Brad Hand Narrowly Avoids Disaster

San Diego Padres closer Brad Hand escaped with his 23rd save Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates despite allowing two earned runs. Spotted a three-run lead, Hand surrendered two doubles and a triple to start the ninth inning before miraculously avoiding a blown save by ending the game via two fly balls and a strikeout. Hand […]

Seung Hwan Oh Pitches Ninth Inning Saturday

Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Seung Hwan Oh got the call in the ninth inning of Saturdays 4-3 win over the Tigers. Oh entered the game tied and allowed no runs on a hit and a walk with a strikeout. The Blue Jays walked off with a win in the bottom of the ninth, so […]

The Cut List (Week 14): Time to Let Go?

Welcome to Week 14 of the Cut List. In this edition, I take a look at the recent performances of Joey Gallo, Tommy Pham, Travis Shaw, and Kyle Hendricks. Has Gallo underperformed expectations? Why is Pham hitting .246? Is Shaw not the bonafide slugger we thought he was? Is Hendricks viable in standard leagues? I […]

Week 14 Waiver Wire Watch List

This is the point in the season where things start to get interesting, especially in fantasy circles. Prospects continue to rise and the real life trade deadline is just a month away, which means potential new opportunities for some of baseball’s brightest. It also means sample sizes are getting ever so larger, helping us make […]

Sergio Romo Earns Seventh Save Saturday Versus Houston

Tampa Bay Rays closer Sergio Romo earned save unlucky (for Houston) number seven Saturday versus the Astros. He would produce a clean ninth inning to close out the game. Romo had been serving multiple roles this season, including starting several times. This split role made it tough for fantasy owners to use Romo. When he […]

Wilmer Font Likely Out Eight Weeks

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Wilmer Font (lat strain) could miss eight weeks with his injury. The Rays do not plan to promote another player to the position of starter but instead run another bullpen or opener day until Chris Archer returns. In the case of Archer, that could be July 8 or 9 if everything […]

Buy or Sell - Undervalued and Overvalued Players for Week 14

We all suffer from recency bias, whether we realize it or not. It's easy in this day and age. Highlights and long-winded articles about who you should add, drop, or trade color our perception even more, but the numbers tell the true story. If any sport demands that we step back and take a macro view […]

Streaming Wars - Waiver Wire Targets for July 1

Welcome back to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire all season long. This article, now in its second year, runs seven days a week. For those who are newcomers to this feature - use this column on a daily basis to improve upon your neediest categories, and target players who may be available on […]

Sergio Romo And Jose Alvarado Combine To Close Out Houston

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitchers Sergio Romo and Jose Alvarado combined to shut down the Astros in the ninth inning Friday. Sergio Romo came in and got the first two outs of the ninth inning but then allowed a single. Alvardo was then brought in to retire Marwin Gonzalez to close out the 3-2 victory. […]

Hector Neris Pounded Again As Days Appear Numbered

Late in Friday night’s game against the Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies manager Gabe Kapler went to Hector Neris to close out the ninth. Of course, this wasn’t a save situation, rather a garbage time appearance for the former closer who’s now at the very bottom of the depth chart. The 29-year-old came on with the […]

Joe Musgrove Goes Seven Strong in Win, Vasquez Gets Save

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Joe Musgrove got his third win of the season on Friday. The San Diego area hurler pitched seven scoreless innings with five strikeouts and only two walks. He has 36 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings pitched this year. Felipe Vasquez came on in the ninth for his 16th save in the […]

Mike Montgomery Picks Up A Victory Friday

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Mike Montgomery picked up his third victory on Friday versus the Twins. Montgomery allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits, three walks and five strikeouts. Montgomery gave up all five runs to Joe Mauer, who hit a three-run blast and knocked in a pair with a double. Montgomery has held […]

Wade Davis Shuts Down San Francisco

Colorado Rockies closer Wade Davis seems to have gotten his groove back as he pitched a perfect inning against the Giants on Thursday to record his 22nd save. Davis had a couple hiccoughs and one horrendous outing ten days ago, but he's since only allowed one hit in his last three innings pitched. There are […]

Adam Ottavino May Be Losing Control

Two years ago, Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Adam Ottavino was a control freak who posted a 5.00 K/BB ratio while striking out more than 11 batters per nine innings. Last season, he lost his control and posted an incredible 6.58 BB/9, leading to an ERA north of 5.00. After looking like he put those demons […]

Jeff Hoffman Sent Down To Albuquerque

Colorado Rockies pitcher Jeff Hoffman finally caught a ride back to Triple-A Albuquerque when reliever Mike Dunn was activated from the disabled list. Hoffman performed poorly as a starting pitcher last season for the Rockies, but his stint of five appearances in relief this month has been an absolute nightmare. Hoffman finished up with a […]

