Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: April 19

Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: April 19, 2016

Closers & Saves

After allowing an earned run during an April 12 appearance, Brad Ziegler has now given up eight hits and two walks over his last four innings (three appearances). Nothing earth-shattering and he hasn’t blown any saves, but just something to think about.

I don’t want to jinx anything here (whoops!) but from the first two weeks of the season, it looks like those who stuck with Hector Rondon after his nightmarish spring are reaping some solid benefits. The Cubs are beating up on people so he only has two saves on the season, but, more importantly, look at those seven strikeouts (no walks) over just three innings. Good enough to get bumped up on the Closer Grid but I won’t change him to green just yet.

Has the bleeding stopped in Cincinnati? After a pair of nightmarish outings in which he allowed a total of seven runs (six earned) on five hits and four walks over just 1 1/3 innings, J.J. Hoover finally tossed a scoreless inning (with two strikeouts). Hard to say if that assuaged people’s fears, but the team seems content on leaving him in as their closer. Of course, that could also be because the rest of the pen is in shambles which we’ll get to in the next section.

Kevin Jepsen seems to have taken to the closer’s role nicely with saves in two of his last three appearances. He also hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last four and continues to strike out a batter per inning. Trevor May continues to be his primary set-up man and the likely choice for the save should Jepsen ever not be available.

As we said last week, with Marc Rzepczynski as the only other lefty in the pen, Sean Doolittle is going to lose save chances to Ryan Madson while A’s manager Bob Melvin continues to use his southpaws in more of a set-up/shut down capacity in the seventh and eighth innings. Madson has saves in each of his last two appearances and looks like he should continue to clean up in that category so long as he stays healthy.

After notching three saves in three scoreless appearances, Jeanmar Gomez has hit a bit of a wall in his last two. He’s picked up a save and a win in them, but over these last two outings, he’s allowed two runs (one home run) on three hits and two walks. Surprisingly, the Phillies bats bailed him out of that last outing, but those of you who spent a healthy chunk of FAAB bucks on Gomez should make sure that you monitor him closely. He may have gotten the nod over David Hernandez and Dalier Hinojosa, but you certainly can’t expect the leash to be a long one.

Relievers & Holds

While I’m not ready to cut bait on Jason Grilli, another blown save Sunday (Arodys Vizcaino was unavailable) and a 5.79 ERA with just a 7:5 K:BB over 4 2/3 innings have me close to it. He’s not losing his set-up job just yet as the Braves want to showcase him for the trade market, but if he doesn’t turn it around soon, everyone just might give up on him altogether. Jim Johnson and Eric O’Flaherty would see increased usage if Grilli gets bumped.

Darren O’Day is the primary set-up man for Zach Britton, but keep your eyes on Brad Brach. He’s being used in high-leverage situations, has one hold and has now vulture two wins this season. With just one hit allowed and a 10:3 K:BB over 7 1/3 scoreless innings, he’s about as lights-out as you can get for a reliever right now.

It’s not an easy feat, but shake off Koji Uehara’s Sunday atrocity where the Blue Jays rang up four runs on just one hit and a pair of walks in just one-third of an inning against him. It’s a blip on the radar screen. Focus on the five holds and the 6:1 K:BB over his previous seven innings. Also keep your eye on Junichi Tazawa who also has five holds on the season. His K-rate is actually a little tastier than that of Uehara, but he isn’t going to be the first choice to close should Craig Kimbrel not be available.

After being charged with an earned run and a blown save during the first week of the season (he did back-door into the win though), Nate Jones has picked up a hold in each of his last four appearances which totaled 3 1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Keep in mind that before Jones got hurt and the White Sox signed David Robertson, he was considered their closer of the future. Should the White Sox fall out of contention later this season and someone comes offering a nice prospect package for their closer, Jones would be the one they turn to.

A mentioned before, the Reds are having some serious bullpen issues right now. Jumbo Diaz was a disaster to open the year and has since been demoted to Triple-A so that he can re-discover his mojo. That apparently bumps Ross Ohlendorf into the leading right-handed set-up job. Yes, Ohlendorf, he of the 9.45 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. Yes, Ohlendorf who has now allowed four earned runs in his last two appearances and seven in his last five. Brutal. If you’re also wondering about Tony Cingrani and his potential as a future closer, the five walks he’s issued in his last seven appearances are not exactly endearing him to the coaching staff. If he loses the wildness, then maybe, but he seems to have a ways to go.

The Indians could be in line for a change in their set-up men as Bryan Shaw has now allowed a total of nine earned runs over his last three appearances. No official word of a change, but Jeff Manship might be a guy to look for if your league scores holds as he could end up splitting the role with Zach McAllister soon.

The Rockies have to be pleased with the recent work of Miguel Castro who now has four holds in his last five appearances. His strikeout rate has dipped a bit in the last week, but no one is complaining about a 1.50 ERA with an 8:2 K:BB over six innings this season.

Don’t look now but Ken Giles has now thrown two-straight scoreless innings with three strikeouts, no walks and one hold. If he’s worked out his issues, he should be a strong set-up man moving forward and, obviously he still has plenty of potential to earn saves should Luke Gregerson need a day off or worse…falter.

Look for Miami’s David Phelps to be a sneaky holds guy in the near future as the Marlins have decided to transition him from swingman duties to high-leverage single-inning appearances. His 12:3 K:BB over 10 innings this season should indicate that he also has the potential of being a solid strikeout supplement to your rotation as well as to your ratios.

With Corey Knebel on the DL, the Brewers have been getting some strong relief help from Michael Blazek and Tyler Thornburg. Blazek is the primary set-up man for Jeremy Jeffress, but Thornburg is really taking off since being moved into the high-leverage set-up role. He’s got holds in each of his last three appearances and has a 7:1 K:BB over six scoreless innings this season. There’s no word on whether Knebel just gets his set-up job back once healthy, but he’s already got some big shoes to fill if he wants it.

While it was originally believed that Antonio Bastardo could be in line for saves should neither Jeurys Familia or Addison Reed not be available, the buzz was all around former Brewers closer Jim Henderson on Saturday. Neither Familia nor Reed were available and the word on the street was that, had there been a save opportunity, Terry Collins was going to Henderson. With Bastardo and Jerry Blevins as the only southpaws in the pen, Collins wants to keep their usage to situational moments rather than the ninth inning if it can be avoided.

With Jared Hughes on the disabled list, Neftali Feliz has stepped into the role of the primary right-handed set-up man opposite Tony Watson. He’s grabbed a pair of holds in his last four appearances and continues to supplement with a strong K-rate. Arquimedes Caminiero may also see some holds work moving forward, but Feliz remains the righty to own here.

The Giants’ bullpen has been hit hard with injuries over the past few days and if you’re seeking holds, you might need to become familiar with a couple of new names, at least for the short-term. Neither Sergio Romo nor George Kontos, both out with flexor strains, are expected to be out for a long period of time, so the quick-fix seems to be Cory Gearrin and recent call-up Derek Law. Both pitched Monday with Law tossing a scoreless frame with two strikeouts while Gearrin pitched two innings with one strikeout and earned the hold. Hunter Strickland remains the top righty arm in the pen but these two could see some extensive work over the next few weeks.

Strength of Bullpen

Here’s a look at the top 10 bullpens in the majors thus far. Again, it’s a little early but these are the pens that are holding things together well enough that if you’re looking for a tiebreaker between starters, it makes sense to go with the guy whose bullpen is least likely to cost him a win or allow inherited runners to score.

Closer Grid