It finally happened. A team decided to sign Craig Kimbrel! The MLB draft happened this week so the draft pick penalty has been lifted for signing a few marquee names like Kimbrell and Dallas Keuchel. The Chicago Cubs offered the most, since their payroll is jacked anyway. With the premiere of Dark Phoenix this weekend I’ve got a ranking of X-Men for the tiers.
- The aforementioned return of Craig Kimbrel gets top billing. I’m going to slot him at the bottom of tier one and see where things go from there. To my fellow Strop holders, you have my empathy. For you Kimbrel stashers, this is your Christmas.
- Baltimore’s bullpen continues to perform as smoothly as the WBPD in The Wire. Every time Brandon Hyde turns to a new option it blows up in his face. He then has to go back to Mychal Givens, which more often than not, blows up in his face.
- Right down the road in DC, things continue to fall apart like a bill with no pork on the Senate floor. You have to wonder if we’ll see Doolittle getting more chances for multi-inning saves. Wander Suero and his swollen ERA are the current bandaid. It’s worth noting Tanner Rainey has been dynamite in low-leverage situations with a 15.75 K/9.
- Hector Neris has been a dude and deserves a tier promotion. I’m holding off on it until we see that Gabe Kapler will stand by him with David Robertson returning. Robertson was effective in a setup role with that Yankees so it makes sense to keep him there unless Neris struggles. That means we will likely see Kapler do the opposite.
- Jordan Hicks has hit some bumps at the worst time for his owners. Carlos Martinez is back and in the bullpen breathing down Hicks’ neck. Martinez replaced Hicks on Sunday to clean up a save chance. The Cards like Martinez in the role and could be justified making a change.
- The latest placeholder for Hunter Strickland in Seattle is Anthony Bass. Is that even a real baseball player? Speculate if you want, I guess?
Mystique
Blue bodysuit. Lethal personality. Gets the job done at any cost. She’s the total package.
- Edwin Diaz (Jeurys Familia, Robert Gsellman)
- Kirby Yates (Craig Stammen, Trey Wingenter)
- Felipe Vazquez (Kyle Crick)
- Kenley Jansen (Pedro Baez)
- Aroldis Chapman (Adam Ottavino, Zach Britton)
- Blake Treinen (Lou Trivino)
- Roberto Osuna (Ryan Pressly, Hector Rondon)
- Brad Hand (Nick Wittgren, Adam Cimber)
- Josh Hader (Junior Guerra, Jeremy Jeffress)
- Craig Kimbrel (Steve Cishek Pedro Strop)
Wolverine
Not the most unique talents but a useful player on your team. He gets it done with muscle and resolve most of the time. Probably has a beard.
- Sean Doolittle (Wander Suero, Tanner Rainey)
- Will Smith (Tony Watson, Sam Dyson)
- Shane Greene (Joe Jimenez)
- Jose Alvarado / Diego Castillo / Emilio Pagan
- Jordan Hicks (Carlos Martinez, Andrew Miller)
- Scott Oberg (Bryan Shaw, Carlos Estevez, IL: Wade Davis)
- Ken Giles (Joe Biagini)
- Alex Colome (Kelvin Herrera)
- Blake Parker / Taylor Rogers
Cyclops
He can be a powerful weapon. If he loses focus, however, things get messy and blow up all around him. Also kind of a downer.
- Hector Neris (Jose Alvarez, IL: David Robertson)
- Luke Jackson (Sean Newcomb)
- Greg Holland (Archie Bradley, Yoshihisa Hirano)
- Shawn Kelley (Chris Martin, Jose Leclerc)
- Hansel Robles / Ty Buttrey (Cody Allen)
- Raisel Iglesias (Jared Hughes, David Hernandez)
Jubilee
I have sparkles that come out of my hands. Stan Lee kind of phoned me in.
- Matt Barnes / Brandon Workman / Marcus Walden / Ryan Brasier
- Sergio Romo (Adam Conley, Tayron Guerrero)
- Mychal Givens / Shawn Armstrong / Paul Fry / Richard Bleier
- Ian Kennedy / Jake Diekman
- Anthony Bass / Roenis Elias /Brandon Brennan (IL: Hunter Strickland)
