The Football Bahds

Bullpen Notes🗒️(5/10) MIA: They continue with the committee approach. Calvin Faucher pitched the 7th and 8th with no real issues. One walk but a double play eliminated that runner. Andrew Nardi started the 9th with a couple LHBs scheduled to hit. He got one out and the other reached base. They pulled him after he faced three hitter minimum and that allowed Joshua Ekness to get the final out and pick up his 1st career save. Fairbanks is expected to be activated during the MIN series which starts Tuesday. If he isn't this well continue to be a very matchup heavy committee with no real closer. WSN: Gus Varland got roughed up in the 8th. He was on to face the meat of the order and he ended up allowing three runs. Couple walks and a couple singles did him in. The game was tied when he entered and this has always been the issue here. They will use him to face the best hitters and it really doesn't matter if it is the in the 8th or 9th inning. He is still the best option they have until Beeter returns but this type of outing is why he is a high risk low reward guy. BAL: Keegan Akin opened. Anthony Nunez took the 8th against the top of the lineup and allowed a couple walks but managed to protect the one run lead. It's always important to get though big innings and this was a nice confidence booster for him. Rico Garcia pitched the 9th and besides a two out walk had no issue. The main news here is that earlier this week I would have expected to see Garcia in the against the top hitters so them using him in a true 9th inning role is big. Go out and add him he's the closer but remember Helsley could be back in 7-10 days. TBR: Garrett Cleavinger took the 8th against a couple LHBs. One did end up getting pinch hit for. That left the 9th for Bryan Baker who let the 1st two reach but locked in after that. The had a close play at 1st that was called an out and upheld. I continue to like Baker a lot as I think he has proven himself over and over. The rest of the Rays bullpen has been so good lately that it could open up some committee opportunities. Lets hope they continue to use Baker in the 9th. CIN: They won 5-0 but still used Graham Ashcraft in the 9th. Felt like a nice time to try and get Tony Santillan a look but they opted not too. Feels like Ashcraft is the best option here but Pierce Johnson converted the chance yesterday. One of those two should get the next chance which could potentially come on Tuesday. My money is still on Ashcraft winning this job. MIN: Bing, Bang, Boom. I tried to tell ya'll that Yoendrys Gomez was going to move into the late innings for the Twins and today he picked up the save. Prior to the game today they designated Kody Funderburk who had pitched in 3 of 4 but was also the best reliever they had statistically this year. I would think he would be back up fairly soon but who knows. Banda and Garcia managed to get the game to the 9th with Garcia giving up his daily run to cut the lead to 5-4. Gomez had a clean inning. Still no sign of Topa so it has been 4 days since he last pitched. He might be a bum but it is surprising to not see him in this one. He's better than Garcia. As for Gomez he has all the potential to pitch late in the game and could even be a risky source of saves. I would consider adding him but he could end up being a Vodnik. The team isn't that good either. NYY: The bullpen was good today but it was Bednar who took the loss. He got a couple outs and gave up a homer that ended the game. No worry about his role as the closer. MIL: Trevor Megill took the 7th, Aaron Ashby took the 8th, and Abner Uribe took the 9th. Megill and Ashby allowed two out runners but nothing else and Uribe allowed a one out walk but got out of the inning and picked up the win. Brewers swept the series over the Yankees and Ashby pitched in all three games. SEA: Eduard Bazardo blew the save and took the loss in the 8th. Ferrer had pitched the 7th without issue. This bullpen is pretty weak at the moment after being one of the best in the game last year. Injuries and Munoz's struggles are the main issue. CWS: Pretty typical Seranthony Domínguez outing. He got an out and loaded the bases before bearing down and getting the last two outs. As I have said all year he is gonna get 25 saves but the damage to your ERA and WHIP might not make the saves worth it. Bryan Hudson who has been great all year picked up the win in the 8th. No they are not going to replace Domínguez unless he blows a couple saves. They gave him too much money. TEX: Jacob Latz picked up another two inning save. This is the 2nd time in as many weeks that he has picked up a two inning save. I think it is just due to lack of usage. He hadn't pitched in three days and I'm sure they wanted to win this game so they went with the best option. He didn't allow anyone to reach base. PIT: They used Dennis Santana in the 8th and he faced Devers and a bunch of RHB after. We could be getting closer and closer to him being