As we get closer to the MLB All-Star break, some bullpens are settling into a routine while others remain somewhat unstable.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Over six appearances in March, Mark Melancon posted a 5.40 ERA and 1.60 WHIP over five innings with two strikeouts, a save and a blown save. He is 11-for-13 in closing situations while still having a job loss risk. Ian Kennedy didn’t gain any momentum toward the ninth inning after struggling over the past week (two runs, five base runners and one home run over three innings with three strikeouts). Joe Mantiply hasn’t allowed a run since May 4 (no runs over 14 innings with no walks and 18 strikeouts). Unfortunately, his last save opportunity came on that day.
Atlanta Braves
Kenley Jansen regained his form over his previous four innings (no runs, one hit and four strikeouts), leading to four saves (six in June). He converted 18 of his 21 save chances on the year, with strength in his WHIP (0.90) and strikeouts (38 over 27.2 innings). Will Smith didn’t allow a run over his last four innings with no walks and four strikeouts. The best arm in the Braves’ bullpen continues to be A.J. Minter (0.98 ERA and 0.76 WHIP over 27.2 innings with 36 strikeouts). He improved his scoreless streak to 27 innings.
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Baltimore Orioles
The right arm of Jorge Lopez has been impressive in his previous 12.2 innings (no runs and four hits with 10 strikeouts and five saves), highlighted by his improved command (one walk). His ERA (0.85) and WHIP (0.85) remain in the twilight zone while being successful in nine of his 11 save tries. Felix Bautista stretched his shutout run to 11 innings with nine strikeouts, two wins and six holds.
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox hope Tanner Houck can take the ball and run with their closing job. He delivered two saves over the past week while looking sharp over his previous 16 innings (no runs and 15 baserunners with 18 strikeouts). His minor league pedigree pointed to a late-inning role based on his fastball and an elite slider. Matt Strahm delivered a pair of saves over his last four appearances (one run over three innings with four strikeouts). However, he did give up the lead in one matchup.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs didn’t create a save chance for David Robertson over the first 14 days in June, leading to 4.1 shutout innings with one walk and eight strikeouts. He is 7-for-9 in save conversions with an excellent ERA (1.59) and WHIP (0.97) over 22.2 innings. Rowan Wick pitched poorly over his previous 10.2 innings (10 runs and 21 baserunners with nine strikeouts), removing him from closing consideration. Mychal Givens lost his way (six runs and 11 baserunners) and command (six walks) over his past 3.2 innings.
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Chicago White Sox
Liam Hendriks popped up on the game notes on Sunday, which hinted at a forearm issue and a trip to the injured list. The White Sox suggested he’ll be back in three weeks, but his injury could eventually draw the TJ surgery tag. Hendriks didn’t allow a run over his last 10.1 innings with 14 strikeouts and seven saves. He has 16 saves in 19 opportunities. Kendall Graveman looks like a wise pickup for those adding him to their teams over the past couple of days. Despite the appearance of being the next man up, he struggled over his previous 11.1 innings (five runs, 19 baserunners and two home runs with 10 strikeouts and three blown saves). The stealth arm may be Joe Kelly, who just came off the injured list (hamstring). Behind his disaster ERA (8.10) and WHIP (2.10) are 4.2 shutout innings with four baserunners and eight strikeouts.
Cincinnati Reds
After delivering a save on June 12 (two runs, three baserunners and one home run over one inning), Alexis Diaz suffered a blown save in his next game when he allowed an unearned run. Diaz has a 4.97 ERA and 1.11 WHIP over his previous 12.2 innings, with seven walks and 15 strikeouts. Joel Kuhnel has closing experience in the minors and he earned a save with the Reds on June 14. Over his last four games with the Reds, Kuhnel gave up five runs, seven baserunners and one home run over 4.2 innings with three strikeouts.
Cleveland Guardians
Emmanuel Clase has been electric over his late 12 innings, leading to no runs and six baserunners with 15 strikeouts and six saves. He has two failed saves in his 15 chances to close games. Eli Morgan improved his scoreless run to 16.1 innings with three walks and 23 strikeouts.
Colorado Rockies
The Rockies' closer job has been in safe hands with Daniel Bard so far in 2022. He is 13-for-15 in closing situations with no runs allowed over his last 13 innings with 15 strikeouts, two wins and four saves. With Tyler Kinley placed on the injured list for the season after suffering a right elbow injury, Alex Colome regains his position as Colorado’s top setup man. He extended his shutout streak to 15.2 innings with nine strikeouts and a save while lowering his ERA to 2.22.
