Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: June 6

2016 Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report

Closers & Saves

Sorry, Luke Gregerson owners, but it seems your main man has faltered all too often in recent weeks and now the winds of change are blowing in the Astros bullpen. After blowing back-to-back save chances last week and coughing up four earned runs (two home runs) in just one inning’s worth of work (two appearances), manager A.J. Hinch has opted to roll with the dreaded closer-by-committee approach. Gregerson had also blown three saves in four chances in mid-May, so despite righting the ship with five saves and seven scoreless frames in between, he will now share the role with Ken Giles, Will Harris and Michael Feliz. Unfortunately for fantasy owners, there’s just no evidence to suggest one over the other right now. Giles was supposed to be the heir-apparent and was even considered the favorite early this spring, but has had some ups and downs himself, including a rough patch in late May. Harris, a ground-ball specialist with a 9.79 K/9, has been dominant and Feliz has been crazy impressive with the strikeouts and scoreless innings lately but neither has the closer experience. If I could stash only one, it would be Giles, but Hinch is going to make fantasy owners sweat this one out for a little while. For more on this situation, check out the latest Ray’s Ramblings from Ray Flowers.

While the Reds bullpen continues to be that atrocious dumpster fire we’ve been making fun of since Day 1, there just might be some relief (pun intended) on the horizon. According to reports, the Reds are going to move Raisel Iglesias to the bullpen when he returns from the DL with his recent should issues. Their line of thinking is that the reduction of innings for each outing should spare his shoulder additional wear-and-tear. It’s going to take some time to get him to the point where he can throw at full-strength on back-to-back days, but if he does prove himself in a relief role, they could consider him for future ninth-inning work. In the meantime, it’s still a mess littered with names you don’t want to own. Again, for more on this, check out the latest Ray’s Ramblings as he did a little bullpen investigation himself.

We’re still scratching our heads over here with regard to Craig Counsell’s decision to turn the Milwaukee closer situation into a committee. Yes, he can play the lefty/righty match-ups with Jeremey Jeffress and Will Smith, but he’s really showing his noob card here as a manager. Even Joe Maddon, the king of playing the match-ups, prefers to use one guy to close out ball games and there’s been no reason at all to pull Jeffress from the role, even in part. It’s a dumb move for the Brewers and an even worse one for fantasy owners as now each player sees a drop in overall value. Maybe Counsell changes his mind and eventually settles on one or the other, but for now, go bang that head of yours against a wall.

For those wondering if your league-mate who owns Sam Dyson is just trying to sell-high on a guy who may or may not hold the job, the Rangers have been extremely happy with the 28-year old right-hander’s performance since taking over the role from Shawn Tolleson. Since taking over as the full-time closer, he’s picked up six saves with just two runs allowed in 9.2 innings (10 appearances) with no walks and 10 strikeouts. He looks like a fairly safe trade target.

*****For additional updates, particularly the Minnesota Twins situation, check out the latest Closer Report in the free section of the site.*****

Relievers & Holds

After a five-appearance run that saw Brandon Maurer allow 11 earned runs over just three innings, manager Andy Green has announced that Ryan Buchter will now be the primary set-up man for Fernando Rodney. Buchter has a 12.60 K/9 with a 2.16 ERA and eight holds over 25 innings this season and should see an increase in holds moving forward. That, plus the strikeouts and potentially a few extra wins to vulture should keep Buchter as a strong relief option. And of course, we all know the overall reliability of Rodney, so add Buchter to your list of closers-in-wait.

The trade of Jason Grilli and the return of Jim Johnson from the DL means that the holds and set-up work shift. Johnson should immediately slot back into the primary right-handed set-up role while Eric O’Flaherty handles the lefty work. Obviously, holds are few and far between as the Braves don’t sit on a lead too often and neither is a big strikeout guy, but if you’re in a deep league, they may be able to provide you with a little bit of help.

With Darren O’Day hitting the DL with a hamstring injury, look for Mychal Givens’ role to increase ever so slightly. He’s been used plenty and has killer strikeout numbers, but he’s never been one to really garner much in the way of holds. Brad Brach has done that plenty, but considering O’Day had nine holds prior to landing on the disabled list, some of that will spill off to Givens. Both he and Brach remain outstanding middle relief options.

Despite the addition of Anibal Sanchez to the bullpen, the balance of the Tigers late-inning bullpen will not be upset in any way. Mark Lowe and Justin Wilson remain the top set-up options and they will be the ones upon whom you rely. Sanchez’ demotion is a punishment, so to speak, and he will only be handling low-leverage situations for now.

The Brewers just lost Michael Blazek to the DL with an elbow issue which means that Blaine Boyer is going to step up into a more prominent set-up role. Blazek had eight holds on the season so he’s not elite in that fashion, but Boyer could garner a few here and there should the Twins be able to win some games against the Marlins and Red Sox this week. Blazek should be back the week after.

Even with the loss of Arquimedes Caminero to the DL (quad), there’s been no change in the bullpen hierarchy for the Pirates. Caminero wasn’t seeing any work for holds this season, so continue to expect Neftali Feliz be the main guy for that category. Jared Hughes will continue to minimally pitch in, but again, with or without Caminero, this structure for the Pirates pen doesn’t change.

How about a speculative add for those who like to supplement their strikeouts with high-end middle relievers? The Mariners just brought up Edwin Diaz from Double-A where he registered a 54:7 K:BB over 40.2 innings (11.95 K/9). He’ll need to prove himself in some lower-leverage situations, but could easily earn himself a more prominent role with a strong performance. This kid’s got some serious heat and has improved his secondary offerings and command over the last season and a half.

Strength of Bullpen

Closer Grid