Brooks Pounders Demoted to Triple-A

The Colorado Rockies demoted relief pitcher Brooks Pounders to Triple-A Albuquerque to make room for Scott Oberg in the bullpen. Pounders has been atrocious this season, posting a 7.63 ERA in 14 appearances. He's lasted this long simply because Colorado's bullpen is so bad that Pounders has just blended in. It's not clear why Pounders […]

Mike Dunn Activated From DL

The Colorado Rockies activated relief pitcher Mike Dunn from the disabled list after he finished a rehab assignment for his strained upper back. Dunn hasn't been very good this season, but compared to those who stepped in while he was out, he looks like a star. Ignoring three terrible outings that happened right before he […]

Scott Oberg Activated From Disabled List

The Colorado Rockies activated relief pitcher Scott Oberg from the disabled list in hopes that he'll help steady the ship in the worst bullpen in the majors. Oberg had been sidelined for 15 games due to a strained lower back, and the bullpen has been atrocious while he was out. It wasn't purely that Oberg […]

Sam Dyson (RP, SF) - Week 14 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 30% of leagues ANALYSIS: San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Sam Dyson appears to be the closer of the moment in San Francisco, making him a nice addition. Hunter Strickland will not available for the next month or so and Dyson seems to be the man to fit […]

Blake Treinen Earns 20th Save Of Season Thursday

Oakland Athletics closer Blake Treinen picked up his 20th save of the season Thursday against the Tigers after sitting in Wednesday's save situation. Treinen pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing no hits and a walk with a strikeout. Bullpen-mate Lou Trivino got the save on Wednesday while Treinen received a routine day off but things […]

Holds Leagues - Waiver Wire Pickups and Adds for Week 14

While holds are even tougher to predict than saves, the players we’ll highlight today include some elite setup men to target off the waiver wire in Week 14. One-inning middle relievers are the constant sources for holds and specialists can manage to secure a hold even with one out. However, while specialists can get many […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report - Week 14

Another week gone means another few interesting things happened in bullpens across the league. A team that just traded their closer may have found their new one. A team who lost their closer to injury may be holding tryouts for their closer-of-the-future. A team who finally got their closer back has seen him struggle and […]

Week 14 Waiver Wire: H2H Category Streamers

I like to consider myself a pioneer of the streaming approach. I won a league about seven years ago completely ignoring saves and just stacking up the starts each week. While streaming is undoubtedly more directly associated with pitching, there's plenty of value in streaming for offense as well. Maybe you have a stacked roster […]

Ryan Yarbrough Strong But Takes Loss Thursday Versus Houston

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Ryan Yarbrough took a tough loss Thursday versus the Astros. He went 6 1/3 innings in relief of the opener Stanek and only allowed a single run. Yarbrough would still take the loss as that single run stood up in a 1-0 Houston win. Yarbrough fantasy value is interesting, depending on […]

Corey Knebel Locks Down the Ninth in Cincinnati

Brewers closer Corey Knebel earned the save Thursday against Cincinnati. Knebel gave up one hit but struck out two of the batters he faced on his way to save number eight. Early in April, Knebel suffered a scary hamstring injury that looked season-ending, however, he's has come back strong and held onto his closer role […]

Streaming Wars - Waiver Wire Targets For June 30

Welcome back to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire all season long. This article, now in its second year, runs seven days a week. We're coming up on the halfway point of the season, but there's still plenty of options on the waiver wire to aid your championship quest. For those who are […]

Seranthony Dominguez Records Second Straight Save

After a two-inning performance that resulted in his fifth save of the season Wednesday night against the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies reliever Seranthony Dominguez was back on the mound Thursday night. Taking on the Washington Nationals, the Phillies failed to keep a three-run lead intact, forcing Gabe Kapler’s hand. With just two outs, both […]

Brian Johnson Effective in Thursday's Start

The Boston Red Sox got all they could ask for from lefty Brian Johnson on Thursday. He went four innings, giving up a single run on three hits while striking out two. Johnson was forced into a starting role for the second time this season after an injury to Steven Wright earlier in the week. […]

Angels Call Up Eduardo Paredes, Taylor Cole

The Los Angeles Angels have recalled relievers Eduardo Paredes and Taylor Cole, while optioning infielder Nolan Fontana and sending reliever Jake Jewell to the disabled list. Jewell bent his ankle awkwardly in Wednesday's game and was carried off on a stretcher. Paredes has thrown 13 1/3 innings on the year, with a 7.43 ERA and […]

Streaming Wars - Waiver Wire Targets For June 29

Welcome back to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire all season long. This article, now in its second year, runs seven days a week. We're coming up on the halfway point of the season, but there's still plenty of options on the waiver wire to aid your championship quest. For those who are […]