Detroit Tigers
Despite allowing his first run since opening day on June 11, Gregory Soto recorded his 13th save in 14 tries. His ERA now sits at 1.96, with 21 strikeouts over 23 innings. Michael Fulmer looks closer-worthy after pitching 7.2 scoreless innings with one hit, 13 strikeouts and four holds.
Houston Astros
Over his two innings of work over the past week, Ryan Pressly tossed two shutout innings with no strikeouts and one save. He has 12 saves in his 14 closing chances. Rafael Montero has a 9.00 ERA and 2.00 WHIP in June over five innings.
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Kansas City Royals
The Royals gave Scott Barlow only three successful save tries over the past month. Over this span, he allowed three runs, 16 baserunners and two home runs over 13 innings with 13 strikeouts. Barlow has one blown save in his eight chances to close games. Josh Staumont has a 1.69 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in June over 5.1 innings with three strikeouts.
Los Angeles Angels
Home runs allowed (five over 21.1 innings) continue to be an issue for Raisel Iglesias in 2022. He is 12-for-14 pitching with the game on the line, but his ERA (4.64) has been a problem over his last 8.2 innings (8.31 ERA and 1.50 WHIP). Ryan Tepera has a 3.24 ERA and nine strikeouts over his previous 8.1 innings with two blown leads.
Los Angeles Dodgers
There hasn’t been much reason to get excited about Craig Kimbrel since May 27. He allowed five runs and 13 baserunners over 7.1 innings with 12 strikeouts, three saves and a blown save. Despite his struggles, Kimbrel failed to convert a save just once in his 13 opportunities. Daniel Hudson surrendered a pair of runs on June 9, ending his shutout run at 8.2 innings with no walks, 11 strikeouts and four saves.
Miami Marlins
The Phillies hit a three-run game-winning home run off Tanner Scott, ending his six shutout innings in June. Over his last six games, he had four saves and two wins. Dylan Floro pitched his way out of save contention after getting drilled by the Phillies on Monday night (four runs and four hits over two-thirds of an inning). Before his lousy outing, he tossed 9.2 shutout innings with three strikeouts.
Milwaukee Brewers
Stepping on the mound in June for Josh Hader has been a rare occurrence (three times over 15 days). In addition, the Brewers placed him on the paternity list on June 15. He pitched one shutout inning over the past week with three strikeouts and his 19th save in 20 opportunities. Devin Williams continued his stellar pitching by improving his shutout streak to 13 innings with seven baserunners, 20 strikeouts, a win, two saves and five holds.
Minnesota Twins
After tripping up on June 9 vs. the Yankees (two runs and four baserunners over one-third of an inning), Jhoan Duran tossed three shutout innings with four strikeouts. He has a 1.13 ERA and 0.81 WHIP over his previous 16 innings with 21 strikeouts and three saves, but his last closing chance came on May 24. Emilio Pagan hasn’t allowed a run or hit over his previous four innings with seven strikeouts and two saves. He cleaned up his command over the past month (two walks over 13.1 innings with 17 strikeouts), leading to a 2.70 ERA with five saves. Pagan converted nine of his 12 closing chances on the year.
New York Mets
Edwin Diaz pitched at an electric level over his last 5.2 innings (no runs or hits with two walks and 11 strikeouts), but he only picked up a win and a save. He lowered his ERA to 2.13 and upped his strikeout total to 48 over 25.1 innings. Diaz is 12-for-15 closing out games. Seth Lugo has a 1.69 ERA and 0.84 WHIP since May 21 with eight strikeouts.
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New York Yankees
As the wins pile up for the Yankees, so do the elite innings by Clay Holmes. Since taking over for the closing role on May 18, he pitched 12.1 scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts and nine saves. Holmes hasn’t been scored on over his past 30 innings with three walks and 30 strikeouts. Setup man Aroldis Chapman threw the ball twice over the last week in the bullpen with no issues. His next step is going on a rehab assignment.
