Bullpen Notes

Daily notes from around the league

LAB REPORTS

By: The Lab

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Bullpen Notes🗒️(7/3)

CHC: Nothing good happened in the game but Drew Pomeranz did make his return. He revived his career here last year before they let him go. Nice to see him back on a roster.

WSN: The Nats bullpen was Natting. Ribalta was the first in with the team up 5-1 in the 6th and allowed a weak single but nothing else. Lawrence had the 7th against his former team and pitched like he used too. He got two quick outs and loaded the bases forcing Beeter into the game to get the final out. Beeter picked up a hold but they opened up the game so that was the only out he got. Zak Kent got the final two innings and gave up 4 in the 9th but by that point they had a 9-1 lead so it didn't matter. Outside of Kent the other three guys are in the mix along with Poulin. I think Lawrence will pitch himself out of the group first. Beeter is the best option but he has the continued problem of them needing him prior to the 9th.

NYY: They finally broke that 7 game losing streak and the bullpen put in some solid work. Brent Headrick had the 6th and Paul Blackburn had the 7th with both picking up holds and two strikeouts. Blackburn is moving up in leverage here but he hasn't had much luck historically. They need help in the later innings and he has been good so this isn't a major surprise. Cruz had the 8th and loaded the bases before getting out of the jam and picking up a hold. He is a solid option for holds. Bednar returned from the paternity list prior to the game and picked up the save with a perfect 9th inning and three strikeouts. He is a strong option for saves.

BAL: We got another look at the Helsley less bullpen. It went somewhat as expected outside of the 9th. Garcia pitched the 6th and 7th picking up a hold. He let a couple guys on in the 6th but had no issue in the 7th. Yennier Cano had the 8th and he allowed a single but nothing else picking up a hold. They turned to Tyler Wells for the 9th and he got three groundouts to end the game and pick up his first save of the year. On the broadcast they said Wells had only allowed two road runs all year (15 at home) and he has been pitching well so that got him the chance. If you have followed me I have noted that he was the best holds option on the team but I expected Kittredge to see the 9th. Anyway he is worth an add if you need saves but my confidence in him keeping the job isn't high. I do think he will get the next chance especially if it is on the road.

CWS: They pretty much emptied the clip of available guys tonight. Hicks had the 5th and allowed a leadoff single. Chris Murphy took the 6th picking up a hold in a 3-1 game. Poor Seranthony Domínguez had the 7th and he struggled walking a couple batters, throwing a wild pitch, and getting a strikeout before getting pulled for Hudson. Hudson got an out before allowing a couple singles that scored both of Domínguez's runners and tied the game. He was charged with a blown save. Trevor Richards who is arguably the last man in the bullpen pitched the 8th and 9th to send the game to extras. Sean Newcomb had the 10th and he allowed a couple singles that scored the ghost runner and ended the game. Taylor might be the closest thing to a closer here but he wasn't available tonight. This is the Nats bullpen 2.0 right now so just avoid it if you don't have Taylor and even he is risky and more of a bulk guy.

CLE: They spent most of the bullpen innings down or tied. Gaddis pitched the 7th, Holderman pitched the 8th, Smith pitched the 9th and Sabrowski pitched the 10th and picked up the win. Of that group Gaddis was the only guy to allow a runner and it was with two outs. Nice to see Sabrowski looking good and Holderman is clearly moving up though I don't think he cracks the 7th or 8th innings just yet when they have a lead. Their bullpen won them this game with the effort these guy put forth.

ATL: The bullpen was solid tonight prior to getting the ball to Raisel Iglesias. Dylan Dodd pitched the 6th allowing just a hit and picking up a hold. Newly activated Danny Young started the 7th getting two outs before walking Soto and getting pulled for Fuentes who got the last out. Young doesn't have much value as of now and was in with Lee and Kinley having the night off. Let see him pitch a few games before we start thinking about his potential for holds even though he got one tonight. Fuentes got though the 8th as well and allowed just a hit. He picked up a hold and I think he is the next best guy after Lee right now if you need holds. Raisel Iglesias pitched the 9th with a 5-2 lead and allowed three hits and a run before getting out of jam and picking up the save. He remains one of the better closing option and I have him ranked higher than most.

SFG: They got beaten pretty bad tonight. Matt Gage who at one point had some value and was even getting save chances gave up six runs in and ugly 5th inning. He had pitched the 4th as well. Ryan Walker came on in the 5th and allowed both of the inherited runners to score plus one of his own. He ended up pitching the 6th and 7th as well. Kilian is the closer here and he is probably the only guy I would roster right now. When they win Miller and Smith seem like the main two holds guys but wins are rare.

