2016 Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: July 23

2016 Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report – Updated July 23

Closers & Saves

Arizona Diamondbacks

Wow. This bullpen sucks. We’re all adults here. No need to mince words, right? Just an awful group of relievers. Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely some talent lurking, but in the wake of the Brad Ziegler trade, this bullpen has turned into something you need to scrape off the bottom of your shoe before everyone else gets a whiff. Tyler Clippard hasn’t earned a save yet and was just pulled from his last appearance after he allowed three runs on two hits and a walk in one-third of an inning and almost coughed up a four-run lead. Daniel Hudson has made six appearances in July, allowed eight earned runs (including two homers) in five innings and has just a 4:2 K:BB in that span. Then you’ve got Randall Delgado who allowed six earned runs during his first five appearances in July and has pitched just 1.2 innings since the 15^th of the month and Jake Barrett who saved Clippard from his most recent disaster, but is still more of a ROOGY than anything else. With the whole group in disarray, the job should remain with Clippard, but how much he’ll be able to do for your fantasy team is most definitely in question. He also remains a trade candidate and probably won’t be closing for whichever team acquires him.

Atlanta Braves

With Arodys Vizcaino on the 15-day DL with an oblique strain, the Braves quickly learned, once again, why Jim Johnson’s best times were long behind him. He allowed a pair of runs in two-thirds of an inning Tuesday and was charged with his third blown save of the year and second in his last five outings. But the Braves are going to stay with him for right now as they are hoping to have Vizcaino back by the end of the month. The real guy to watch here, though, is Mauricio Cabrera. The 22-year old right-hander has allowed three runs over eight appearances in July, but seems to have the best stuff of the three. Both Vizcaino and Johnson could be headed out the door anyway, so regardless of what happens right now, things could look dramatically different by the time the non-waiver trade deadline comes.

Boston Red Sox

While the Red Sox offense continues to hammer the opposition into submission, the bullpen is rapidly falling apart. First it was Craig Kimbrel who tore his medial meniscus in his left knee and underwent a surgical procedure which will hold him out until August 15. The team was set to use Koji Uehara as their closer since he’s done it here before but also picked up Brad Ziegler in a deal with Arizona to serve as a back-up. Now Uehara is on the DL with a pectoral injury which has required platelet-rich injections and should hold him out for a month. Ziegler now steps in as the team’s primary option, though Junichi Tazawa, Tom Layne and even Robbie Ross could get involved depending on the situation.

Cincinnati Reds

All that mid-season speculation that Raisel Iglesias has been all for naught so far. While he’s now thrown 11.1 scoreless innings (five appearances) with a 12:6 K:BB in the month of July, he hasn’t even sniffed a ninth inning opportunity yet. Each of his outings has been a multi-inning appearance and though he’s been widely praised by the coaches for how dynamic his stuff looks in short outings, it really doesn’t look like he’s headed in that direction just yet. Meanwhile, that scab-eater Tony Cingrani, who miraculously went five-straight outings without allowing a run, has now allowed two in his last three appearances and is back to sucking balls….and scabs. How about scabby balls? Yes, I hate him that much. It seems that Iglesias’ only real opportunity to close will come when Cingrani gets hurt and even that is suspect at this point.

Kansas City Royals

All is right with the universe as Wade Davis is healthy and has resumed his work as the Royals closer. He’s made two appearances since coming off the DL and has tossed 1.1 innings with one strikeout and one save. Jo0akim Soria and Kelvin Herrera return to their normal roles as set-up men and there is nothing more to see here. Move along.

San Diego Padres

After his extremely rough close to the month of June, the Padres opted to bypass southpaw Ryan Buchter and go with righty Brandon Maurer to start working the ninth inning. Maurer had himself a bit of a hiccup on his first night as the team’s new closer, but since then both have been lights-out. Maurer has logged three saves over five appearances while Buchter made eight-straight scoreless appearances while earning a pair of holds. OK, yes, Buchter got his ass handed to him Thursday night, but really, the two combined for some pretty sweet relief work. Maurer will continue to get the work the rest of the way, barring any sort of a major meltdown, so for saves, he’s the guy.

Relievers & Holds

Baltimore Orioles

With Darren O’Day still on the disabled list, Orioles reliever Brad Brach has taken full advantage of his opportunity to shine. Aside from the fact that the guy hasn’t allowed an earned run since June 16, he’s now racked up five holds and a win over eight appearances in the month of July which has now dropped his ERA to 0.86 with an equally tasty 0.80 WHIP. Just keep in mind that O’Day is expected back before the end of the month which means he may start losing a little bit of the holds work. Not a ton, but some for sure.

Detroit Tigers

Southpaw Justin Wilson has been making quite the name for himself in this Tigers bullpen. He’s in the top-10 overall with 19 holds on the season and has picked up a hold in each of his last seven appearances. He did get beaten up in one of them, but he still maintained the lead and was given another notch on the belt despite the mishap. As this is going down, Alex Wilson seems to have taken over the primary right-handed set-up role after not allowing a single run over six appearances in July. Incumbent Mark Lowe has been a disaster as of late. It’s even enough to add Alex to the Closer Grid while Lowe and his 9.39 ERA get bumped.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Tony Watson continues to line them up for Mark Melancon, for better or for worse. While the Pirates closer has struggled over the past week, Watson remains an extremely strong and reliable arm in his set-up role. For the month of July, he’s allowed just one run over nine appearances (nine innings) and has secured seven holds with six strikeouts over that span. But he’s not doing it alone as Neftali Feliz also continues to shine in his role as well. Feliz has made 10 appearances this month (eight innings) and while he’s allowed three runs, he’s also racked up five holds and a win with 11 strikeouts. Both are a must-own if you play in a league that scores holds.

San Diego Padres

While so much attention gets lavished on the ninth inning in San Diego, Brad Hand has quietly been racking up scoreless innings and holds, making him an extremely underrated bullpen asset. Before Friday’s stumbling block, Hand went 10-staright appearances without allowing a run and now has four holds in his last five outings. Fellow lefty, Ryan Buchter should see some of the holds work as well, but Hand seems to be the Padres lefty of choice which is always nice when you need holds.

Strength of Bullpen

Closer Grid