Barraclough records save, plus a panda sighting?

April 29, 2018

Miami Marlins — With Brad Ziegler not 100%, the Marlins turned to Kyle Barraclough to protect a three-run lead.  Barraclough responded by striking out the side for his first save of the season.  Ziegler has not pitched particularly well so far this season and this could be a preview of things to come if his struggles continue.

Hierarchy remains: Ziegler | Barraclough | Steckenrider.

Atlanta Braves — Arodys Vizcaino converted his second straight save opportunity since AJ Minter got the save on Wednesday.  Vizcaino struck out the side yesterday and has now put together seven straight scoreless appearances.

Hierarchy remains: *Vizcaino | Minter | Carle.
* = closer-by-committee

San Francisco Giants — The Giants gave up 15 runs in game 1 of their doubleheader against the Dodgers yesterday, but there was one “pitcher” who had a good game.  Pablo Sandoval was the only Giant to pitch a 1-2-3 inning.  He hit 88-mph with his fastball and threw this nice little curve for a strike.

Hierarchy remains: Strickland | Watson | Dyson.

Kansas City Royals – Brad Keller pitched the eighth inning ahead of closer Kelvin Herrera for the second straight game.  The Royals are still figuring out the best way to get the ball to Herrera, but we will move Keller back onto the hierarchy based on his recent usage.

Updated hierarchy: Herrera | Keller | Flynn.

Cleveland Indians — Andrew Miller, who has been placed on the 10-day disabled list, was able to play catch on Saturday.  It looks like Miller shouldn’t be out much longer than the required 10 days, but while is out, fellow lefty Tyler Olson should help set-up closer, Cody Allen.

Updated hierarchy: Allen | Goody | Olson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. AJ Ramos – Jeurys Familia will not be with the team today after his father-in-law passed away.
2. Brad Keller/Brian Flynn – Kelvin Herrera has pitched in three straight.  Brad Keller has pitched in two straight and three of four so it could be Flynn if both Herrera and Keller are rested on Sunday.
3. Drew Steckenrider – Kyle Barraclough has pitched in back-to-back games, throwing a total of 40 pitches, so if Brad Ziegler is unable to go again today, it could be Drew Steckenrider’s turn.
4. Chris Martin – Keone Kela has pitched in two straight and three of four.
5. Archie Bradley – Brad Boxberger has gone in two in a row.  Bradley has also pitched both days but has thrown fewer pitches so he could still be available.

Monday
1. Tony Watson – Hunter Strickland has pitched in two straight
2. George Kontos – If Felipe Vazquez pitches on Sunday, it will be four out of five.
3. Ryan Madson/Brandon Kintzler – Sean Doolittle has pitched in two straight.  Ryan Madson has also pitched in two straight so if both are used on Sunday, that could leave Brandon Kintzler for any save opportunities on Monday.

2018 AL Central Preview

February 26, 2018

Chicago White Sox – The White Sox have a few different options for closer to start the season.  Veteran closer Joakim Soria was signed this offseason and would be happy to accept the job.  Juan Minaya finished last year as the closer, including converting all six of his save chances in September.  Nate Jones was stellar in 2016, but missed most of last season with injuries.  Jones says that he will be ready for opening day, and should challenge for the role if healthy.  We think Soria gets the first shot at closing, but one long shot to keep an eye out for is Thyago Vieira, who can touch 102 with his fastball.

Starting 2018 hierarchy: Soria | Minaya | Jones.
Holds candidates: Minaya, Jones, Luis Avilan.

Cleveland Indians – The Indians will bring back closer Cody Allen and ace reliever Andrew Miller in 2018.  However, they lost Brian Shaw, who was a workhorse out of the bullpen last year, and Joe Smith, who was a key contributor after he was acquired midseason.  The Indians re-signed Dan Otero and he could step into the seventh-inning role.  Lefty Tyler Olson should also see time in the later innings, after he posted a 0.00 ERA in 30 games last year for the Tribe.  

Starting 2018 hierarchy: Allen | Miller | Otero.
Holds candidates: Miller, Otero, Olson.

Detroit Tigers — Shane Greene finished last year as the closer and it’s his job to lose heading into spring training.  Behind Greene, the Tigers have a lot of question marks.  Alex Wilson should fill a role in the back end of the bullpen, but he is also fighting for a spot in the rotation this spring.   Lefty Daniel Stumpf joins Greene and Wilson as established members of the bullpen, but Joe Jimenez is more exciting from a fantasy perspective.  Jimenez has stellar numbers in Triple-A, and although he struggled in the majors last year, he is hoping his off-season work will pay off this year.  

