Jason Adam has been the Rays best reliever all season, and while it would be easy to discount the journeyman’s success as early season luck, he’s actually been better as of late somehow. Since July, Adam has allowed just one earned run and five hits over 12 innings to go along with an 18/0 K/BB ratio. Of course, we are talking about the Rays here so SV+HLD chances are basically at random, but Adam’s eight since July 1st still rank fifth amongst all relievers so that’s not too shabby all things considered. Adam is a rare five-category contributor in SV+HLD’s leagues and should remain a top 20 option for the rest of the season.
Notes
- To my surprise, the Rockies decided to not only not trade Daniel Bard (nor any Rockie) this week, but they actually gave him a two-year extension for $19 million. It’s great for Bard and for those rostering Bard as he gets to stay as the closer for the rest of this season and beyond. David Robertson was moved as expected, but he winds up in a pretty good scenario in Philadelphia where he should get the bulk of the save chances the rest of the way.
- Taylor Rogers may not be closing out games for his new team, but I wouldn’t give up on him in leagues that count holds yet. While Devin Williams gets a minor bump in value, Rogers should remain a quality setup man and the Brewers have a way of getting the most out of their pitchers. I may be in the minority but I don’t think this was a bad deal by the Brewers and their bullpen should still be just as dominant as it was before.
- Jonathan Hernández has looked great in his return from TJ surgery so far, and while it’s only been seven games, it looks like he has already established himself as the team’s top closing option. Prior to the injury, Hernández was one of the best relievers in baseball, and it looks like his stuff has returned as his sinker is still averaging 98 MPH, and his slider/changeup getting Whiff rates of 60% and 50% respectively. If he stays healthy and this continues, look for him to keep rising.
- A.J. Puk, Jordan Romano, and Alex Vesia each had 3 SV+HLD’s this past week to lead all relievers. It’s great to see Puk getting high leverage work right now and he appears to be the best reliever on that team at the moment. Vesia is an interesting guy to keep an eye on as he was great for the Dodgers last year, and after only adding Chris Martin to the bullpen at the deadline, could be in line for significant high leverage work as the team’s top left-handed reliever.
Injured List
| PITCHER | TIER | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| David Bednar | 2-3 | Back. Placed on the 15-day IL on 8/3, too early to tell if it will be a minimum stint. |
| Drew Pomeranz | 3-4 | Flexor Tendon. Should be headed on a rehab assignment shortly |
| Nick Anderson | 3-4 | UCL. Rehab has moved to AAA (7/30) where he figures to stay for a couple of weeks. |
| J.P. Feyereisen | 3-5 | Shoulder. Feeling better but not throwing. Now on 60-day IL, out until late August. |
| Kirby Yates | 3-5 | TJS. Rehab now moved to AAA (7/27) and could return in the next few weeks. |
| Blake Treinen | 3-5 | Shoulder. Will face live hitters today (7/29) with a rehab stint after if that goes well. |
| Diego Castillo | 3-5 | Shoulder. Placed on IL on 7/28, expected to be a minimum length stint. |
| Aaron Bummer | 4-6 | Lat. Not throwing off a mound yet (7/7), likely out until mid-late August now. |
Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)
+18 on Felix and not even a half sentence dawg?
Haha I talked about him earlier in the week and on the podcast. But now that he’s locked in to the closer role, having consistent save chances, it improves his value pretty significantly. López had six saves in July to Bautistas theee holds as the Orioles like to play matchups before the ninth with that deep bullpen as opposed to just going with fixed setup roles. The only set role is the closer.
That combined with him being one of the most dominant RP’s in baseball this year leads to him moving up 18 spots.
Thanks for the 411, you do great work btw. Has helped me pull some relief guys early in my league. Appreciate it man!
Cionel Perez with 16 Holds and a lower ERA than Bautista didn’t make your top 100??
He’s just on the outside. The 4.05 xERA, .374 xFIP, 14% K-BB and 11% SwStr rates aren’t very exciting. 16 holds are nice, but thats just 1 a week to this point.