Posts Tagged ‘Leo Nunez’

2011 Fantasy Baseball Closer Report – Week 23

Posted by Todd Lammi on August 29th, 2011

Despite the return of closer Huston Street to the active roster, Rafael Betancourt remained at closer for the Colorado Rockies last week. Betancourt blew a save on Saturday night, but then got the ball again on Sunday and converted the save chance with a scoreless inning. The run allowed by Betancourt was his first earned run he surrendered so far in the second half of the season in 19 innings. Street will likely return to the closer role once he is back to full strength, but Betancourt should be able to grab some saves for at least week.

Mark Melancon has been struggling of late for the Houston Astros with two blown saves and a loss in his last eight appearances. With the Astros so far out of contention, the team really has no reason to remove Melancon from the role and instead let him work through his issues in order to see if he is a viable candidate to close in 2012. Wilton Lopez would like get some save chances if the Astros decided to make a move at some point.

Closer Leo Nunez in Florida has gone into the tank the second half of the season, blowing saves in two of his last three appearances and allowing nine runs over 2 2/3 innings. Steve Chisek picked up two saves last week in place of Nunez and could get a look going forward with a 2,79 ERA and 1.17 WHIP for the season.

Despite the overall stellar numbers of Fernando Salas, he has blown his last two save chances and there are rumblings that Jason Motte could see some chances the remainder of the season. Motte has worked 17 scoreless innings since the All-Star break with a 0.34 WHIP and 13 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings.

Read More »

The Closer Report – Week 19

Posted by Todd Lammi on August 9th, 2010

Here is a look at the fantasy baseball closer report for week 19. It contains all of the most recent closer news, plus the current closers and the current handcuffs.

The Milwaukee Brewers and manager Ken Macha created a stir over the weekend by giving Trevor Hoffman a save opportunity, which he converted in place of John Axford. With the Brewers under their attendance goal and on the verge of losing money it was thought that Hoffman now three saves away from reaching 600 in his career would likely draw some more fans to games. The company line though was Hoffman had been pitching well and deserved a shot to close games again. With the Brewers 11 games out of first, it really makes no sense for Hoffman to get saves chances again unless it was to break the record. The unfortunate part from a fantasy baseball aspect is it makes it hard to place Axford now in mixed leagues if this holds true going forward.

That being said, lets pick up the action from tonight in Milwaukee against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Axford blew the save in the ninth inning (perhaps the pressure of Hoffman is affecting him) sending the game into extra innings. Hoffman came in and allowed three runs and five baserunners in the 10th inning then to take the loss. If you own Axford, I would reserve him until the situation plays itself out. Once Hoffman hits 600 saves, I would think Axford would get the lions share of opportunities going forward. Again though, this is the Brewers we are talking about so logic does not always dictate the moves they make.

While we are on the subject of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Aaron Heilman picked up his sixth save of the season, working a scoreless inning despite allowing three hits. This comes on the heels of blowing a save on Saturday after allowing two home runs. The blown save was the first time he had been scored upon after eight scoreless outings. He is the best they have in the desert so he should continue as closer.

Bobby Jenks still seems to be the closer in Chicago despite J.J. Putz getting the last save for the team. Jenks last pitched on August 5th when he blew the save against the Detroit Tigers while allowing three runs in an inning of work. Despite his save percentage of 89% which makes it seem like he is doing a good job, his peripheral numbers of a 5.13 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP tell a different story.

Alfredo Simon lasted only one third of an inning Monday night, allowing a hit and a walk before being replaced by Mike Gonzalez. Simon has struggled of late, getting scored on in six of his last 10 outings and now has a 4.62 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. Gonzalez has allowed two runs in nine innings since coming back from the disabled list and is poised to take back the closer role in Baltimore.

Leo Nunez was rolling along in Florida before hitting a bump in the road in his last three appearances, allowing 10 hits and four earned runs in three innings with no strikeouts.  If Florida moves Nunez out of the role, they would likely look at several people to fill in based on match ups with Clay Hensley getting possibly the most action.

Michael Wuertz has done a solid job in Oakland filling in for the injured Andrew Bailey. His numbers were much better in July and August compared to the first part of the season.  Bailey is likely to be out another two to four weeks making Wuertz a good target in mixed leagues if you need saves.