Starting 2018 hierarchy: Greene | Wilson | Stumpf.
Holds candidates: Wilson, Stumpf.

Kansas City Royals – The Royals’ bullpen, which was a major strength during their World Series runs, will be a big question mark going into 2018.  Kelvin Herrera started 2017 as closer, but finished the year with the highest ERA of his career and was removed from the role late in the season.  Still, Herrera is probably the best bet to start 2018 as the closer after the Royals lost Mike Minor and Joakim Soria in the off-season — if Herrera doesn’t get traded.  Brandon Maurer will also be an option to close after recording 22 saves last year between the Padres and Royals.  Don’t let the save numbers fool you on Maurer, though; he finished last year with an ERA over 6.50 — it was over 8 in his 26 games with the Royals.  Wily Peralta will be a guy to keep an eye on as the Royals could try to convert him from a starter into a late-inning guy like they did with Wade Davis and Luke Hochevar.

Starting 2018 hierarchy: Herrera | Maurer | Peralta.
Holds candidates: Maurer, Peralta.

Minnesota Twins — The Twins have revamped their bullpen for 2018.  Fernando Rodney is the closer, while Addison Reed will fill an important role at the back end of the bullpen.  Trevor Hildenberger pitched well for the Twins last year, and he should split seventh-inning duties with newly acquired lefty Zach Duke.

Starting 2018 hierarchy: Rodney | Reed | Hildenberger.
Holds candidates: Reed, Hildenberg, Zach Duke.

Adam Morgan pitching well in Philadelphia

September 27, 2017

Philadelphia Phillies – Adam Morgan, who has allowed just two runs over his last 25 innings, has recorded a hold in each of his last three appearances, twice pitching after Edubray Ramos. While the lefty isn’t likely to get a save during the final week, he may be worth an add if you’re looking for holds.

Updated hierarchy: Neris | Garcia | Morgan.

Kansas City Royals — Joakim Soria looks to have reclaimed the eighth inning since coming off the DL. Kelvin Herrera pitched the seventh ahead of Soria in a 2-1 win on Tuesday, and may do more of the same to finish the season.

Updated hierarchy: *Minor | Soria | Herrera.
* = closer-by-committee

Pittsburgh Pirates – Steven Brault allowed just two hits over the final three innings of a 10-1 Pirates win en route to picking up his first career save.

Hierarchy remains: Rivero | Kontos | Hudson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. AJ Ramos – Jeurys Familia has pitched in two straight and four of five.

Tomorrow
1. Tyler Lyons/Seung Hwan Oh – Juan Nicasio threw 31 pitches to get the final four outs in Tuesday’s win. The Cardinals are fighting for the final Wild Card spot, but if Nicasio throws a lot of pitches again on Wednesday, he may get a night off on Thursday.

 

Kelvin Herrera gets another chance to close, extends Cleveland’s win streak instead

September 15, 2017

Kansas City Royals — Recently removed closer Kelvin Herrera got another chance to earn his job back Thursday, and he blew his second straight save chance since getting removed from the role, yielding a run in the ninth to tie the game and keep the Indians’ win streak alive. Brandon Maurer did the honors in the tenth, allowing the game-winning run. Given Herrera’s usage, we’ll slide him to the bottom of the hierarchy even though he blew his chance, because it seems Ned Yost is one of those “he’s got experience closing, so let’s use him as a closer” managers. As for Maurer, he has been dreadful since arriving in Kansas City. The fact that Ned Yost considered Herrera the best option for the ninth is concerning for Maurer. Scott Alexander likely benefits. He had pitched two straight heading into Thursday, so a night off makes sense. Expect him to get the next save chance.

Updated hierarchy: *Alexander | Maurer | Herrera.
* = closer-by-committee

Cleveland Indians — Is it bad luck to have Andrew Miller back? The Indians were 21-2 without him entering Thursday’s game, yet in his return (a scoreless seventh inning) they picked up their first extra-innings win and first walk-off win during the streak. We guess that guy can stick around. And even better for Cleveland, Terry Francona said Miller “looked much, much closer to Andrew than the last time.” That’s a good sign. He won’t crack our hierarchy quite yet, as he will likely get a couple days off and be eased back into a high-leverage role, as Cleveland wants to ensure he is ready for the postseason.

Updated hierarchy: Allen | Shaw | Smith.

