Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 4/14/23 Depth Chart

Welcome back to the latest edition of our Reliever Ranks series! This will bring you up-to-date bullpen depth charts every morning for the day’s games and makes for an excellent tool for those looking to stream saves or wins. This series runs seven days a week, so check in every morning to get your daily bullpen fix!

 

Notes

 

Transaction and Schedule Notes

 

• Around half of the league was active on Thursday with 14 MLB teams playing games.
• The Rays optioned Taj Bradley back to the minors after his impressive debut performance on Wednesday. In 5 IP, Bradley got the win after striking out eight and giving up three earned runs to the Red Sox. In a corresponding move, Tampa Bay called up Braden Bristo from Triple-A Durham. They also transferred Shane Baz to the 60-day IL.
• Boston placed Zack Kelly on the 15-day IL with what looked like a potentially serious elbow injury that occurred during Wednesday’s game. They recalled Kutter Crawford from Triple-A Worcester.

 

OAK 7 – BAL 8

W: Félix Bautista (1)
L: Trevor May (2)

• Both starting pitchers had short appearances in this game, so many arms were rolled out in relief. First out of the pen for the A’s was Adrián Martínez in the third inning. Martinez had a nice outing in long relief and ended up pitching longer than the starter Adam Oller, going 3.2 scoreless innings and striking out five. Dany Jiménez and Zach Jackson followed Martinez with their own scoreless outings. Unfortunately for Oakland fans, Trevor May was not able to continue the scoreless streak. May surrendered a walk-off home run and was tagged with the loss.
• Baltimore also used four relievers in this game: Austin Voth, Bryan Baker, Danny Coulombe, and closer Félix Bautista in a non-save situation. Voth entered the game in the fifth and gave up three hits and an earned run across two innings. Baker walked one and struck out one, lowering his season ERA to 3.68 with his fifth straight scoreless outing. In the eighth inning, Coulombe had two strikeouts and gave up one hit before Bautista entered a 7-7 game in the ninth inning. He threw 10 pitches, eight for strikes, and struck out two. Bautista was credited with the win as an Adley Rutschman home run delivered the victory. Bautista is now 1-1 on the season with three saves.

 

BOS 3 – TB 9

SV: Braden Bristo (1)
W: Kevin Kelly (1)

• The Rays’ magical ways continued as they came back to win their 13th straight game to start the season. Tampa Bay’s relievers pitched most of the game as starter Jeffrey Springs left in the fourth inning after feeling discomfort in his foreman and elbow. Garrett Cleavinger came in the game but only lasted a third of an inning, giving up a double to Justin Turner and two walks. Kevin Kelly was next up and pitched 2.2 innings, giving up one run on two hits and striking out two. After Kelly departed, Braden Bristo made his major league debut and pitched three scoreless innings to earn his first career save. It is always hard to guess who is going to get the next save opportunity with the Rays, but you can probably wait on rushing out to add Bristo to your fantasy squad.
• Richard Bleier entered the game in the fifth and was shaky, giving up four runs on four hits. Kutter Crawford finished the game for Boston pitching three total innings. He gave up an additional run on a solo home run to Brandon Lowe in the seventh inning.

 

PHI 2 – CIN 6

SV: Alexis Díaz (2)
H: Alex Young (2)

• For the Reds, Alexis Díaz easily picked up his second save of the season in a light outing, only throwing a total of five pitches in a third of an inning. Alex Young did most of the heavy lifting for Cincy’s bullpen pitching two scoreless innings and earning his second hold of the season. The other relief arm used was Derek Law who had 4 Ks, a hit, and a walk across 1.2 IP
• Andrew Bellatti was the first arm out of the pen for the Phillies, coming in and closing out the fifth inning before “Mount” McKinley Moore entered the game in the sixth. Moore is a big man (listed at 6’6” & 225 lbs) with impressive throwing power but has struggled with control in the past. After three walks in his first outing this season, he cut that down to one last night but hit two batters while giving up an earned run. Andrew Vazquez had another strong relief appearance as he wrapped things up for Philadelphia’s bullpen with 2 IP and no earned runs, lowering his season ERA to 0.96.

