Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: May 17

Each week I will breakdown closers and middle relievers in many different ways to provide you with all the information you need to have a successful fantasy bullpen. Let’s dive in!

Closers in Flux

Joakim Soria (32% owned) – You may be asking, is he really still the closer? That is a good question and it doesn’t seem like he is, but he’s still listed as such on the White Sox depth chart. His last save came on April 27 and Bruce Rondon and Nate Jones have both recently had save opportunities. Soria has been bad pretty much all year, and his most recent performances are no different with runs against him in three of his last four outings. He is only 4-for-6 in converting save chances and opposing batters are hitting an astronomical .293 against the veteran right-hander. It is hard to recommend any of these three guys as none are pitching particularly well, but Nate Jones is still the guy I view as the most talented reliever in that bullpen.

Quick Hits

• 5/10 Luiz Gohara notched his first career save, tossing three innings to finish off the Marlins....Jim Johnson recorded his first save of the season.
• 5/12 Mychal Givens picked up his first save of the season.... Ryan Madson converted a save in an off day for Sean Doolittle .... Jared Hughes finished off the Dodgers for his first save of the season.
• 5/13 Joe Kelly notched his second save of the year.... Edubray Ramos picked up his first save.... Bruce Rondon gets his first save for White Sox.
• 5/14 A.J. Minter recorded his second save of the year.... Justin Anderson picked up his first save of the year.
• 5/16 Álex Colomé recorded a save for the third straight day.

Blown Saves

*Top 10

*Note: I track blown saves that happened by guys who were brought into finish the game. Such as guys in the closer role, or other pitchers who were brought in late in the game. A guy who picks up a “blown save,” for example, in the 6^th inning is very irrelevant in my opinion, when tracking fantasy assets.

Who’s Hot?

Raisel Iglesias (88% owned) – Iglesias notched four saves this week and punched out six in the process. He pitched four shutout innings and allowed just one runner to reach base against him. He has not given up a run in his last nine appearances, a span of 9.1 innings, and that has lowered his ERA from 2.38 to 1.31 (fourth among closers). Iglesias was one of the top closers in 2017 (ratios wise) and he has continued that this season. If he didn’t play for lowly Reds, he would likely be a top-five closer, but with the low number of save chances that he receives right now, owners will have to “settle” with him being a top-ten closer. YTD stats: 20.2 innings, 8 saves, 25 Ks, 1.31 ERA.

Sean Doolittle (92% owned) – Doolittle pitched three times this week and converted on all three of his save chances. He struck out four across three shutout innings and has now tossed 10.2 innings since his last earned run. He has only made two outings this season in which he has allowed the opposing team to score against him and his 28:3 K:BB ratio is fantastic. He also has an elite BAA of .111 and his 0.54 WHIP is simply ridiculous. He is a perfect 9-for-9 in saves this year and fantasy owners have to be ecstatic over what he has provided to their team. Hopefully this is the year he stays healthy. Top-Tier. YTD stats: 18.2 innings, 9 saves, 28 Ks, 1.45 ERA.

Who’s Cold?

Héctor Neris (79% owned) – Neris pitched three times this week and converted only one of two save chances. In the blown save, he gave up three runs and that rose his season ERA to 5.17. He has now given up five earned runs in his last three innings pitched. His BAA is sitting at .254 with his WHIP at 1.50, both of which are way too high for a closer. He is simply just not getting the job done right now and for a team with playoff aspirations, he will need to start pitching better or his job will soon be in jeopardy. He already lost out on one save this week to Edubray Ramos . Bottom-half. YTD stats: 16.0 innings, 8 saves, 19 Ks, 5.06 ERA.

Keone Kela (69% owned) – Kela almost found himself in the Closers in Flux section, a spot that may have been a surprise to some people, but he keeps giving up runs on a regular basis. He has given up runs in three of his last six outings for a total of six earned runs across seven innings pitched. He is still a perfect 8-for-8 in save chances, which is what is giving him job stability despite the high ERA that he currently carries. Opposing hitters are batting .262 against Kela, a number that is far too high for a guy with his talent; he needs to start making better pitches. Jose Leclerc is out-performing Kela right now, and he also has the talent to be a closer; the pressure is on Kela. Bottom-half. YTD stats: 16 innings, 8 saves, 19 Ks, 5.06 ERA.

Middle Relievers of Note

This section will focus strictly on closers in waiting or closer capable guys and how they are performing. Each player of note will also include their stats from the 2017 season for the foreseeable future.

Dan Winkler (21% owned) – Winkler is the second Braves middle reliever we have covered this year, with A.J. Minter being the other. The buzz around Winkler has picked up over the last few days at a skyrocket pace thanks to his Manager saying Winkler may be used in save situations moving forward. Winkler has moved himself into this position by dominating hitters on a regular basis and it shows in his stat line. At this point, he is a guy that should be owned in most leagues. That being said, Arodys Vizcaíno is still the guy in the Braves ‘pen who will be picking up saves. His owners should not panic. It will take at least one or two bad outings from Vizcaino in the near future for him to be removed from the role. With his great ratios and elite K/9 of 13.25 Winkler would make for a good closer if that does happen at some point this year. YTD stats: 18.1 innings, 7 holds, 27 Ks, 0.98 ERA.

Mychal Givens (5% owned) – Givens picked up his first career save this week, pitching 1.2 innings of shutout baseball in the outing. Brad Brach is still the closer for the Orioles, but his job is far from safe and Givens is making things interesting. After a rocky start to the year, Givens has really turned it on as of late; he has given up just one in his last 10 appearances, a span of 12.2 innings. Givens had a good year last year and should be on everyone’s radar as a potential closer for the Orioles while Zach Britton remains on the DL. He is worth stashing in deep leagues. YTD stats: 22.1 innings, 1 hold, 28 Ks, 3.22 ERA.

Blake Parker (24% owned) – With Keynan Middleton going down with injury again, the door has flown open once again for the Angels closing gig. Right now it appears Jim Johnson has the upper hand, but we all know Johnson is not going to be the answer. Parker, the Angels closer for much of 2017, had a great year last year in the role and has been pitching very well as of late. He has made seven straight outings without giving up a run and it is only logical to think that the former closer and most talented arm in the Angels bullpen will once again be given save opportunities in the near future. He should be owned in nearly all formats. YTD stats: 20.1 innings, 1 hold, 22 Ks, 3.10 ERA.

Holds

*Top 10

Stat Leaders

This simply provides the current top-5 closers in saves, strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP.

Team Bullpen ERA

This section will look into the best and worst bullpens in the league, which can be helpful for DFS. If a team has a weak starting pitcher throwing that day and also a poor bullpen it can make for big days for hitters. A bad bullpen ERA also has an effect on how likely a starting pitcher is to pick up a win.

Recently Overworked

This highlights the bullpens that have been seeing both heavy usage and struggling over the last 7 days.

*Ownership percentages are based off Yahoo

Be sure to check out the Closer Grid which has regularly updated rankings. Also feel free to shoot me any questions on Twitter @JustinVreeland