Boston Red Sox — Speaking of Andrew Miller, the Red Sox may have finally found their replacement, albeit an insanely expensive one. David Price was activated from the DL Thursday and will pitch out of the bullpen for the rest of the season. It remains to be seen how the lefty will be used, but ESPN’s Scott Lauber thinks it may be in the Miller mold. Price can only hope to follow in the footsteps of Hall-of-Fame starter-turned reliever Dennis Eckersley, who Price once called “the greatest pitcher who ever lived.”

Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Reed | Kelly.

Houston Astros – Closer Ken Giles secured his second hold of the season against the Angels on Thursday. Wait, what? Giles was used in the eighth inning of a 3-1 game and escaped with a clean inning. Giles did face the top of the order in a pretty important and tight spot of the game (gee, is everyone trying to be Andrew Miller these days?). He did his job and his not in jeopardy of losing his actual job.

Hierarchy remains: Giles | Devenski | Harris.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Kyle Barraclough — Is Brad Ziegler (back problems) ready to return?

As for the others… It’s mid-September though, and some managers could choose to rest guys more often if a playoff spot is already clinched (like for Cleveland, see below). For other teams fighting for their playoff lives (see Minnesota below), they may push their best relievers as much as possible. For Houston, they basically have clinched (magic number is 3) so they may choose to rest Ken Giles Friday instead of doing so on Saturday.

Saturday:
1. Bryan Shaw — Cody Allen has pitched in two straight. Given the 22-game streak, he may be needed again Friday. If so, look for Bryan Shaw to get a crack on Saturday.
2. Trevor Hildenberger/Taylor Rogers — The entire late-inning crew has pitched two straight for the Twins. If Matt Belisle goes again Friday, perhaps the Twins turn to Trevor Hildenberger on Saturday, assuming he gets a rest the day before. If both men are unavailable, the Twins may turn to Taylor Rogers.
3. Chris Devenski — Ken Giles has gone in two of three. If he pitches Friday, that’ll almost certainly mean rest for Saturday.

Juan Minaya and Blake Parker shed the committee tag

September 3, 2017

Chicago White Sox — Juan Minaya picked up the save yesterday, his fourth since Tyler Clippard was traded in mid-August.  Minaya is clearly the closer for the White Sox right now so we will drop the asterisk, but we will see how long that lasts.  On Thursday, he blew the save by giving up two runs on two hits, two walks, and a walk off HBP with the bases loaded.  Last night, he picked up right where he left off by hitting the first batter of the inning and then giving up two hits to load the bases with no outs.  Minaya was able to get a double play and a strike out to convert the save last night, but if he keeps pitching like that, he might not be closing for long.  Danny Farquhar has a win and two holds in six appearances since joining the White Sox, and the veteran looks to be next in line for saves if Minaya struggles.

Updated hierarchy: Minaya | Farquhar | Infante.

Los Angeles Angels — Blake Parker pitched a perfect tenth inning last night for his fifth save of the season.  Parker has now recorded a save in each of his last four appearances, and has not allowed a hit in his last seven appearances.  We will drop the asterisk for the Angels as well since Parker has looked dominant in the closer’s role.

Updated hierarchy: Parker | Bedrosian | Petit.

Kansas City Royals — The Royals are not overly concerned about Kelvin Herrera’s injury.  He will likely miss a few games, but he should be back closing shortly.  Brandon Maurer and Mike Minor should take care of any save chances while Herrera is resting.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Maurer | Minor.

Miami Marlins — With Brad Ziegler and Kyle Barraclough unavailable yesterday after pitching in the previous two games, the Marlins turned to Drew Steckenrider.  Steckenrider struck out three batters in 1.1 innings en route to his first career save.

Hierarchy remains: Ziegler | Barraclough | Steckenrider.

Pittsburgh Pirates — Daniel Hudson pitched a scoreless eighth inning ahead of closer Felipe Rivero yesterday for his 18th hold of the season.  The veteran righty should continue to see time in the later innings for the Pirates.

Updated hierarchy: Rivero | Schugel | Hudson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. David Hernandez – Fernando Rodney and Archie Bradley have both pitched in two straight and four of five.  Hernandez has pitched in two straight as well, but only threw 15 pitches.
2. C.J. Edwards – Wade Davis has gone in back-to-back games, throwing a total of 35 pitches.
3. Brandon Maurer – Kelvin Herrera is expected to miss a few games with a forearm strain.
4. Nick Vincent – Edwin Diaz has pitched in two straight, throwing 38 pitches.

Monday
1. Joe Smith – If Cody Allen pitches on Sunday, it will be three in a row.
2. David Robertson – Dellin Betances has pitched in two of three.
3. Mark Melancon – Sam Dyson has pitched in two straight.