June Closer Thread 2018

[smeeze 6,086]

It's June! Last year's June Closer Thread had 102 pages. Can we break the century mark again?

 

A relief pitcher is awarded a save when he meets all three of the following conditions:

• He is the finishing pitcher in a game won by his club; and
• He is not the winning pitcher; and
• He qualifies under one of the following conditions:
  • He enters the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches for at least one inning; or
  • He enters the game, regardless of the score, with the potential tying run either on base, at bat, or on deck; or
  • He pitches for at least three innings. (The word "effectively" has been removed from the MLB rules.)

Under the last condition, the official scorer has some discretion as to whether or not to award a save. This is rule 10.20 of the Major League Rules.

No more than one save may be credited in each game. A pitcher who comes into the game in the circumstances described above is said to have a save opportunity.

[Monkeyman74 39]

So do the Chi Sox even use closers anymore or do they just not win games?

[molski 274]

is vazquez done? 

[Dr. Whom 3,014]

So how are we ranking the committees?

 

1. Dominguez

2. Barraclough

3. Jones

4. Alvaredo

5. Tepera

[duke of queens 1,025]

1 minute ago, Dr. Whom said:

So how are we ranking the committees?

 

1. Dominguez

2. Barraclough

3. Jones

4. Alvaredo

5. Tepera

Jones is not in a committee, just doesn't get many chances, but based on talent + save chances your order is prob right(minus Jones). 

[Dr. Whom 3,014]

1 minute ago, duke of queens said:

Jones is not in a committee, just doesn't get many chances, but based on talent + save chances your order is prob right(minus Jones). 

Yeah...although who knows in Chitown as we have not seen a save chance in a while. I think Jones has the role although most sites still say committee

[WahooManiac 1,964]

7 minutes ago, Dr. Whom said:

So how are we ranking the committees?

 

1. Dominguez

2. Barraclough

3. Jones

4. Alvaredo

5. Tepera

5b, c. Whatever happens with Pit and the possibility of a Herrera trade 

[PPolanco 1,216]

2 hours ago, smeeze said:

It's June! Last year's June Closer Thread had 102 pages. Can we break the century mark again?

May only had 87 so it's highly unlikely.

I've always liked Adam Conley and think he will find a nice home in the bullpen but I'm pretty sure he's very far from save opportunities right now. 

[dicka24 417]

If Herrera gets dealt, who takes over in KC?

 

If Vasquez gets demoted (or DL'd), who's the new closer in Pitt?

 

 

[kidtwentytwo 5,339]

10 minutes ago, dicka24 said:

If Herrera gets dealt, who takes over in KC?

 

If Vasquez gets demoted (or DL'd), who's the new closer in Pitt?

 

 

 

Someone suggested it would be Jason Adam 

 

Pirates, it kinda looks like Crick

[TrueToTheBlue 345]

So what's the story in Philly? Think Dominguez sees the majority of the save chances moving forward?

[kidtwentytwo 5,339]

Philly is a committee.  It’s not what everyone wants to hear, but it’s reality.  Dominguez is probably the guy to own there.  I would not pin my hopes on him getting a ton of saves relative to other closers on other teams, but he will help in other categories and get his share of save opportunities.

[knuckleheads 469]

4 minutes ago, kidtwentytwo said:

Philly is a committee.  It’s not what everyone wants to hear, but it’s reality.  Dominguez is probably the guy to own there.  I would not pin my hopes on him getting a ton of saves relative to other closers on other teams, but he will help in other categories and get his share of save opportunities.

 

I've said this before but what Philly is now reminds me a lot of what the Brewers were when Knebel was out.  Dominguez will be used whenever necessary and will be in line for a lot of holds and some saves similar to Hader.   He's not the closer but he's certainly the man... 

[AnonymousRob 3,429]

2 hours ago, Dr. Whom said:

So how are we ranking the committees?

 

1. Dominguez

2. Barraclough

3. Jones

4. Alvaredo

5. Tepera

We should throw the Angels into this mix. I think Parker is the guy, but I'm not terribly confident. I'd put Parker 1, Barraclough 2, Dominguez 3, then the rest as you have them. 

[96mnc 6,747]

3 hours ago, Dr. Whom said:

So how are we ranking the committees?

