LAB REPORTS

Bullpen Notes🗒️(8/11)

DET: Former reliever Drew Anderson started and went four innings. Jacob Waguespack pitched the 5th and 6th and allowed two on in the 6th but he would end up picking up the win. Drew Sommers faced four batters in the 7th and got two outs but allowed a run to score. Kyle Finnegan got out of the 7th and got two outs in the 8th allowing a solo homer to start the inning. Tyler Holton got the final out of the 8th and all three guys picked up holds. They had a 6-3 lead in the 9th and brought in Kenley Jansen. He struggled allowing a lead off single and a couple walks with a run eventually scoring on a sac fly. It wasn't a great outing for Kenley but he picked up the save. He is the closer here and they are in the hunt. He still has a chance to get to 500 saves this season.

MIA: This was the type of outing for the bullpen that you love to see. Michael Petersen was the first in with a 2-0 lead in the 8th. He allowed a one out single but nothing else and picked up a hold. Pete Fairbanks had the 9th with the same 2-0 lead and was perfect picking up the save. These are the two guys I would roster here for holds and saves.

CHC: Ryan Rolison got an out in the 5th with a 6-4 lead and pitched the 6th allowing a double. He picked up the win. Trent Thornton pitched a perfect 7th with a 7-4 lead and was credited with a hold. He is the 7th inning man right now. With an 8-4 lead Ryan Zeferjahn was in for the 8th and he got a couple outs but allowed four guys to reach and two of them scored. Jacob Webb got the final out of the inning and returned for the 9th allowing a one out single but picked up the save. I don't think anything changes here as Webb is the closer and Zef is the 8th inning man. Palencia took a beating in a rehab outing so we will need to check and see if he is okay or if it is just rust.

SEA: Jose A. Ferrer pitched the 6th with a 1-0 lead against the top of the order and was perfect picking up a hold. They tried to get through the 7th with Michael Rucker and it was a disaster. He faced a five batters and only got one of them out. He was charged with a blown save and picked up a loss. Eduard Bazardo was brought in and allowed a couple singles that scored the last of Rucker's runs before getting the final two outs. Seranthony Domínguez pitched the 8th with the team down. The bullpen is really struggling and they cant score. Munoz is the closer and Speier or Bazardo are decent holds options when they are winning.

NYY: Tim Hill got the last out of the 6th and all three in the 7th. He picked up the win. With a 4-1 lead in the 8th they used Brent Headrick who was perfect and picked up hold. With the same lead they turned to David Bednar in the 9th and he allowed an infield single but nothing else while picking up the save. The bullpen is good with Bednar as the closer and Headrick and either Cruz or Blackburn as the holds options.

TOR: With a 3-3 game in the 6th they turned to Chase Lee. he got a big double play and returned for the 7th getting two outs with a walk mixed in. He would end up picking up the win. Brendon Little got the final out of the 7th and Braydon Fisher pitched the 8th getting a caught stealing to end the inning. They had a 4-3 lead at the time and both guys were credited with holds. Spencer Miles was on for the 9th and he allowed a one out double but was able to protect the 5-3 lead and pick up the save. In terms of usage the past week the bullpen is on an incredible run. Almost every pitcher has pitched in 4 of the last 7 games. Varland and Rogers clearly were not available tonight and they are the best options for saves and holds. I do like seeing Miles pitch in that big spots but he is a deep league holds option only.

ATL: With a 1-0 lead the used Didier Fuentes in the 7th and he picked up a hold. With a 2-0 lead in the 8th Dylan Lee pitched and picked up a hold. They took a 4-0 lead and used Raisel Iglesias in the 9th. All three guys were perfect and this is the order of use I would expect in most games. Lee is more valuable than Fuentes for holds and Raisel is the closer.

BAL: With a 5-2 lead in the 7th they used Josh Walker who was perfect against the middle of the order. It was a nice step up in leverage for him. Yennier Cano pitched the 8th and he allowed a single and a walk but did the out of the inning and picked up a hold. They had Rico Garcia warming so he would be the one who was coming in if needed in that inning. With the same 5-2 lead in the 9th and the top of the lineup back up Andrew Kittredge was brought in. He pitched a perfect inning and picked up the save. I have been saying I think Kitty is the guy and this usage is what I expected. Kitty should be the guy you roster for saves and Cano is a decent option for holds.

CWS: They had a 4-1 lead in the 8th and things fell apart fast. Bryan Hudson started the inning and faced three batters without getting an out. He allowed a single that scored a run and they brought in Grant Taylor to try and save the game. He got an out and walked the bases loaded before giving up a single to right that scored two runs. That tied the game up at 4-4 and Taylor was charged with a blown save. He would return and pitch the 9th without issue. Sean Newcomb had the 10th and allowed the ghost runner to score. He would be charged with the loss. Honestly this was better usage for Taylor. They were trying to get through at least a couple batters in the 8th who were at the bottom of the order without him. It didn't work however. They could have just used Taylor for two innings and in hindsight that would have been the better option. It is still chaos in the bullpen and Taylor is the best option but after 36 pitches tonight he is probably down for two days. That should open the door for Brazzy or someone else.

