Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: May 9

Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Reports: May 9

Closers & Saves

Happy Aroldis Chapman Day! After serving his MLB-mandated suspension for some less-than-stellar off-field behavior, the Cuban fireballer is ready to get back to work Monday. Yankees manager Joe Girardi has already stated publicly that Chapman will immediately slot into the ninth inning while Andrew Miller moves back to joining Dellin Betances in a set-up role. Your window to buy-low has officially closed now, so unless you’re in dire need of a closer and have ample, high-quality trade chips, you will probably remain a simple spectator with regard to this elite closer.

Could the nightmare known as the Reds bullpen finally be finding some resolution? This past Friday, Tony Cingrani locked down the save with his fourth-straight scoreless appearance. Still, manager Bryan Price was very specific with his post-game comments when he said, “it's somewhat of a non-specified bullpen at this time, all of these guys are expecting to pitch at almost any point in time of the game." Not exactly what fantasy owners want to hear, but let’s face facts, better to hear that regularly than to waste your FAAB budget or waiver priority on Cingrani or anyone else in that dumpster fire of a bullpen who may garner a save opportunity at some point.

For those who may be stashing the one-time Brewers closer, Will Smith, the latest word is that he is officially passing on surgery for his knee. If you don’t remember the exact nature of the injury, Smith tore his LCL during spring training and decided to wait a few weeks before ultimately deciding on surgery and a subsequent rehab plan. The 26-year old southpaw has apparently shown enough improvement over the last six weeks that surgery can be avoided and he will be able to start a rehab process once granted clearance to resume baseball activities. Some folks are apparently targeting mid-June, but that seems to err more on the optimistic side.

Pay close attention to the situation in Minnesota. While manager Paul Molitor has yet to say anything, he just may be growing weary of Kevin Jepsen’s recent struggles. Since April 24, Jepsen has made six appearances and has allowed three runs on six hits and a walk over 5.2 innings with two blown saves. He has picked up a pair of wins in that span, but that’s not why Molitor has him subbing in for Glen Perkins who isn’t due back until at least mid-June. Over that same time frame, Trevor May has made seven-straight scoreless appearances with a 10:2 K:BB over eight innings and is starting to look like a much more reliable option. Monitor this situation closely as all it could take is one more slip-up for Jepsen before he gets the hook.

If you haven’t been heeding my warnings over the last two weeks, we’re nearing the time when Brad Boxberger returns to the Tampa Bay bullpen. He’s thrown live batting practice, successful bullpen sessions and is currently in the minors on his rehab assignment. Barring any setbacks, Boxberger could return during the latter part of this week. Now expectations have always been that Boxberger will jump back into the ninth inning, but that was when Alex Colome wasn’t really doing anything special. Heading into last week, Colome had just five saves and a 3.00 ERA, but after four scoreless appearances with six strikeouts, no walks and four saves, thinks are looking a little different now for manager Kevin Cash. While the general consensus still believes Boxberger will take back his job, the Rays may opt to ease him back into the role rather than just remove Colome altogether. You should probably start reading the local Tampa papers to see what the beat writers are saying as the week rolls on.

For those concerned with the recent injury to Roberto Osuna, you can apparently rest easy. He was passed over for a save chance Friday due to tightness in his groin, but the Blue Jays were apparently being overly cautious. Of course, he did come in to Sunday’s game and promptly blew the save, but manager John Gibbons has made absolutely no indication that he is losing confidence in his closer. Of course, it doesn’t hurt when Drew Storen is also enduring a few struggles as well, but that’s really just gravy for Osuna owners. Continue to roll with him moving forward.

Relievers & Holds

Obviously, with the return of Chapman, Miller now becomes a holds specialist for fantasy owners. He’ll also see the occasional save chance if/when Chapman is unavailable, but for the most part, his overall value takes a hit if you don’t play in a league that counts holds or, if you’re a Ray Flowers fan, SOLDS, which is a combination of the two. That’s not to say that he won’t be able to help supplement your strikeouts and help keep your ratios stabilized, but if we’re just talking about value from closer-specific categories, you’re going to have to adjust with the change.

While Junichi Tazawa has pitched well and posted an impressive 12.27 K/9 with a 2.45 ERA over 11 innings this season, it looks like Carson Smith is going to be handling more seventh and eighth inning set-up work alongside Koji Uehara. The way the Red Sox are playing, Tazawa should still grab some holds, but the majority of what he was doing for fantasy owners over the last month should flip over to Smith.

Sometimes you have to really pay close attention when you’re playing in a holds leagues as some guys just seem to pop up out of nowhere and emerge as viable options. We saw that with David Phelps and his change of role, but now also in Miami, we have another often overlooked reliever in 25-year old right-hander, Kyle Barraclough. Yes, his last name makes me hungry for a bear claw sometimes and on other days it makes me nauseous thinking of baccalao, a salted codfish dish a childhood ex-girlfriend’s grandmother used to always make, but if you look at the numbers – 1.64 ERA with a 17:5 K:BB over 11 innings – those are some tasty totals for fantasy owners. He’s jumped up the holds leaderboard and should be considered a must-own in leagues that score for such relief pitcher categories.

Strength of Bullpen

Closer Grid