Junichi Tazawa off to sparkling start; Joaquin Benoit finally notches a save

April 18, 2013

Boston Red Sox – Junichi Tazawa pitched two sterling innings last night, striking out 4 in the process, as he bridged the gap between starter and 8th inning man Koji Uehara.  Tazawa has allowed only 1 run in 8 innings this season, and has a K/BB ratio of 8/0 thus far.  Hierarchy change: Junichi Tazawa to 2nd in line, replacing Andrew Miller.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2014 Closer |UpdatedBOS |Bailey |Uehara |Tazawa |Hanrahan |4/18/13 |Hanrahan(DL)|

 
Detroit Tigers – About a week ago, Jim Leyland said Joaquin Benoit would be his closer in most situations, and like all things Leyland, we thought we’d believe it when we saw it.  Early this morning, we finally saw it, as the Tigers went to the veteran righty after finally inching ahead of the Mariners in the 14th inning.  Benoit allowed two hits but picked up his first save of the year, and likely will lead the Detroit save chase for the foreseeable future.  Hierarchy change: Joaquin Benoit to Closer, Phil Coke to Set-up.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2014 Closer |UpdatedDET |Benoit |Coke |Alburquerque|Rondon |4/18/13

 
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Phil Coke, Detroit Tigers – Joaquin Benoit has pitched on back to back nights, and Jim Leyland said earlier this year that Benoit would not be pitching in three straight.
2. Tom Gorzelanny/Burke Badenhop, Milwaukee Brewers – Jim Henderson has pitched in two straight and three of the last four.

Joaquin Benoit now the reliever to own in Detroit

April 18, 2013

Detroit Tigers – About a week ago, Jim Leyland said Joaquin Benoit would be his closer in most situations, and like all things Leyland, we thought we’d believe it when we saw it.  Early this morning, we finally saw it, as the Tigers went to the veteran righty after finally inching ahead of the Mariners in the 14th inning.  Benoit allowed two hits but picked up his first save of the year, and likely will lead the Detroit save chase for the foreseeable future.  Hierarchy change: Joaquin Benoit to Closer, Phil Coke to Set-up.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2014 Closer |UpdatedDET |Benoit |Coke |Alburquerque|Rondon |4/18/13

 

Wilton Lopez’s struggles continue; Joaquin Benoit’s usage worth watching

April 13, 2013

Toronto Blue Jays – Aaron Loup picked up a three-inning save on Friday.  Loup has pitched well to start the season, but doesn’t factor in to the Blue Jays late inning hierarchy just yet.  No hierarchy change.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2014 Closer |UpdatedTOR |Janssen |Santos |Oliver |Santos |4/13/13

 
Colorado Rockies – Former Astros closer Wilton Lopez continued his awful start to the season, allowing two more runs in the 7th inning to push his ERA to 12.46.  Rex Brothers got the win after throwing a clean 8th and has been pitching alongside Matt Belisle in high-leverage spots for the Rockies thus far.  Hierarchy change: Rex Brothers to 2nd in line, replacing Wilton Lopez.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2014 Closer |UpdatedCOL |Betancourt |Belisle |Brothers |Betancourt |4/13/13

 
Detroit Tigers – Jim Leyland said earlier this week that Joaquin Benoit would be his 9th inning man in most situations, though added a few caveats, namely that Benoit needed to stay fresh to be effective, so would only sometimes pitch on back-to-back days and definitely could never go three in a row.  Like with all things related to Leyland and the Detroit closer situation, we figured we’d believe it when we saw it.  However, last night in an extra inning game on the road, Benoit was warming for a potential save opportunity late in the game, and is now worth stashing, especially if you have Phil Coke and want to monopolize Tigers saves.  If Benoit gets the next save opp, he’ll likely pass Coke as the Detroit reliever you most want to own, if you only have room for one.  No hierarchy change.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2014 Closer |UpdatedDET |Coke |Benoit |Alburquerque|Rondon |4/13/13

 
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Santiago Casilla, San Francisco Giants – Sergio Romo has pitched in two straight and four of the last five.
2. Luke Gregerson, San Diego Padres – Huston Street has pitched in back to back games and thrown 40 pitches, including a blown save last night.

