Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: May 2

Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: May 2

Closers & Saves

The big news for everyone, as we discussed in the Closer Grid piece last Thursday, has been the need to own Angels set-up man Joe Smith who is now the team’s closer. Huston Street hit the DL late last week with an oblique injury and the early speculation is that he will be out for at least four weeks. You can see everything I wrote about Smith over there and hopefully you were able to grab him off the wire over the weekend.

After six-straight scoreless appearances and having allowed just one earned run over the month of April, Brad Ziegler crashed and burned right as the calendar was flipping to May. Called upon in the top of the ninth in a 2-2 game, Ziegler allowed three runs on four hits and a walk to take his first loss and finish the first month of the season with a 3.18 ERA and a disappointing 1.94 WHIP. While there is no reason to panic or be concerned that he is going to be lifted from the role, you might want to explore potential trade option and see if you can package him up with someone for a closer with more elite status. Doesn’t have to be the top guy, but someone close would help.

Before Sunday, the last time Jason Grilli was used in a save situation was April 17 when he gave up the tying run on a pair of hits and was charged with the blown save. He did back-door into the win, but from then on, it had been all Arodys Vizcaino for the ninth-inning work. However, that might change once again as Vizcaino had trouble closing out Sunday’s game against the Cubs and was charged with an earned run and the blown save. He also back-doored the win as Grilli closed things out with a scoreless frame and now we are left to wonder what manager Fredi Gonzalez will do now. It seems unlikely that one poor outing would cause another shift in the bullpen pecking order, but such has been the way of the Braves this season. Consider this to remain a shared situation between the two relievers.

Fantasy owners got a huge scare this weekend as Orioles closer Zach Britton injured his ankle Saturday and the early reports were speculating a possible Achilles injury. The x-rays were negative and the team is listing it as a sprain for now, but Britton is scheduled for an MRI on Monday to ensure that there is no structural damage. If the MRI comes back clean, he will likely avoid the disabled list and be fine moving forward. If we do receive bad news and Britton is out, then Darren O’Day is a must-grab for saves work in Baltimore.

If you were hoping that the Reds bullpen would have taken shape by now, I’d like to share something with you that my granddaddy always used to say: You can sh*t in one hand and hope in the other and see which one fills up first. You got a blown save from Caleb Cotham on Sunday and Blake Wood has vulture a pair of wins recently, but as for true closer work…? Nothing.

It’s been a rough week for Kevin Jepsen as he blew another save this past week which gave him three on the year and two in his last four appearances. Twins manager Paul Molitor hasn’t said anything regarding a removal from the role, but it’s tough not to see that Trevor May has righted his ship and has now thrown four-straight scoreless appearances (5.0 IP) and accumulated a 7:2 K:BB in that span. If you’re currently using Jepsen, you may want to stash May for the time being as insurance.

This is the last week of Aroldis Chapman’s suspension, people. It officially ends May 9. That means Andrew Miller will return to his role as the primary left-handed set-up man (see below).

In addition to watching Chapman getting ready to return, also keep in mind that Brad Boxberger is still on-schedule for an early-to-mid May return. He’s been throwing bullpen sessions and live batting practice and it looks like he’ll be ready for a rehab assignment shortly. The target date seems to be May 13, so you’ll want to make the necessary adjustments this week in anticipation of his return to the closer’s role.

Ryan Madson has six saves and a win over his last eight appearances. Sean Doolittle has one save over his last eight. If there is any doubt as to who the closer is in Oakland, this should help settle things for you. Again, maybe if there were another lefty in the pen beside Marc Rzepczynski things would be different, but that is just not the case.

Relievers & Holds

Somewhat of a double-edged sword with Mychal Givens in the Baltimore bullpen right now. He’s got two holds and two wins over his last five appearances and has been a strikeout monster this season, posting a 15.75 K/9 over 12 innings. Unfortunately, though, he also comes with a 1.75 WHIP and a 5.25 BB/9 as well.  The 2.65 FIP to his 3.00 ERA shows that he’s not really defensively reliant, so he is living somewhat dangerously with all the walks and hits allowed. He should remain a solid source for holds and strikeouts, but be prepared for a potential blow-up here and there.

With White Sox closer David Robertson back from the bereavement list, Nate Jones will return to his set-up role in the bullpen. That means more holds are coming your way, once again. Enjoy!

Chad Qualls has two wins and a hold over his last five appearances. With Miguel Castro (shoulder) out, the holds should be coming a little more often. Both Qualls and Boone Logan should fare well if you are in need of a boost in the holds category.

Despite the early-season struggles of Ken Giles, Astros manager A.J. Hinch does not seem overly concerned at the moment. The youngster has allowed five earned runs over his last four appearances (3.1 IP) and the unsettling part is that he’s just getting hit around. You’d be able to forgive a couple of home runs served up, but we’re talking eight hits and two walks in that span. Hinch is going to stick with him, so he still has obvious value, but keep a watch on your ratios and be prepared to bench him if needed.

Since moving into his new role back on April 17, Miami reliever David Phelps has posted eight-straight scoreless appearances (7.0 IP) with a 7:4 K:BB, one save and three holds. He should continue to work as the primary set-up man for A.J. Ramos and be an excellent source for holds with decent strikeouts.

With this being the final week of Aroldis Chapman’s suspension, owners of Andrew Miller will now be looking in this area of the Bullpen Report as holds will be his new-found love. He returns to being the primary set-up man for Chapman which will then push Dellin Betances into the seventh. And considering how Betances has looked in recent outings – four earned runs (three HR) over his last 2.2 innings (three appearances) – perhaps some lower-leverage work will help him get back to where he should be. Once the two of them are, and maybe if the offense wakes up, the two should prove to be a strong source of holds the rest of the way.

While Jeanmar Gomez has really taken hold of the closer’s job in Philadelphia, Hector Neris has pushed his way to the top of the pecking order in the bullpen and is now considered the top set-up man for the club. Now while the Phillies actually having a late lead is tough to rely on, the strikeouts that Neris is currently providing are a huge help for fantasy owners. Through 15.1 innings, Neris is sporting a 14.09 K/9 with a 6.00 K/BB. Numbers like that are huge, especially if you’re using him in a head-to-head match-up.

Strength of Bullpen

Closer Grid