2017 Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: Trade Aftermath

Trade Aftermath

This will focus on all the new closing situations around the league following all of the recent trades.

Tigers - Shane Greene is the best new closer, following the trade deadline. He had done a great job as a setup man for the Tigers, and has performed well in his two save chances. Greene has rock solid ratios of a 2.59 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and a 9.80 K/9. He should be owned, and should be able to hold on to the closing gig for the Tigers for the remainder of the season.

Twins - Taylor Rogers takes over the role for the Twins following the recent trade of former closer Brandon Kintzler. Rogers much like Kintzler is not a big strikeout guy with a K/9 of 7.14.  He has been struggling as of late with ten earned runs across his last ten innings pitched. That being said, he should still get a solid leash on the gig with not much competition on the Twins bullpen.

Marlins - Brad Ziegler returned from the DL and was thrust into the closing role after the recent departure of A.J. Ramos. His stat line is pretty ugly with a 6.30 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, and 5.10 K/9 so it will be interesting to see how long he can actually keep the job. If he struggles, look for Junichi Tazawa or Kyle Barraclough (once he returns from the DL) to take over the gig.

Nationals - Brandon Kintzler likely will retain his role as a closer, but now for one of the top teams in all of baseball. He is currently third in saves with 28 and shouldn’t have a problem accumulating them with his new team either. His low strikeout rate (5.59 K/9) gives him a low ceiling, but his high save rate will keep him in the middle tiers of the closing ranks. It is worth noting that Sean Doolittle was 4-4 in save chances as the Nationals closer prior to Kintzler joining the team. It is possible that he will retain the role until he struggles, and Kintzler could first be used in a setup role.

Mets - A.J. Ramos moves back into a closing role following the Mets trade of Addison Reed to the Red Sox. His time as the Mets closer may not last long though, with Jeurys Familia working his way back from the DL. Familia should return to his role as the closer once he is able to. For now, Ramos is worth owning, as he should see all save opportunities for the time being.

Blown Saves

*Top 10

*Note: I track blown saves that happened by guys who were brought into finish the game. Such as guys in the closer role, or other pitchers who were brought in late in the game. A guy who picks up a “blown save,” for example, in the 6^th inning is very irrelevant in my opinion, when tracking fantasy assets.

Who’s Hot?

Brad Hand (63% owned) had a strong showing in his first full week as a closer. He pitched three times and converted on all three of his save chances. He also had five strikeouts across three shutout innings and allowed just one hitter to reach base against him. Hand has been incredible all season, and there is little reason to think that there will be a drop off. Over the last 30 days he has 11.1 innings 0 earned runs against him and 19 strikeouts. His season ratios now sit at a sparkling 1.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 11.78 K/9. He should be one of the better closers to own from this point forward. YTD stats: 55 innings, 7 saves, 72 K, 1.96 ERA.

Kenley Jansen (99% owned) continues to be an untouchable force out of the Dodgers bullpen. This week he made three appearances, and converted on all three of his save chances. He piled up seven strikeouts in just three innings pitched, and did not allow an earned run to score against him. Jansen gave up a rare three runs on a July 23 outing, and has since followed it up with five straight scoreless showings. Fantasy owners have very little to worry about when Jansen enters the game, and should continue to battle with Craig Kimbrel for closing supremacy this season. YTD stats: 47.1 innings, 28 saves, 72 K, 1.33 ERA.

Trevor Rosenthal (58% owned) has taken the closing gig for the Cardinals and ran with it. He had a stellar week, converting on all three of his save chances, and punching out TEN hitters across 4.1 shutout innings. This is just a continuation of recent success for Rosenthal, who has given up just one earned run over the course of his last 13 innings pitched. With his high strikeout rates (14.54 K/9) Rosenthal should be able to climb up the closing ranks if he can continue to shutout down opposing offenses. His job security still is not great, but it will improve fast, with more weeks like this one. YTD stats: 43.1 innings, 7 saves, 70 K, 3.32 ERA.

Who’s Cold?

Roberto Osuna (96% owned) had been rolling prior to blowing up this week. He pitched four times this week allowing five earned runs across just 3.2 innings and blowing two of his three save chances. He now has six blown saves despite very crisp ratios of a 2.80 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, and 12.20 K/9. Fantasy owners will be hopeful that he doesn’t endure a similar stretch to that of his April (5.63 ERA), and will want this to just be a small bump in the road. For now he remains a top-10 closer but his next few outings are worth monitoring. YTD stats: 45 innings, 27 saves, 61 K, 2.80 ERA.

Bud Norris (64% owned) pitched just two times this week and gave up four earned runs across just 1.1 innings pitched. He did convert on his lone save chance, but Norris has now given up eight earned runs across his last 1.1 innings with a four earned no-out recording appearance last week. The recent struggles have seen his ERA rise from 2.23 to 3.89. He will need to get back on track quickly to avoid becoming in danger of losing the job. The one thing on his side is that Cam Bedrosian has also been getting lit up lately with eight earned runs in his last 5.1 innings. For now, Norris remains in the lower tiers of closers. YTD stats: 41.2 innings, 16 saves, 52 K, 3.89 ERA.

Who’s Hot, Who’s Cold Season Leader Board

This table shows who has made the most appearances in these sections.

Middle Relievers of Note

Tommy Hunter (5% owned) has been exceptional so far this season and has worked his way into the setup role for the Rays, and would receive save chances if Alex Colome were to go down with an injury. He is worth owning in holds leagues, with increased chances in tight games as of late. Over the last 30 days Hunter has picked up 8 holds and has given up just one earned run in 13 innings. His long career in the MLB doesn’t show that he will continue as this level of success, but for now enjoy the ride and get value out of someone who is most likely a free agent in your league. YTD stats: 36 innings, 11 holds, 39 K, 1.75 ERA.

Junichi Tazawa (2% owned) will be working as the setup man for the Marlins with the departure of A.J. Ramos. Tazawa has struggled for the most part this season, but as highlighted above so has the teams new closer Brad Ziegler. Depending on how long Barraclough is out for, Tazawa may get a few cracks at some save chances if Ziegler continues to struggle. He would only be worth owning in super deep leagues, but it is a situation worth monitoring. YTD stats: 31.2 innings, 5 holds, 22 K, 5.12 ERA.

Holds

*Top 10   

Team Bullpen ERA

This section will look into the best and worst bullpens in the league, which can be helpful for DFS. If a team has a weak starting pitcher throwing that day and also a poor bullpen it can make for big days for hitters. A bad bullpen ERA also has an effect on how likely a starting pitcher is to pick up a win.

Recently Overworked

This highlights the bullpens that have been seeing both heavy usage and struggling over the last 7 days.

*Ownership percentages are based off Yahoo

Be sure to check out the Closer Grid which has regularly updated rankings. Also feel free to shoot me any questions on Twitter @JustinVreeland