Another version of your weekly bullpen report! As a reminder, here’s the approach:
- Closer/Speculative Adds – Players owned in less than 70 percent of Fantrax leagues that have a share of a closing role, or are worth a speculative pickup.
- HOLDS!!! – If we do all this work to identify top relievers, we might as well surface the ones who provide value even if they aren’t earning saves. This will be guys who are worth an add to boost ratios or if you are in a league with Holds as a category.
- A recap of the week prior – who earned saves, who blew saves, and what each pitcher’s peripherals were like over the past seven days. We’ll look at the top two or three options from each bullpen so we can also take a sneak peek at who is next in line for saves. We’ll also include Fantrax ownership in everything we do.
- Bullpen Matrix – An interactive visual of bullpen usage for the past seven days. The bullpen report is dynamic so you can change the lookback period to your heart’s desire, but we’ll focus on how each team’s bullpen was managed over the past seven days.
I’m open to any and all feedback, and I hope this bullpen report evolves to maximize effectiveness for the readers. Don’t hesitate to reach out in the comments or on Twitter with comments, questions, suggestions about the article or fantasy baseball in general. Let’s get into it!
It’s time to multi-task! Keep up with all of our baseball coverage, but kick off your football prep and dig into our 2018 Fantasy Football Draft Kit. Then head on over to Fantrax and join a Fantasy Football league.
Week 16 Bullpen Report
Speculative Adds
Kelvin Herrera (WSH- 79% owned) – It looks like he’s still largely owned due to his prior role as closer for the Royals, but with Doolittle hitting the 10-day DL with toe inflammation, Herrera is the closer for the next week or so for the Nationals.
Hector Rondon (HOU- 56% owned) – Hopefully you nabbed him last week when we highlighted Rondon in the Week 15 Bullpen Report, but now the job is officially his with Ken Giles being sent down to Triple A. He blew a save on Tuesday, but the gig is still his moving forward. Will Harris is also a great speculative add given Rondon’s tendency to get erratic.
Justin Anderson (LAA – 12% owned) – The Angels bullpen has a ton of intriguing arms, and their roles seem to continue to evolve. Blake Parker is the de facto closer for the Halos, but Justin Anderson continues to poach saves on a seemingly random basis.
Ryan Pressly (MIN – 4% owned) – This is a pure speculation play, but with the Twins long out of contention and Fernando Rodney’s name already showing up in trade rumors, I don’t believe it’s long before the closer role is up for grabs in Minnesota. Pressly is my favorite to take it between him, Trevor Hildenberger, and Addison Reed. He’s been a strikeout machine – 63 strikeouts in 43 innings pitched and will continue to accumulate holds while you wait for him to hopefully take over the closer role by the end of July.
HOLDS!!!!
Scott Alexander (LAA – 7% owned) – A situational lefty on a team that is playing well, is the best spot to accumulate holds. They only pitch a few hitters at a time, can go multiple days in a row, and are usually brought in to protect a lead or keep a game tied. Alexander is this weapon for the Dodgers and racked up four (4) holds this past week as a result.
Justin Wilson (CHC – 9% owned) – Well we can basically copy and paste the note about Alexander here for Justin Wilson. Their go-to lefty out of the ‘pen and now that everyone is healthy for the Cubs, Wilson slots back into his normal role as the left-handed specialist.
Lou Trivino (OAK – 34% owned) – Trivino saw a 20-percent spike in ownership after we had him on this list last week, and I still believe he’s under-owned in all formats. Trivino has been a monster out of the bullpen and a ratio savior with the added bonus of a few saves here are there. The A’s have been competitive this week and Trivino and Blake Treinen have formed a nasty duo in the eighth and ninth innings.
Prior Week Recap
[table “188” not found /]Bullpen Matrix
For more on how the Bullpen Matrix works head on over the dedicated page for the chart.
