Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: May 10

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

Tyler Clippard (43% owned) – Clippard received the first save chance for the Blue Jays since Roberto Osuna was placed on administrative leave and he converted, so for now we have to assume he is the guy. Clippard has been fantastic this year with a 1.40 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 22 strikeouts in 19.1 innings pitched, so his placement here has very little to do with performance. Despite his strong start to the season one would still have to assume he has a short leash as the teams closer and a bad outing or two would likely have the Blue Jays trying someone else. For now, Clippard is a must-own and his own-percentage will likely jump to above 70% within the next day.

Brad Brach (53% owned) – Brach had lost his reigns on the closing gig for Baltimore, but an injury to Darren O'Day opened the door back open for Brach. Brach simply hasn’t been good this year with a 5.02 ERA, 1.81 WHIP, and a blown save. So despite regaining the closing role, his leash likely isn’t very long. O’Day isn’t expected to miss extra time and his return from the DL-10 will kick the competition back up at least until Zach Britton returns and takes back his old role.

Quick Hits

• 5/3 Will Harris was called upon for the save opportunity over Ken Giles but gave up two hits and a walk without recording an out before being yanked in favor of Brad Peacock .
• 5/5 David Robertson picked up a save on an off-day for Aroldis Chapman .... Keone Kela was tasked with keeping the game tied 5-5 but failed to do so.... Chris Devenski was called upon to keep the Astros game tied at 3-3 in the ninth but gave up a run.
• 5/6 Álex Colomé failed to keep the game tied at 1-1 in the ninth, as his struggles continue.... Adam Ottavino picked up a save on an off-day for Wade Davis .... Hunter Strickland finished off the Braves for the save but did give up two runs.
• 5/8 Ken Giles converted his 4th save of the year.
• 5/9 Nate Jones was called upon for save opportunity, he gave up four runs and took the blown save.... Ken Giles picked up another save.

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?

Felipe Vázquez (94% owned) – Vazquez pitched three times this week and converted both of his save opportunities. To go along with the two saves, he struck out four across 3.2 shutout innings. He has not given up a run in his last six outings and has given up just one earned run in his last 14 appearances (14.1 innings). He has lowered his ERA to 3.00 and it will likely continue to drop as he is one of the best closers in the game. Vazquez should feel good about the investment they made in him and should not have panicked after a rough first outing to open the year. Top-tier. YTD stats: 15 innings, 7 saves, 17 Ks, 3.00 ERA.

Brad Hand (96% owned) – Hand had an absolutely dominant week, striking out eight across three shutout innings and picking up three saves. He has now made four-straight shutout appearances and has made 14 shutout appearances in his last 15 outings. As such, his season line is looking crisp and his 14.77 K/9 is an elite mark. Hand’s return on investment has been one of the best in all of MLB and easily top-three among closers. Hand was an all-star last season and appears to be trending towards another spot on the team this year. Upper-half. YTD stats: 17.2 innings, 10 saves, 29 Ks, 2.55 ERA.

Who’s Cold?

Hunter Strickland (83% owned) – Strickland pitched just one time this week, and while he did pick up a save, he gave up two runs in doing so. It was his second straight outing in which he has given up a run. He has just one save in the month of May and his ERA has gone from 1.32 at the start of the month to 2.87 as of today.  Strickland was a cheap investment for fantasy owners, so some hiccups should not come at a big surprise, and as long as he continues to pick up saves fantasy owners should be pleased with what he is bringing to their team. Bottom-tier. YTD stats: 15.2 innings, 8 saves, 16 Ks, 2.87 ERA.

Cody Allen (97% owned) – Allen makes his second straight appearance in the “Who’s Cold” section as his struggles continued this week. He pitched 2.1 innings this week and gave up three runs while only striking out one. He also failed to record a save and his last save came on April 25^th. He has given up six earned runs over his last four innings pitched and his ERA for the season has gone from 0.00 to 3.60 in that stretch. Somehow it seems like Andrew Miller landing on the DL also made Cody Allen forget how to pitch. His strikeouts are also way down as he currently sits at a 9.00 K/9 compared to last season’s 12.30. It is still too early for fantasy owners to get worried, but a few more bad outings and it will be time to be concerned. Upper-half. YTD stats: 15 innings, 5 saves, 15 Ks, 3.60 ERA.

Middle Relievers of Note

This section will focus strictly on closers in waiting or closer capable guys and how they are performing. Each player of note will also include their stats from the 2017 season for the foreseeable future.

Seung-Hwan Oh (21% owned) – Oh, much like Clippard, has been great so far this season with ratios of a 1.65 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 8.82 K/9. Oh and Clippard both have closing experience and should have no problem filling in for Osuna while he is out. Clippard, as mentioned earlier, appears to be the lead guy, but Oh is not far behind and is worth stashing in case Clippard struggles. Oh had a rough season in 2017 but in 2016 was a top-5 closer in all of baseball. YTD stats: 16.1 innings, 2 holds, 16 Ks, 1.65 ERA.

Adam Ottavino (64% owned) – If you haven’t heard about how well Ottavino is pitching this year, it’s safe to assume you don’t like baseball. In 20 innings pitched he has a 1.35 ERA, 0.65 WHIP, eight holds, one save, three wins, and 35 strikeouts. All of which are amazing and become even more incredible when you consider last season he had a 5.06 ERA and 1.63 WHIP. Ottavino has Wade Davis in front of him for saves so, barring an injury, he will not be the Rockies closer any time soon. That being said, he is worth owning for his ratios and just in case of a Davis injury occurring. YTD stats: 20 innings, 8 holds, 35 Ks, 1.35 ERA.

Jose Leclerc (0% owned) – Our first 0% owned player of the season, Leclerc is a dark horse in the Rangers bullpen. The team’s top-two relievers, Keone Kela and Alex Claudio , have both struggled this season and both are carrying ERAs over FIVE. Leclerc, on the other hand, has been outstanding thus far with a 2.19 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, and 12.41 K/9. He is young (24) and has the stuff of a closer; opposing hitters can’t figure him out, as they are batting just .100 against him this season. That number may sound extremely low, but consider this, last season his BAA was .146 across 45.2 innings. His biggest issue in 2017 was control as he walked 40 batters (7.9 walks per nine innings!), this season his walk rate is still rough but is much improved (4.4 walks per nine). Deeper leagues should be stashing him. YTD stats: 12.1 innings, 1 hold, 17 Ks, 2.19 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