Michael King continues to shine as the Yankees top setup option behind closer Clay Holmes (who thought this would be a sentence a year ago?) as he is second in strikeouts amongst all relievers for the season (52) and second in CSW% at 35.8%. The Yankees do have some reinforcements on the way in that bullpen in Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, and Jonathan Loáisiga, but with Chad Green out for the season, King should be able to fill that Green role where he may enter earlier on in games. While that may limit hold chances, it does tend to lead to more wins so it’s not something to worry about.
Notes
- What a story John Schreiber has been this season, as he has been a rock at the backend of the Red Sox bullpen as of late, picking up a whopping four holds over the past week. The sinker/slider mix has produced groundballs at an almost 55% clip and his slider is getting enough whiffs to keep his K rate over 30%. Keep rocking with him and with Tanner Houck out for the upcoming Blue Jays series next week, Schreiber may wind up with a save chance or two.
- Ken Giles has finally returned to the Mariners bullpen, making his debut this past week and he looked…alright. His velocity was at 95 MPH although he only threw five fastballs as he went slider heavy. Giles consistently sat 97+ mph before the injury so it’s something to monitor, but we could see him become a more slider-dominant pitcher if the velo doesn’t improve. I don’t think Giles is a real threat to join the closer mix here anytime soon, but someone to keep an eye on after the All-Star break if he progresses.
- José Leclerc also made his return recently from Tommy John surgery and did not fare so well, allowing four hits and a walk over an inning (at least his velo was good!?). Command is one of the biggest things to watch for as pitchers return from a long, TSJ layoff and it showed in Leclerc’s first outing. As with Giles, it may take a while to get back into the rhythm of things (with Giles it’s getting his velo up, while with Leclerc it’s a command issue) but we’ve seen the upside here in the past so he’s worth watching.
- Collin McHugh returned from a Covid-IL stint this past week and should enter back into a middle relief role for the Braves. Despite lefties Will Smith and A.J. Minter locking down setup roles, McHugh should still see more hold opportunities (despite only five holds on the season) as the top right-handed reliever in this bullpen outside of Kenley Jansen.
- Corey Knebel has been demoted out of the closer role for the time being and I wouldn’t count on him getting that job back anytime soon. That being said, he’s still a talented arm who we shouldn’t completely forget about just yet. He’s not going to be of much help in the short term, but for those of you in deeper holds leagues, I’d hang onto Knebel to see how things play out.
- I love seeing past favorites in John Brebbia and Carl Edwards Jr. having success this season after dealing with injuries and bouncing around the league the past few seasons. Both have been high up on this list in the not-too-distant past, and are starting to figure into more high-leverage situations for their respective teams, so they are two names worth monitoring.
Photo Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)