completely out of the 9th because he didn't pitch well today. Gregory Soto got out of the 8th and pitched the 9th with the game tied. It ended up going 12 innings before Justin Lawrence allowed the game ending run. I would be adding Soto if he is available. If you have Santana and are expecting saves the clock might be running out. SFG: Prior to the game they sent Ryan Walker down which was probably a move that was a long overdue. For both of his last appearances Keaton Winn has been the 1st man out of the bullpen. He did keep the game close getting an out in the 6th and 2 in the 7th. Sam Hentges got the last out of the 7th and Caleb Kilian pitched the 8th. Kilian wasn't great allowing a couple walks and a guy to reach on an error. He did get a double play. The game was tied at the time and was also tied when Joel Peguero came on to pitch the 9th. Peguero didn't have any issues in the 9th but gave up a run and the ghost runner in the 10th. JT Brubaker got the win in the 12th. Kilian might not be the lone closer. It does seem like Peguero will be a factor late and I would expect Miller to be when he returns likely this week. Seems like they are moving back to a committee which is disappointing because Kilian looked pretty good in his lone save. Big 4 game series against the Dodgers coming up. STL: Things were going well for the bullpen today until the 9th. Stanek, Romero and Soriano got through the 6th, 7th, and 8th and that left the 9th for ROB. He had a 2-0 lead but allowed a single to start the inning. He struck out the next two but allowed a home run after that. Not a great outing and it was a blown save. Gordon Graceffo took the loss in the 10th. ROB remains safe as the closer but another blown save or two could put his role in jeopardy. I would expect Romero and Soriano to be next in line. DET: Kenley Jansen picked up the save. It was his 1st in over a week. They used pretty much everyone in what was a bullpen game. Kyle Finnegan got four outs to get the ball to Kenley. As expected the job is still Kenley's but he is still the same pitcher he has been. If he can get weak contact and nibble he will have success but if not it gets ugly. He needs to cut down on his home runs allowed as he has already allowed 3 this year. #FantasyBaseball #Closers #Bullpens #Mr9thInning #MLB

Bullpen Notes🗒️(5/6) TBR: Odd usage in the bullpen tonight. They used Baker in the 8th to get the 9,1,2 hitters out which he did with no issue. They let Seymour pitch the 9th against the 3,4,5 with just Varsho hitting left handed. He had no issues either and picked up the save. It is to early to be concerned as Baker has arguably been the 2nd best closer in the game to this point but maybe that are moving more towards a matchup approach. I wouldn't sell my shares of Baker yet but this is a situation to be monitored. Seymour was the 4th guy in the bullpen not including Cleavinger to pick up a save so if they turn committee they have options. TOR: Varland pitched in the 7th and 8th here giving up a run in the 8th. I'm not looking much into this as they were trying to keep the game 3-0 and have an off day tomorrow. Varland is still the closer until someone else gets a chance. MIL: First action in three days for Megill in the 8th and Uribe in the 9th. Both guys had a 5 run lead when the inning started and a 4 run lead when the inning ended. Just work days here and Uribe remains the closer with Megill a holds option. LAD: Glasnow left the game after an inning so they had to empty the bullpen. Treinen gave up a run in the 7th, Scott pitched the 8th, and recently activated Brock Stewart pitched the 9th. With a big lead and the day off tomorrow this was just a work day for these guys. SFG: Keaton Winn pitched in the 7th and was charged with a run after being pulled for Matt Gage who allowed it. They were down at the time. Ryan Walker pitched in the 8th and allowed a two run homer that turned a 2 run deficient into a 4 run hole. It appears he wont be getting back into the 9th. That leaves Caleb Kilian who didn't pitch today but it looks like he will be the man who gets the next save opportunity. SEA: Andrés Muñoz had the day off after pitching back to back and three of four. They turned to Jose Ferrer who had also pitched back to back but he did convert the save. Last year he took over as the Nats closer after the deadline and had a lot of success. With some of the injuries and even before he seems like the next in line for the 9th if Muñoz continues to struggle or is removed. ATH: They reverted back to what we feared and used Jack Perkins in the 7th and 8th. It had been a week since his last outing so maybe they thought he could give them 3 innings. When he came in they did have a one run lead. Unfortunately after pitching a clean 7th he was charged with 4 runs in the 8th (2 unearned). Harris came on and allowed two of the runners to score. Like I said unless they planned on Perkins going three I don't have an answer here. Seems