REDS BULLPEN
Take a look at this awesomeness of patheticness that the Reds have been saddled with in the bullpen.
Blake Wood: 3.72 ERA, 1.51 WHIP
Tony Cingrani 4.07 ERA, 1.44 WHIP
Ross Ohlendorf: 4.21 ERA, 1.01 WHIP (their best RP?)
Caleb Cotham: 7.40 ERA, 1.81 WHIP
J.C. Ramirez: 5.40 ERA, 1.25 WHIP
J.J. Hoover: 14.34 ERA, 2.34 WHIP
Jumbo Diaz: 6.30 ERA, 1.70 WHIP
Steve Delabar: 6.75 ERA, 1.88 WHIP
In total, the numbers are flabbergasting.
The Reds’ bullpen has a 6.51 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, and 1.50 K/BB ratio. They have converted seven saves out of 18 save chances. The 11 blown saves lead baseball. The Reds bullpen has been historically bad.
Into that mess rides Raisel Iglesias… maybe.
Iglesias was placed on the DL April 25th with a shoulder issue. A month later he returned to the mound, and how he’s nearing a return to the big leagues (the estimate is that he will be back in about three weeks from this writing). However, he won’t be coming back as a starting pitcher. “We want to keep him as healthy as possible,” manager Bryan Price said. “We shut him down last year for innings and caretaking of his shoulder. He had a re-injury of his shoulder. Maybe we lighten the workload in this stint coming off the DL and then we take a look either later in the year or early next year on if starting is better or the bullpen is better. “It’s something he’s done in international play and done extremely well,” Price said. “With a starter’s background for us, multiple innings is an option. It really opens up the door to do just about anything once he gets re-acclimated with the bullpen.”
I wrote an extensive Player Profile on Iglesias that was part of the 2016 Fantasy Alarm Draft Guide. Let me quote myself. “There are concerns about how many innings Raisel can throw… with no track record of how his arm will hold up once the innings pile up, caution is again warranted (at least in my opinion)… He’s got tons of potential, but the list of unknowns, at this point, is pretty extensive.”
Could Iglesias take over the 9th inning role, when healthy, for the Reds? Absolutely he could. I noted the performances of their bullpen to this point – the results have been simply dreadful. Many in the scouting community felt that Iglesias wouldn’t be able to hold up as a starter in the majors. The Reds were one of the few teams who disagreed. Seems like they might finally be reaching the point where they have to admit that others were right.
Kevin Gausman remaining winless has been very unfortunate. Gerrit Cole’s declining strikeout rate is concerning. Eduardo Rodriguez is simply not that good. CHECK OUT THE VIDEO.
ASTROS BULLPEN
"I told Luke Gregerson before the game that he wasn't going to close today [Sunday]," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "He was available. He felt fine, but I wanted to give him a mental and physical break from the role.” Note that Hinch said a “break” from the role. He didn’t use the word demotion anywhere. Hinch then went on to say the following. “I'm going to ease that burden off Luke, given that he's had a bit of a rough couple of weeks. We need to get him right because our best bullpen has a variety of roles that these guys can pitch in." So the ninth inning arm, for now, will be… ?
"I'm not going to name a closer. Luke's going to get his fair share of options. Obviously, Will was the closer today. [Ken] Giles will get a look, [Michael] Feliz may get a look whenever we need it.”
NOTE THE MANAGER SAID THERE IS NO CLOSER.
Here’s a look at the four possible candidates.
Michael Feliz has made 14 appearances this season throwing 25.2 innings. He’s walking just 2.10 batters per nine innings, a strong mark. He is generating grounders at a 51 percent rate, a strong mark. The real excitement is in the 13.32 K/9 rate, an off the charts elite mark. Moreover, remove his first two outings and over his last 12 appearances he has a 0.44 ERA and 0.34 WHIP. Can’t pitch much better than that.
Ken Giles started off slowly and lost any shot to close at the start of the season after we all, EVERYONE, thought he would be the closer Opening Day. Giles didn’t sulk though, he kept working, and the velocity and success returned. Over his last 13 outings here are the numbers: 11.37 K/9, 2.84 BB/9, 2.13 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. Over 140 career innings his numbers are off tremendous: 11.76 K/9, 2.25 ERA, 1.13 WHIP. He looks like that guy again.
Luke Gregerson blew five saves last season on his way to 31 saves. He’s already blown five games this season with just 13 saves. His 3.71 K/BB ratio is about his 3.57 career mark, and his 9.12 K/9 would be a six year high. Also, he’s still generating an impressive 58.8 percent ground ball rate. Don’t overlook the fact that he was also chosen to be the closer over Giles, so it’s not impossible that he could close again if he things improve.
Will Harris picked up the save Sunday causing everyone to scurry to waivers. Some facts. (1) Harris has three saves in four plus seasons. (2) It’s impossible he maintains his nine percent line drive rate. (3) It’s impossible he maintains his 94.7 left on base percentage. (4) It’s impossible he maintains his 69 percent ground ball rate. He is pitching fantastically and could certainly take off in the 9th inning if given a shot at the role, think Gregerson last year, but when, over the last two years, have you heard any whispers that Harris would close? Me neither.
I’d lean toward Giles being the man in the 9th inning to emerge but what do I know other than Hinch seems to be very confused about how to best handle the final frame of games.
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday, 7 PM EDT and Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 7 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).