PT TOMORROW: NL West—Dark-horse closer candidates in SF, ARI

San Francisco Giants

We've been hinting at Hunter Strickland (RHP, SF; pictured above) as a speculative closer candidate since his call-up in late May in this space, and Strickland's performance to date has done little to tarnish that outlook. Strickland has pitched 20 innings with a 2.25 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with full support from his underlying skills: 11.3 Dom (16% SwK), 2.61 xERA, 160 BPV. After Strickland's highly-publicized struggles in the 2014 postseason, he started the 2015 season at AAA-Sacramento with tremendous success (25/3 K/BB, 1.66 ERA in 21.2 IP). His BPV is currently best on the team, and there's a possibility for advancement due to some shaky performances ahead of him in the bullpen pecking order.

Santiago Casilla (RHP,...

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