With the MLB season in full swing, some bullpen hierarchies have become a lot clearer, while others have become muddled. 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
- Starting with news on openers, the Red Sox will open with Andrew Triggs today, and it is not known who will follow him. It won’t be Mike Kickham, as he threw 44 pitches yesterday. Robinson Leyer figures to get some work at some point, but you would have to be really desperate for this one.
- Ryan Castellani of the Colorado Rockies will be followed by Chi Chi Gonzalez today in his start against the Dodgers.
- Josh Tomlin hasn’t pitched more than 4.1 IP in any outing this season and starts for the Braves today. Both Grant Dayton and Tyler Matzek threw 32 pitches yesterday, seemingly making them unavailable for today. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Braves try to stretch Tomlin out to 5.0 IP, or more.
- As for closers, Anthony Bass blew the save last night and pitched his second night in a row. This probably opens the door for a Rafael Dolis save should the opportunity arise.
- Alex Colomé has thrown 49 pitches the last two days, which would seem to open the door for Evan Marshall to get an opportunity today. Marshall has been incredible this season.
- Gregory Soto was used in the 7th inning of a 1-run game to record the final out of the inning. Jose Cisnero was called upon to get the save and promptly blew it, giving up three hits and a walk in 0.2 IP. Soto only threw 4 pitches and should hopefully/likely return to his closer role today, despite the red designation on the chart.
- Ty Buttrey has thrown 34 pitches over the last two days, but Felix Pena blew the save in the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader and threw 24 pitches in the process. My guess is that Buttrey is available for a save today, so no save to vulture here.
- Yohan Ramirez earned the save yesterday but did give up a home run to leadoff the inning to Shin-Soo Choo. While Ramirez has been solid this season and is perhaps a name to watch, he most likely only got the save opportunity because regular closer Yoshihisa Hirano threw 30 pitches the day before.
Bullpen Depth Charts
Green = closer is available/long reliever expected to pitch after starter
Yellow = closer pitched previous day/LR has chance to pitch after starter
Red = closer has pitched back to back days and likely has the day off
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@freshmeatcomm on Twitter)