Antonio

Senzatela

Senzatela, coming off four days’ rest, took the mound in the eighth with a two-run lead. He struck out the side on 15 pitches and returned for the ninth to attempt a two-inning save. Things got away from Senzatela as the Brewers brought four runs home on four hits and an error. He’d leave with two outs in the inning with his second blown save. The 31-year-old right-hander remains the only reliever worth rostering in Colorado, and only in deeper leagues, with a 1.98 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and a 30/10 K/BB ratio across 36 1/3 innings.

After being a well below-average starting pitcher, Senzatela moved to the bullpen this year and has been lights out, posting a 1.30 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 26/10 K/BB ratio in 34 2/3 innings. Now, the lack of strikeouts remains a bit of a concern, but Senzatela has proven he can provide valuable length out of the bullpen and will be a free agent at the end of the season, so the Rockies will almost assuredly move him to a contender looking to shore up their bullpen.

Senzatela came in with an 8-6 lead, two on and one out in the eighth and gave up a game-tying triple to Jorge Soler. Still, he preserved the tie from there and then worked a scoreless bottom of the ninth after the Rockies regained the lead in the top of the inning. Senzatela is 5-0 with a 1.30 ERA. The Rockies probably shouldn’t risk waiting until the trade deadline to deal him.

Senzatela came into a tie game in the eighth and recorded the win after the Rockies went ahead in the top of the ninth. With his 1.13 ERA, he’s a leading candidate for saves in the Colorado pen, but he’s also a leading candidate to be one of the first established major leaguers traded this season.

Vodnik had four saves for the Rockies last month, but he’d really struggled of late, giving up 14 runs in his last nine innings of work. Not that we’re recommending any Rockies relievers, but Juan Mejia and Antonio Senzatela are probably slightly better bets for saves with Vodnik out.

Senzatela got the call in the ninth to close out the game with a two-run lead for his first traditional three-out save chance. He worked around a hit and a walk, shutting the door on Arizona for his third save of the season. The 31-year-old right-hander has been outstanding in his first full season in relief, posting a 1.27 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, and a 25/8 K/BB ratio across 28 1/3 innings.

He came in after veteran starter Jose Quintana only made it through four frames. Senzatela overhauled his pitch mix this season, decreasing his four-seamer reliance while his cutter usage spikes. He’s also throwing more sinkers in his transition to the bullpen, and he now has a 1.32 ERA with a WHIP well under 1. He also has two saves this season, but every one of his appearances has been for five outs or more, so he isn’t yet being used like a traditional closer.

Senzatela entered this game in the eighth inning with the tying run on third base and one out and lucked out when Mark Vientos hit a line drive back up the middle that was caught and turned into a double play. Then, he made quick work of the Mets in the ninth inning to earn his second save of the season. Rockies’ usual closer Victor Vodnik blew an ugly save Thursday, allowing five runs against the Padres and throwing 22 pitches in the process, so it makes sense as to why the team didn’t immediately turn back to him here. Senzatela has widened his arsenal in relief this season throwing far more cutters and sinkers than he ever has, making him mildly intriguing as a late-game option besides for the fact that he pitches his home games in Coors Field.

This is certainly a different version of Senzatela. The Rockies opted to keep the 31-year-old right-hander in a relief role this season, and it looks to be paying off. He recorded the final eight outs against the Astros on Tuesday, striking out three to earn his first career save. Senzatela is throwing harder in the shorter outings, with his fastball up to 97 mph. He’s tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings of relief with nine strikeouts, probably making him the most interesting reliever in the Colorado bullpen, which really isn’t saying much. But his role could be one to monitor if he works into high-leverage situations.

Senzatela allowed three hits, with one of those being a solo bomb from Nolan Arenado. Senzatela was one of the worst fantasy starters in baseball last year, and when you consider a wide variety of factors, there’s little reason to think that won’t be true again in 2026.