Bullpen Banter - Are Things Calming Down?

Let's get one thing clear: I'm not looking to jinx us. When it comes to closers and the never-ending quest for saves, things will never be calm. The good thing I can say is that in many of the situations broken down below, there's some level of clarity. Additionally, it appears that some newly injured closers will only be spending the minimum amount of time on the Injured List.

Bullpen Banter - Prospects LiveProspects LiveRay Kuhn

Now, it's time to take a look at the situations that have changed since we last met.

Miami Marlins

Tyler Phillips (Photo Credit: Lynne Sladky)

With a 10.00 ERA and 1.44 WHIP, you could say that it’s been a rough year for Pete Fairbanks. However, he does have five saves and 13 strikeouts in 10 innings of work. Before we truly get going on the panic meter, Fairbanks has a 3.47 xERA while falling victim to a .364 BABIP and 31.7% strand rate. For his career, Fairbanks is at a 44.3% ground ball rate, but this year, he’s only at 9.1%. To say it’s an outlier has to be an understatement, and it's the victim of a small sample size.

Fairbanks has three games this season in which he’s allowed three earned runs each to go along with six scoreless outings. His last appearance before going to the Injured List was one of those rough outings. The question is how long Fairbanks had been dealing with nerve irritation in his hand. At this point, the expectation is that Fairbanks will return to action after at least 15 days. In his absence, Tyler Phillips has picked up two saves with Calvin Faucher serving as his backup. The good news is that Phillips is the clear target, but the bad news is that he likely only has a few more saves left in him.

Toronto Blue Jays

Louis Varland (Photo Credit: Toronto Star

It’s been an interesting start to the season for Jeff Hoffman. You can’t argue with the blown saves and losses, but there was a large gap between his ERA and xERA as a closer. At the end of the day, though, being a closer is a results business, and Hoffman wasn’t getting it done. Since being moved to a setup role, Hoffman is scoreless in three appearances over 2.1 innings while picking up three holds. He’s brought his ERA down to 6.39, and he’s striking out 19.1 batters per nine innings. One of the problems, though, is that Hoffman is also walking about five batters per nine innings while also posting a .538 BABIP.

With only two balls barreled against him and a 2.97 xERA, you could make the argument that luck was worked against Hoffman, and we should find him back in the closer’s role in short order now that he’s gotten back on track. The problem with that is that, despite 33 saves last season in his first true year as closer, Hoffman struggled and posted a 4.37 ERA, though his xERA was 3.75. Perhaps Hoffman is best where he is? On the other side of the equation, Louie Varland has done a great job in the closer’s role, and the Blue Jays aren’t about to remove him from the role just yet. Varland is up to four saves and has a 0.56 ERA (1.44 xERA) while not allowing a home run and striking out over 14 batters per nine innings. Not only does he keep the walks under control, but Varland also has a 56.7% ground ball rate.

Chicago Cubs

Daniel Palencia (Photo Credit: Field Level Media)

The positive development is that Daniel Palencia is slated to return this weekend, if not by the time you are reading this. In five innings of work, Palencia has yet to allow an earned run, and he’s going to be slotted right back into the closer’s role. Considering the mash unit that is the Cubs’ bullpen, Caleb Thielbar was injured when he was temporarily filling in for Palencia. The fact that this was a nice, quick absence is certainly a good thing for fantasy managers.

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