RADIO
So it's not a super common expression, but sometimes, when a pitcher makes a hitter look really bad (usually on a breaking ball), you'll hear announcers say he "undressed him" with the pitch. Well, here's the thing: this week, we've had actual pitchers undress on the field. Manfred League Baseball began enforcing the sticky stuff rules this week, having umpires check pitchers for foreign substances. It led to (so far) no suspensions, one hat swap, one Max Scherzer/Joe Girardi altercation, and one Sergio Romo adventure.
Spin rates are down, significantly for some pitchers, throughout baseball. Offense is up a bit, but not as significantly as some people thought it would be, at least not right away. This week had some reliever injuries, some committee blow ups, and more Rays being Rays. Let's go ahead and leave the spin rates and the sticky stuff in this introduction and talk about closers and their roles in the rest of the article, yeah?
Be sure to keep an eye on our RotoBaller Closers and Saves Bullpen Depth Charts. They're updated daily, or sometimes even more often in this wild 2021 baseball season. With that being said, here are the closers, saves, and bullpen waiver wire pickups to consider for Week 14 - June 28 through July 4.
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Bullpen News For The Week
Cincinnati Reds
Just as the Reds bullpen looked like it was figuring itself out, Lucas Sims (elbow) ends up on the 10-day injured list with an elbow injury. Sims was taking charge of the ninth inning for Cincinnati, finally establishing some kind of routine in the Reds bullpen. His injury might not lead to more chaos though, as Tejay Antone returned from his own injury at the same time.
Antone looked like he'd be the immediate favorite for saves in Cincinnati, and should still be a valuable bullpen piece in all fantasy formats, but especially so in holds leagues. Amir Garrett has been pitching better lately and Heath Hembree has been seeing more high leverage situations as well, but Brad Brach got the first save in the post-Sims era. Brach has been solid this season, and is certainly worth picking up in case he runs away with the ninth inning for the Reds.
Risers: Brad Brach, Tejay Antone, Amir Garrett
Fallers: Lucas Sims
Philadelphia Phillies
Hector Neris has been the Phillies closer seemingly forever despite feeling like he's been on a perpetual hot seat. Well, that seat just got a whole lot hotter as Neris has blown three of his past five save opportunities. Phillies manager and K-Long agitator Joe Girardi said he would take Thursday's day off to "think about" making a change at closer. In other words, Joe Girardi will be making a change at closer.
Jose Alvarado is not only the logical next guy up, but also the guy that Girardi praised in his next breath after mentioning the possible ninth inning change. Alvarado has been extremely hard to hit, but extremely easy to walk against this season. He has a 2.70 ERA with an impressive 30.8 K% but a concerning 19.7 BB%. Neris should still work high leverage innings after perhaps spending some time in mop up duty, but if Alvarado does take over the ninth inning, he could hold onto it for a while.
Alvarado is worth picking up in most formats, while Neris can probably be let go. If Alvarado does struggle right away, Sam Coonrod would presumably get the next shot at the closer's role before it went back to Neris.
Risers: Jose Alvarado, Sam Coonrod
Fallers: Hector Neris
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks finally won a game this week, snapping a 17-game losing streak. They also made a change in their bullpen, not only demoting Stefan Crichton from their closer role, but even from the 40-man roster. Crichton was designated for assignment after putting up a 6.04 ERA.
He was leading the team with four saves and somehow hadn't been charged with a blown one despite the bloated ERA. Crichton isn't a standout bullpen arm by any means, but he's better than his results this season. His 4.83 xERA isn't good, but it's definitely better than the 6.04 ERA that might end up on his baseball card.
With Crichton out of the bullpen, the Diamondbacks will move veteran Joakim Soria into the closer's role. They'll try to get him as many saves as possible before the trade deadline to inflate his trade value. Noe Ramirez and Ryan Buchter move into setup roles, but while Arizona probably won't go on another 17-game losing streak, they're also probably not going to have all that many leads to hold and save.
Risers: Joakim Soria, Noe Ramirez
Fallers: Stefan Crichton
Short Relief
-Ian Kennedy wasn't feeling well on a day he was needed this week, and Joely Rodriguez earned a save in his place. That solidifies the idea that Rodriguez will be the one taking over the ninth inning in Texas after Kennedy is inevitably traded before the deadline.
-Kendall Graveman hadn't looked quite like himself since returning from the IL, but he had a solid 1-2-3 inning this week to earn a save and should be back at the top of the Seattle committee.
-Greg Holland seems to have taken over in the Kansas City bullpen, with Scott Barlow working as the key setup man. Josh Staumont hasn't pitched in over a week.
-Sergio Romo has no problem taking his pants off on a major league baseball field.
-The Blue Jays signed John Axford, who may work his way into late inning work if he gets called up. For now, Jordan Romano will continue to head the committee, especially now with Rafael Dolis (finger) on the injured list.
-Cleveland continues to use James Karinchak and Emmanuel Clase as a two-headed bullpen monster. Both have tons of value in holds leagues and are likely quite frustrating to roster in standard saves-only formats.
-The Twins have also been mixing and matching but Taylor Rogers seems like the favorite for saves when he's available and the matchups aren't specifically against him. Hansel Robles and Tyler Duffey will still be around, but if one of the Twins relievers needs to be on a fantasy roster, Rogers is the best bet.
-The Giants will likely switch things up from one week to the next, but for now it is looking like Jake McGee is the ninth inning guy while Tyler Rogers is the eighth inning guy. McGee has more fantasy value, even as a committee member, thanks to his much higher strikeout upside.
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