Raise your hand if in your preparation for this season, you saw Clay Holmes becoming one of the best closers in baseball.
Or if you saw that Tanner Scott would scale past three guys ahead of him to become the closer in Miami.
One of the things I absolutely love about covering bullpens is watching guys who were not on anyone’s radar taking on setup roles. I am looking at you, John Schreiber, and you, Steven Okert, and yes you, Joh Kuhnel, and finally, Wil Crowe. It’s one of the best parts of the fantasy game for me. If you get a moment, go watch Schreiber talking about getting Miguel Cabrera out this week. It’s a great reminder that even MLB players are fans of other players. I just absolutely adore this game.
I will stop ranting. Let’s see what’s happening in bullpens this week.
MLB Bullpen Depth Charts
AL East
Tanner Houck is clearly the ninth-inning guy in Boston right now, and John Schreiber has been their second-best reliever. Kudos to those of you who held on to Houck even when he was struggling. Now you have yourselves a closer. Schreiber has 12 holds.
In New York, based on Aaron Boone’s comments of late, expect Clay Holmes to remain their top ninth-inning guy even when Aroldis Chapman returns from his injury.
Tampa Bay isn’t recording many saves lately, but Colin Poche has the last three. Brooks Raley has 10 holds pitching behind him, as does Jason Adam.
AL Central
Things have been murky in Chicago with Liam Hendriks out with a forearm strain. The go-to here seems to be Kendall Graveman, although Joe Kelly got the last save opportunity and converted it. However, a deeper look shows us that Graveman was brought on in the eighth inning to face the 3-4-5 hitters. I would look for Graveman to be the main guy for the next two weeks. The team is standing by their initial assessment that Hendriks will miss a total of three weeks. If that is the case, he has another two weeks on the shelf.
Minnesota: we have suggested stashing Jhoan Duran for several weeks now, and it appears the time to use him weekly is upon us. Emilio Pagan blew two leads this week, and manager Rocco Baldelli stated to reporters that he would not commit to one closer at this time. This would seem to open the door for Duran. There is another sleeper here in Griffin Jax, who at the very least is pitching in higher leverage roles and could be a good holds candidate.
AL West
Hard to say what is happening in Oakland. I keep hoping I can will A.J. Puk as closer into existence, but that has yet to materialize, and I need it to happen for my #GLARF team if I want to stay competitive. Zach Jackson could also get opportunities with Dany Jimenez out. My how far Lou Trivino has fallen at this point… although he could be in the mix too! Jackson has chipped in with 12 holds. On Thursday Jackson and Puk combined to steal a win from Frankie Montas by being completely ineffective. Let’s see what this week brings, but I push Puk slightly ahead of Jackson for save opps.
We’ve been following this for weeks, but Ken Giles was activated off the IL this week, and immediately pitched the ninth inning for Seattle…with a six-run lead. Ha. Yet, this will be an intriguing bullpen to watch over the next few weeks. Manager Scott Servais stated that he will not use Giles in high leverage roles (yet) as he gets his legs under him after nearly two years of missed games. Paul Sewald is the closer for now, but I don’t see Giles slotting in as a setup guy. My prediction before the season was that he would be their closer at some point, and I am going to stand by that. Sewald did convert his sixth save on Friday night.
NL East
In Miami, Tanner Scott has had two very good weeks of closing, earning six saves in the process. He’s clearly their go-to guy in the ninth inning. If you are looking for holds, lefty Steven Okert has been outstanding this year and has five wins and nine holds. Put him on your radar if you need holds.
Things are wonky in Philadelphia. As you know, Corey Knebel is being given some time to rediscover himself in a lesser role. Based on usage this past week, I would call this a committee between Brad Hand and Seranthony Dominguez. This is just another great example of how modern bullpens work. Dominguez clearly has the bigger arm and better stuff, but the team prefers to use him in the highest leverage situation. And that situation may not take place in the ninth inning, as we all know, thus making this a crapshoot. For example, last week Dominguez got the 4-5-6 hitters in the eighth inning, and Hand got the ninth, earning the save. The next day, Hand again got the ninth, blew it, and Dominguez ended up getting the save the next inning. In summary: lean Dominguez but also know that Hand will likely get opportunities. Jose Alvarado lurks here as well.
NL Central
Another week, another injury in the Cincinnati bullpen. This time it was Alexis Diaz with a biceps injury. By default it looks like the job will go to Hunter Strickland. With the injury to Diaz, Joe Kuhnel and maybe even Jeff Hoffman could get holds chances. Tony Santillan and Lucas Sims remain on the IL as well.
We have been watching the St. Louis bullpen all year, with the heavyweight match going on between Ryan Helsley and Giovanny Gallegos. While that remains the case, the guy getting vulture saves here, as well as holds, is Genesis Cabrera. In leagues where holds are counted, Cabrera may already be rostered. He could get 3-5 vulture save opportunities in that role, which makes him worth watching in deep leagues where a couple of saves over the course of a season could make a huge difference.
NL West
The Dodgers received some unfortunate news last night that setup reliever Daniel Hudson will likely miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury. With ace reliever Blake Treinen also out for several more weeks, this would seem to create an opportunity for holds chances. Evan Phillips has been a revelation, and this could push Brusdar Graterol into a higher leverage role too. Alex Vesia and Phil Bickford have been excellent all season. Bump each up a notch. Craig Kimbrel remains the closer despite mediocre results thus far.