Bullpen Banter - Baker Steps Up

The only thing we know for sure is that we don’t know much. Let’s just agree to be confused all season. In many situations, clarity has yet to present itself. And to be honest, I’m not sure that it will. All we can do is pay attention, be nimble, and react quickly. But not too quickly that we overreact. To say that managing your bullpen is the ultimate balancing act would be an understatement

.If we’re looking for a shade of optimism, we are still halfway through the first month of a six-month season. The intention here is to take you around the league each week and dig into the relevant news as it relates to the never-ending quest for saves.

Let’s jump right into some news to consider.

Bullpen Banter - Prospects LiveProspects LiveRay Kuhn

Athletics

Joel Kuhnel (Photo Credit: mlb.com)

Forget about Hogan Harris or Mark Leiter Jr., or Scott Barlow, for that matter. Whether by default or not, it appears that Joel Kuhnel is the reliever to target for saves in the Athletics bullpen. After Leiter gave up a three-run home run in the eighth inning of Wednesday’s game, Kuhnel came on to lock down the game. It was his third save of the season, as he continues to have success.

There’s not much in the way of pedigree, and both Harris and Barlow will still be in the late-inning mix, but Kuhnel appears to have the edge for now. Whether or not he’ll lead the Athletics in saves for the season remains up for debate, though. To close out a wild game on Thursday, the Athletics tried to go with Justin Sterner, and that resulted in his second loss of the season. Kuhnel has yet to allow a run in 4.2 innings this season, but I’m not sure how heavy the investment needs to be.

Kansas City Royals

Lucas Erceg (Photo Credit: mlb.com)

It’s unclear what Carlos Estevez’s velocity looks like, but he’s back to throwing off a mound. In a few days, Estevez should be heading out on a rehab stint, and it’s unclear what his return to action plan will be. Since taking over, Lucas Erceg was perfect in his first five save chances before blowing the game on Thursday. He’s not an especially overpowering pitcher when it comes to strikeouts, despite his average fastball velocity of around 98 miles per hour. Don’t give up on Estevez just yet. Well, at least not until he’s back from his rehab assignment and we get another look at him.

Minnesota Twins

Kody Funderburke (Photo Credit: Matt Krohn)

Cole Sands hasn’t registered a save this month, and his 4.26 ERA and 1.58 WHIP fail to generate much optimism. He’s one of five Minnesota Twins relievers with one save each to begin the season. None has much in the way of pedigree. Kody Funderburk's 2.35 ERA over 7.2 innings with 8 strikeouts is the best performance, but his 1.70 WHIP raises some concerns.

At this point, it’s a situation in which we should just stay away, as no one has distinguished themselves. Justin Topa was thought to be in the mix, but there’s nothing compelling there either. After Minnesota signed Taylor Rogers, we thought that could have been the answer, but he’s not even among the five pitchers with a save. Save the roster spot.

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