Monitoring MLB bullpens can truly make your head spin. The Reds, who had been using a committee approach when it came to managing their bullpen, seemed to have finally settled on using Lucas Sims as their closer. He got hurt and suddenly, a pitcher who hasn’t recorded a save in three years was on the mound and closing out their next win. The Phillies announced that they were temporarily moving on from the pitcher who has been their closer for most of the season, and then on that same day he saves a game for them. We’ll explain it all in this week’s Bullpen Report.

Weekly Save Leaders 

Heading into Wednesday’s action Matt Barnes (Red Sox), Mark Melancon (Padres), and Liam Hendriks (White Sox) had recorded three saves each over the past week. All three have been incredibly reliable and their consistency has provided their managers with a sense of calm in the otherwise chaotic world of MLB closers. 

Weekly Holds Leaders

Blue Jays reliever Tim Mayza had four holds last week, pitching 3.1 scoreless innings, and limiting opposing batters to a .182 BAA. Jordan Romano seems to have taken over as the Blue Jays’ closer for now, but Mayza is listed behind Tyler Chatwood on our closer grid and may get the opportunity to pitch in save situations as needed. Mayza has nine holds on the season. 

Seven other pitchers recorded two holds each over the past week. Nationals relievers Austin Voth and Sam Clay are among those pitchers. With Tanner Rainey and Kyle Finnegan sidelined due to injuries, Voth should temporarily be next in line for save opportunities behind closer Brad Hand. Clay and Nats reliever Wander Suero should also be called upon to pitch in high leverage situations with Rainey and Finnegan on the IL.

Noteworthy Bullpen News

Reds

The Reds placed Lucas Sims, who appeared to have settled in as the Reds’ closer, on the IL last Thursday. He’s expected to miss about a month of the season due to a right elbow sprain. Brad Brach took the mound that same day and promptly nailed down his first save of the season (and first since 2018) for the Reds. With 34 career saves, Brach is no stranger to closing out games. Brach will likely get additional save opportunities, but with the way Reds manager David Bell has handled his bullpen this season there’s no telling when that next opportunity will come. With Sims and Tejay Antone on the IL, Amir Garrett, the early preseason favorite to be the Reds’ closer, saved his fifth game of the season two days later. After a rough start to the season Garrett has pitched to a 2.70 ERA and saved three games in his last 11 appearances. While we’ve also included Heath Hembree on our closer grid, Garrett might be the pitcher Bell predominantly relies on in high leverage situations for the short term. Art Warren is another Reds reliever to keep your eye on. He has saved 27 career minor league games and been called upon to pitch in several high leverage situations this season. Warren has posted a 2.38 ERA and struck out 17 batters in 11.1 IP on the season.

Phillies

Stranger Things is not only the name of a great Netflix show. It also describes what’s been going on in the Phillies bullpen over the past week. Last Friday manager Joe Girardi announced that Jose Alvarado would temporarily be first in line for save opportunities, replacing Hector Neris as the team’s primary closer. The Phillies played a double header that day and with both Alvarado and Archie Bradley failing to convert their save opportunities Neris recorded a save in the night cap. Alvarado is making things tough on Girardi. Since being named as the Phillies’ closer, Alvarado has made three appearances, pitching to a 7.36 ERA. In the only game he saved in those appearances, he gave up two hits (one of which was a home run), a walk and two earned runs. The Phillies have blown a league leading 21 saves and their bullpen owns a 4.62 ERA. Other than Ranger Suarez (0.93 ERA, 0.724 WHIP), their bullpen should be avoided for now. 

Tigers

Michael Fulmer is back on the IL due to a neck strain, likely making Jose Cisnero the reliever the Tigers will rely on in save situations. Cisnero hasn’t given up a run in his last six appearances (7.1 IP) and he has saved a game and held three others during that timeframe. Gregory Soto will also likely pitch in high leverage situations as well.

Relief Pitcher Streaming Options

In recent columns, we’ve been featuring relief pitchers who typically work multiple innings per week who you can consider using in your weekly lineups in place of struggling starting pitchers who have tough matchups. The following three pitchers each posted a solid ERA and struck out at least eight batters over the past week. We’ve listed each pitcher’s overall season stats, as well as their stats for the past week. 

Dillon Tate, Orioles

No wins or losses, one save, three holds, 3.66 ERA, 1.125 WHIP

Time FrameIPW/L/H/SK’sERAWHIP
June 23rd – June 29th7.21 S122.350.783

Nestor Cortes Jr., Yankees

No wins, losses, or holds, 1.02 ERA, 1.075 WHIP 

Time FrameIPW/L/H/SK’sERAWHIP
June 23rd – June 29th5.1 90.000.750

Mike Mayers, Angels

One win, three losses, zero holds, 4.30 ERA 1.434 WHIP

Time FrameIPW/L/H/SK’sERAWHIP
June 23rd – June 29th4.2 81.931.286

If you've been a subscriber here at Fantasy Alarm, you've seen the Fantasy Baseball Closer Grid before. If you're new, it's very simple. We not only list who the closer is for each team, but we then go another two-deep into the bullpen to let you know who would be next in line to accrue saves should there be an injury or a change, as well as which relievers you may want to target if your league scores for holds. This isn't about how the teams' depth charts always reads, so keep that in mind. Sometimes the heir-apparent is an obvious one, but in many cases it is not. We look for things like skill set, contact rates, pitch-command, pitch-mix, how many lefties are in the bullpen, who has worked as a closer before and who has the experience in high-leverage situation among other things.

GREEN will be those with strong talent, abundant opportunities and a high-level of job security. The tier below will be in YELLOW followed by ORANGE and lastly RED to indicate who may have the job right now but could lose it with one bad hiccup. 

UPDATED: 7.1.2021