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
- We had a full slate of games on Monday with all 30 teams in action. There were five games separated by just one run and a total of six saves all up. We also had five games that turned into blowouts of nine runs or more.
- Former promising pitching prospect Michael Baez cleared waivers and was optioned to the Padres Triple-A affiliate El Paso Chihuahuas. It’s a little surprising nobody took the gamble on Baez but with rosters cuts still fresh in the mind it was a difficult decision for each team.
- The New York Yankees called former White Sox and Twins reliever Ian Hamilton from Triple-A. He immediately saw some low-leverage work in the Yankees’ 8-1 drubbing of the beleaguered Phillies. Hamilton isn’t likely to feature in any relevant fantasy metrics in the near future.
Yesterday’s Performances
CHC 6 – CIN 7
- After an ugly outing from starter Drew Smyly, it was Keegan Thompson who mopped up the mess with a solid three innings of work in which he allowed just one hit. Look for him to figure into the bulk reliever wins column this season.
- In the “who on earth is that guy?” news of the day, unheralded journeyman reliever Derek Law notched a save for the Reds who eked out a win against the Cubs in an entertaining ball game at Great American Ball Park. It was only Law’s 11th save of his career, the last one coming back in 2019 with the Blue Jays. Regular closer Alexis Díaz was unavailable after pitching the prior two days.
PIT 7 – BOS 6
- David Bednar remained perfect by dominating in the ninth inning, picking up his second save of the season. The big Pirates closer struck out two with his nasty slider and looks to be in the mix as the diamond in the rough for relief pitching this season.
- Starter Kutter Crawford gave up all seven runs before being pulled after four torrid innings. The bullpen held the Pirates at bay for the rest of the contest – two shutout innings from Zack Kelly and two individual clean frames from Richard Bleier and Ryan Brasier keeping the Red Sox in touch.
CLE 12 – OAK 11
- One of the best fantasy closers in baseball over the past year Emmanuel Clase gave up a two-out, two-run bomb to Seth Brown in the bottom of the ninth inning to blow the save opportunity in a wild, entertaining slugfest in Oakland. Luckily the Guardians rallied in extra innings, gifting Clase a win with Eli Morgan picking up an unlikely save.
- Trevor May gave up back-to-back singles and threw a wild pitch to allow Cleveland to score twice right off the bat in extras. Surprisingly, Dany Jiménez wasn’t called upon and hasn’t been used since opening day.
DET 7 – HOU 6 (11)
- Anointed Tigers closer Alex Lange was called upon for the second night in a row but couldn’t get the job done as José Abreu delivered a two-out shot off the scoreboard to tie the game up in the ninth inning. It was a little unlucky as Austin Meadows could have made a difficult play to end the game. Trey Wingenter picked up the win after being given the ball in extras with Garrett Hill notching the save despite giving up a hit and a run.
- After Ryan Pressly returned to the mound for the first time since a shaky cameo on opening day, it was Héctor Neris who was given the ball in extras. He pitched a clean 10th frame before Matt Vierling launched a two-run shot over the fence to propel the Tigers to their first win of the season. All eyes will be on if Pressly gets the next shot at a save.
ARI 4 – SDP 5
- What a disastrous end to this one for the assumed closer for the Diamondbacks, Scott McGough, who had earned the save at Dodgers Stadium the previous evening. Back-to-back long balls from pinch hitter David Dahl and number nine hitter Ha-Seong Kim ruined his day, two pitches too high in the zone punished rightly. Andrew Chafin pitched a clean eighth inning.
- The Padres employed bulk reliever Brent Honeywell Jr. for a little too long as he was penalized with a blown save after giving up a home run to Evan Longoria in the seventh inning. Veteran Tim Hill picked up the win after Steven Wilson gave up a home run in the top of the ninth to hand the Diamondbacks the lead.
BAL 2 – TEX 0
- Félix Bautista reigns supreme for Baltimore. One of the most exciting closers in baseball, Bautista was robbed of a deserved save on Saturday due to Ryan McKenna’s inexplicable dropped catch against the Red Sox. He made up for it with a perfect ninth, striking out Corey Seager and Nathaniel Lowe to blank the dangerous Rangers lineup. Tyler Wells threw five impressive innings in relief to set up the win.
- Despite a good outing from Jon Gray, the Rangers couldn’t get anything going offensively and slipped to a disappointing defeat. Ian Kennedy struck out the side in a dominant ninth inning.
NYM 0 – MIL 10
- Carlos Carrasco was hit hard leaving a lot of work for the bullpen – veteran Tommy Hunter, Denis Santana, and position player Luis Guillorme eating away the remaining innings for New York. Yikes!
- The last save of the day was credited to Brewers’ swingman Bryse Wilson, who threw 51 pitches across three innings allowing just one hit to close out a Milwaukee whitewash of the Mets.
Best of the rest
- Ryan Tepera earned the win for the Angels despite only facing one hitter as the Halos overcame the Mariners thanks to another Shohei Ohtani homer amongst a late rally. Matt Festa was knocked around heavily in this one for Seattle.
- Yency Almonte vultured the win from Michael Grove as the Dodgers roughed up Rockies relievers Jake Bird and Connor Seabold in a 13-4 mauling.
- Jason Adam picked up his second hold of the year and could amass a monster load for the Rays this season. He is yet to give up a hit through two outings.
- Jordan Hicks coughed up two runs over two innings and has now given up five earned runs in three appearances for the Cardinals. His alarming 3.30 WHIP means we are unlikely to see him see any high-leverage work anytime soon.
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
(Photos by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)