Happy Cinco De Mayo! As you eat your favorite Mexican food and sip on your margaritas, we finally have a little excitement in the closer landscape to talk about! From Ken Giles punching himself in the face to closer changes in St. Louis and Los Angeles, this week provided no shortage of topics. But first, here's a look into the guys who were the most productive and the least productive from the week that was.
Saves Leaders This Week:
Brad Boxberger - 4
Aroldis Chapman - 3
Blown Saves This Week:
Kelvin Herrera - 1
Craig Kimbrel -1
Addison Reed - 1
Cam Bedrosian - 1
Brad Hand - 1
Around the League:
-Mike Matheny officially announced that Bud Norris would be the primary closer for the Cardinals, for the time being. Norris has been nothing short of excellent all season and sees a big jump in my overall rankings this week after the added vote of confidence and job stability that comes with. Norris has been getting ahead in counts with an unbelievable 71% first strike percentage, a leading factor that has helped him walk significantly fewer batters, meanwhile, he has simultaneously upped his chase rate and swinging strike rates by 3%. So what has changed? For one, he's throwing his sinker more and his slider less. Despite the change, he's actually inducing the lowest number of ground balls that he's ever done in his career, but the results are there. Looking forward, the 41% hard hit rate is a little concerning, especially since his 8% HR/FB rate is a little artificially depressed right now. Further, his 88% strand rate is likely a little too high to be sustainable, so as that regresses, so will some of his sparkling ERA. Nonetheless, none of the negatives are enough to dampen his star. He's a solid option right now.
-A night after Ken Giles allowed a go-ahead three-run homerun to Gary Sanchez, which resulted in self-harm inflicted by Giles, Astros manager AJ Hinch opted to go with Will Harris in the 9th inning because he "could get those guys out due to matchups". Well, unfortunately he wasn't able to get those guys out and ended up loading the bases for Brad Peacock, who proceeded lets three runs score on a single and fielder's choice. Up until Giles' performance against Gary Sanchez, he had managed scoreless appearances in his eight previous outings. Giles' outburst on Tuesday was likely pent up frustration over a season that hasn't gone his way. Given the way the bullpen struggled most recently, Chris Devenski remains the team's best reliever right now and would be the logical choice, if Hinch wanted to avoid Giles again. If it were us, however, we'd go back to Giles and see what he can do. Unfortunately, it's not us and the only thing we can control is his ranking. We'll continue to bump him down until he can prove he has his job back.
-Inconsistent might be the best way to describe Shane Greene's performance this season as the Tigers' closer. Greene has outings where he strikes out the side, outings where he doesn't strike anyone out, outings with multiple runs allowed and outings with no runs allowed. All of that was on display this week as he started out the week with a loss, then bounced back with two scoreless appearances, including a save. Greene's hold on the job is loosening, but Joe Jimenez hasn't pushed the issue, either. Jimenez has been good, but he has looked quite hittable lately. Another blown save by Greene could blow this entire situation open, but for now, it's just one to monitor.
-Angels closer Keynan Middleton landed on the disabled list this week with elbow inflammation, but despite the ominous label, the Angels aren't currently too concerned about the length of the injury. According to Middleton, "I was just sore after that day," he said. "I went in and talked to the trainers, and I haven't felt anything since, so hopefully that continues and after my 10 days are up, I'm back with the team." Middleton could be activated as soon as Tuesday, and given that Cam Bedrosian still can't close games (he blew his first save chance in Middleton's absence), the team likely won't wait around to activate their closer. For this weekend, look for Jim Johnson or rookie Justin Anderson to ascend into the role. Anderson seems to have his manager's trust, already seeing work in high leverage situations against the Yankees and Astros. Anderson has seen a big spike in his strikeout rate this season, something one would expect from a pitcher with a 99MPH fastball and 87 MPH slider, but his minor league track record is nothing to get excited about. Our preference would not to spend big on any Angels closer and simply wait for Middleton's imminent return.
-Josh Hader is a machine. On Monday, Hader started the 7th inning and never relinquished the gig, striking out eight batters to record the save on Monday night. Corey Knebel is going out on a rehab assignment and he is expected to reclaim the closer role upon his return, but Hader will obviously hold tremendous amounts of value in all formats moving forward thanks to his ridiculous strikeout ability.
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