After having a 5.26 ERA from 2018-2020, how has Luis García become one of the better set up men in all of baseball? As Eno Sarris mentioned in a tweet yesterday García has gone back to throwing a sinker this season and the results have been all positive. Over the past six weeks (Aug. 19), García leads the league in holds with eleven. He has a 2.78 ERA and .96 WHIP for the year. Despite having success over 31.2 innings this season, it’s hard to tell what the future may hold for the soon to be 35 year old. He will hit free agency for the first time in his career and should be able to secure a guaranteed contract from a team. The Cardinals end the season with the Cubs, so as long as they aren’t looking to rest García, he should be in line for at least one more hold this year.
Notes
- The Phillies and closer Ian Kennedy get one more series against the Marlins to finish off the season. Despite being out of playoff contention, there’s still a chance we see Kennedy close out one more game. On the flip side, Dylan Floro has had a nice month (2.45 ERA, 1.00 WHIP) and if the Phillies decided to give some veterans days off for this meaningless series, he could be a sneaky weekend play as well.
- Alex Colomé and Scott Barlow have been two of the better closer options since the deadline, and their respective teams will square off for one last series to end the season. There are holes in both offenses, so I like taking a chance on these two closers, and perhaps they will each pick up one more save apiece.
- Red Sox reliever Adam Ottavino may not have a high leverage role anymore and with the team sinking fast, there’s no real reason to hold out hope for him to help you out this weekend. Ottavino currently holds a 7.56 ERA through 8.1 innings in September, with just one save and one hold. Boston ends their season with a series against the lowly Nationals, but after losing two out of three to the Orioles, it’s hard to trust anyone on this team right now.
- Will Smith led all relievers in SV+HLD’s this past week with four. While he hasn’t quite been 2018-2019 Giants Will Smith, he’s been the key cog in an underrated Braves bullpen, with his 37 saves only one behind Mark Melancon’s 38 for the league lead.
Photo adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)
