A day doesn’t pass without a prominent pitcher getting hurt. This isn’t the place to seek replacements for Noah Syndergaard, Corey Kluber, or Cole Hamels. Then again, no good answer exists for those dilemmas.
Instead of scraping the bottom of the barrel for a replacement-level starter, managers should consider using a spot opened by a DL move to ascertain a middle reliever. The right bullpen arm will often help more than Bartolo Colon or Joe Musgrove, especially when holds are in play.
Fantasy players should be familiar with these names. Whether as a starter, closer or the relief role in which they currently operate, they have all previously contributed. Even if they don’t have lofty hold tallies, these streaking National League West hurlers can all help. Don’t sleep on them just because they take the mound past an east coast viewer’s bedtime.
This isn’t the typical middle-relief roundup eyeing future closers. Instead, this column aims to help those in holds (or saves-plus-holds) formats. In some cases, they’re even useful for deep-league managers eyeing a strikeout and ratio boost beyond the obvious names.
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Archie Bradley and Jorge De La Rosa (ARI)
Fernando Rodney, the Arizona Diamondbacks closer and thus their only reliever who currently matters in most mixed leagues, is very bad. The 40-year-old has already coughed up 14 earned runs, nine more than he relinquished during his unfathomably exceptional 2012. Since he’s the veteran who has closed before because someone decided he felt like a closer years ago, Rodney remains in line for saves.
Arizona shuffled several unsuccessful ninth-inning candidates last year, leading the organization to seek relief help from two starters. Early in 2017, Archie Bradley and Jorge De La Rosa have both enjoyed their new casting.
A once hyped prospect, Bradley posted a 5.02 ERA during last year’s highly erratic rookie campaign. While this new role should not be permanent, he’ll help some fantasy owners more as a lethal fireman. Tasked to work at least two innings in five April outings, he wields a 1.16 ERA, 19 strikeouts and three walks in 16.1 frames. Untraditional usage aside, the 24-year-old has notched four holds.
For De La Rosa, the bullpen represents a path to prolonging his career. Unable to find a rotation spot, the 36-year-old has instead issued a 2.31 ERA and 13-3 K-BB ratio. No longer worried about longevity, he has induced a 21.1 swinging-strike percentage while sporting a 70.5 first-pitch strike rate well above his career norm of 55.5 percent.
Given his more conventional setup usage, De La Rosa leads the team with six holds and probably has a better chance of usurping Rodney for saves. Assigning Bradley the ninth would stifle his value with a smaller workload in occasionally less pressing situations. It would also prove tougher to relocate him back into the rotation when the need arises.
De La Rosa is also the more prudent add for those mainly interested in holds, but Bradley carries more upside in the other categories. It’s also far too soon to write off his ceiling as a high-end starter.
Brad Hand is out to prove last year’s bullpen breakout was no fluke. If anything, he looks even better in the role now.
After accruing a 2.92 ERA in 2016, the former starter is responsible for one run this season. The southpaw has stockpiled 17 strikeouts—a dozen against righties—over 13 innings with a 15.8 swinging-strike rate and has yielded one walk since April 10. Although he has just two holds, he’s commonly deployed in significant spots.
What’s not to like? Since last year, he has a 2.61 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 103.1 innings. An inevitable rise in his .164 BABIP and probable walk regression still won’t erase his utility as a valuable arm whom Padres manager Andy Green often uses.
Carter Capps could soon provide more late-inning competition, but he has looked shaky (5 IP, 7 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 4 BB, 6 K) in a Triple-A rehab stint and hasn’t pitched in an MLB game since August 2, 2015. If anything, fantasy managers stashing Capps should be more concerned about strong starts from Hand and closer Brandon Maurer. Hand is a top middle reliever worth owning in any holds league.
If only this Jake McGee showed up last April. Acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays to assume the Colorado Rockies’ closer role, he quickly lost the job by allowing six runs with three walks and strikeouts apiece during the opening month.
Now entrenched behind Mike Dunn, Adam Ottavino and new closer Greg Holland, McGee has quietly rediscovered his rhythm. With his fastball velocity repaired up to career norms, the 30-year-old southpaw has accumulated 13 punchouts over 9.2 frames. He hasn’t allowed a baserunner in his last three outings.
The Rockies suddenly boast a dominant bullpen, which means McGee must scratch and claw for hold opportunities. They have already won 10 games by one or two runs, leading Holland to an MLB-high 11 saves. Yet it’s Ottavino who has benefited from these frequent close encounters with a league-leading 10 holds.
McGee, however, also has two holds with a 1.52 FIP, and his teammates share his troubled injury past. Don’t buy just because he use to collect saves, but remember the impact he has made in the strikeout column.
Hunter Strickland has yet to relinquish a run or register a hold.
It’s a weird combination for a steady 28-year-old who led the San Francisco Giants with 38 holds over the past two seasons. Derek Law tops the disappointing last-place squad with three. Even Neil Ramirez has one this season despite also forfeiting 15 runs.
Along with San Francisco’s struggles, Strickland simply hasn’t appeared in the right spot. Yet he’s at worst the team’s third-best reliever behind closer Mark Melancon and Law. George Kontos has served three runs to the Padres in two separate appearances, and Cory Gearrin can’t sustain a 1.80 ERA while walking a batter per inning.
Even without Madison Bumgarner, the Giants should improve from their sluggish start. That should eventually lead to Strickland preserving leads in the seventh or eighth, so don’t give up on him in deeper formats.
Note: All advanced statistics are courtesy of FanGraphs as of Wednesday night.
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Andrew Gould is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive and follow him @andrewgould4.
