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.
Tier 4: Questions (4)
A.J. Ramos, Miami Marlins
Glen Perkins, Kevin Jepsen, Minnesota Twins
Brad Boxberger, Tampa Bay Rays
Shawn Tolleson, Texas Rangers
The Phillies have haunted Ramos this season. He's allowed six home runs on the season – four to Philadelphia hitters. Three came in the last week (two appearances). He still saved one of the games, but he was handed the loss in the other outing. He returned to action with a four batter save last night. Carter Capps is still feeling some soreness in his elbow. I'm starting to think he might not return this season. Hang onto him in keeper and dynasty formats.
We discussed Perkins earlier. He notched the win on Sunday. Jepsen saved the day on Friday and Saturday. He's continued to post a strong ERA despite ugly peripherals. He's allowed one base runner in his last 16 batters faced. I expect him to land about 30 percent of the save opportunities over the rest of the season. If the club ever fully falls out of the race, Perkins may stop playing (the disabled list isn't often used in September).
Boxberger lost his handcuff this week, Jake McGee is out for the next six to eight weeks. He may return during the postseason if the Rays can climb ahead of four teams in the Wild Card race. Boxberger didn't pitch well this week. He allowed a run in both of his outings, finishing with a save and a blown save. Based on usage, maybe Steve Geltz is next in line. I'll keep an eye on it.
Tolleson also blundered his way through a forgettable week. He did earn a couple saves, but he also gave up a home run in a one run appearance and hooked the blown save loss last night. His job remains secure with Jake Diekman and rookie Keone Kela waiting on deck.
Tier 5: Roller Coasters (8)
Arodys Vizcaino, Atlanta Braves
Santiago Casilla, San Francisco Giants
Bruce Rondon, Detroit Tigers
Brad Ziegler, Arizona Diamondbacks
Junichi Tazawa, Jean Machi, Boston Red Sox
Tom Wilhelmsen, Carson Smith, Seattle Mariners
Drew Pomeranz, Fernando Rodriguez, Sean Doolittle, Oakland Athletics
John Axford, Colorado Rockies
There isn't much happening with Vizcaino, Casilla, or Rondon. All three teams are struggling. The Tigers have even lost five in a row.
I occasionally receive flak for my consistently low rating of Ziegler. After all, he has 23 saves and a 1.49 ERA. It's possible he's doing something that justifies his .175 BABIP. I don't believe it. He's never done better than a .258 BABIP. He's at least a 3.00 ERA pitcher with no strikeouts (actually 4.97 K/9). In a typical roto league, he's not even rosterable without a 13.00 K/9 guy to offset the damage. H2H owners can afford to be more aggressive.
The Red Sox still plan to take it easy on Tazawa down the stretch, but they plan to use him as the closer when available. He started the week with a couple clean saves. Sunday was a nightmare. He was dinged for four runs on six hits and a walk. Machi earned the save on Monday, but that was because Tazawa needed a day of rest. That Machi save included three hits and two runs allowed. The former Giant will continue to pick up opportunities, but he's not worth owning.
The Mariners cut Fernando Rodney rather than deal with continued late inning meltdowns. Smith was also demoted to setup duty with Wilhelmsen rising to closer. The righty was the club's closer in 2012 and part of 2013. He earned two saves and a hold in the last week.
Pomeranz is the closer du jour in Oakland. He picked up his second save of the season last Wednesday then blew a Sonny Gray gem on Saturday. As we've discussed Doolittle has returned to action, but he's not yet ready for the ninth inning. The A's bullpen also includes switch-pitcher Pat Venditte. Tune in to watch the late innings if only to catch him in action.
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Injured
Joe Nathan, Detroit Tigers
Adam Ottavino, Colorado Rockies
Jason Grilli, Atlanta Braves
Koji Uehara, Boston Red Sox
And we're back down to four injured closers – for now. None of these guys are candidates to return this season.
The Deposed
Chad Qualls
Joaquin Benoit
LaTroy Hawkins
Miguel Castro
Steve Cishek
Addison Reed
Neftali Feliz
Fernando Rodney
Brett Cecil
Jenrry Mejia
Drew Storen
Tyler Clippard
Joakim Soria
Jim Johnson
Tommy Kahnle
Alex Wilson
Edward Mujica
Carson Smith
Since the situations were fluid in Oakland and Boston, I'm not counting Rodriguez or Machi as having lost the job. Rodriguez never even saved a game. However, Smith has most definitely lost his job. Thus, he joins this long, ignominious list.
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The Steals Department
With fantasy trade deadlines slipping by, we'll continue to focus on freely available speed threats. Gregor Blanco plays daily for the Giants. While he bats at the bottom of the lineup, his lowly role affords him a green light on the bases. He's swiped eight bags over the last month. He won't hit home runs or drive in runs, but he can score runs (20 in the last 30 days). He's patient at the plate which leads to a strong on base percentage. Sit him against lefties.
A couple Phillies are worth consideration. Cesar Hernandez usually bats leadoff. He's capable of binging on stolen bases. He's taken 18 over 382 plate appearances – a 30 steal pace. He's best against left-handed pitchers. While he doesn't have a regular role, you have to think the Phillies want to evaluate Darnell Sweeney. He was the main piece of the Chase Utley trade. Sweeney hit nine home runs and stole 32 bases in 522 Triple-A plate appearances. The upside looks something like Shane Victorino. So far, he's just 1-for-8 with a home run and three walks.
The Mariners are using Ketel Marte as their regular leadoff hitter. He's hitting a robust .329/.407/.443 with a fortunate .394 BABIP. With high contact rates, he should manage a strong average. He stole 20 bases in 287 Triple-A plate appearances. He won't bring any power to the table, but he might out-score and out-steal Hernandez.
