke Gregerson as Will Harris’s set-up man over Ken Giles. Giles has had a tough year following high expectations, and now seems to be second in line in Houston with Gregerson re-establishing his footing.

Updated hierarchy: Harris | Gregerson | Giles.

San Francisco Giants – Sergio Romo, the longtime Giants set-up man, has been activated from the disabled list and will be available to pitch tonight. However, Bruce Bochy told the press that Romo will not be getting his old job back right away. For now, Cory Gearrin will continue to get the 8th inning. We do not expect Bochy to be shy in deploying Romo in the late innings, however.

Updated hierarchy: Casilla | Gearrin | Romo.

Pittsburgh Pirates – The Pirates have used Tony Watson as the primary set-up man recently, but they still went with Neftali Feliz for the vulture save chance last night. Serves us right for not trusting our own hierarchy.

Hierarchy remains: Melancon | Feliz | Watson.

Oakland A’s – Ryan Dull set a record last night for stranding inherited runners. His reward is the first in line spot on the Closer Monkey hierarchy, as his appearance last night was the second time in a row that he’s been used to set-up Ryan Madson.

Updated hierarchy: Madson | Dull | Axford.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Cory Gearrin, San Francisco Giants – Santiago Casilla has pitched in back to back games and three of four.

Rosenthal out as closer, Ryan Dull putting up historic numbers

June 26, 2016

St. Louis Cardinals — Mike Matheny confirmed yesterday that Trevor Rosenthal will no longer be the team’s closer.  He also said that he would use a three-pitcher committee instead of naming one closer.  We still like Seung Hwan Oh the best but Matheny said that he would rotate through Oh, Siegrist and Broxton based on availability and matches.

Updated hierarchy: *Oh | Siegrist | Broxton.
* – closer-by-committee

June 26, 2016
Colorado Rockies – Gonzalez Germen recorded his first save of the season yesterday.  Germen came on to get the last out the eighth inning and stayed on for the ninth after the Rockies added some insurance runs.  Boone Logan has been used as a LOOGY lately, he has gone less than a full inning in his last seven appearances so German could continue to see more time in the later innings for the Rockies until Jake McGee returns.

Updated hierarchy: Estevez | Motte | Germen.

Oakland A’s – Sean Doolittle pitched out a bases loaded, one out jam in the ninth inning yesterday in a non-save situation.  However, the bigger news may be that Ryan Dull stranded two more inherited runners.  Dull has now stranded all 32 inherited runners this season.  Dull is still behind Madson, Doolittle, and Axford when it comes to saves chances but he is having a great season for the A’s bullpen.

Hierarchy remains: Madson | Doolittle | Axford.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Mychal Givens, Baltimore Orioles – Zach Britton has pitched in two straight and four of the last five.  Brad Brach has also pitched in two straight and three of the past four.
2. Tyler Thornburg, Milwaukee Brewers – Jeremy Jeffress has pitched in back-to-back games.
3. Addison Reed, New York Mets – Jeurys Familia has pitched in two straight and four of the past five.
4. Kirby Yates, New York Yankees – The big three of Chapman, Miller, and Betances has all pitched in two straight and three of the past four.
5. Kevin Siegrist/Jonathan Broxton, St. Louis Cardinals – Matheny said he will mix and match between Oh, Siegrist and Broxton

 

Brad Boxberger leaves debut with injury; Alex Colome will close again

June 1, 2016

Tampa Bay Rays — Brad Boxberger’s return to major league action didn’t go quite the way he’d hoped. After quickly retiring two batters in the sixth inning, Boxberger gave up a single and a home run, then grabbed his left abdomen on a pitch that hit the next batter. He was immediately diagnosed with a side muscle strain and the prognosis didn’t look any better after the game. Boxberger seems likely to return to the DL — where he’d been ever since adductor surgery in March. Hope you hung on to Alex Colome.

Updated hierarchy: Colome | Cedeno | Ramirez.

Atlanta Braves — Atlanta’s youth movement continues, as the Braves have decided to pay 39-year-old Jason Grilli to pitch in another country. The team does expect to get Jim Johnson back from the DL this Friday, and Shae Simmons’s return from Tommy John surgery shouldn’t be far behind. Until then, Alexi Ogando and Hunter Cervenka will protect Atlanta’s theoretical late-game leads.

Updated hierarchy: Vizcaino | Cervenka | Ogando.

Toronto Blue Jays — Unhappy with the performance of their middle relievers, the Blue Jays traded for veteran Jason Grilli on Tuesday. We’ll leave the Toronto hierarchy intact for now, but it sounds like Grilli will get a chance to pitch some high-leverage innings.

Hierarchy remains: Osuna | Floyd | Biagini.

San Diego Padres — Forget the presidential race; the surest sign of the apocalypse might just be that it’s June and Fernando Rodney still hasn’t allowed an earned run. By this point last year, he had 16, good for an 8.18 ERA. Anyway, if Rodney weren’t dominating, he might need to look over his shoulder — his right shoulder, of course — at catcher Christian Bethancourt, who came in on Tuesday and mixed a 96 mph fastball with a heart-stopping 53 mph eephus.

Hierarchy remains: Rodney | Buchter | Maurer.

Los Angeles Angels — Huston Street picked up where he left off, mowing down three straight batters in a tied ninth inning. Joe Smith surprisingly did not appear in the game, but he was tired, not hurt.

Hierarchy remains: Street | Smith | Salas.

New York Mets — Some guy named Noah Syndergaard earned his first regular-season hold for the Mets last night, breaking 100 mph on 9 of his 17 pitches. But let’s be honest; he’s no Jim Henderson.

Hierarchy remains: Familia | Reed | Henderson.

Oakland A’s — John Axford picked up his first save with the A’s; Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson had each been used in two straight games. Every member of the “special” Oakland hierarchy has earned a save in the last three days.

Hierarchy remains: Madson | Doolittle | Axford.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. David Phelps, Miami Marlins — A.J. Ramos needed 32 pitches to get Tuesday’s save.
2. Ken Giles, Houston Astros — Luke Gregerson has pitched on three of the last four days (51 pitches).
3. Shawn Kelley, Washington Nationals — Jonathan Papelbon hasn’t thrown a lot of pitches, but he has been used in three straight games.