With the news that Ryan Pressley is out as closer, plus some other roster moves, I felt the need to update my ratings. The optics of the 9-run Pressley meltdown were bad, but the bullpen really was not that bad over the past week. But Pressley appears to have regressed back to what some of his peripheral numbers were hinting was his true performance. My only other big worry is Julian Merriweather, who has given up runs in 3 of his last 6 appearances.
Red means a player has dropped
Green a player has moved up
Blue a player stayed the same
Orange the player is new
No gray hair (extremely high confidence):
No one yet, but Hodge is close.
Wisps of gray hair (high confidence):
–Porter Hodge – It is not a shock that Hodge has been moved back into the closer role. His ERA is still fairly high due to the bad outing against Arizona. But his Whip and Strikeout Ratio are not great, especially for a closer. He occasionally seems to get wild with his fastball, forcing him to go to the slider to get strikes. The worry is that someone sitting on that slider will hit it out of the park in a big spot.
–Brad Keller – Keller has been the anti-Pressley. His FIP is 2.04 with a 1.19 WHIP. He has a 20/6 SO to BB ratio. Honestly, he’s been the best pitcher in the bullpen this season. He was an opener before the Horton start, and has sometimes been used for 2 innings. But he might become the 7th or 8th inning guy in close games.
–Caleb Thielbar – I decided to move him up, primarily due to his great curveball. His peripherals are good, and he is a good weapon against lefty hitters, allowing a miniscule .326 OPS.
Some gray hair (medium confidence):
–Ryan Pressley – In my last update, I stated: “Current concerns are his knee that was drained and his relatively high FIP.” I should have listened to myself more. It is interesting that he has 8 scoreless outings sandwiched around his meltdown game. But, he is not getting strikeouts and he was surrendering hard contact. Basically, he was getting very lucky, which can happen for a reliever who is pitching so few innings. I would not be shocked to see an IL stint on the horizon for Pressley, to help him deal with whatever is happening with his knee – especially with Miller ready to return. Hopefully, we are not seeing another Neris situation, where the Cubs took on a washed up Astros pitcher. Unless his numbers improve, he might drop another tier very soon.
–Julian Merryweather – With Pressley moving out of the Closer role, and Hodge being moved up, that puts Merryweather in the 8th inning spot. In addition to giving up runs recently, he has a 1.42 WHIP and 3.83 FIP, and a 13/8 SO to BB ratio, which are all a bit concerning. I could see Daniel Palencia or Brad Keller moving into this role if this continues.
–Daniel Palencia – So close to moving up after another strong week. His history over the past two years has me playing a bit safe with my confidence in him. HIs number have been good so far, though.
–Drew Pomeranz – The 36-year-old has sparkled so far with a small sample size. 1 hit and 2 walks allowed in 6.2 innings. FIP is 3.12, and he has 6 Ks. Could Pomeranz be the 2nd lefty in the Cubs bullpen long-term?
–Chris Flexen – Seems to be the replacement for Colin Rea, the multi-inning reliever, now that Rea is a starter. I thought there was a chance he would take Shota’s spot in the rotation, but that went to Cade Horton. He has no minor-league options, so he will have to perfrom well to stay in the organization.
–Gavin Holloway – No runs given up in 3 appearances – looking very good in 2 of them. He somehow gave up 2 hits and 2 walks in 2/3 of an inning without giving up a run (a single to load the bases followed by a 5-2-3 double play to nail a runne at the plate made it possible). With Miller’s imminent return — and Thielbar coming back from Paternity leave — his recent stint in the major league bullpen may be another short one.
Lots of gray hair (low confidence)
Pressley is knocking on the door here.
No hair left (no confidence)
Not Applicable (minors or injured):
-Tom Cosgrove – AAA – Another brief stint on the major league roster, due to Thielbar being on paternity leave. Gave up a run in 2 innings against the Mets.
-Tyson Miller – IL – still in Iowa in his extended rehab stint. One reason he has stayed down is his lack of options, so once he’s on the major league roster, he will have to stay there.
-Ryan Brasier – IL – started his minor league rehab stint
-Jordan Wicks – AAA
–Ethan Roberts – AAA
-Luke Little – AAA
-Nate Pearson – AAA
-Eli Morgan – IL – Moved to the 60-day IL to make room for Cade Horton
Cubs in 7 
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