Saves and Steals: Perkins, Doolittle Return
Last week, Glen Perkins was an MRI away from missing the rest of the season. Instead, he’ll battle through neck pain as the Twins struggle to secure the second Wild Card slot (currently half a game behind the Rangers). Kevin Jepsen owners shouldn’t jettison him just yet.
The big news of the week broke in Boston where the Red Sox hired president Dave Dombrowski. Former GM Ben Cherington had the option to stay with less authority. He opted to leave. Executive turnover doesn’t sound like closer news, but the Dombrowski-led Red Sox prefer to get a look at Junichi Tazawa in the ninth inning.
As promised, the A’s welcomed back Sean Doolittle. In one appearance, the southpaw averaged 91 mph with his fastball. That’s down three mph from last year. Oakland is in need of a reliable ninth inning guy, but they’ll probably take it easy on Doolittle until he settles down. He was called upon in the seventh inning, but he wasn’t able to finish the frame.
Base runners are up to 1,985 stolen bases. We’ll probably cross the 2,000 steal threshold later tonight. We’re on pace to finish with between 2,500 and 2,600 stolen bases. Many of those will be stolen by unrosterable fantasy players. Can you grab enough of the remaining steals to make a difference? Dee Gordon had a productive week with seven stolen bases. He’s up to 45 steals – nine behind injured Billy Hamilton. A.J. Pollock took four bases, but his owners are happier with his production in other categories.
Tier 1: Elite (4)
Aroldis Chapman, Cincinnati Reds
Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers
Andrew Miller, New York Yankees
Craig Kimbrel, San Diego Padres
The elite closers were scarcely used this week. Chapman pitched once in a non-save situation. Jansen blew a save in two appearances. Miller snared a cheap win in two outings. Kimbrel was the only one of the quartet to earn a save. He also had a rough outing in an already lost game.
Tier 2: The Upside Crowd (7)
Jeurys Familia, New York Mets
Trevor Rosenthal, St. Louis Cardinals
David Robertson, Chicago White Sox
Zach Britton, Baltimore Orioles
Mark Melancon, Pittsburgh Pirates
Ken Giles, Philadelphia Phillies
Cody Allen, Cleveland Indians
The Mets have been winning by comical margins lately. That means few saves for Familia. He did earn one last night, but it was his only opportunity in three appearances. He faced a total of 10 batters and retired them all.
Rosenthal earned two saves and gave up a run in the process. I keep reading about how the Cardinals want to limit Rosenthal’s workload. He’ll probably pitch his 60th inning this week.
Continuing the theme of modest usage, Robertson pitched twice. He locked down two saves and three strikeouts while facing the minimum. He’s offered elite peripherals this season, but he’s given up a few too many runs to secure a spot among the top five relievers.
Britton earned the win last Wednesday. He also blew a save on Sunday. I didn’t watch the game, but the play log offers an interesting read. Britton began the inning by allowing a single to first base. You don’t hear that one too often. Then a grounder to second base advanced the runner. Next, another grounder skizzled through the left side to score the tying run. Then he allowed another single on a grounder to second base before ending the inning. This is not atypical for Britton – his owners will occasionally suffer from unjust blown saves.
Finally, a busy pitcher. Melancon has reclaimed the league lead with 40 saves. He nailed down three and earned a win in his fourth appearance. Pirates trivia nuts will enjoy this – he recorded three outs in only two batters on Monday.
Giles also had an effective week with three saves in three appearances. The Phillies have the fourth best record since the All Star Break, and Giles is a big part of that success. The rest of the bullpen has been decidedly forgettable.
Allen began the week with yet another run allowed in a two hit, one walk outing. However, he still earned the save then piled on with two more. His last two outings were particularly good – he’s struck out six of the last seven batters faced.
Tier 3: The Mid-Tier (7)
Jonathan Papelbon, Washington Nationals
Greg Holland, Wade Davis, Kansas City Royals
Huston Street, Los Angeles Angels
Francisco Rodriguez, Milwaukee Brewers
Luke Gregerson, Houston Astros
Hector Rondon, Chicago Cubs
Roberto Osuna, Toronto Blue Jays
When the Nationals acquired Papelbon, I bet they thought he’d save more than two games in the month of August. He still has six days left to add to the total. With the way the club is struggling, they’ll need to get hot immediately to reach the postseason. They’re 5.5 games behind the Mets in the NL East and 10 games behind the Cubs for the second Wild Card.
Holland is dealing with a stiff arm which has allowed Davis to add another three saves to his total. Holland did record a one-out save, but Davis did the hard work last week. Holland has struggled with walks this season (5.45 BB/9) while Davis continues to dominate. There’s no doubt as to who is the better pitcher now. The Royals may even be inclined to make the switch before the postseason rolls around.
Street pitched three times with a save last night. He also allowed a run in a non-save situation. Rodriguez coughed up a solo home run and earned a save last Wednesday. Gregerson pitched three times notching a no decision, a save, and a win.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon seems to be satisfied with Rondon back in the ninth inning. He pitched four times, earning three saves and a win. Rondon isn’t elite, but he gets the job done with 8.84 K/9, 2.17 BB/9, and a 3.06 xFIP.
The hot hitting Blue Jays are likely to hand Osuna many save opportunities over the rest of the season. He does have a little internal pressure from LaTroy Hawkins. The wily veteran has been nearly perfect since leaving Denver. However, Osuna will retain the job so long as he keeps up his 10.01 K/9 and 1.91 BB/9.
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