Team Closer Handcuff
BAL Alfredo Simon Mike Gonzalez
BOS Jonathan Papelbon Daniel Bard
CHW Bobby Jenks Matt Thornton, J.J. Putz
CLE Chris Perez
DET Jose Valverde Phil Coke
KC Joakim Soria Robinson Tejada
LAA Brian Fuentes Fernando Rodney
MIN Matt Capps Jon Rauch
NYY Mariano Rivera Joba Chamberlain
OAK Michael Wuertz Andrew Bailey (DL)
SEA David Aardsma Brandon League
TB Rafael Soriano Dan Wheeler
TEX Neftali Feliz Frank Francisco
TOR Kevin Gregg Jason Frasor
AZ Aaron Heilman Juan Gutierrez
ATL Billy Wagner Takashi Saito
CHI Carlos Marmol Sean Marshall
CIN Francisco Cordero Arthur Rhodes
COL Huston Street Manny Corpas
FLA Leo Nunez Clay Hensley
HOU Matt Lindstrom Brandon Lyon
LAD Jonathan Broxton Octavio Dotel
MIL John Axford Trevor Hoffman
NYM Francisco Rodriguez Pedro Feliciano
PHI Brad Lidge Jose Contreras
PIT Evan Meek Joel Hanrahan
STL Ryan Franklin Jason Motte
SD Heath Bell Luke Gregerson
SF Brian Wilson Sergio Romo
WAS Drew Storen Ty Clippard
Read More »

The Closer Report – Week 14

Posted by Todd Lammi on July 5th, 2010

Here is a look at the fantasy baseball closer report for week 14. It contains all of the most recent closer news, plus the current closers and the current handcuffs. Below is a look at some of the closers that have been up and down over the previous 14 days.

American League:

1. Jonathan Papelbon (BOS) – has converted only four out of six save chances with a 7.94 ERA in those outings.

National League:

1. Francisco Rodriguez (NYM) – K-Rod has been a little too hittable of late, allowing 10 hits in his last five appearances. He picked up a save on Sunday but his ratios have been up over the past two weeks.

2. Aaron Heilman (AZ) – Heilman is simply masquerading as a closer for a team that has no better options. With two saves and two blown saves coupled with a 1.62 WHIP in his last 4 1/3 innings, your team stats will pay a price to accumulate saves from him.

3. Carlos Marmol (CHC) – the strikeouts are still there, witness 13 rung up in his last 7 1/3 innings, but with eight walks and six hits, a 1.90 WHIP can cost your team a point or two in the WHIP category standings.

4. Leo Nunez (FLA) – Nunez picked up a save on Sunday after allowing two runs in each of his previous two appearances and blowing two of his previous four save opportunities.

Team Closer Handcuff
BAL Alfredo Simon David Hernandez, Mike Gonzalez (DL)
BOS Jonathan Papelbon Daniel Bard
CHW Bobby Jenks Matt Thornton, J.J. Putz
CLE Kerry Wood Chris Perez
DET Jose Valverde Eddie Bonine
KC Joakim Soria Kyle Farnsworth
LAA Brian Fuentes Fernando Rodney
MIN Jon Rauch Matt Guerrier
NYY Mariano Rivera Joba Chamberlain
OAK Andrew Bailey Brad Ziegler
SEA David Aardsma Brandon League
TB Rafael Soriano Grant Balfour
TEX Neftali Feliz Frank Francisco
TOR Kevin Gregg Jason Frasor
AZ Aaron Heilman Chad Qualls
ATL Billy Wagner Takashi Saito
CHI Carlos Marmol Andrew Cashner
CIN Francisco Cordero Arthur Rhodes
COL Huston Street Manny Corpas
FLA Leo Nunez Clay Hensley
HOU Matt Lindstrom Brandon Lyon
LAD Jonathan Broxton Ramon Tronosco
MIL John Axford Trevor Hoffman
NYM Francisco Rodriguez Pedro Feliciano
PHI Brad Lidge Jose Contreras
PIT Octavio Dotel Evan Meek
STL Ryan Franklin Jason Motte
SD Heath Bell Luke Gregerson
SF Brian Wilson Sergio Romo
WAS Matt Capps Tyler Clippard, Drew Storen
Read More »

