Ryan Pressly currently has an 8.44 ERA, 0-2 record and has not pitched since April 11th when he allowed 3 earned runs on a walk of home run to Ji Hwan Bae (not sure the changeup was the best call, Pressly did not locate it well) . The early results aren’t concerning to me, what is is though is the possibility he may be dealing with something (potentially an injury) that is once again limiting his availability.
For a closer of Pressly’s caliber, it’s way too early to consider dropping him, but we should get a sense of where he’s at health wise this week hopefully, as he missed this entire past week. The good news is, Pressly has been able to get Whiffs at a high rate still, and control remains a plus with just one walk over 6 games. Even though he dips in the ranks this week, you’ll still want to stick with Pressly in all formats and hope that he’ll be available to pitch as soon as today.
Notes
- Daniel Bard is set to return from the IL today and is worth a look in most leagues where he was dropped. Bard struck out the side in his lone rehab inning of work, and all reports indicate his velo is in the upper 90’s. Pierce Johnson pitched well outside of one outing in his stead, but will move back into a setup role sooner rather than later.
- It’s been a slow start for a few closers on this list (ahem, Camilo Doval) so it was nice to see Alex Lange pick up his second save of the season last week, and he’s now put up three great outings in a row (3 IP, 0 H, BB, 4 K). The Tigers will make rostering Lange frustrating, but he still has one of the breaking balls in the game and should start missing more bats once he see’s more right handed batters.
- David Robertson and Adam Ottavino are both likely to see save chances for the Mets moving forward, with Robertson the clear 1A option. I think in deeper leagues it makes sense to roster both as they at least shouldn’t hurt your team, but just don’t expect either to eclipse 25-30 saves this season.
- Andrew Chafin picked up another save for the Diamondbacks yesterday, now bringing his total for the season up to 3. Chafin is looking like the clear cut closer option here, especially with Scott McGough continuing to struggle. Miguel Castro should be in the mix against right handed heavy lineups as well, but Chafin should be the favorite for most situations moving forward.
| Rank | Pitcher | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emmanuel ClaseT1 | - |
| 2 | Félix Bautista | +2 |
| 3 | Devin Williams | -1 |
| 4 | Josh Hader | -1 |
| 5 | Jordan Romano | - |
| 6 | Ryan Helsley | - |
| 7 | Kenley Jansen | +1 |
| 8 | Jhoan DuranT2 | +1 |
| 9 | Pete Fairbanks | +1 |
| 10 | Paul Sewald | +1 |
| 11 | Ryan Pressly | -4 |
| 12 | Evan Phillips | - |
| 13 | David BednarT3 | - |
| 14 | Clay Holmes | - |
| 15 | Alexis Díaz | - |
| 16 | Camilo Doval | - |
| 17 | A.J. Puk | +2 |
| 18 | Daniel Bard | +UR |
| 19 | Alex Lange | +3 |
| 20 | David RobertsonT4 | -3 |
| 21 | Andrew Chafin | +6 |
| 22 | A.J. Minter | -2 |
| 23 | Scott Barlow | -2 |
| 24 | José Leclerc | -1 |
| 25 | Reynaldo López | -1 |
| 26 | Michael Fulmer | -8 |
| 27 | Carlos Estévez | -2 |
| 28 | Kyle FinneganT5 | +1 |
| 29 | Craig Kimbrel | -3 |
| 30 | Zach Jackson | +UR |
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | José Alvarado | PHI | Likely the most talented reliever in this potential three-man committee. |
| 2. | Aroldis Chapman | KC | Velo is all the way back and if it sticks, could work his way into the role. |
| 3. | José Quijada | LAA | Certainly in the mix for saves, especially with Estévez remaining shaky. |
| 4. | Adam Ottavino | NYM | Even in timeshare, becomes valuable mixed league reliever. |
| 5. | Will Smith | TEX | Could he be in a matchup-based timeshare with Leclerc? |
| 6. | Jason Adam | TB | Could be option 1B in Tampa, so worth a spot in deeper leagues. |
| 7. | Giovanny Gallegos | STL | Should still cut into Helsley’s save totals, as long as he is healthy. |
| 8. | Brad Boxberger | CHC | Could form a committee with Fulmer, but skills aren’t what they used to be. |
| 9. | Kendall Graveman | CWS | May wind up in a timeshare with Reynaldo before Hendriks returns. |
| 10. | Miguel Castro | ARZ | Has pitched well to start, might get some save chances occasionally. |
And if you want more daily reliever updates, please check out our Reliever Ranks series
Rick-
Both Pressly and Phillips are available in my league. Who should I add?
Hi Rick – something that might be helpful in the Watch List is an estimated ranking range of where they would sit if they had the closer job. Similar to what Nick does for injured starters on The List. I would find this tremendously valuable.