Marmol bumbles through another save opportunity; Valverde a Tiger again

April 5, 2013

Chicago Cubs — Dale Sveum stuck by Carlos Marmol after the embattled closer barely escaped a ninth inning that featured three singles wrapped around a walk. “He was OK. It didn’t seem that way, but it wasn’t too bad . . .  We know things can get interesting with him.” When Sveum tires of “interesting” approaches to protecting late leads, Kyuji Fujikawa and his 200+ saves await.  No hierarchy change.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2014 Closer |UpdatedCHC |Marmol |Fujikawa |Camp |Marmol |4/5/13

 
Cincinnati Reds — Aroldis Chapman picked up his first save of the year, and Sean Marshall, who has been kept out this season due to shoulder soreness, announced that he expected to be back for Friday night’s game against the Nationals.  No hierarchy change.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2014 Closer |UpdatedCIN |Chapman |Broxton |Marshall |Broxton |4/5/13

 
Detroit Tigers — In another threat to the Tigers’ fragile bullpen-by-committee setup, the team signed freshly shaven free agent Jose Valverde to a minor-league contract on Thursday. He’ll start out in extended spring training, then travel to Triple-A Toledo, and can opt out of the deal if he’s not in the majors by May 5. No hierarchy change.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2014 Closer |UpdatedDET |Coke |Benoit |Alburquerque|Rondon |4/5/13

 
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Sergio Santos, Toronto Blue Jays — Casey Janssen has pitched in two consecutive games.
2. Mike Adams, Philadelphia Phillies — Jonathan Papelbon has thrown on two straight days.

John Axford struggling; Phil Coke gets two straight opportunities

April 4, 2013

Milwaukee Brewers – John Axford got rocked in a non-save situation on Wednesday, entering the game in the 9th inning with the Brewers down by a run and allowing three runs.  He’s now given up three home runs in just 1.2 innings this season, prompting Ron Roenicke to observe: “(His velocity) was way down.  We’ll talk to him and see how he’s doing.”  John Axford to Hot Seat.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2014 Closer |UpdatedMIL |Axford |Henderson |Gonzalez |Axford |4/4/13

 
Cleveland Indians – Joe Smith picked up the save for the Indians in the 11th inning last night.  Chris Perez and Vinnie Pestano had already pitched.  No hierarchy change.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2014 Closer |UpdatedCLE |C.Perez |Pestano |Smith |C.Perez |4/4/13

 
Pittsburgh Pirates – Tony Watson came on to finish the 7th inning for the Pirates on Wednesday, then stayed on to pitch the 8th, logging a perfect 1.1 innings and picking up his first save of the year.  Due to his past experience, Mark Melancon is likely the guy the Pirates will use on days where Jason Grilli is unavailable, but Watson may get some 8th inning action as well.  Hierarchy change: Tony Watson to 2nd in line, replacing Jared Hughes.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2014 Closer |UpdatedPIT |Grilli |Melancon |Watson |Grilli |4/4/13

 
Detroit Tigers – We’re two games into the season, and Phil Coke has gotten both save opportunities for the Tigers.  He blew the save, retiring the first man before allowing two hits.  Additionally, the batters he faced were two lefties and a switch hitter, so Jim Leyland could still very easily be playing matchups, and it could just have fallen on Coke on the first two games of the season.  But if you’re only going to own one Tigers reliever, he’s the guy; Joaquin Benoit and Al Alburquerque are also worth stashing, if you have the room.  Hierarchy change: Phil Coke to Closer, Joaquin Benoit to Set-up.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2014 Closer |UpdatedDET |Coke |Benoit |Alburquerque|Rondon |4/3/13