Remember that period of stability we had in late April and early May? I hope you enjoyed it.
Because it’s over, as several bullpens are in serious turmoil and upheaval this week. Let’s get right to it.
Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report
AL East
New York has seen three different pitchers earn saves this week: Luke Weaver, Devin Williams, and Mark Leiter Jr. The Williams save raised some eyebrows after manager Aaron Boone suggested in his press conference last weekend that he was leaving Weaver as the closer and Williams as the top setup option.
Jeff Hoffman has bounced back to nab two saves this week, giving him 12 on the season with a bloated 5.55 ERA.
AL Central
Will Vest and Tommy Kahnle continue to be a committee in Detroit at this time. Vest earned saves on Monday, Tuesday, and then again Friday, while Kahnle nabbed the save on Wednesday. Vest has eight saves now, and Kahnle has seven. Look for the committee to continue here as both have been effective, but lean Vest at this time if you have a choice.
Griffin Jax is back to being nasty in Minnesota, with 14 holds. He has the ERA down to a more usable 4.38 and a whopping strikeout rate of 39.4%. Jhoan Duran has nine saves with a 1.07 ERA. Continue to use with confidence. Jax would be the handcuff here should anything happen to Duran. See Jax’s Statcast page below.
AL West
The Los Angeles Angels welcomed Robert Stephenson back this week, who should slot quickly into a top setup role there with Ryan Zeferjahn. Despite some early struggles, Kenley Jansen could find himself moved to a contending team, which would seemingly open the closing job again for Stephenson. As my friend and bullpen guru Greg Jewett often suggests, the Angels are not paying Stephenson to be a setup man, and he should ascend to the top job if they decide to move Jansen.
It took two months, but Andres Munoz finally gave up runs in a blown save on Friday night, giving up three runs on four hits, including a home run. Not to worry, Munoz has 17 saves on the season and has a 32.9% strikeout percentage.
Texas: As we have suggested here, the shelf life of Luke Jackson seemed short. Many pundits were surprised to see Jackson get the job out of Spring Training, with the expectation that Chris Martin would earn the job. Martin has never gotten that opportunity and is now on the IL. Robert Garcia has stepped up and earned two saves this week and appears to be the closer for now in Texas. Adjust accordingly. I am still surprised the team has not reached out to their former relief ace, David Robertson.
NL East
Miami: We need to add a third member to the committee, which is currently composed of Calvin Faucher and Anthony Bender. Last week, we brought up Ronny Henriquez and suggested he could get an opportunity. He has a win and a save this week, and then blew a save on Wednesday night, in which Faucher got the save. The best bet moving forward, if we base this on pure stuff, is Henriquez. As we all know, having the best stuff doesn’t always mean the guy closes games. However, look below at his red Statcast page. If he can control his walk rate, he has the makings of being a closer, with 38 strikeouts in 27 innings this year.
In New York, it’s been a tad interesting this week. Edwin Diaz got a save last weekend, but Reed Garrett has gotten the last two for the Mets. Nothing to worry about here, as Diaz remains dominant. He did earn a win over the Chicago White Sox this week as well. Diaz got the save on Friday night.
Philadelphia: Max Lazar and Tanner Banks both earned saves over the last week, but this job belongs to Jordan Romano. The veteran has two saves this week. Roster Resource lists Matt Strahm as a co-closer, but if we look at usage patterns, we see that this is not the case. On Thursday night, Strahm came on in the eighth inning and coughed up two runs, one on a home run to Atlanta catcher Sean Murphy, and had to be bailed out by Jose Ruiz. Romano then pitched the ninth and gave up three walks before finally retiring the side. Egads. The Phillies’ bullpen has become a high-wire act.
NL Central
Chicago has a new closer, and as suggested last week, it is Daniel Palencia. he has three saves this week, and there doesn’t seem to be any competition for him, given that the team does not seem to want to use Ryan Pressly in that role and Porter Hodge is on the IL. If on your waiver wire, add Palencia.
In Cincinnati, a name to earmark is Luis Mey, a hard-throwing middle reliever. There seems to be potential for more here, even though he was sent down this week. While Emilio Pagan has done an admirable job closing here, the league is starting to catch on to him; he has a 5.91 ERA this month despite nabbing five saves. Graham Ashcraft and Tony Santillan might have something to say about that should Pagan’s struggles continue into June. Mey could get into the mix eventually. The Reds also traded former All-Star closer Alexis Diaz to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday afternoon. And Pagan got the save over the Chicago Cubs on Friday afternoon.
Another closer committee situation could be coming to an end in Pittsburgh, as David Bednar has gotten and converted the last two saves with Dennia Santana setting him up. I think this would be the preference for the Pirates. Lean Bednar.
NL West
Arizona welcomed back Justin Martinez this week, but could this still be a committee with veteran Shelby Miller? Martinez got the first chance this week and promptly blew it. Miller has only pitched once this week, but nabbed five saves in the absence of Martinez. This will be one to watch in the coming days.
Los Angeles: There is no doubt that Tanner Scott has struggled over the past few weeks. While his ERA over May has been a preposterous 7.84, there seems to be some bad luck here. He had a terrible outing where he surrendered four runs on Wednesday night after giving up three over the last weekend. The question is, should he be given a break by manager Dave Roberts, who do the Dodgers turn to? The core of their bullpen is all on the IL. Could they use Ben Casparius? He’s been tremendous this season in an unexpected role. They could also use Alex Vesia in the short term. The key thing is that Scott has the skills to do it and likely will keep the job. Here’s my crazy thought for the week: Imagine Shohei Ohtani as a closer? My word. Vesia earned the save on Friday night.
In San Francisco, manager Bob Melvin decided to make a change and installed former closer Camilo Doval into the top job over incumbent Ryan Walker. What was interesting here was that Melvin decided to make the switch a day after Walker had earned the save. Walker bears little resemblance to the guy who was one of the most dominant relievers in baseball last year. He has a 4.95 ERA this year despite the 10 saves, and his walk rate has crept up three points while the strikeout rate has dipped more than 10 points. See below.
