American League West 

Risk – Smoldering (Updated 7/2/09)

Brian Fuentes is finally showing the Angels why they’re paying him $17.5 million through next season, picking up nine saves in the month of June without giving up a single run. With Scot Shields out for the season and Jose Arredondo on the DL in Triple-A, Darren Oliver’s role as Fuentes’ setup man seems secure, though Justin Speier should stay close in the holds department. 

Risk – Burning (Updated 7/2/09)

Other than the meaningless two-inning save he picked up on June 22, Brad Ziegler has officially been relegated to setup duties. For whatever reason, I held on too long to the notion that Ziggy could reclaim the role; perhaps I’m a sucker for submariners. Anyway, the role now clearly belongs to Andrew Bailey, with Mike Wuertz setting him up for most of his save opportunities. Lefty-specialist Craig Breslow, claimed off waivers from the Twins, had more holds in June (4) than either Wuertz (3) or Ziegler (3), but that can largely be attributed to his success against righties, which I don’t think will hold up.  

Risk – Smoldering (Updated 7/2/09)

Aardsma has lost his competition for the closing gig, as Brandon Morrow makes another attempt at starting. Sean White and Mark Lowe are sharing setup duties. 

Risk – Smoking (Updated 7/2/09)

Just yesterday afternoon, Francisco was re-installed as the Rangers’ closer, only to give up three runs and blow the save late last night. The Rangers went on to win the game, netting Francisco the win, but you’ve gotta think that the team isn’t confident that Francisco is pitching at 100%, meaning CJ Wilson could get a couple more opportunities in the next week or so.   

American League Central  

Risk – Smoldering (Updated 7/2/09)

Jenks is striking out one batter per inning pitched, a pleasant surprise considering his K/9 dipped to 5.55 last season. Matt Thornton and Dotel are splitting setup duties well, and should continue to do so. 

Risk – Burning (Updated 7/2/09)

Rafael Betancourt has been out since June 4th and still leads the team in holds; saying that they want him back as soon as possible is certainly an understatement. Not that he was that great, but when you consider that among the four relievers who notched a hold in June, only two had a WHIP under 2.00 and none broke 1.50, you see that Betancourt can’t return quickly enough. The team tried to address the problem with the DeRosa / Perez trade, and I think we’ve all seen how that’s worked out so far (Perez plunked two straight batters up and in during his first appearance with the team). Needless to say, Kerry Wood’s job security is pretty solid right now, even though he only converted one of three save opportunities in June. 

Risk – Smoking (Updated 7/2/09)           

Fernando Rodney has yet to blow a save, having coughed up only two earned runs in his seventeen save opportunities. However, stick Rodney in a tie-game or non-save situation and he’s more prone to let a run or two across, an unfortunate fact that contributes to the mediocrity of his ERA and WHIP. Bobby Seay has been a godsend for the Tigers this year. He hit a rough patch in the first half of May with two blown saves and a loss, but he hasn’t allowed an earned run since May 28th en route to his league-leading tally of 17 holds thus far. Joel Zumaya keeps throwing his ridiculous heat and striking out opponents at the rate of one per inning, but unfortunately he’s also walking batters at an ever higher rate. His role as the 7th inning guy won’t change if he can’t harness his control.    

Risk – Smoldering (Updated 7/2/09)

I said the saves would come for Soria and with three in the last week, owners can relax knowing that their top tier closer is back on track. Since picking up a couple saves in Soria’s absence, Juan Cruz hasn’t recorded a hold; perhaps that’s got something to do with his 6.45 ERA since the end of April. Jamey Wright and John Bale seem to have earned shared 8th-inning duties.