 

MIN 11 – NYY 2

• This game was over quickly as the Twins put up nine runs in the first inning while hitting back-to-back-back home runs. That set up a busy night for the Yankees bullpen. Yankees starter Jhony Brito was pulled in the first inning after giving up a home run that made it 7-0. Colten Brewer was not much better, giving up back-to-back home runs that extended Minnesota’s lead to 9-0. Ian Hamilton finally stopped the onslaught with a strong outing. He struck out six across three innings and only gave up one hit. Jimmy Cordero pitched an additional scoreless inning before the Yankees ran out of arms. By the end of the game, the Yankees trotted out utility man Isiah Kiner-Falefa for the ninth inning.
• For the Twins, starter Joe Ryan went 7 IP with 10 strikeouts and the only other pitcher used was Cole Sands. The Twins bullpen should be well-rested for the weekend.

 

DET 3 – TOR 1

SV: Alex Lange (1)
H: Chasen Shreve (2), Jason Foley (3), José Cisnero (1)

• The presumed closer going into the season, Alex Lange, finally picked up his first save for the Tigers, throwing a scoreless ninth inning a day after picking up his first hold. This means someone else will be receiving the save chance if it arises on Friday. Jason Foley, José Cisnero, and Chasen Shreve also all pitched on consecutive days for the Detroit, each picking up a hold in their appearances.
• The Blue Jays also trotted out four relievers in this matchup as Adam Cimber and Tim Mayza pitched a scoreless seventh inning before exiting for Anthony Bass in the eighth. Bass gave up a run that extended the Tigers’ lead to 3-1 and that was the last of the scoring. Trevor Richards threw 23 pitchers in the ninth inning, with 1 K and no hits or walks.

 

PIT 5 – STL 0

H: Duane Underwood Jr. (2)

• The Pirates pitching staff shut out the Cardinals behind six strong innings from starter Vince Velasquez and scoreless appearances from their bullpen arms. Duane Underwood Jr. garnered his second hold of the season with a scoreless seventh inning. Colin Holderman and Dauri Moreta also pitched for Pittsburgh.
• The Cardinals bullpen had a tough night overall. Jordan Hicks only lasted a third of an inning, surrendering two walks before Génesis Cabrera entered the game and gave up two home runs. This was then followed by Chris Stratton’s 1.1 IP during which he gave up a hit, a walk, and a run to extend the Pirates’ lead to 5-0.

 

MIL 4  – SDP 3 (10)

W: Devin Williams (2)
SV: Joel Payamps (1)
BS: Matt Bush (1)
H: Peter Strzelecki (2)
L: Luis Garcia (2)

• There was a lot of reliever action in the Brewers and Padres game last night, with every potential relief statistic fulfilled (win, loss, save, blown save, and loss). Peter Strzelecki earned his second hold on the year with an outing of 1.1 IP. Matt Bush blew the save opportunity with two outs in the eighth inning giving up a game-tying home run to Trent Grisham. Devin Williams was his normal lights-out self in the ninth striking out the heart of the Padres order and keeping his ERA at a perfect 0.00 on the year. Williams is blossoming into one of the best closers in baseball. Joel Payamps came on in the 10th and earned his first career save.
• The Padres relievers did not give up a run in their combined four innings pitched, but Luis Garcia was charged with the hard-luck loss after Rowdy Tellez’s sac fly brought in Christian Yelich, who was the ghost runner for the Brewers. Tim Hill, Steven Wilson, and Josh Hader gave up a combined one hit and struck out two in their three innings of work.

 

Bullpen Depth Charts

 

Also, if you’re looking for a detailed list or ranking of RPs, check out Rick Graham’s weekly pieces:

The Hold Up: Ranking the Top 100 Relievers for Holds Every Thursday

Closing Time: Ranking the Top 30 Closers

Top 100 Relievers for Save+Hold Leagues