A’s reliever Jake Diekman finally allowed his first earned run of the year, giving up a home run to Edwin Rios in the 8th inning of last night’s game. It also snapped a streak of 5 straight games with a hold for Diekman (he did pick up a win) in the process. It’s been an impressive season for the veteran lefty, albeit a lucky one (.194 BABIP), but impressive as he leads the league in holds with 12. His 36.8% K rate ranks 14th amongst all relievers this season, while his 14.5% BB rate also ranks 15th highest (or lowest I suppose). He’s allowed only 8 hits all year, reminding me a lot of Brandon Workman’s 2019 season. While it’s been a great 2020 for Diekman, and I’m sure he has won some people some leagues, beware of the inevitable regression that will come next season.

 

Notes

• After a very slow start to the year, Will Smith now has 4 holds over the past two weeks and is back on the fantasy radar for the last weekend of the season as the Braves host the Red Sox. I still like Chris Martin a little bit better as he has rattled off 16 straight innings without allowing a run.
• The Angels bullpen has been on fire to start the week, with Mike Mayers (listed with the closers), Matt Andriese, and Felix Pena totaling 7 SV+HLD’s over the first 3 days of the week. The team gets a tough matchup this weekend with the Dodgers, but all three are still worth considering for those looking for holds.
• The Phillies have struggled to find consistency in their bullpen all season long, but may be turning a corner here as Tommy Hunter has pitched well in his past 5 games and figures to finish the season as the team’s top setup option in front of closer Hector Neris.
• Jonathan Hernandez has had a great season for the Rangers, but ending the season with a 4 game series against the Astros isn’t exactly ideal. Hernandez and Rafael Montero’s seasons have two of the positives in a dismal Rangers season, and with Jose Leclerc returning next year, this bullpen could be a real strength for them.

 

Rank	Pitcher	Change
1	Devin WilliamsT1	-
2	Drew Pomeranz	-
3	Tyler Duffey	-
4	Diego Castillo	-
5	Sergio Romo T2	-
6	Jake Diekman	+2
7		-
8	James Karinchak	+2
9	Archie Bradley	-
10	Blake Treinen	-4
11	Chris Martin T3	+6
12	Will Smith	+7
13	Zack Britton	-1
14	Matt Andriese	+12
15	Joakim Soria	+5
16	Ryan Brasier	+7
17	Andrew Miller	+UR
18	Nick Wittgren	+9
19	Jesse Hahn	+6
20		+18
21	Tommy Hunter	+19
22	Justin Wilson	+6
23	Félix Peña	+23
24	Scott Barlow	-13
25	Shane Greene	-7
26	Chad Green T4	-10
27	Jonathan Hernández	-14
28	Will Harris	-7
29	Josh Staumont	-7
30	Tyler Clippard	+6
31	Wander Suero	+1
32	Codi Heuer	+15
33	Ryan Helsley	+20
34	Yimi García	-10
35	Gregory Soto	-6
36	Emilio Pagán	-6
37	Pedro Báez	-6
38	Tyler Webb	+6
39	Trevor May	-2
40	Anthony Bass	+5
41	Craig Kimbrel T5	+7
42	Freddy Peralta	-
43	Yusmeiro Petit	-10
44	Adam Ottavino	+5
45	Lucas Sims	-10
46	Miguel Castro	+14
47	Kyle McGowin	-8
48	David Phelps	+2
49	Hunter Harvey	+14
50	Héctor Rondón	+9
51	Mychal Givens	-
52		+9
53	A.J. Cole	-1
54	Alex Reyes	+4
55	Yohan Ramírez	-1
56	Buck Farmer	-1
57	Tanner Scott	+7
58	Carlos Estévez	-1
59	Brusdar Graterol	+3
60	Oliver Drake	+8
61	Jake McGee T6	+4
62	JoJo Romero	-28
63	Phil Maton	-20
64	Brandon Workman	-8
65	Jarlín García	+4
66	Matt Foster	+9
67	Junior Guerra	+7
68	Tyler Matzek	+3
69	Enoli Paredes	-2
70	Sam Coonrod	+19
71	A.J. Minter	-1
72	Anthony Misiewicz	+10
73	Kendall Graveman	+UR
74	Kyle Ryan	+10
75	Ty Buttrey	+UR
76	Aaron Loup	+UR
77	T.J. McFarland	-11
78	Craig Stammen	-6
79		-6
80		-4
81	Ryan Sherriff	+UR
82	Brent Suter	-5
83	Nick Vincent	-5
84	Ryan Tepera	+3
85	Pierce Johnson	-6
86	Marcus Walden	+UR
87	Chris Stratton	+UR
88	Tim Hill	-7
89	James Hoyt	-3
90	Chasen Shreve	-2

 

Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@freshmeatcomm on Twitter)