Oakland A’s
The Money Ball days and winning record in Oakland left the building over the winter when they gave away their best players. Since May 20, they went 4-19, with their last save coming five days later by Dany Jimenez. The ninth-inning job remains up for grabs after Jimenez turned into a disaster arm over his previous six games (11 runs, 13 baserunners and one home run over 4.2 innings with two blown saves). He has 10 saves in his 12 opportunities. A.J. Puk hasn’t been an edge over Oakland's losing run (4.15 ERA and six strikeouts over 8.2 innings with three holds). Sadly, the A’s don’t have another deserving arm to take over the closing role on the major league roster.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies will give Corey Knebel a pause from closing after struggling on too many outings over the past month (five runs, 21 baserunners and two home runs over 10.2 innings with nine strikeouts, four saves and three blown saves). He secured 11 saves in his 15 tries this year. His downfall has been his lack of command (16 walks over 25 innings). As a result, I don’t expect him to regain the closing role. In his first chance to secure a save, Seranthony Dominguez served up a game-tying home run and a hit over two-thirds of an inning, ending his scoreless streak at 14 innings with 19 strikeouts. He remains the favorite to close games for Philadelphia, but Brad Hand has more closing experience. Over his last 12 innings, Hand has a 1.50 ERA and 12 strikeouts.
Pittsburgh Pirates
In a strange occurrence, Pittsburgh pushed David Bednar to the limit (43 pitches) on Wednesday night when he pitched 2.2 innings to pick up his 11th save in his 12th chance. Bednar also pitched the day before in a blowup game (13 pitches). Needless to say, he looks shut down for the next few days. Yerry De Los Santos should move up the Pirates’ bullpen ranks after starting his major-league career with a 2.70 ERA and eight strikeouts over 6.2 innings. His season started with success at AAA (three runs over 15.2 innings with 20 strikeouts and three saves).
San Diego Padres
Taylor Rogers threw the ball better over his last four games (no runs over four innings with three strikeouts and three saves), coming after a poor three outings (seven runs, eight baserunners and one home run over 1.2 innings). He is 19-for-22 in closing situations. Luis Garcia saw his eight-inning shutout run end on June 12 when he allowed a pair of runs and three hits over one inning.
San Francisco Giants
Camilo Doval earned his first save in June on Tuesday night while improving his scoreless streak to 6.2 innings with eight strikeouts and two wins. He has nine saves in his 11 chances. Since returning from the injured list, Jake McGee hasn’t allowed a run over seven innings with four strikeouts, one save and one blown save.
Seattle Mariners
Diego Castillo was the best arm in the Mariners’ bullpen over the past three weeks. Over this span, he gave up no runs, one hit and one walk over 10 innings with 16 strikeouts and two saves. Unfortunately, Castillo only has four successful saves on the year, with plenty of work needed to correct his ERA (5.09) and WHIP (1.30). Paul Sewald struggled over the last week (three runs, five baserunners and two home runs over 2.1 innings with four strikeouts). Seattle last used him to close a game on June 5. He looks to be the better option by season stats (3.04 ERA and 0.85 WHIP over 23.2 innings), but the Mariners manager has commitment issues. Matt Brash has been electric over his previous nine innings at AAA (no runs, seven baserunners and 14 strikeouts), putting him back on the path to the majors.
St. Louis Cardinals
In June, Ryan Helsley didn’t give up a run over 6.2 innings with four baserunners, seven strikeouts, two saves and one blown save. He secured five wins for the Cardinals with two failures while remaining in a split closing role. Giovanny Gallegos threw the ball well over his last five games (no runs over six innings with three hits, nine strikeouts, two wins and one save). He is 9-for-12 when asked to finish off victories.
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Tampa Bay Rays
The closing job is up for grabs in Tampa after losing Andrew Kittredge for the season with an elbow injury. Jason Adam looks like their next shutdown ninth-inning arm after not allowing a run over his previous 15 innings with 18 strikeouts, two saves and six holds. Colin Poche has two wins, three saves and one blown save over his last 6.1 innings with a 1.42 ERA and five strikeouts. J.P. Feyereisen remains out with a bone bruise.
Texas Rangers
Joe Barlow started to run off the tracks in June (five runs, seven baserunners, two saves and two blown saves over five innings). He is 11-for-13 closing games. Brock Burke hasn’t allowed a run over his past 21 innings with 18 strikeouts, two wins and three holds.
Toronto Blue Jays
Jordan Romano has yet to have a save chance in June while only making three appearances (no runs or hits over three innings with two strikeouts). When asked to close, he has delivered 16 saves in his 19 tries. Adam Cimber faded slightly over his last six innings (4.50 ERA and 1.33 WHIP with five strikeouts and two wins).
