Oakland Athletics: Who is Next in Line for Saves?

The Athletics have an abundance of relief pitchers that can be closers for other teams. The negative is they are all in the same bullpen and it helps no one.

Bullpens by a committee are never fun for fantasy owners. The Oakland Athletics have three relief pitchers that fantasy experts thought could begin the season as the team’s closer. One was clearly drafted ahead of the rest but the stats don’t agree with the ADP so far. This is one of the few bullpens I wanted nothing to do with entering this year. How will this bullpen situation play out for the rest of the season?

Looking at the ESPN ADP, fantasy owners thought Ryan Madson would get the first opportunity for saves. He was the 28th reliever drafted with a 219.6 ADP. So far, owners have been rewarded with two holds. Madson had a 0.00 ERA, 2.25 WHIP and one strikeout.

The Athletics front office added Santiago Casilla as depth to secure the middle innings. Or so we thought. He was left off most ESPN draft boards. While he has just one appearance so far, Casilla picked up the team’s first save. He allowed just one walk in an inning of work. Casilla hasn’t pitched since.

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The next save opportunity went to Ryan Dull after Madson recorded his second hold. Dull allowed three runs on three hits in an inning. He was handed the loss and blown save.

Dull pitched a perfect seventh inning the day before, striking out all three batters he faced. With the recently-poor outing, I don’t think Dull will get another save chance anytime soon.

The fourth possible closer is Sean Doolittle. He only has 0.2 innings under his belt but has a strikeout and hold in that span. The only reason Doolittle won’t be considered for consistent saves is because he is one of two lefties in the Oakland bullpen.

Of the four relief pitchers, I think Madson will be the most reliable option. He hasn’t allowed a run in 1.1 innings. I know, it’s a small sample size, but Madson is starting off on the right foot. It was unexpected to see Casilla get the first chance. Dull getting the second one was even more of a surprise.

ESPN has a closer chart, updated with any changes. Out of the 30 teams, Oakland is just one of two with the “committee” label. The other is Cincinnati, who may have a worse bullpen situation.

Next: Charlie Morton is an intriguing two-start pitcher

Madson, Casilla and Doolittle are all available in over 60 percent of leagues. These players may be already owned if you play in deeper leagues. In the standard formats, Madson is my top pick for a waiver add. Casilla is a speculative add if he continues to get opportunities early. Just be careful with his control. His WHIP may be higher than hoped.