I was out doing the husband thing running errands this week between baseball games and yardwork and heard the classic John Lennon tune “Watching the Wheels” on my Sirius XM. It reminded me of the weekly bullpen watch we do here at Fantrax HQ, watching the wheels spin and things change on a game by game basis. The only constant in all of this is change. Let’s get to it as we ride on this merry-go-round…we just have to let it go!
MLB Bullpen Update for June 6
AL East
Boston, oh Boston. Going back to the preseason, many pundits were picking between Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck to close games here. And last night, lo and behold, Houck got the save opportunity and converted despite the availability of sometimes closer Hansel Robles and Jake Diekman. Reading what the manager says each day in his press conference is important; follow every team on Twitter if you do not already. To that point, manager Alex Cora spoke this week about limiting Houck to a two-inning limit in each appearance and using him as more of stopper rather than piggybacking him after Rich Hill. So while Matt Strahm did get two save chances this week and converted both, this remains one to watch. My money (if I had any money) would be on Houck to grab this role. John Schreiber has also been effective in the Boston bullpen. Who knows? I know that I purposely kept Houck in most leagues hoping for a larger role either in the rotation or the bullpen. And I need him now with multiple hits to my multiple bullpens in my leagues.
Tampa Bay announced this week that closer Andrew Kittredge (and I know before you say it, Tampa has multiple closers) would undergo Tommy John Surgery this week. I had a friend reach out with that news and ask me, “who do you like in Tampa for the closer’s job now?” And my brain reeled. In reality, manager Kevin Cash has shown the propensity to play matchups as well as anyone in MLB. So one night, it could still be Brooks Raley, another, it could be Colin Poche, and yet another, Jason Adam or Ryan Thompson. While fun to watch in real baseball, this is a nightmare scenario for fantasy players. Forced to choose, I would lean Poche, simply because he’s the clubhouse leader right now with three saves. Unless completely desperate for saves, it may be best to speculate elsewhere.
AL Central
Bullpens in the AL Central remain consistent: Liam Hendriks is the top guy in Chicago, Emmanuel Clase in Cleveland, and Gregory Soto has quietly been good again in Detroit. Scott Barlow and Josh Staumont appear to still be in a shared 60/40 role. Minnesota is one to watch; it still seems to be a committee situation with Emilio Pagan and Jhoan Duran. I have Duran stashed in many leagues and would love for him to get this role and run with it. I need saves! Who doesn’t?
AL West
Things have turned sour in Oakland for Dany Jimenez. He had converted his first 10 saves of the year but has been hit hard over the last two weeks. Last week I suggested investing in AJ Puk, and I would do that this week if you have not already. They do have another option in Lou Trivino. With the A’s looking to be also-rans at this point, it would behoove them to see what they have in Puk; I would look for them to trade Trivino at some point to a contender in need of setup men.
NL East
We have been watching the situation closely in Miami, and it looks like, for now, this week, Tanner Scott may be the guy. As we often say, context matters. And while Miami has a plethora of options to try, like Dylan Floro, Anthony Bass, and Anthony Bender (who is still on the IL), Scott may have the best pure stuff of all of them. Looking at his stats, you may see the 4.24 ERA and shy away. But look at these: a shiny 35.6% strikeout rate, and an xERA of 3.54. That plays big in many leagues. If you’re like me and had stock in an injured closer like Andrew Kittredge or demoted closer like Giovanny Gallegos, Scott might be in your wheelhouse for a FAAB bid this weekend. To those in #GLARF or TGFBI#25, please let me have him. Ha ha.
In Philadelphia, much has been said about the role of Corey Knebel, but he converted both of his chances this week. Command remains a bit of an issue for him, but he retains the role as of now. Brad Hand and Seranthony Dominguez would be in the mix if Knebel were to be demoted.
NL Central
In St. Louis, Ryan Helsley has been the best reliever in baseball this year: he’s 2-0, with four saves, a .39 ERA and .51 WHIP, and 32 strikeouts in 23.1 innings. Can’t do much better than that. And while Giovanny Gallegos has been very good, this is more a question of Helsley just being that much better right now. Before the season began, manager Oli Marmol suggested he preferred Gallegos in more of a stopper role. This one hurts for those of us who inserted Gallegos into our top 12 closers in March and drafted him as such. Hopefully, you have other options but you may need to look elsewhere for saves, at least in the short term while Helsley holds the role.
NL West
For those on the Mark Melancon death watch, do not read too much into his pitching the eighth inning the other night and Ian Kennedy closing it out for the save. In the postgame, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters that Melancon has asked him before the game to get him an inning. When Lovullo put Melancon on the mound in the eighth, the Dbacks were down two. They scored in the bottom half to take the lead and Lovullo brought in Kennedy to close it out. Thus Melancon is still the closer in Arizona…for now.