The Daily Dirt for Saturday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 6th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Andre Ethier hit two solo home runs, including a walk-off home run in the 12th inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Ethier has seen his average drop 54 points coming into Saturday’s game since Manny Ramirez was suspended. Rafael Furcal sent the game into extra innings with his second home run of the year in the ninth inning off Brad Lidge, who blew his sixth save of the season. In his second start back from the disabled list, Hiroki Kuroda tossed six shutout innings with five strikeouts. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Saturday night…

Hitters:

Ben Zorbist went 2 for 3 with two runs scored and connected on his 11th home run of the season. Zorbist has homered three times in his last four games.

Mark Teixeira went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI and smacked his 17th home run of the season. I think with Alex Rodriguez protecting him in the line up and the way the New York Yankees new stadium is playing, Teixeira could easily be the second best first basemen in fantasy baseball behind Albert Pujols the remainder of the season.

Teammate Alex Rodriguez hit his 8th home run of the season and also stole his first base of the year. The home run was A-Rod’s first in his last 12 games.

Prince Fielder hit two solo home runs giving him 15 total on the season to go with 54 RBI. Fielder has heated up in his last 10 games, boosting his batting average 34 points and hitting five home runs with 11 RBI.

Nick Johnson went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI and stroked his fifth home run of the season. Johnson is now batting .332 on the year with 30 RBI.

Ian Stewart banged out two home runs and drove in five while going 3 for 4 at the plate. Stewart has homered four times in his last four games with 12 RBI.

Josh Fields got the start over recent call up Gordon Beckham and went 2 for 4 with his third home run of the year. It was weird time to start Fields given that Beckham had only six at bats so far before sitting and Fields was hitting under .200 against left-handed pitching.

Pitchers:

Edwin Jackson picked up a complete game victory, allowing one run with five strikeouts. Jackson improved to 6-3 on the season and now ranks second in the American League in both ERA (2.16) and whip ratio (0.98).

Gavin Floyd allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts to up his mark to 4-5 on the year. Floyd has turned it around in his last four starts with six runs allowed in 29 2/3 innings and 31 strikeouts.

Jarrod Washburn allowed one run in six innings with six strikeouts in a no decision. Washburn has allowed two runs in his last 19 innings even though he does not have any wins to show for it. He is currently on pace to set a career high in strikeouts with 145 which would be his highest total since 2002.

Jon Lester pitched a complete game two-hitter to even his record at 5-5. Lester allowed one run and struck out 11 to give him double digit strikeouts in his second straight start.

Ryan Dempster threw six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision. He could be finally past his blister problems, as he has not allowed a run in two straight contests.

Rookie Trevor Cahill allowed two runs in six innings with five strikeouts to notch his third win of the season. Cahill has allowed two runs in each of his last four starts.

Cincinnati Reds rookie Matt Maloney in his first major league start allowed two runs in six innings with four strikeouts in a no decision. He will face the Kansas City Royals in his next start.

John Lannan hurled a complete game shutout with two strikeouts to earn his third win of the season.

Making his first start since 2007, Kelvim Escobar allowed two runs in five innings with five strikeouts.

John Smoltz allowed one hit and one run in six innings in his rehab start in Triple-A on Saturday, while throwing 74 pitches. His next start in Triple-A will come on Thursday.

Closers:

Marian Rivera took a loss, allowing three runs in 2/3 of an inning against the Tampa Bay Rays. Rivera has suffered both of his losses against the Rays this season.

Randy Choate picked up his third save of the season for the Rays when Dan Wheeler was unable to close out the game in the ninth inning.

Leo Nunez picked up his second save of the year in relief of Matt Lindstrom. Lindstrom was charged with two runs in the ninth inning before being removed.

Read More »

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Saturday

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 30th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

If you read the minor league report earlier in the day, it looks like the winner is Antonio Bastardo for the Philadelphia Phillies. Bastardo will get the start on Tuesday against the San Diego Padres in place of the injured Brett Myers.

