Relievers To Stream for Wins and Saves – 8/31

With the MLB season in full swing, some bullpen hierarchies are becoming a lot clearer, while others have fallen apart. Though some managers may keep fantasy owners guessing, it is important to at least have an idea of who has a chance at a save, and who is most likely not even going to appear in a game today. Don’t sleep on saves! In a shortened season, they all count that much more.

Notes

• Sam Coonrod picked up his first save of the season for the Giants on Sunday, while Tyler Rogers set him up in the eighth and Tony Watson was used to finish off the final out of the seventh inning. Rogers recorded the save on Saturday, so this situation looks a bit more fluid than anyone would prefer. With the Giants off on Monday, we won’t see any more clarity until Tuesday at the earliest.
• Ty Buttrey was used in the 9th inning for the Angels to keep their game tied, and he did just that giving up just one hit and recording two strikeouts on 19 pitches thrown. That’s two out of the last three days on the mound for Buttrey, so if he’s used on Monday expect him off on Tuesday.
• Meanwhile, Taylor Williams also pitched the ninth, keeping the score tied and leading to extra innings. The Mariners scored in the 10th inning, setting up Yohan Ramirez for his first save of the season and giving Williams the win.
• Anthony Bass pitched himself into a win on Sunday, giving up a run on a walk and two hits in the top of the ninth inning to give a one-run lead to the Orioles. He was bailed out by a walk-off Teoscar Hernández single that scored two and gave the Blue Jays, and Bass, the win and Baltimore’s current closer Cole Sulser the blown save and loss. With Jordan Romano on the IL, don’t expect this hiccup to deter the Jays from going back to Bass again when they need a game closed out. Hunter Harvey made his debut for off the IL and is expected to be eased back into high leverage spots for Baltimore throughout his next few appearances.
• Richard Rodríguez pitched an uneventful ninth inning, albeit a non-save situation as the Pirates were up by four runs. That’s two days in a row though he only threw a combined 20 pitches between his two outings. Save situations don’t typically come in bunches in Pittsburgh, but if one does Rodriguez should still be available.
• Mike Matheny alluded that he may turn to Greg Holland to close out games after Trevor Rosenthal was traded to the Padres and low and behold, after spending the last few appearances in the middle innings, Holland was used in the ninth inning of a tie ballgame and proceeded to record all three outs of the inning by way of strikeout. That’s two days in a row for Holland, however, with a combined 34 pitches thrown. Expect Scott Barlow to pitch the ninth if needed on Monday.
• Nick Anderson is expected to return from the IL as early as Monday, just to keep you guessing as you who will get the next save in Tampa.
• The Tigers turned to Gregory Soto to get the final three outs of their game on Sunday, which he delivered as requested for his second save on the year. Buck Farmer pitched a clean eighth as he was used to setup Soto in this one, and that’s two save opportunities in a row converted by Soto for the Tigers, who looks to be in the driver’s seat for the time being.
• With Aroldis Chapman pitching in two straight, the Yankees left him out of both games of their doubleheader. Chad Green recorded the win in the first game, while Luis Cessa got the one-out save in the second. It was nice to see Green bounce back with three strikeouts after two shaky outings prior. Chapman should be available on Monday.
• Edwin Díaz recorded his 4th blown save of the year after allowing a home run off the bat of Aaron Hicks and then was credited with the loss after allowing a walk-off single from Gio Urshela in the 8th inning. Díaz had been doing much better as of recent and with his closest competition not exactly lighting a fire, expect Díaz to continue to close out games for the Mets moving forward.
• The Nationals gave closer Daniel Hudson some work while they were down a few runs in Boston and he gave up a solo shot to Rafael Devers. As this was far from his typical high-leverage usage spot, I wouldn’t read anything into it. Expect Hudson to close out Monday’s game if needed.
• Spencer Howard is scheduled to start for the Phillies and he’s failed to make it through five innings in each of his last three starts, the most recent coming all the way on August 20th. If the trend continues after a long hiatus from the mound, look for Tommy Hunter to take the ball first as the most rested member of the bullpen.