2017 Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: Looking Ahead

Closers in Flux

The Cardinals make another appearance here once again as the situation hasn’t cleared up much. This situation has progressively gotten worse as the season has gone on. For the time being it appears it will be Cecil or Rosenthal getting the call for save chances depending on matchups. Rosenthal is the better own of the two given his closing experience and elite strikeout ability. His K/9 currently sits at 13.85 with 60 strikeouts across 39 innings. Former closer Seung-Hwan Oh will work in lower leverage situations to try and find a groove.

Closers Who Could Be Traded

With the trade deadline looming it is worth monitoring who could be on the move. All of the closers listed could be moved before the deadline. It is very likely that none of them would be closers on their new contending team, so the focus will be on who would take their place as the closer for their current team. The guys listed below are players you might want to look into trading before they lose their value as non-closers.

Marlins - A.J. Ramos. Kyle Barraclough would have been the clear choice for taking over the closing gig, prior to landing on the DL. It appears that it would be Junichi Tazawa, to be next in line for saves if Ramos is dealt. His overall line isn’t pretty, but he does have a 0.82 ERA across 11 July innings pitched.

Royals - Kelvin Herrera. If/when Herrera is moved, it is likely that veteran Joakim Soria would take over the closing gig. Soria has done a nice job for the Royals pitching to ratios of a 3.14 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 11.30 K/9. He has 204 career saves and would have no problem returning to bright lights of the ninth inning. He would be the best pickup of the options on this list.

Angels - Bud Norris. With the Angels being far from playoff contention it would only make sense to trade a veteran breakout performer like Norris. Cam Bedrosian would be the obvious candidate to step back into the closer role, having started the year there, and pitched well. His ratios are a 4.66 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, with a 12.10 K/9.

Mets - Addison Reed. With the Mets falling further and further out of contention, the likeliness of them becoming sellers grows. It is hard to predict who would take over the closing gig until Familia returns from the DL. Fernando Salas is currently listed as next in line, but he is pitching to the tune of a 6.30 ERA. This would likely be closer-by-committee approach based on matchups.

Tigers - Justin Wilson. He has done a great job for the Tigers since taking over the closing job, and will be hard to replace. Alex Wilson or Shane Greene would be the next closer for the club if Wilson is in fact traded. Only Greene is pitching to a sub-3 ERA. Wilson has a more extensive history of success over Greene, but Greene has been the more dominant of the two this season. Fantasy owners would prefer for the job to go to Greene with a K/9 of 10.07 compared to Wilson’s 5.44.

Giants - Sam Dyson. The Giants have the worst record in baseball, and the speculation is that Dyson was handed the closing job to try and raise his trade value. The move has turned out to be a smart one as Dyson has a 2.33 ERA with six saves in six tries since joining the Giants. Hunter Strickland would likely take over the job until Mark Melancon returns from the DL.

Padres - Brad Hand. With Brandon Maurer recently being traded over to the Royals, Hand inherited the Padres closing gig. However, his run as a closer may not last long, with Hand also expected to be moved by the Padres over the next couple days. It is likely that Kirby Yates would be next in line for saves if Hand is moved. Yates has been sensational with a 2.36 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 13.63 K/9.

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?

Roberto Osuna (96% owned) pitched three times this week and converted on all three of his save chances. He had six strikeouts across three shutout innings, and only one runner reached base against him. Osuna has been rolling for a while now after a rough first month. He has posted sub 1.50 ERA’s in May, June, and July with the last two months being sub 1.00. Since the start of May he has a 1.08 ERA and a video-game like 49/4 K/BB ratio in 33.1 innings. He is up to 26 saves and has 57 strikeouts across 41.1 innings. His WHIP sits at a ridiculous 0.73 and he ranks firmly in the top-10 of closers. His 26 saves are good for fourth best in all of baseball. YTD stats: 41.1 innings, 26 saves, 57 K, 1.96 ERA.

Who’s Cold?

Tyler Clippard (16% owned) was named the White Sox closer after being traded to the club. It hasn’t gotten off to a pretty start, and he is still searching for his first save with the club. He pitched three times this week, and managed to get just four total outs while giving up two earned runs. He gave up four hits and also walked two batters. Clippard has been an absolute mess since the start of June. At the end of May his ERA was sitting at 1.64, since then it has sky rocketed up to 5.26. He has given up 18 earned runs in his last 14.2 innings, making him a really hard own right now, even as a closer. With Anthony Swarzak being traded, Clippard does not have much competition for the gig, and will have to continue struggling to lose the job. He ranks as a bottom-3 closer. YTD stats: 37.2 innings, 1 save, 43 K, 5.26 ERA.

Brandon Kintzler (86% owned) had a rough week for fantasy owners. He converted on just one save in two tries, picking up his fourth blown save of the season. He had just one strikeout in three innings, and gave up four earned. He gave up seven hits and also walked two batters, giving him an ugly 3.00 WHIP for the week. His BAA shot up from .228 to .250, giving him a very high number for a closer, with the majority of his peers sporting sub-.200 BAA. His overall line still looks good, giving fantasy owners little reason to worry after a few bad outings. His low strikeout rate (5.28 K/9) will keep him in the lower tiers of the closing ranks, but he does have 27 saves, which is good for third best in baseball. YTD stats: 44.1 innings, 27 saves, 26 K, 2.84 ERA.

Who’s Hot, Who’s Cold Season Leader Board

This table shows who has made the most appearances in these sections.

Middle Relievers of Note

This week we will once again focus on a name that was recently traded and what their value looks like with their new team.

Anthony Swarzak (18% owned) retains his role as a setup man, but now for a better team. Despite pitching in the same role his value actually gets a bump, pitching for the Brewers. The White Sox record sits at 39-59 while the Brewers record is 54-49. He won’t challenge Corey Knebel for the closing gig, but should get holds at an increased rate. The 31-year-old right-hander has been very effective this season pitching to the tune of a 2.23 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 9.68 K/9 across 48.1 innings. Players in leagues that count holds will want to pick him up if he is available. YTD stats: 48.1 innings, 10 holds, 52 K, 2.23 ERA.

Holds

*Top 10                                  

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