 

1. Dominguez

2. Barraclough

3. Jones

4. Alvaredo

5. Tepera

 

Man,  TB is just a freaking mess.

[street sharks 3,238]

Commenting just to get the star next to this thread so I can find it easier lol

[TheNephilim 169]

Quote

 

well there's this...

Kyle Crick has pitched the eighth inning in a close game each of the last two days for the first time this season.

He didn't allow a baserunner in either inning. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle referred to Crick's appearance Wednesday as "good, very good," prior to another scoreless outing Thursday. Michael Feliz had been the Pirates' setup man after the team cut George Kontos loose, but he's been scored upon in each of his last four appearances and threw 20 pitches Tuesday. It's possible Crick could now be next in line for saves, which is notable with Felipe Vazquez struggling and also having a forearm issue recently. Edgar Santana, Richard Rodriguez and Feliz could also be in the mix.

Related: Felipe Vázquez, Michael Feliz, Richard Rodriguez, Edgar Santana

 

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

[mjames242 35]

Yea, Kyle Crick is a stash for now.

 

Also commented to get Star next to thread ;-)

[dicka24 417]

What about Richard Rodriguez in Pitt?  32 K's in 20 IP, only 3 BB.  A 13.9 K/9 seems like closer type material with that tiny walk rate.    Cricks numbers are terrific too, but RR's are better.  I don't follow the Pirates so is there something I'm missing when I look at the numbers alone?  Is Crick's stuff better, or is he more trusted?  

[WahooManiac 1,964]

Going even a little deeper into the spec realm... Joe Jim in Detroit would probably be first choice if a trade/closer replacement situation comes up.  And Gsellman, with his SP/RP eligibility, has gotten a few splash saves in Met land recently.  If Familia goes down or gets traded he'd be my grab. 

[96mnc 6,747]

9 minutes ago, dicka24 said:

What about Richard Rodriguez in Pitt?  32 K's in 20 IP, only 3 BB.  A 13.9 K/9 seems like closer type material with that tiny walk rate.    Cricks numbers are terrific too, but RR's are better.  I don't follow the Pirates so is there something I'm missing when I look at the numbers alone?  Is Crick's stuff better, or is he more trusted?  

 

The issue with Rich Rod is his usage.   Very low leverage outings.

[dicka24 417]

2 minutes ago, 96mnc said:

 

The issue with Rich Rod is his usage.   Very low leverage outings.

Makes sense.  This is something deeper research, or someone who pays closer attention to the team or situation would know.  Thanks for that info.  It matters for sure when calculating who might get the 9th next.

[pbjfb 778]

3 hours ago, Dr. Whom said:

So how are we ranking the committees?

 

1. Dominguez

2. Barraclough

3. Jones

4. Alvaredo

5. Tepera

I would put hader at #1 and Vaz #7

[handyandy86 2,451]

Pretty hard to even rank Alvarado as the head of a committee when he hasn't even seen a save opportunity - he's more just in the "wishful thinking" category right now.  Not saying he's not worth holding, but nothing at this time points to him getting saves, other than speculation.  And the way Cash is finishing games with long relievers / starters over multiple innings, playing matchups, etc I don't know if anyone on that team will end up with more than a handful of saves.

 

As for the Pittsburgh situation, I think they are heavily enough invested into Vazquez that he's still the guy until he ends up on the DL.  And when that happens it's likely going to be another committee of sorts, since nobody really seems to be head and shoulders above the rest.  I don't doubt that Crick gets the first shot, and maybe even keeps getting the save opps if he converts, but I also think at the first sign of trouble or fatigue they won't hesitate to use Santana or Feliz or whomever.

[handyandy86 2,451]

Also as a side note, there has to be a better way to transition from one month's thread into the next.  Basically this morning and over the past several days there was lots of good discussion around Philly, Pittsburgh, Tampa, etc, pages and pages of it, and then the calendar turns to June and there's a new thread starting from post 1, May is locked, and we have to go through a page of "hey what's everyone think is going on in Philly??" after we just threw away pages of it.

 

To me it would make sense to carry over the last 2-3 pages of May into a new thread, call it June, and then carry on from there.  Too much good info and insight thrown away.