It is that time of the year when usual bullpen scenarios start to rear their ugly heads. The terms “falling back to earth” and “gassed” take hold of even the veteran of bullpens. That seems to be the case in the rock pile in Colorado with Greg Holland. Cruising along and then bam, that reliever wall hits. Especially for someone of his ilk that is coming off a few lost seasons with arm woes. I usually say 50 innings is about when we start seeing it, but that number varies by innings in previous years, pressure situations, and the leverage that those situations come with. The unfortunate thing is that with Greg the last two are very prominent. He is fourth in the league amongst relievers in pressure situations, fifth in pitching with the lead, and the last four games are an indicator that he may be spinning his wheels a bit. Three blown saves in his last five appearances and only 2 saves since August started. Not encouraging news for a team that is honing in or trying to hone in on a playoff spot. The good thing for Holland owners is that he looks to be given some leash here, but with proven relievers with semi-reliable numbers behind him, like Jake McGee and Pat Neshek, the need for a cuff here is paramount as the fantasy playoffs and season winds down. Every save counts when you start losing them from a reliable source. That is the worst predicament when projecting out the rest of the year to see if you have enough horses to get you to the finish line. McGee and then Neshek are the adds for a just in case situation as Holland could be given a breather for a day or three. Let’s see what else is going down in the land after starters…
- Zach Britton‘s streak of 60 straight saves came to an end this week. I can’t think of anything that I have done 60 times in a row and succeeded. Does nose picking count?
- Rosenthal is getting freezed and Oh seems to be the man for the pilot seat. Tyler Lyons still needs to be rostered because Oh doesn’t get stretched out to do 2-out-of-3, 3-out-of-5 type stuff.
- In sad news, Jim Johnson looks cooked as ever being a closer again. Vizcaino has taken the job and sprinted away like a Kenyan. If his K-rate was a bit higher we would be talking a higher placement.
- The news on Kelvin Herrera is comforting… sorta. The usage may slow a bit and Brandon Maurer is the ready 5 add.
- Andrew Miller has returned and not looked like himself. Velo down and news is that he won’t be used as much down the stretch.
- Still holding out for a Mark Melancon re-emergence into the closer role… yeah, me too. Velocity is done, but still locating well with K/9 stuff and 5 holds for a Giants team that is bottom 5 in Holds for the year.
- The Mets get Jeurys Familia back and he should be worked back into a set-up role. Ramos is safe.
- The worst part of the Yankees situation is that all three guys are useful. Betances has seen the majority of save type stuff so his K rate keeps him elite.
- For curiosity seekers the range between 8-15 is super minute and fluid.
$12 Salads
You know that restaurant your girlfriend/wife/what-have-you likes to go to that charges, like, $12 for a salad? Every time you go there, you have a thoroughly solid meal. No complaints, except you just paid $12 for a salad when you could’ve went to McDonald’s and stuffed you and your woman for ten schmools and had $2 in quarters left over to make the hotel bed vibrate. These closers are $12 salads.
1. Kenley Jansen – (Pedro Baez, Josh Fields)
2. Wade Davis – (Justin Wilson, Koji Uehara)
3. Craig Kimbrel – (Addison Reed, Joe Kelly)
4. Cody Allen – (Andrew Miller, Joe Smith, Bryan Shaw)
5. Dellin Betances – (Aroldis Chapman, David Robertson)
6. Roberto Osuna – (Ryan Tepera, Danny Barnes)
Donkeycorns
Imagine you’re following a donkey, who’s wearing a wool cap, through a desert for 1700 miles. Why are you following a donkey? Because he promises you something wonderful and you just need to trust him. Does the donkey talk? Yes. Yes, he does talk. So when you and the donkey in the wool cap arrive at his destination, he removes the wool cap to reveal a horn. The donkey is a unicorn and his gift to you for your trust is saves. These closers are Donkeycorns.
7. Felipe Rivero – (Juan Nicasio, George Kontos)
8. Ken Giles – (Tyler Clippard, Chris Devenski, Luke Gregerson)
9. Alex Colome – (Brad Boxberger, Tommy Hunter)
10. Corey Knebel – (Jacob Barnes, Anthony Swarzak)
11. Edwin Diaz – (Nick Vincent, Tony Zych, David Phelps)
12. Sean Doolittle – (Ryan Madson, Brandon Kintzler)
13. Greg Holland – (Jake McGee, Pat Neshek)
14. Raisel Iglesias – (Michael Lorenzen, Wandy Peralta)
15. Brad Hand – (Phil Maton, Kirby Yates)
16. Zach Britton – (Brad Brach, Mychal Givens)
17. Kelvin Herrera – (Brandon Maurer, Mike Minor)
18. Arodys Vizcaino – (Jose Ramirez, Jim Johnson)
19. Fernando Rodney – (Archie Bradley, David Hernandez)
Employed
These guys are the men that make the save market go round. They punch in, punch out. Have the job, no real threat to speak of, and are basically just there to collect great benny’s so they can take care of their crippled brother. Who is only really crippled because he is scared of the sun.
20. Shane Greene – (Joe Jimenez, Alex Wilson)
21. Sam Dyson – (Hunter Strickland, Albert Suarez)
22. A.J. Ramos – (Jerry Blevins, Jeurys Familia)
23. Blake Treinen – (Santiago Casilla, Ryan Dull)
Brain Freezes
I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing apples, bananas and Carlos Marmol– Wait, he just gave up 12 earned runs and hit Castro in the head with a pick-off throw. Brain freeze! Make it stop! Use the following closers at your own risk.
24. Seung-Hwan Oh – (Tyler Lyons, John Brebbia)
25. Alex Claudio – (Jose Leclerc, Tony Barnette)
26. Matt Belisle – (Taylor Rogers, Trevor Hildenberger)
27. Brad Ziegler – (Kyle Barraclough, Kyle Steckenrider)
28. Blake Parker / Cam Bedrosian / Keynan Middleton
29. Juan Minaya – (Aaron Bummer, Gregory Infante)
30. Hector Neris / Luis Garcia