CIN: They were down until they tied in the 8th. Luis Mey and Pierce Johnson pitched prior to that point. Tejay Antone pitched the 8th with the game tied and allowed a double but nothing else. Brock Burke pitched a perfect 9th picking up a win. Emilio Pagán was perfect in the 10th with a 5-4 lead and picked up the save. Pagán is pretty much a slightly better Fairbanks. He is locked in at closer so he will have plenty of chances for saves and has little threat to his job.

PHI: With the score 0-0 in the 7th they brought in freshly called up Alex McFarlane. He allowed a lead off walk and that run would come around to score on a single. He would end up being charged with a loss. Tim Mayza pitched the 8th and allowed a run as well. The bullen has been worked a lot over the last week so they were resting some of the main guys. Only Bowlan and Duran are worth rostering right now. Kerkering has been struggling big time but if he can figure it out he would be a decent holds candidate.

STL: George Soriano pitched the 7th with the score 0-0 and he allowed a couple guys to reach but picked up the win. They brought in the lefty Caleb Ferguson in the 8th with the top of the lineup coming up and the score 1-0. He walked all three guys he faced. He was in to face Harper and Schwarber who are lefties. Ryne Stanek pulled of the impossible and got out of the inning without allowing a run. He got a double play to really help him out and picked up a hold. Riley O'Brien pitched a perfect 9th to pick up save number 30. He continues to pitch very well since that rough June. Stanek and Soriano are still the best options for holds.

LAA: Tayler Saucedo got two outs 5th and returned for one batter in the 6th who reached and would come around to score. Luke Murphy got all three outs of the 6th allowing the one inherited runner to score and got two outs in the 7th after walking the lead off batter. He picked up a hold. With a 3-2 lead Jose Fermin came on and looked great getting the final out of the 7th and pitching a perfect 8th. He picked up a win since they determined he was the best pitcher out of the bullpen. Samy Natera Jr. was on for the save in the 9th and he converted it with a perfect inning. Joyce had the night off as expected. Natera looks amazing and he should be the closer here. To this point if they swap him and Joyce it wont be for Natera pitching poorly. They did fire most of the pitching and bullpen staff today as well.

ARI: Kevin Ginkel pitched the 7th with the game tied at 2-2. He allowed a lead off triple and that run would come around to score. He was charged with the loss. Taylor Clarke pitched the 8th and Juan Morillo pitched the 9th with the score the same and Morillo let a couple on. Ginkel went from getting a save his last outing to pitching the 7th today. He remains their favorite high leverage pitcher. Brandyn Garcia is the closer right now and at this rate when Justin Martinez returns he should factor into the mix. if Garcia is dominating he might find himself in the 8th but if things are going like they are now he could end up in the 9th.

COL: Jimmy Herget pitched the 7th with a 3-2 lead and allowed a one out single but picked up a hold. Brennan Bernardino had the 8th and was perfect picking up a hold. Jordan Romano allowed a one out single in the 9th but was able to protect the one run lead and pick up the save. I want to point out that Bernardino has moved into the 8th and is also a lefty so he could have some low end holds value. Romano continues to hang pitches and get away with it. He has been surprisingly good but it still feels like he is going to have that horrendous outing every time he pitches.

ATH: They were getting mauled and used Elvis Alvarado in the 7th. He walked a batter and allowed a two run dong that made it 9-2. This is the danger with both him and Medina. They both need to get work in and it could come in situations with the team down big. Harris is the closer and the only guy worth rostering.

SFG: Carson Seymour got the final out of the 6th with a 3-1 lead. He would return for the 7th and 8th and allow one runner in the 7th when he hit Alvarez and one in the 8th on a single. Reiver Sanmartin got the final out of the 8th when he was brought in to face the lefty. Both guys picked up holds. JT Brubaker pitched a perfect 9th with a 4-1 lead and picked up the save. This is interesting since Smith, Hentges, and Winn were all unavailable. Bru had pitched yesterday as well. Smith hasn't done anything to lock down the 9th but he also hasn't really been beaten bad. Normally I would think Bru wouldn't be in the mix but he certainly could be. He has pitched pretty well all year though mostly in bulk innings. I'm still inclined to say Smith is the closer but he hold on the role is very weak.

KCR: Steven Cruz got the final out of the 7th facing Ohtani and returned for the 8th. They were down in the 7th but had taken a 4-3 lead in the 8th. He struggled allowing a walk, hitting a batter, and allowing a hit that tied the game. He would not be charged with a blown save due to pitching in the 7th. He did face the best part of the order. Nate Pearson pitched a perfect 9th to send the game to extras. With the score tied at 4-4 in the 10th Erceg allowed the ghost runner to score and ended up with the loss. Cruz and Pearson are the two options for saves though they seem to use Pearson later but to this point Cruz has faced the better hitters. Both throw hard so it really has become a coin flip and the team doesn't win a lot so it might just be worth avoiding.

LAD: Vesia pitched the 7th with the game tied. Evan Phillips pitched the 8th with a 3-1 lead and allowed three runs while getting one out. He didn't have it tonight as his slider was flat. Jack Dreyer got the last two outs of the 8th and an inherited runner scored on a bobble by the center fielder. Edgardo Henriquez pitched a perfect 9th and Seth Halvorsen kept the ghost runner from scoring in the 10th picking up a win. All these guys are behind Diaz and Scott in the pecking order so don't go too crazy over adding them. I would love to see Halvorsen become a good pitcher.

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