Another week in bullpens, and the teeth gnashing continues. As usual, there are some stable bullpens while others remain in a state of flux. Let’s take a look at the highlights and the lowlights for the week that was in major league bullpens. Put your seatbelt on.
Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report
AL East
Felix Bautista had three saves this week for Baltimore. There has been mounting concern in Baltimore over the team’s current state, but they appear to be recalibrating this week. Bautista seems fine with a 3.48 ERA, 11 saves, and a 28.1% K% as we head into the summer. Gregory Soto and Yennier Cano remain the top options for holds here. One thing of potential interest to note: Bryan Baker has gotten save opportunities when Bautista has been unavailable.
Luke Weaver hit the IL this week with a bad hamstring for the New York Yankees, pushing Devin Williams back into the closer role. Early speculation is that Weaver will miss 4-6 weeks. Williams has more closely resembled his usual sturdy self in May after being removed from the closer role by manager Aaron Boone in April. In the chart below, note the improved strikeout rate. The Yankees traded for Williams to acquire one of the best closers in the game. He will be the guy while Weaver is down, and could easily keep the job if he proves to be effective again. Williams did lock down two saves this week.
AL Central
Time share continues in Detroit between Tommy Kahnle and Will Vest. Vest has nine saves, Kahnle has eight saves. Vest had two saves this week, while Kahnle earned one. Vest also has five relief wins on his record this year. It’s interesting how manager AJ Hinch uses them interchangeably. Vest pitched two innings to earn a victory against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, a game in which Kahnle got the last three outs to get the save. We will continue watching.
AL West
Josh Hader continues his dominance in Houston. Just take a look at his Statcast below. Hader has 16 saves on the season, with a 1.38 ERA and an eye-popping 39.4% K%. Continue to use with the utmost confidence. Hader earned three saves this week. Bryan Abreu continues to be the top setup guy with 16 holds, a 1.61 ERA, and a 30.*% K%.
Andres Munoz shows signs of being human in Seattle. It took until late May, but Munoz finally blew a save. He blew another this past week and did not earn any saves. This feels like quibbling, as he has 17 saves, a 1.40 ERA, and a healthy 33% K%. Top setup options are Matt Brash, who remains unblemished through nine innings thus far and has five holds, and Gabe Speier, who has seven holds and a 38.9% K%.
Texas: Lefty Robert Garcia has been closing, but he blew an opportunity last night, which also featured the return of veteran bullpen stalwart Chris Martin. Garcia has three saves, but I wonder if Martin will get any chances now that he is healthy. Luke Jackson has quietly been effective in a setup role, where he had a 1.42 ERA in May. One to watch here; I would speculatively add Martin this weekend in deeper leagues.
NL East
Atlanta: Raisel Iglesias is on the hot seat, and rightfully so. He has been awful most of the season, with a 6.75 ERA and eight saves on the season. There has not been much talk of replacing him, but the Braves and manager Brian Snitker have options. Iglesias is just giving up far too many baserunners and runs to be trusted at this point. Daysbel Hernandez could get a look, but left the game Wednesday with cramping, and then hit the IL Friday. Pierce Johnson has the most closing experience on the current roster, although veteran Craig Kimbrel was just called up on Friday. It could get interesting in Atlanta. Look for a committee situation here.
Calvin Faucher is the closer in Miami for now, but only had one save over the past eight days, as the Marlins have struggled after being swept by the abominable Colorado Rockies. I still think Ronny Henriquez will get an opportunity here, but I cannot say when that will be.
In Washington, Kyle Finnegan is the closer and once again is among league leaders with 18 saves. But let’s take a look at the setup guys who are helping bridge to him at the end of games. Jose A. Ferrer leads the team with 11 holds, and the team also released veteran Jorge Lopez this week. That opens up setup chances for Brad Lord and Cole Henry. Lord gets lots of groundballs and limits barrels, while Henry has a little more swing and miss to his game.
NL Central
Daniel Palencia is the closer in Chicago, but there have been zero save chances for the Cubs this week. He should continue to be set up by a resurgent Brad Keller and Drew Pomeranz. Palencia could hold this job for a long time.
Milwaukee: Trevor Megill quietly goes about his business and has 12 saves with a 2.21 ERA and 25.6% K%. Abner Uribe is the top setup option with 16 holds, a 1.53 ERA, and a 33.1% K%.
David Bednar earned the lone save in Pittsburgh this week and earned a win on Friday night. Bednar finally got his ERA back under 4.00 to 3.92 this week, and has a 34.5% K% as he works his way back to being a solid closer again. Bednar has three saves in the last two weeks, has cut down the walks, and has eight punchouts in his last five outings. A name to watch here is Braxton Ashcraft, who could become a late-inning weapon for the Pirates.
NL West
Things are interesting to watch in Arizona. Justin Martinez is back and has two saves this week, including one on Wednesday in which he threw an astounding 37 pitches and walked three guys before closing it down. It appears that Martinez will not go on back-to-back days, meaning Shelby Miller should still be in line for save chances on those nights when Martinez is unavailable. Watch this one carefully.
Colorado: Zach Agnos went to the bereavement list, and both Seth Halvorsen and Tyler Kinley have earned saves in his absence. Upon his return Friday night, Agnos took the loss. Kinley’s save opportunity came on Halvorsen’s night off, so look for Halvorsen and Agnos to share the scant chances in Colorado.
Tanner Scott remains on the hot seat in Los Angeles. He did earn a save, a win, and a loss this week. There is no talk of change here despite Scott’s 4.40 ERA. Ben Casparius and Alex Vesia remain the top setup options.
San Francisco is a little muddled. Camilo Doval is the top candidate to get saves here, and he earned two this week. However, Randy Rodriguez has leapfrogged Ryan Walker to become the top setup guy for the Giants with his 0.64 ERA and whopping 40.2% K% on the year. Should Doval struggle, Rodriguez could get a shot.
