Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: June 28

Each week I will breakdown closers and middle relievers in many different ways to provide you with all the information you need to have a successful fantasy bullpen. Let’s dive in!

Closers in Flux

Jeurys Familia (84% owned) – Familia started off the season great, posting a 2.13 ERA and converting eight saves in April. Those numbers fell to a 2.45 May ERA with five saves, still good but considerably worse. June, however, has been a disaster for Familia as he is currently carrying an 8.22 ERA for the month and has ZERO saves. The Mets are not winning any games and Familia is struggling in the games he does pitch in. The Mets would love for Familia to show some positives so they can get top dollar for him at the trade deadline, but if he continues to struggle they will have to make a switch at the backend of the bullpen. Tim Peterson and Drew Smith were both recently called up and have looked good so far and could work their way into more intense situations. They also have Anthony Swarzak who was signed for big money in the offseason and could be the team’s closer, but he has given up at least one earned run in four of his last nine outings. The Mets are a mess and it makes owning any of their bullpen pieces a tough pill to swallow.  

Quick Hits

• 6/21 Jake McGee converted a save on an off-day for Wade Davis .... Justin Anderson nailed down a save with Blake Parker getting the day off.... Mark Melancon converted his first save of the year.
• 6/22 Tim Hill picked up his first career save.... Bud Norris failed to keep the game tied at 1-1 in the ninth.
• 6/23 Seranthony Dominguez converted his fourth save.... Zach Britton picked up his first save of 2018.... Justin Anderson failed to keep the game tied in the ninth.
• 6/24 Tyler Clippard picked up an extra innings save after Ryan Tepera blew a save chance in the ninth.
• 6/25 Wily Peralta nailed down his first save of the year.... Seung-Hwan Oh picked up a save on an off-day for Ryan Tepera .
• 6/27 Wily Peralta converted his second straight save.... Lou Trivino picked up a save on an off-day for Blake Treinen .

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?

Keone Kela (78% owned) – Kela has been lights out lately and this week was no different. He pitched two times and converted on both of his save chances while striking out four across 1.2 innings pitched. He is now 20-for-20 on save chances this season despite a mediocre (for a closer) 3.41 ERA. As pointed out by my colleague Greg Jewett in today’s Round Up, “over his last 14 outings, Kela’s limited hitters to a .141 BAA with 17 strikeouts.” He hasn’t given up a run in his last six appearances and has six saves over the last two weeks. Upper-half. YTD stats: 29.0 innings, 20 saves, 36 Ks, 3.41 ERA.

Raisel Iglesias (87% owned) – Iglesias provided fantasy owners with the always wonderful four-save week. He only struck out two across 4.1 shutout innings, but when you get four saves and a perfect ERA there is no real reason to complain. He has six saves over the last 10 days and has not given up a run in his last five outings. Despite the recent uptick in saves, he still only has 15 for the year but has done so in 17 tries. He also has rock solid ratios across the board with a 2.08 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 9.87 K/9. Iglesias is one of the better closers in the game and the Reds have been playing better lately which has really upped his value in the fantasy world. Top-10. YTD stats: 34.2 innings, 15 saves, 38 Ks, 2.08 ERA.

Who’s Cold?

Ryan Tepera (47% owned) – Tepera pitched three times this week and was only able to convert on one save in three tries. Multiple blown saves are never what you want to see from your closer, but he only gave up two earned runs across 2.2 innings pitched, so things could be worse. Tepera is not your typical lights out type closer and his .246 BAA speaks to that, but he has picked up six saves and five wins and that is a lot of value in the counting stats from a guy who most plucked off the wire. Keep expectations low for Tepera and just hope that he continues to record saves. Bottom-tier. YTD stats: 39.1 innings, 6 saves, 43 Ks, 2.97 ERA.

Shane Greene (76% owned) – Greene only pitched two times this week and both outings were a disaster. In total, he pitched 1.2 innings and gave up four hits, one walk, and three earned runs while striking out two. He hasn’t picked up a save in twelve days and has seen his ERA jump from 3.57 to 4.14 in that timeframe. Greene still has a good grip on the Tigers closing job, but he is someone that you will want to try and trade after he has a few good outings because he will likely be traded at the deadline and no longer operate as a closer. Upper-half. YTD stats: 37.0 innings, 19 saves, 42 Ks, 4.14 ERA.

Middle Relievers of Note

This section will focus on closers in waiting or closer capable guys and how they are performing.

Yoshihisa Hirano (11% owned) – Hirano has had no problem with MLB hitters in his first season since coming over from Japan. Despite being a 34-year-old “rookie”, Hirano is making quick work of his opponents on a regular basis; he has a 1.25 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and .182 BAA. Hirano has a 2-0 record and is now tied for second in MLB in holds with 18. He leads all of baseball in holds over the last 30 days with nine. He works the seventh inning for the D-backs on most occasions, but there is a chance that if the D-backs chose to replace Brad Boxberger at closer that Hirano would be the guy. Arizona has shown that they like Archie Bradley in his current role and Hirano has closing experience with 156 saves in his Japanese career. He has not given up a run since May 5, a span of 24 outings (21.2 innings). He should be owned in all leagues that use holds and also in deeper leagues without holds, for his strong ratios. YTD stats: 36.0 innings, 18 holds, 33 Ks, 1.25 ERA.

Mark Melancon (49% owned) – Is a pretty obvious choice here and judging by his ownership owners are well aware. That being said, it makes no sense for his ownership to be higher than a guy who is already a closer (Tepera). Dyson made the Closers in Flux section last week and could have easily landed there again this week, which shows how short of a leash he is on as the Giants closer. The Giants would love for Melancon to be their closer given the bloated contract they signed him to, but even if that does happen he will be a bottom-tier closer. He has seven strikeouts across 9.1 innings pitched for a dreadful 6.75 K/9 and he hasn’t had a K/9 above 9.00 since 2010. However, Melancon is worth owning/stashing because he will likely be receiving save chances if Dyson has a poor outing soon. YTD stats: 9.1 innings, 4 holds, 7 Ks, 2.89 ERA.

Holds

*Top 10

Stat Leaders

This simply provides the current top-5 closers in saves, strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP.  

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