The Texas Rangers used 17 hits en route to a 14-1 pounding of the Oakland Athletics. Hank Blalock (12), Marlon Byrd (4) and Nelson Cruz (14) all went deep for the Rangers.  Ian Kinsler added four RBI as all starters had at least one hit and one RBI except for Andruw Jones who went 0 for 5. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Saturday…

Hitters:

Armando Rios went 4 for 4 with two RBI and Adam Lind went 2 for 3 with two RBI including his 8th home run of the season in a 5-3 win over the Boston Red Sox.  It was the first home run for Lind since May 17th, from  which he has seen a 30 point drop in his batting average to its current level of .289.

Jeremy Hermida went 3 for 5 with four RBI including his 5th home run of the year to power the Florida Marlins to a 7-3 win over the New York Mets.

Reed Johnson went 3 for 3 with two RBI and his third home run of the season. Johnson has homered three times in the last six games.

Carl Crawford went 3 for 4 with two RBI and collected his third home run of the season in a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. The only negative for Crawford was he was caught stealing for the first time this season, ending his run of 30 consecutive steals this year.

Clete Thomas hitting lead off went 3 for 5 with three RBI and two home runs to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 6-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Curtis Granderson chipped in with his 12th home run of the year. Luke Scott continues to put on an offensive show for the Orioles, hitting a home run for the fourth consecutive day and driving in two runs. Rookie Matt Wieters went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored.

Prince Fielder went 3 for 4 with three RBI and clubbed his 12th home run of the year to lift the Milwaukee Brewers to a 9-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Ryan Howard blasted two home runs and drove in five in a 9-6 win over the Washington Nationals.

Brad Hawpe went 3 for 5 with three RBI and poked his seventh home run of the season. Hawpe raised his batting average to .343 and he now has 39 RBI on the year.

Adrian Gonzalez hit his 19th home run of the season and drove in three runs. For Gonzalez, it was the third home run this week with seven RBI.

Albert Pujols hit two home runs giving him 16 on the season to go along with 42 RBI to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Joey Votto was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Cincinnati Reds in what the team is calling a “stress-related issue.”

Pitchers:

Josh Johnson allowed two runs in seven innings with five strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the season. Johnson has allowed two runs or less in six of his last seven starts.

David Price picked up his first win of the season, allowing one run in 5 2/3 innings with 11 strikeouts. Price was pulled after 108 pitches, 76 of which he threw for strikes.

Ryan Dempster tossed seven shutout innings with five strikeouts to improve his record to 4-3 on the year in a 7-0 defeat of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

CC Sabathia allowed three runs in seven innings and struck out eight to raise his record to 5-3 on the year.

Javier Vazquez and Doug Davis hooked up in a pitchers duel, that the Arizona Diamondbacks won 3-2 in 11 innings. Vazquez allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts. Davis allowed two runs in seven innings with six strikeouts. Davis continues to pitch much better when at home where he holds a 3.20 ERA compared to a 4.82 ERA on the road.

Jeff Karstens allowed two runs in seven innings with four strikeouts to even his record at 2-2.

Brandon McCarthy allowed one run in six innings with two strikeouts. It was the second good outing in a row for McCarthy who has shaved 1.25 runs off of his ERA in those two starts.

Matt Palmer tossed seven shutout innings with five strikeouts in a no decision against the Seattle Mariners. His counterpart Felix Hernandez was equally effective, hurling 6 1/3 shutout innings with six strikeouts.

Closers:

Leo Nunez picked up his first save of the season by replacing an ineffective Matt Lindstrom with two outs in the ninth inning. Lindstrom allowed one run and left runners on second and third for Nunez who struck out Fernando Martinez to end the game.

Randy Choate picked up his second save of the season since being recalled from Triple-A earlier in the week.

Heath Bell blew his first save of the season in an 8-7 loss to the Colorado Rockies.

Brian Fuentes blew his third save of the season, surrendering a three-run home run to Jose Lopez in the 9th inning, costing Matt Palmer a win.

Read More »

 

Designed by: Free Cell Phones | Thanks to Highest CD Rates, Domain Registration and Registry Software