Now that we have a couple of weeks in the books, we are starting to see the trends and usage of arms in these ‘pens, though there are still plenty of questions that remain unanswered.

Are we any where close to knowing the pecking order in Detroit? Devin Williams doesn’t exactly look good. Will Alexis Diaz reclaim his job? Has Jose Alvarado clinched the job in a competitive Philly ‘pen? Do we care about the Rockies, White Sox or Pirates?

I got your answers in my third installment of Paul’s Call to the ‘Pen!

The closer’s I will label in the following tiers (I’ve added a fourth tier):

Strong – they are definitely the closer.
Probably – they look to be the closer, for now.
Weak – I’m not betting on them to be the closer in the long-term
Committee – We just don’t know who will get the ball in the ninth. Shrug.

Alright, let’s get into it!

NOTE; All stats are for games played through April 7.

Astros

Closer – Josh Hader – Strong

Steven Okert notched  the only save for the Astros this past week.

Hader pitched two scoreless innings for four K’s to preserve the tie as Okert shut the door in the 12th inning..

No threat to Hader here.

Holds

Okert, Bryan Abreu, Luis Contreras and Bryan King each got a hold.

Abreu remains the head dude for holds here.

Okert is off to a solid start with a 1.17 ERA and supporting ERA estimators as he striking out 12.91 batters per nine with no walks. He is a lefty but is not being used like a specilist with 7.2 innings pitched in six games.

Contreras is in AAA now.

King is the one being used like a lefty specialist and is off to a fast start, but is matchup dependent.

Outside of Abreu, Okert is the only one I’d consider in deeper leagues, but he is a dart throw right now.

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