Bullpen Depth Charts: Relievers To Stream — 5/19

Welcome back to Relievers to Stream for Wins and Saves! This will bring you up-to-date bullpen depth charts every morning for the day’s games and makes for a great tool for those of you looking to stream saves or wins. This series runs seven days a week, so be sure to check in every morning to get your daily bullpen fix!

 

Notes

 

Schedule Notes

 

• All 30 teams were in action yesterday, with many of the games being Game 1 of divisional matchups. The only bullpen that didn’t see any action was, of course, the Detriot Tigers after Spencer Turnbull’s sensational no-hitter against the Seattle Mariners. All 30 teams are once again in action today.
• Hyeon-Jong Yang once again makes a spot start for the Rangers, but the advice there is to stay well clear of any long relievers who come in to face the Yankees lineup. It looks like the Rays will choose not to go with an opener after announcing Ryan Yarbrough will start today. That could bring someone like Ryan Thompson or Pete Fairbanks into play for a win. The Rays relied heavily on their bullpen yesterday due to Luis Patiño only going 3 1/3 innings.

 

Injuries and Transactions

 

• The beleaguered Minnesota Twins bullpen lost another arm yesterday as Derek Law was designated for assignment. In a corresponding move, the highly regarded Cody Stashak was recalled from St. Paul Saints and went onto pitch two solid innings in relief in the 5-4 win over the White Sox. Stashak had a rough start to the year before being optioned, allowing 10 earned runs on 12 hits and 7 walks over 10 2/3 innings. The Twins desperately need him to be the reliever he was today.
• Archie Bradley was activated from the injured list yesterday and immediately earned a win in relief. Bradley hit the IL with an oblique strain in early April, but signs point to an immediate high-leverage role for the Phillies, who have struggled late in games recently. Bradley struck out the only batter he faced, Adam Duvall, before the Phillies hitters erupted for 7 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning, lighting up Dylan Floro.

 

Yesterday’s Performances

 

• After Tyler Rogers earned saves on back-to-back nights, Jake McGee took the mound for the Giants and pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th inning on just 9 total pitches. After a couple of rocky outings, McGee was back doing what he does best to lock down his 11th save of the season. Rogers is still in the mix for save opportunities, but McGee looks to be Kapler’s preferred option for now.
• Cardinals closer Alex Reyes continues to show no mercy to hitters after notching his 12th save of the season against the Pirates yesterday. Reyes has 28 strikeouts over 22 innings to go along with a heady of 20 walks. Yet, miraculously he has only allowed one run. Waiting in the wings is Giovanny Gallegos, who pitched a solid two innings, retiring all 6 batters he faced to earn his 8th hold this season.

 

• Edwin Díaz trotted out for the third time in three days to record his second save in a row for the Mets. A couple of high-profile bad outings has thrown some mist around Diaz, who is actually now 7-for-7 in save opportunities. The Mets closer struck out Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley yesterday to make it 21 Ks over 17 1/3 innings so far this season.
• In the same game, Braves closer Will Smith took the loss to move to 0-4 on the season despite also recording 7 saves. It was deja vu for Smith, who came into the game with the scores level in the top of the 9th inning for the second time this week. Both have resulted in losses, however, with Mets catcher Tomás Nido hitting a longball to hand Smith the L.

 

• Despite playing second fiddle to Emmanuel Clase, James Karinchak picked up his fourth save of the season in impressive fashion yesterday against the Angels. The unorthodox young gun now sports a 0.49 ERA on the season, with 34 strikeouts in just 18 1/3. Wow!
• If we are talking about stellar numbers, then look no further than Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman. Nailing his 10th save of the season with a 103 mph heater was the cherry on top of the cake that reads a 0.00 ERA with a 0.63 WHIP over 16 innings this season. The strikeouts, you ask? 34, also!

 

• Josh Staumont saw his first save opportunity since late April and duly delivered by striking out Christian Yelich and Avisail Garcia along with inducing a flyout to earn his fourth save of the year. Staumont has been nothing short of impressive and doesn’t have anyone knocking on the door to take his job. He is a cheap save option in fantasy leagues.
• Those who drafted Craig Kimbrel with the hope of seeing some of the old magic return are starting to believe. Kimbrel recorded a miserable 17 saves over the past two seasons, yet he is well on his way to surpassing that figure after registering his 8th save against the Nationals thanks to a pair of strikeouts along the way.

• There were notable wins for Twins closer Taylor Rogers, A’s setup man Yusmeiro Petit, Mets veteran Jeurys Familia, and Rays reliever Andrew Kittredge, who is now 4-0 on the season with two saves over 16 1/3 innings.
• Nationals reliever Will Harris and White Sox setup man Aaron Bummer were both credited with losses in their games – Harris has a nasty 6.75 ERA over 5 1/3 innings and shouldn’t be considered a viable fantasy option; Bummer gave up his first home run of the season to Miguel Sano in the bottom of the 8th to spoil the day for the White Sox faithful. He can still be relied upon for a bulk of holds and the occasional spelling of Liam Hendriks this season.