Bullpen Notes 6/27/26
Daily Notes on Bullpen Usage
LAB REPORTS
BOS: They keep winning as that is now three in a row. This is what the bullpen was expected to look like with Slaten getting two outs in the 7th, Whitlock going in the 8th, and Chapman pitching the 9th. They went hold, hold, save. Chapman was the only one who allowed a base runner and it was a two out walk. BOS is now 4.5 games out of the playoffs so we might have to put a hold on the trade talk.
HOU: They were down until the 8th when they took the lead. AJ Blubaugh pitched the 6th and 7th picking up a win. He remains a low leverage bulk guy. King had the 8th with a two run lead and he was perfect picking up a hold. Hader closed it out with a 1,2,3 9th to pick up the save. Add King for holds and Hader is still one of the best at closer.
DET: The bullpen choked this one away. Drew Anderson started the 7th and walked one guy before allowing a couple singles and a run. That made it a 6-5 game and Drew Sommers got the last out of the inning. Both guys picked up holds. In the 8th they turned to Will Vest. It did not go well as he allowed a three singles and a double which plated three runs. He ended up with a blown save and a loss. Jacob Waguespack pitched the 9th with the team now down 8-6. Vest is sort of on the fringe of rostering. On one hand he is the clear favorite if something happens to Kenley while he pitches the 8th generally and on the other hand he has blown 5 saves and has an era over 6. With how bad DET has been he is a cut in normal leagues.
TEX: Latz and Junis were off today after going back to back. They had a big lead and gradually allowed TOR back into it. Robby Ahlstrom gave up a couple in the 5th so he is back to the lower leverage spots. Peyton Gray did most of the heavy lifting getting the game from 2 outs in the 6th to the 9th without allowing a run. He picked up a win but remains a low leverage guy. Tyler Alexander got the rogue save with a perfect 9th. He could have some deep or AL only league value for holds but that is about all.
NYM: Minter picked up a win getting out of the 5th and pitching in the 6th. Nice outing for him. Huascar Brazoban picked up a hold allowing a hit in the 7th. They extended the lead to 4 and used Weaver and Williams in the 8th and 9th with both pitching scoreless innings. They remain the two guys to roster with Brooks Raley as another decent holds option.
CWS: Pretty much what I expected here. Sean Newcomb got the last two outs of the 6th with the score 0-0. He came back on for the 7th and ended up loading the bases before allowing a run scoring single that also resulted in the final out being made at home. That put them down 1-0 going into the bottom of the 7th. They tied it up and Grant Taylor pitched the 8th and 9th. He threw two perfect innings and picked up the win. This is what to expect from Taylor big bulk innings that result in rare saves or holds. He can still be a valuable piece depending on what you are looking for. I doubt he pitches tomorrow so we'll see if Domínguez, Hudson, or someone else gets a save chance.
KCR: The starter got into the 8th allowing one run. They brought in Lynch who got the final out of the 8th. He came back out for the 9th with the game tied at 1-1. He quickly loaded the bases and got pulled for Schreiber who got an out and allowed the game ending single. Lynch was charged with the loss. No change in closer here as we did not see Alex Lange.
PIT: Another rough bullpen day in the steel city. Sisk got the final out of the 5th before putting the first two on in the 6th and being pulled for Yohan Ramirez. Ramirez went two innings but allowed both of Sisk's runners to score which put them down 6-4. They did end up tying it and brought on Isaac Mattson for the 8th. He had no issues and they took a one run lead in the bottom half of the inning. Gregory Soto came on for the 9th and things went poorly. First two guys reached but he got a double play to give them some hope. He allowed another walk which put runners on the corners and that was followed up by a three run homer with two strikes that put them down two. Soto isn't in deep trouble but the this team is trending towards becoming sellers. If they buy the need bullpen help.
CIN: What started out as a potentially bad night for the bullpen turned around late. Moll came on in the 7th with a runner on and a 6-4 lead. He walked a couple and allowed a hit and two runs to score before Antone got the final out with game tied at 6-6. Moll can be cut pretty much everywhere. They turned to Caleb Ferguson last nights closer in the 8th and he allowed a pinch hit homer that put them down one. He was facing the bottom of the order tonight. After taking the lead they brought in Chris Petty who allowed a two out walk but picked up the save. Until Pagan is back we have an anything goes situation here. I wouldn't trust anyone and would avoid this team right now. Chase Petty is not becoming the closer just like Caleb Ferguson didn't after last night.
