3 years agoHouston Astros closer Ryan Pressly earned his ninth save of the year on Tuesday after closing out the team's 3-1 win over the Oakland Athletics. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one hit and no walks. Pressly is now 9-for-11 on save opportunities this year and he has a 2.25 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. While those numbers all look solid, he has a few concerning metrics, including an 18.8% strikeout rate (down from 32.4% last year). His velocity is also down across the board this year. He's averaging 93.6 mph on his four-seam fastball, a pitch that was averaging 95.4 mph last year. There's no reason to think Pressly's closing role is in jeopardy at this point, but if the velocity drop and low strikeouts catch up to him, we could see the team look elsewhere, most likely toward Rafael Montero.--Andrew Ericksen - RotoBaller
Source: ESPN