In what may be further proof that we are currently living in some bizarro alternate timeline, Jhoulys Chacin actually leads all relievers in holds over the past month. Sure his 3.07 ERA and 1.02 WHIP look great over that timespan (14.2 IP) but that also comes with a 7/7 K/BB ratio and 5.21 xFIP. His stuff remains mostly the same with some increased velocity as a result of moving to the bullpen full-time, but it’s hard to deny the holds he’s providing at the moment. Feel free to ride with him for now, but just be aware he could blow up when Jhoulyst expect it.
Notes
- Diego Castillo returned to the Mariners bullpen this past week, and figure to form some sort of three-man committee in the later innings with Paul Sewald and Drew Steckenrider. Castillo already has a save since returning and has been lights out in general, tossing three scoreless innings while striking out five.
- After originally looking like he would fall out of high leverage work, Ryan Tepera has now recorded five holds over the past three weeks, with three of them coming this past week. Tepera has been one of the best trade deadline additions this year and holds a 1.88 ERA and .91 WHIP with a 34.5% K rate over his 14.1 innings with the White Sox.
- While nothing has been confirmed, the expectation is that Nick Anderson will return to the Rays bullpen sometime in the next week. The bullpen doesn’t exactly need Anderson, and it’s tough to tell how things will shake out here with everyone (mostly) healthy. Matt Wisler was also activated earlier in the week but it looks like he will go back on the IL as he’s not completely over his finger issue.
- Julian Merryweather was activated off the IL yesterday and his next appearance will be his first since April 13. The hype train at that time was through the roof, as Merryweather was showing off three plus pitches. Similar to Anderson, Merryweather brings considerable upside but with that comes a lot of unknowns. This late in the season, it’s a huge gamble to roster either one.
- Luke Jackson has 13 holds since the All-Star break, which is second behind only teammate Tyler Matzek so why did he just now crack the top 40? xStats aside, Jackson theoretically had Richard Rodriguez, Chris Martin, and Matzek to contend with in front of closer Will Smith. Now that Martin is out, it does free things up a bit for Jackson but be aware of potential regression.
- Daniel Hudson has not given the Padres much since being the team’s top trade deadline addition (yes, over Adam Frazier and his .574 OPS with SD in a part-time role). Hudson was supposed to slide into a setup role but has just one hold (Aug. 15th) in 14 appearances. Over that span, he has an ERA of 7.20 and WHIP of 1.70 with a 15.2% K-BB rate.
Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)
