Are you tired of me complaining about how drastically so many bullpens are changing week to week yet? WELL GUESS WHAT? I’m gonna do it again. And probably again next week. Just assume I do it until Grey agrees to kick me a bonus for every change to the closer board. Even with the upheaval, most of it’s at the lower rungs. Which is nice at least. Tiers are football slate themes with the NFL kicking off last night (all you baseball purists making a face at the mention of football can go watch a Colts-Jaguars TNF game).
- Yoshi Hirano hasn’t pitched back to back days since returning from COVID. That leaves the door cracked for Yohan Ramirez a couple of times per week. We’re jonesing for our saves fix any way we can get it. Yohan has some strikeout upside but a bit of a gopher ball problem.
- Giovanny Gallegos blew a save and left with trainers. It sounds like a groin injury. This problem bullpen will continue to be just that. Ryan Helsley garnered early year attention before getting COVID-19. John Gant is kind of average but seems to be trusted. Alex Reyes looms out there with years of untapped potential. I think Helsley breaks through as a guy with the mentality to close.
- Rafael Dolis has been quietly solid lately. He hasn’t given up an earned run in almost a month. He’s also picked up the last two saves for the Jays. Take em where you can get em.
- I guess I’m going to have to come to terms with Jeremy Jeffress being the dedicated closer for the Cubs. I’ve been trying to will Rowan Wick into a save for weeks to no avail. I guess I’ll drop him so anyone holding onto him more desperate than me can get the natural luck switch.
- The Giants seem to be settling into Tony Watson as their closer. He’s not flashy. Just a guy that gets it done when you call his number. As a lefty, he’ll still yield some opportunities to Gabe Kapler’s current favorite righty.
Saturday: You were expecting Sunday? That’s the bread and butter of NFL days but the rarity of Saturday NFL action gives it an allure that edges out its weekend partner.
Sunday: It’s not fall until Sunday’s are spent realizing how dumb you were with your summer fantasy decisions on Sunday afternoons.
- Raisel Iglesias (Archie Bradley)
- Kevin Ginkel (Stefan Crichton)
- Rafael Montero (Jonathan Hernandez)
- Taylor Rogers/Sergio Romo
- Brandon Kintzler (Brad Boxberger)
- Mark Melancon (Will Smith)
- Trevor Rosenthal (Drew Pomeranz)
- Brandon Workman (Hector Neris)
- Aroldis Chapman (Zach Britton)
- Daniel Hudson (Sean Doolittle)
- Brad Hand (James Karinchak)
- Ryan Pressly (Andre Scrubb)
Monday Night: I’m personally not a big MNF guy. It’s lost all it’s novelty and the announcing crew has been a revolving door of bozos for years.
- Greg Holland (Scott Barlow)
- Yoshihisa Hirano (Yohan Ramirez)
- Alex Colome (Evan Marshall)
- Richard Rodriguez (Kyle Crick)
- Jeremy Jeffress (Rowan Wick)
- Matt Barnes (Ryan Basier)
- Daniel Bard (Mychal Givens, IL: Wade Davis)
- Edwin Diaz (Justin Wilson)
- Nick Anderson/Diego Castillo/Peter Fairbanks/ John Curtiss
- Tony Watson/Tyler Rogers (Sam Coonrod)
Thursday Night: Who could have imagined taking away half of a team’s preparation time would to the season’s sloppiest football? It’s no accident the AFC South is heavily featured.
- Ryan Helsley/John Gant/Alex Reyes (IL: Giovanny Gallegos)
- Ty Buttrey (Felix Pena)
- Hunter Harvey/Tanner Scott
- Anthony Bass /Rafael Dolis (IL: Ken Giles)
- Buck Farmer/Bryan Garcia/Gregory Soto