like a better option would have been to bring him in for the 8th likely against the middle of the lineup. I still think he is the closer so we will have to wait and see what happens over the next few days. PHI: Brad Keller closed this one out with a 3 run lead. He did load the bases but didn't allow a run. As expected Duran was off after pitching last night. Until we hear some kind of injury news Duran is the closer but probably wont make back to back appearances for a week or so. BAL: They finally got some good innings from the bullpen. Wolfram did get charged with a run in the 7th but Nunez got the last out of the 7th and all three in the 8th. That left Rico the 9th and he walked the leadoff batter before getting a double play and an out. It was his 2nd save of the year and this is hopefully how the bullpen keeps playing out until Helsley is back. Rico is the closer and the add for saves. MIN: We saw the risky side of the bullpen tonight as they got mauled. Funderburk got an out in the 6th and a couple in the 7th before Topa came in a allowed a 2 run homer. A run for each guy. Topa returned for the 8th and ended up being charged with 5 more runs. Two scored while he was in the game and the other 3 scored after Garcia allowed a grand slam. Tonight is exactly why this bullpen is very high risk. CHC: Phil Maton looked good again pitching in the 8th up 2. He is getting back into form and will be a solid holds option. Corbin Martin started the 9th with a 2 run lead and allowed a homer and a couple singles. He ended up being charged with 3 runs. Milner gave up the final 2 runs and one of his own. He was charged with the blown save. Palencia had pitched last night and was off. Trent Thornton picked up the win. Martin should be DFA'd and unless Palencia is hurt he's the closer here. CIN: Emilio Pagán was put on the IL with a hammy strain and it sounds like a 4-8 week injury. They entered the 9th with a two run lead and gave the chance to Graham Ashcraft. He got a strike out and than allowed a single and a homer to tie the game. He got out of the inning and they turned to Brock Burke with the score tied in the 10th. They sacrificed the guy to third and Burke walked two batters intentionally between an out before walking the last batter to end the game. We knew they had issues with walks but this was about as bad as it could go for a bullpen the night after losing the closer. My thought is Santillan gets the next chance and Connor Phillips might work his way later in the game after Ashcraft and Burke's poor night. Santillan and Ashcraft are the guys I would want here. CLE: Gaddis got a couple outs in the 8th without allowing a run. That was a nice turn around from his last few outings. Sabrowski got another hold and Smith got another save. Good outing for the bullpen. PIT: They called Gregory Soto's name in the 9th after Skenes gave them 8. He was able to protect the 1 run lead. He faced the 9 hitter and the top of the lineup walking one guy. After Santana had struggled in a work day last night I am not surprised to see Soto here. I don't think it changes anything as this appears to be a pair based off matchups. #FantasyBaseball #Closers #Bullpens #MLB #Mr9thInning

Bullpen Notes🗒️(5/2) BAL: We got a bit of a look at the bullpen today though they were down all game. Keegan Akin pitched the 5th allowing a home run. No need to roster him. Anthony Nunez pitched the 7th with the team down 4-6. It did not go well as he allowed all 4 he faced to reach base. He was charged with three runs. Dietrich Enns returned and got some work in as well. I think it is safe to assume that Rico Garcia or Andrew Kittredge will see the next save chance here. Both are probably worth the spot if you are chasing saves. MIN: The bullpen was back to its normal tricks blowing this game. I'll note that Cole Sands went on the IL prior to the game with a forearm strain. Topa pitched in the 6th and allowed a home run. Funderburk was able to get an out in the 6th and pitch the 7th without allowing a run. They had a 4-3 lead going into the 8th but that is when Luis Garcia and Anthony Banda let it get away. Garcia didn't get an out and was charged with 4 runs and Banda did get three outs but was also charged with 4 runs. This bullpen was already bad and losing its best pitcher in Sands isn't going to help. Garcia was signed this week and he looks cooked. They really need to use Topa and Funderburk later in the game but if they can't protect a lead earlier it won't matter. I would avoid everyone here right now. CHC: Ben Brown picked up his 1st save of the season pitching both the 8th and 9th. He didn't allow anyone to reach base. He has been solid this year but pitches bulk innings late in the game. The good news here is that Daniel Palencia was in the building and it sounds like he will be activated either tomorrow or for the next series. I would expect him to take back the closers spot right away. WSN: They finally DFA'd Cionel Perez. He