The death of Koji Uehara‘s wrist has continued a process that began at the trade deadline. To the woe of fantasy owners, reliable closers are being replaced with scrubby alternatives. The Red Sox have a great Uehara replacement in Junichi Tazawa, but they’re trying to reduce his workload. As such, they’ve named Jean Machi their closer. Machi has been nothing short of terrible this season – we’ll get to that later. Don’t even bother rostering him unless you’re desperate.
While we have a new mess in Boston, the situation has clarified in Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle, and Colorado. Over the last week, Arodys Vizcaino, Hector Rondon, Carson Smith, and Tommy Kahnle have all improved their grip on the ninth inning. In each case, they’re the best internal candidate on their respective rosters.
Switching gears to stolen bases, runners have thieved 1790 bags in 2540 attempts. That’s a 70.5 percent success rate. The most prolific runner this week was A.J. Pollock. He took four bases in four attempts. It’s nice to see Ian Desmond snag three bags along with a trio of home runs. The former fantasy stud is having a dreadful season in his walk year. Hunter Pence and Carlos Gomes also swiped three bases without being caught.
Tier 1: Elite (4)
Aroldis Chapman, Cincinnati Reds
Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers
Andrew Miller, New York Yankees
Craig Kimbrel, San Diego Padres
For three of our elite closers, it was a ho-hum week. Chapman saved his lone opportunity in two appearances. Jansen locked down two saves against the Phillies and got some work in on Monday. He struck out six in 2.2 innings. Like Chapman, Kimbrel saved his only chance in two outings.
Miller was the only top arm to experience a hiccup. He blew a two-run save last night in a game that was eventually lost in 16 innings. This could prove to be a critical loss. The rival Blue Jays are on a nine game winning streak and have drawn within half a game of the Yankees. Miller’s failure to shut the door has left the entire staff stretched thin. Nevertheless, there’s no need to worry about him losing his job. He still has a 1.85 ERA.
Tier 2: The Upside Crowd (7)
David Robertson, Chicago White Sox
Zach Britton, Baltimore Orioles
Mark Melancon, Pittsburgh Pirates
Jeurys Familia, New York Mets
Trevor Rosenthal, St. Louis Cardinals
Cody Allen, Cleveland Indians
Ken Giles, Philadelphia Phillies
Entering the season, five of these guys were possible top 5 closers. The other guy – Familia – may be out-pitching them all. He had another great week with three saves in 2.1 innings. Be aware that his 1.98 ERA is over a run better than his 3.10 FIP.
Robertson earned a gutsy win last Wednesday against the Rays. He threw two innings and struck out four. He also appeared last night for an easy three batter save.
The Orioles curious decision to trade Tommy Hunter has forced the club to be creative with its bullpen. One way is by using Zach Britton for multiple innings. Over the last week, he appeared twice with four innings pitched. He earned a win and a save. If he continues to work long outings, others in the bullpen like Darren O’Day will see some save opportunities.
It wasn’t Melancon’s best week. He’s showing some minor command issues lately. He pitched three times and allowed one run in each of his two save opportunities. His job is safe, but Tony Watson and Joakim Soria are lurking in the background.
The Cardinals were supposed to be managing Rosenthal’s innings so it’s odd to see him throw 4.1 innings over four appearances. He earned three saves with seven strikeouts. He faced only three batters over the minimum. Look for Kevin Siegrist or Steve Cishek to get a save this week.
Allen’s early season hiccups have returned. As with before, the source of the trouble is a mystery. He was tagged with the blown save loss last Wednesday after allowing three runs on two hits and two walks. He has a .380 BABIP on the season. It looks like a heap of bad luck to me.
With three saves and seven strikeouts over three innings, I decided it was high time to bump Giles up a tier. Like with many young closers, his biggest issue is with free passes. His stuff rates with the best relievers in the league. The Philadelphia offense was on a brief surge, but they’ve gone cold over the last few days. We’ll see if they recover enough to give Giles a normal workload.
Tier 3: The Mid-Tier (7)
Jonathan Papelbon, Washington Nationals
Glen Perkins, Minnesota Twins
Greg Holland, Kansas City Royals
Huston Street, Los Angeles Angels
Francisco Rodriguez, Milwaukee Brewers
Luke Gregerson, Houston Astros
A.J. Ramos, Miami Marlins
Here we have a half dozen reliable veterans and one young guy. Papelbon and Street each pitched just once in the last week in a non-save situation. Perkins added a save and a win in two innings. He’s fallen to fifth in saves with 30. Rodriguez closed two in 1.1 innings.
Holland has continued to mix results with worrisome signs. He saved both of his opportunities last week with four strikeouts. He also coughed up a solo home run. His velocity checked in at 96 mph on Saturday. At least that’s a positive.
Gregerson struggled with four runs allowed (two earned) in 1.2 innings. On Thursday, he notched a blown save vulture win. He was whipped for a walk off loss on Sunday. Control was an issue with three walks and five hits allowed between the two appearances.
Ramos allowed another run last Wednesday, but he’s held opponents scoreless over his last two innings. With Carter Capps on the disabled list, I’m not overly concerned about his job security. The occasional bad streak is to be expected – just ask Kimbrel.
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