Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: June 18

Closers & Saves

Chicago Cubs

I’m getting a few too many emails lately regarding Hector Rondon and his two blown saves in his last two appearances. Are the Cubs going to pull him from the role? Not yet. I’m not saying he’s got some killer job security, but there’s no one in the Cubs’ bullpen who is going to supplant him. However, keep in mind that the team is scouting the Yankees pretty heavily as of late and word on the street is that New York is likely to trade two of their big three bullpen arms. Aroldis Chapman is the most likely to be dealt, but Andrew Miller is also in high demand as a lights-out lefty. Stay tuned for more here as the Cubs would most definitely move Rondon back into a set-up role if they do consummate a trade. Oh, and no people…you don’t drop him in anticipation of a trade. He stays right where he is until you hear something official. You are not doing your team a service by making bad moves based on speculation.

Colorado Rockies

After questions and concerns following Jake McGee’s injury, the Rockies have found themselves a new closer without having to employ the used of the dreaded closer-by-committee. Carlos Estevez has looked absolutely outstanding since being given his first opportunity in the ninth and now has three saves after three-straight scoreless innings with no walks and one strikeout. Don’t be too worried about the lack of strikeouts as Estevez has a 9.27 K/9 this season and should start to log more as he grows more comfortable in the role. Obviously we’d like to see his ground ball rate increase given his home ballpark, but with 96-97 mph swing-and miss heat, it may not be too much of a concern.

Houston Astros

While manager A.J. Hinch insisted that he was going to a committee in the ninth inning, it has been anything but since Luke Gregerson was pulled from the role. Will Harris has been downright nasty with his dominance out of the pen and seems to have entrenched himself in the role right now. Since June 5, Harris has made six appearances, recorded five saves and while he allowed one run, he’s also got four strikeouts and now has an ERA of 0.57 with a 0.76 WHIP. There’s no guarantee that he’ll hold the job all year, as there are a few reports out there that Luke Gregerson still may get a chance to close out games now that he’s back from paternity leave, but he’s been an outstanding waiver pick-up and has obviously proven himself to be extremely reliable.

Milwaukee Brewers

When Will Smith was activated from the disabled list, manager Craig Counsell said that he would return to the saves mix and work in a committee with Jeremy Jeffress. Fantasy owners freaked out and some actually even dropped Jeffress in a bit of a panic. However, that has not been the case at all as Jeffress has logged seven saves here in the month of June already while Smith is working primarily in the seventh and eighth innings. Let the lesson be learned – when we say don’t drop a guy and see how things pan out, it’s because of situations just like this.

Minnesota Twins

The situation hasn’t changed at all as manager Paul Molitor still has the committee mindset with Brandon Kintzler and Fernando Abad involved. Unfortunately, neither has seen much in the way of action as Kintzler has just one save (June 8) and Abad has one blown save to his credit. Perhaps the team turns things around soon enough, but let’s keep those expectations low for now. See below for more on the Twins bullpen.

San Francisco Giants

Just a short-term situation here as closer Santiago Casilla has been placed on paternity leave and will be away from the club for a few days. There’s no one to be picked up as it is unclear as to who will get the save opportunity should one arise while Casilla is out. Hunter Strickland and Javier Lopez seem to be the favorites, but keep an eye on Cory Gearrin who may also receive consideration after stringing together 11-straight scoreless appearances, most of which recently have been in high-leverage situations. Again, just a warning here so you don’t freak out when you see someone else get a save this week.

Washington Nationals

Jonathan Papelbon has landed on the 15-day DL with a right intercostal strain and while the club is hoping to have him back by the end of June, you should hope for the best but plan for the worst. The worst being that he could just be out longer than just the minimum 15 days. Shawn Kelley will handle the closing duties in the meantime and is an immediate add if he hasn’t been scooped up off the waiver wire already.

Relievers & Holds

Atlanta Braves

With Eric O’Flaherty landing on the disabled list with a strained knee, the Braves will turn to 26-year old southpaw Hunter Cervenka to handle the lefty set-up work in the late innings. They also have Ian Krol who could see an increased use, but Cervenka, who’s made five-straight scoreless appearances with one hold over the last six days, seems to be the arm they trust most. O’Flaherty is expected to return by the end of June, but for holds in the meantime, Cervenka is worth a look in deeper leagues.

Houston Astros

As stated above, while Hinch hasn’t officially named Harris the closer, the pecking order in the bullpen seems to have been established. Yes, Gregerson may still be in the hunt for saves at some point, but for now, he, Ken Giles and Michael Feliz will be in the hunt for holds. Your waiver wire may have been picked clean though, so rather than fight for one of these guys, look at lefty Tony Sipp who is the primary southpaw in that bullpen and has three holds in his last five appearances. His overall numbers may not look amazing, but he’s been fantastic recently and has allowed just one run over his last 11 appearances (seven innings) and has a 7:2 K:BB in that span. Folks love the cheap one-out save? How about the one-out hold?

Los Angeles Angels

With both Joe Smith (hamstring) and Cory Rasmus (groin) sitting on the disabled list, the bulk of the holds work is falling on Fernando Salas and Jose Alvarez. Collectively, they have 17 holds between them and should continue to rack up the holds so long as the other two are out. Alvarez is recording a strikeout per inning, so if you need the supplement, he’s the guy to grab. Cam Bedrosian may find himself in the mix every so often, but that’s likely only to be when one of the other two aren’t available.

Minnesota Twins

While Brandon Kintzler and Fernando Abad share the role, they’re also going to be in the mix for holds as well. They’ll be joined by Kevin Jepsen in the mix and fantasy owners who are in dire need of holds or saves should be the only ones fishing through this little fantasy dumpster fire. It’s impossible to predict who will fill what role on a given night as it’s all going to be based on lefty/righty match-ups. Trevor May, by the way, is currently on the disabled list, but will join the mess in July when he’s healed up from his back injury.

Strength of Bullpen

Closer Grid