had been awful so far and was pitching late in games. Orlando Ribalta is back up and he's one of my boys. Don't expect much even though he does have a save this year. Varland is the leader for saves here but that could change with how bad the bullpen is and he is a risky option. MIL: Nice save for Uribe. He got past a lead off single and an error which put the 1st two guys on. They had a 4-1 lead so on the scale of tough saves it wasn't that difficult. Megill got the hold in the 8th. Both guys seem to be settling into their new roles. Uribe is the closer and Megill is a holds option. ATH: Normally I would be talking more about this bullpen since it didn't have a closer but today I can just say that Barlow and Harris struggled in the 7th. Harris could be a late inning guy for holds but he really probably doesn't need to be rostered anymore due to his high walk rate. Better options are out there. Perkins is the closer and should be added. CLE: They ran Gaddis out there again today and he struggled. He did get an out today but allowed the other three to reach. In the end one guy scored so it wasn't horrible. He is tough to roster at the moment after being a top holds guy last season. HOU: They had a rare lead so we got a look at the bullpen. De Los Santos actually pitched pretty well but it was in the 6th and 7th while they had a 5 run lead. He did allow one single which of course came around to score when Bennett Sousa couldn't get the last out of the 7th. Sousa allowed all three guys he faced to reach and two of them scored. Kai-Wie Teng returned to the bullpen, got out of the 7th, and pitched the 8th. Bryan King ended up pitching the 9th and picking up the save. Still hard to really tell much about the bullpen. It seems like King and De Los Santos are the "closers" with Sousa and Teng pitching late as well. Both closers remain risky adds. TBR: Griffin Jax started again. He can be dropped if you are looking for saves or holds. I suppose he could be worth looking at as a starter at some point. Garrett Cleavinger returned and pitched a scoreless 8th collecting a hold. With Baker seemingly locked in as the closer Cleavinger slots back into high leverage late inning spots but I doubt he sees many save chances. DET: Just injury news here with Will Vest hitting the IL. He has some forearm inflammation. He had struggled this year so this isn't shocking. They also announced Kenley was dealing with some groin soreness. He appears to be avoiding the IL but like I said earlier in the week if he keeps struggling they will send him to the IL instead of moving him out of the closers spot. Kyle Finnegan is the guy benefiting the most from todays news and is worth picking up if you are looking a chasing saves. STL: ROB picked up the save but ran into some trouble. He got two quick outs and then allowed 4 straight singles that plated a couple runs. He did strikeout Rushing to end the game and hold the now 3-2 lead. Stanek and Romero had pitched the 7th and 8th. It was a nice bounce back for Romero who had struggled. As for ROB I am not that worried but he is a guy who has a long injury history. If he stays healthy he can be a really good closer like we have seen so far. CWS: Grant Taylor had a chance for a 2 inning save but ran into trouble in the 9th. Fortunately Seranthony Domínguez bailed him out. Walks killed Taylor in the 9th as he put the 1st three guys on before striking out Sheets on a challenged pitch. Domínguez got the last two guys out and picked up his 8th save. Like I have been saying all year he is going to end up with 25 saves this year. Taylor is still a quality bullpen arm but might not see many holds or saves due to Domínguez and his usage patterns. LAA: They played a close game and shockingly the bullpen didn't blow it today. Sam Bachman was the 1st guy in and got out of a 1 out bases loaded jam in the 7th. He also pitched the 8th with no issue. Ryan Zeferjahn had no issue in the 9th and pitched in the 10th without allowing the ghost runner to score. He bounced back from blowing a save his last outing. Zeferjahn does appear to be the main option for saves when he is available. He has been pitching multiple innings so that might limit him on back to back days. Bachman seems to be the high leverage guy who they use to get out of trouble early. I would say target Zeferjahn if you are looking for a risky save play. SEA: Andrés Muñoz blew the save in SEA tonight. He allowed a leadoff single and balked the guy to second. A long single to left center allowed the run to score and the batter reached third after it was botched in the outfield. They called the run unearned due to the balk. He got the final two outs to get out of the inning. He has regressed from last year but I don't think he is in jeopardy of losing his job right now. The bullpen while strong could be in a little trouble if Munoz struggles especially with the recent loss of Brash. #FantasyBaseball #Closers #Bullpens #MLB #Mr9thInning