TBR: Bullpen game today. Sulser started and put the team down one early. Michael Grove pitched three innings picking up a win. It was his 1st appearance of the year. He's a bulk guy for now but if they build him up he could end up in the rotation. Legumina and Kelly got through the 6th, 7th, and 8th both picking up holds while Kelly allowed a solo homer. They had a two run lead in the 9th and turned to Baker who locked the door and picked up save number 21. Good solid effort for the bullpen today and it is why they are one of the best.
BAL: Rico Garcia was the 1st guy in and allowed an unearned run in the 6th. He is a cut at this point in most formats. They did end up tying it and used Akin in the 7th and 8th and Kitteridge in the 9th. Neither guy allowed a run and the game went to the 10th. Ryan Helsley gave up a leadoff hit that allowed the ghost runner to score. He let another guy on but got out of the inning. I wont knock a guy for allowing the ghost runner but it is tough to see Helsley get charged with this loss. He is still the closer.
WSN: Pretty normal bullpen game for these bums though they did have the shocker of the season. They turned to Poulin in the 8th with a 3-1 lead. He put a guy on and got two outs before being lifted for Ribalta who gave up a double and single that tied the game at three. Ribalta got the blown save and Poulin picked up a hold. Beeter pitched a perfect 9th to get the game to extras. That led to Justin Lawrence getting the 10th. They threw the ghost runner out a home for the 2nd out and he loaded the bases after but got a ground out to end the game and pick up a save. Shocking result for a guy who has pitched so poorly all year. I wouldn't bump Lawrence into the mix but it was interesting to see no Dicky Love. He might have fallen out of favor. Beeter is still the best guy to roster and really the entire rest of the bullpen could be used late in the game too.
CLE: Holderman came in for the 7th with a 4-0 lead and a guy on and got a couple outs before getting pulled for Sabrowski who got an out and a hold. In the 8th with the same 4-0 lead they turned to Armstrong who didn't get an out allowing three runs on 3 hits and a HBP. Gaddis came on with one guy on and a 4-3 lead and got out of the inning picking up a hold. They turned to Smith for the 9th and despite allowing two base runners he got the save. In the end the big three got the job done picking up two holds and a save. All three are top ranked guys in saves and holds formats.
COL: They had a big lead for most of the bullpen innings but still ended up seeing a save chance. Vodnik got an out in the 6th and pitched the 7th picking up a hold. They used Bernardino for the 8th and he had no issues. With an 8-2 lead in the 9th they turned to Zach Agnos who got an out and loaded the bases before allowing a three run double that made it 8-5. After that they brought in Jimmy Herget who got the final two outs and picked up the save. Herget is a decent option for saves and is really worth the gamble if you need help. He should close over Senzatela and the rest of the bullen.
CHC: Not much to report on here but they did use Jacob Webb in the 7th inning with a 7-2 lead. They had only used one guy yesterday from the bullpen so I don't understand this choice. He faced 4, 5, and 6 hitters. I think he is still the closer here but maybe Thielbar or Thornton is more in the mix than I expected. Rolison is starting tomorrow so count him out for a day at least.
LAD: Kyle Hurt was in the game with a 10-2 lead for some reason. He struggled allowing a couple walks and a couple singles but only one run. Vesia came in and got out of the 7th without allowing anything more. They had used most of the bullpen yesterday so that is probably the answer as to why these two pitched.
ATH: They flip flopped back to the bullpen scrubs and Barnett. Sterner pitched the 6th with the game tied and allowed a double but no runs. Geoff Hartlieb had the 7th and allowed a couple singles one of which scored a run. Krook got the final out of the inning and started the 8th where he put a couple guys on before allowing a run scoring single. Barnett came in and gave up another single before getting a double play to end the inning with the score 5-2. This felt like a game they could have gotten but they have been using the bullpen groups every other day and today it was the lower leverage guys turn. Barnett, Harris and Alvarado still the likely save guys with Harris being the favorite.
LAA: They used the main three and Yates today. Silseth got out of the 6th with the game tied at 2-2. Zeferjahn was perfect in the 7th and picked up a win. Bachman pitched the 8th against the top of the lineup with a 3-2 lead and got an out before loading the bases but got out unscathed. He picked up a hold. They tacked on two in the bottom of the 8th and turned to Kirby Yates for the 9th. Yates was perfect and picked up his 100th career save. Bachman still feels like the most likely to get a save chance and Yates appears to be back ahead of Zef as next in line.
Explore The Lab.