TBR: Kevin Kelly was the first out of the bullpen with a guy on in the 6th. He got the final two outs and pitched the 7th without issue. He ended up picking up the win. The bullpen has been hurt enough that they turned to Casey Legumina in the 8th and he was perfect picking up a hold. He is moving up but Kelly and Cleavinger are still the top holds options. Bryan Baker pitched the 9th picking up another save. He continues to impress with another perfect inning. Each outing seems to be better than the last as he is one of the top closers in the game.

BOS: Strong effort from the starter meant they only needed to get four outs to win this one. Garrett Whitlock got the final out of the 8th to pick up a hold and Aroldis Chapman got three outs in the 9th for the save. Chapman let a couple on with one out but got a double play that ended it. He set the record for most strikeouts as a reliever with the first out in the inning. Both guys should be on the market and with Chapman more likely to be on the move Whitlock would take over as the closer.

SDP: Things were going pretty well until the 7th when the starter ran into trouble and they turned to Adrian Morejon. Two runners were on when he entered and the first batter he faced got on due to an error. That loaded the bases and was followed up by a grand slam which put them down 4-3. He struggled though the rest of the inning but didn't allow another run. Morejon was charged with a blown save and a loss.

Bradgley Rodriguez pitched the 8th but they didn't rally. Rodriguez could have some value for holds with Adam on the IL but this team is slumping bad right now and tonight was rough.

LAD: Kyle Hurt was the first man in for the 7th with the team down 3-0. He got an out, put a couple on, and got a double play to get out of the jam. He ended up picking up the win. Edgardo Henriquez pitched the 8th against the bottom part of the lineup and picked up a hold. He has been pitching later in the game and is pushing Hurt for the high leverage RHP. Keep an eye on him if you need holds. Tanner Scott struck out the side in the 9th and picked up the save. He has been great and is the closer until Diaz returns.

TOR: Nice night for the bullpen as they only needed to get six outs. Somewhat surprisingly they turned to Jeff Hoffman in the 8th against the bottom of the lineup but in a 2-0 game. He allowed a one out walk but picked up the hold. Louis Varland pitched the 9th and allowed a one out single but had no other issues picking up the save. Getting Hoffman right would be big for this team and they might have used him due to it being a favorable bottom of the order matchup. Rogers is still the guy to roster for holds and Varland is a stud at closer.

ATH: They took a beating in the game but we continued to see a pairs in the bullpen. Sterner pitched in the 6th and he allowed a run that made it 8-5. Freshly activated Mark Leiter Jr. pitched the 7th with no issues. Mason Barnett pitched the 8th and the 9th allowing two run homers in each inning. He has piggy backed with Sterner and the lesser guys who Leiter replaced for about two weeks now. I would say he is the closer of that group but tonight might have changed that. Tomorrow if they go to the bullpen it seems like we will see Medina and Harris who I would think closes. Alvarado might pitch as well but it could be in the 6th or the 9th. Weird usage here and no set closer at the moment.

MIA: I still hate how they use the bullpen but at least Fairbanks is the closer. He wasn't needed tonight but the anyone else can pitch any inning was in full effect. Petersen arguable the best reliever got two outs in the 4th. He did walk the bases loaded but protected the lead which was 7-5 at the time. Faucher pitched the 6th picking up a hold. Lake Bachar got the win pitching the 7th and 8th. Tough to roster anyone outside of Fairbanks but Petersen is still my pick for holds.

ARI: The starter was out in the 4th so and the game went to extra's and was tied at 3-3 from the 3rd on so don't look too much into usage here. They used everyone but Drey Jameson who is the last guy in the bullpen. Brandyn Garcia was the only guy who ran into any real trouble until the 11th and that was in the 8th. He got of that and Paul Sewald pitched the 9th. In the 11th Ryan Thompson gave up four runs but two were unearned due to one being the ghost runner and a throwing error that Thompson made. He took the loss. Sewald is the closer and Ginkel and Garcia seem like the best options for holds.

MIL: They won this game with the main guys in the bullpen. Patrick got the game to the 7th and they used Ashby, Uribe, and Megill to get though the 9th. After that Grant Anderson pitched the 10th and 11th allowing just the ghost runner to score in the 11th but with a 4 run lead it didn't matter. He picked up a win. Great showing for the bullpen and it was part of the reason they won this game.

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