The Phillies received devastating news to their bullpen this past weekend with José Alvarado being suspended 80 games for violating the leagues PED policy but thats not to say this bullpen is a black hole moving forward. Jordan Romano has pitched much better over the past month, Orion Kerkering is having a nice May and even guys like Tanner Banks have looked awesome lately (and they still have Matt Strahm). Romano hasn’t exactly improved his velocity to where it was in his prime, but the command has gotten much better and the slider is really carrying him right now. Over his past 8 IP, Romano holds 37% K-BB and 35.4% CSW rates to go along with a 1.37 SIERA and 1.99 xFIP while not allowing any runs. I don’t know if he is the Phillies closer for the remainder of the season, but I’m intrigued by this recent success and the teams trust in him as he was picking up saves even before the Alvarado suspension.
Notes
- Emilio Pagán had a rough outing last Tuesday, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) and picking up the loss against the White Sox (yes, the White Sox got to him) but he has bounced back nicely, picking up three saves against the Guardians this weekend. Even with that outing last week, Pagan has quietly dominated over the past month, with 34.7% K and 16.6% SwStr rates plus a 2.57 SIERA over his past 11.2 IP. He doesn’t belong in that top tier quite yet, but he’s a pretty safe bet as a top 15 closer moving forward.
- Kenley Jansen is still grinding away as he looks to overtake Lee Smith in career save totals (22 away) but he’s clearly not the guy he used to be. Jansen has always been able to miss bats, even in recent years, but his 10.2% SwStr rate is 5th worst amongst active closers this year (only Carlos Estévez, Ryan Walker, Kyle Finnegan and Luke Jackson are below him) and from a CSW standpoint, his 24.3% mark is the third worst, only beating Estevez and Robert Suarez. Only Kyle Finnegan has a lower O-Swing%/Chase rate than Jansen, and Estevez, Pete Fairbanks and Jackson are the only closers with lower K rates than Jansen’s 21.3%. Jansen’s job is relatively safe, but the limited upside here knocks him down into a tier with the rest of the low upside but safe closers.
- Speaking of Luke Jackson, he’s healthy while Chris Martin continues to battled arm issues and Robert Garcia gives up walk offs so I guess by default Jackson is the Rangers clear cut closer again. I still don’t have much faith in this lasting a full season but for now, Jackson is the Rangers closer and should see some save chances again (his last save was April 25th). Jackson has only thrown five innings over the past month, picking up just the one save while posting a 9.00 ERA (5.33 SIERA), 2.40 WHIP and 3.8% K-BB.
- The Cubs will be placing Porter Hodge on the IL today, and will once again have an opening in the closer role. They turned to Daniel Palencia last night who wound up blowing the save and picking up an L (he was one pitch away from a clean outing too). Drew Pomeranz worked the 8th and Ryan Pressly the 7th, and we may very will be looking at that veteran duo seeing the bulk of the saves moving forward. Pomeranz has been a fun story to follow after not pitching since 2021, and has been the sturdiest reliever in this bullpen over the past month. Pressly for his part has not allowed any runs since his eight earned run outing on May 6th, but he hasn’t exactly been dominant since then (4 hits, BB over past 4.1 IP). Palencia and perhaps Brad Keller (0.58 WHIP, 1.95 SIERA, 23% K-BB over past 10.1 IP) could also factor in.
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh HaderT1 | HOU | +1 |
| 2 | Mason Miller | SD | -1 |
| 3 | Andrés Muñoz | SEA | - |
| 4 | Edwin Díaz | LAD | +1 |
| 5 | Jeff Hoffman | TOR | -1 |
| 6 | Jhoan Duran | PHI | +1 |
| 7 | Emmanuel Clase | CLE | +2 |
| 8 | Tanner Scott | LAD | - |
| 9 | Félix Bautista | BAL | -3 |
| 10 | Aroldis Chapman | BOS | - |
| 11 | Trevor MegillT2 | MIL | +2 |
| 12 | Emilio Pagán | CIN | +6 |
| 13 | Jordan Romano | LAA | +23 |
| 14 | Robert SuarezT3 | ATL | -2 |
| 15 | Raisel Iglesias | ATL | +1 |
| 16 | Ryan Helsley | BAL | -1 |
| 17 | David BednarT4 | NYY | +2 |
| 18 | Devin Williams | NYM | +2 |
| 19 | Ryan Walker | SF | +2 |
| 20 | Pete FairbanksT5 | MIA | -3 |
| 21 | Kenley Jansen | DET | -7 |
| 22 | Kyle Finnegan | DET | +1 |
| 23 | Carlos Estévez | KC | -1 |
| 24 | Luke WeaverT6 | NYM | +3 |
| 25 | Will Vest | DET | -1 |
| 26 | Camilo Doval | NYY | - |
| 27 | Shelby Miller | CHC | +1 |
| 28 | Luke Jackson | NYM | +4 |
| 29 | Dennis Santana | PIT | - |
| 30 | Daniel Palencia | CHC | +UR |
| 31 | Griffin JaxT7 | TB | +7 |
| 32 | Cade Smith | CLE | +3 |
| 33 | Matt Strahm | KC | +UR |
| 34 | Lucas Erceg | KC | -1 |
| 35 | Jason Adam | SD | -1 |
| 36 | Drew PomeranzT8 | LAA | +UR |
| 37 | Jordan Leasure | CWS | +UR |
| 38 | Robert Garcia | TEX | -7 |
| 39 | Tommy Kahnle | BOS | +1 |
| 40 | Anthony Bender | MIA | +UR |
