5/4/2008

Mayday! Mayday! NL Bullpen Roundup

Who's On Fire, Who's on the Brink?

The season's only a month old, and already the business of closing is a messy, exciting business indeed. We sort out the early returns to see who's on fire... and who's flaming out.

Brian Wilson, leading the NL in saves, is one of the hot young closers in the National League.

Most of the NL's veteran closers are living up to their contracts, with Jason Isringhausen, Brad Lidge, Billy Wagner, Trevor Hoffman and a reformed Eric Gagne all shutting down ballgames like it was 2005 all over again. Any reservations teams might have had in banking on these older players has blown away like the dust shaken from their spikes.

A few other old hands, though, including L.A. warrior Takashi Saito and transplanted potato Francisco Cordero (now in Houston) have been turning in pretty poor outings. While these vets should turn it around and have solid seasons overall, expecting their league-leading 2007 performances might be too much to ask.

Beyond the veterans, the biggest bullpen success story in the NL so far has to be young Giants closer Brian Wilson. The Giants raised a lot of eyebrows when they committed to the rookie as their closer in spring training, but Wilson has done nothing but excel. As April closes, he leads the National League in saves on the strength of a scintillating 9.64 strikeouts per nine innings.

Other young closers who are impressing in the NL include Pittsburgh's Matt Capps (2.13 ERA, .200 batting average against) and Arizona's Brandon Lyon. While Capps was a consensus pick to be among the league leaders, not many prognosticators had faith in Lyon, whose 9 saves and .211 BAA are both hard to fault. Trundling along in Florida, Kevin Gregg has been unspectacular, but hasn't given the Marlins any reason to look for a replacement yet, either. All three of these youngsters look likely to hold onto their jobs for the foreseeable future.

Sometimes injuries give a young pitcher a chance to shine, and that's been the case in Washington, where the imposing figure of Jon Rauch has stepped in to cover for the sidelined Chad Cordero. Rauch, who we pegged as the better reliever to begin with, has seized the reins for the next month or two. If he stays as hot as he's been so far, he'll remain the closer even after Cordero's return. If both look strong later in the season, a conflict-clearing trade is likely, and Cordero's the biggest bargaining chip.

Injuries have also been the story in Atlanta, but there's been no clear beneficiary yet. With nominal closer Rafael Soriano benched with a tender elbow, number-two closer Mike Gonzalez recovering from last year's TJ surgery, and third-string closer Peter Moylan staring at his own season-ending surgery looming, minor league closer Manny Acosta has been pushed into service. Acosta's been very good, not blowing a single save opportunity yet, but he's probably not long for the job: even if Soriano and/or Gonzalez return by the All-Star Break, the Braves are once again considering the return of John Smoltz to the 9th inning. Smoltz, now 40-years old and struggling with assorted shoulder problems, believes he could stay healthier working single innings, and if that's the way Smoltz wants to play, the Braves will certainly rearrange their lineup to accomodate.

In Colorado, last year's Cinderella closer Manny Corpas has turned into something like a pumpkin, blowing four (!) saves in April alone, and quickly losing his job to the Rockies' previous closer, lefthander Brian Fuentes. Fuentes looks like he'll hold the job for at least a month or so, but if Corpas can return to form he'll be handed the reins again: the Rockies didn't sign the young Panamanian to a four year, $8 million contract just so he could pitch the eight inning. Since he's physically sound, expect a mechanical or mental adjustment to make a big difference as soon as it sticks. In the mean time, Fuentes is solid, reliable and experienced. If both return to strong form, Fuentes, as one of the league's best lefty relievers, will be the one that other teams come looking for.

In Wrigleyville, the spring closer controversy hasn't settled down much. Fan (and Scouting Book) favorite Kerry Wood indeed has the position for now, and he's been doing a solid job, using his 97mph heat on the 'high' setting while striking out more batters per game than any other NL closer. He's always an injury risk, though, so Cub fans must like seeing young Carlos Marmol working the eighth innings and ready to step in as soon as he's needed. Sometime this year, he will be needed.

Other pitchers shining in setup or middle relief roles could have closing duties in their futures, too, especially if injuries damage the arms in front of them. The Cards' Ryan Franklin, Washington's Luis Ayala and San Francisco's Tyler Walker have all been lights-out solutions in the late innings so far this season.

And in Arizona, both Chad Qualls and Tony Pena are more than capable, and they're a big part of the reason the Diamondbacks have had baseball's best bullpen this season.

To stay on top of the closer situations in the NL, be sure to bookmark our Closer Watch page, or watch our RSS feed. We'll always keep you up to date on who's rising, who's falling, and who's waiting in the wings.