Mychal Givens has been excellent since joining the Reds at the end of July, not allowing a run over seven innings to go along with a .86 WHIP and five SV+HLD’s. Givens is finally throwing his changeup more often — a career-high 38.2% of the time — and it’s paid of in a big way. There are still issues with walks (12%) but he’s been able to work around them for most of the year. The question now becomes, what will his role be once this Reds bullpen gets back to full strength? He seems to be sharing the closer role at the moment with Michael Lorenzen, something that makes sense for the time being, but I’d expect even with a healthy Tejay Antone Givens could carve out a high leverage role with Amir Garrett still struggling with consistency and Heath Hembree falling apart lately.
Notes
- Alex Reyes has bounced back from last week’s disastrous four walk+hit by pitch, allowing just one earned run (last night) over his past four innings with the bigger story being that he hasn’t walked anyone over that time. Overall, he has slowed down since July started (15 IP, 6.00 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 14/12 K/BB, 7 SV+HLD) but he remains one of the higher upside closers in that second/third tier.
- In other closer news, David Bednar worked the final two innings of the Pirates’ one-run loss to the Cardinals, with presumed closer Chris Stratton pitching to just one batter to end the seventh inning. Now it’s obviously not a save situation (the Pirates were down two when Bednar entered) but it’s encouraging to see Bednar working after Stratton nonetheless. The Pirates will have a hard time finding save chances the rest of the way, but Bednar is still a potential difference-maker with his skill set.
- While he only has one hold since the All-Star break, Jake Diekman has been pitching much better and seems to be working his way back into high leverage situations despite a now crowded bullpen. Diekman still holds an elite whiff rate (35.7%) and at the very least should be good for ERA and K numbers going forward. I still prefer Andrew Chafin as the top lefty in this bullpen, but Diekman is still getting the nod over A.J. Puk.
- With injuries and trades depleting the Rays bullpen, All-Star Andrew Kittredge has been just one of several Rays relievers to step up and help give the Rays the best record in the American League. Over the past four weeks, Kittredge hasn’t allowed a run over 9.2 innings while striking out 15 and walking just three. The Rays continue to be the blueprint for proper bullpen development and usage.
- Pierce Johnson feels like the forgotten piece in the Padres bullpen, but with injuries decimating the pitching staff, Johnson has been forced into a bigger role as of late as noticed by his three holds and win over the past three weeks. He actually hasn’t allowed a run since the All-Star break (9.1 IP), allowing just three hits and three walks while striking out thirteen. There’s a lot of threes going on here, so that must mean good luck or something.
- Génesis Cabrera, Luke Jackson, Tyler Matzek, and Alex Colomé each picked up three SV+HLD’s this past week. Cabrera has had an up and down season, but he too has yet to allow an earned run since the All-Star break. He has eight holds over his last twelve innings pitched, with a 13/5 K/BB rate. The walks remain an issue, but he’s done a good job of limiting the damage up until this point.
| PITCHER | TIER | INJURY (EST. RETURN) |
|---|---|---|
| Aroldis Chapman | 1/2 | Elbow (September) |
| Nick Anderson | 1/2 | Elbow/Covid (late August) |
| Tejay Antone | 2/3 | Forearm (next week or two) |
| Drew Pomeranz | 2/3 | Forearm (September) |
| Pete Fairbanks | 3/4 | Shoulder (late August) |
| J.P. Feyereisen | 3/4 | Bicep (late August) |
| Julian Merryweather | 3/4 | Oblique (September?) |
| Jeffrey Springs | 3/4 | Knee (early September) |
| Victor González | 4/5 | Knee (September) |
| Art Warren | 4/5 | Oblique (late August) |
| José Alvarado | 5/6 | Shoulder (September) |
| Tim Mayza | 5/6 | Elbow (September) |
Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)