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
- Every team played on Saturday and there will be a full slate of 15 games on Sunday.
- The Chicago White Sox claimed Brent Honeywell Jr. off waivers from the Padres. Their shallow bullpen will accommodate him as a holds option.
- The Los Angeles Angels designated Jacob Webb for assignment. Aaron Loup will replace him as a holds option.
- The New York Mets selected the contract of Jimmy Yacabonis. With David Peterson moving to the rotation, Yacabonis will become the team’s bulk reliever.
- The Oakland A’s activated Dany Jiménez from the 60-day IL. He’ll become the team’s setup man.
- The Washington Nationals placed Mason Thompson on the 15-day IL with a left knee contusion. Jordan Weems becomes the setup man while Andrés Machado joins the chart as a holds option.
Yesterday’s Performances
TBR 2 – DET 4
H: José Cisnero (13), Jason Foley (19), Tyler Holton (7), Alex Lange (3)
SV: Beau Brieske (1)
- The Rays are elite bullpen whisperers. Robert Stephenson was acquired from the Pirates at the beginning of June. With Pittsburgh, he pitched to a 5.14 ERA with a 1.43 WHIP and a 27.9%/13.1% K/BB% across 14 innings. In 20.1 innings with the Rays, he owns a 3.10 ERA, a 0.84 WHIP, and a 37.6%/7.8% K/BB%. Jake Diekman was acquired from the White Sox in early May. With Chicago, he pitched to a 7.94 ERA with a 2.12 WHIP and a 19%/22.4% K/BB% across 11.1 innings. In 24 innings with the Rays, he owns a 2.25 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP, and a 30.7%/14.9% K/BB%. It’s truly incredible the magic they’re able to work with relievers.
- Alex Lange couldn’t get the job done, walking three batters and needing the help of Beau Brieske to close out the victory. In the end, it didn’t bite him, but he’s been much worse since the calendar flipped to June. Through the season’s first two months, Lange owned a 1.16 ERA, a 0.90 WHIP, and a 35.2% while saving 10 games in 23.1 innings of work. Over the past two-plus months, the story has been much different. During that time, he’s sported a 6.97 ERA (20.2 IP), a 1.94 WHIP, and a 23.1% K% rate that looks even worse beside his 22.1% BB%. He’s saved just seven games in that timeframe. I don’t think he’s droppable yet because he continues to get save opportunities, but with Jason Foley and Tyler Holton pitching so well, we could see a changing of the guard if things don’t turn around soon.
MIA 8 – TEX 9
H: Brock Burke (10), Grant Anderson (5), Aroldis Chapman (11)
SV: Will Smith (20)
- Miami went with double bulk relievers on Saturday. They opened the game with a trio of frames from George Soriano. He allowed three runs while striking out four. After an inning from Steven Okert, they turned the ball over to Ryan Weathers for his Marlins debut. The southpaw struggled, allowing six runs across 11 outs while striking out five. The Marlins likely won’t have too many more bullpen games this year given the return of Eury Pérez and the depth of their staff, but it didn’t work out too well on Saturday.
- The Rangers made a lot of moves during trade season, two of which resided in the bullpen. However, Will Smith has maintained his role as the closer throughout the season, something that would’ve been hard to believe in January. The southpaw worked around two runs to record his 20th save, reaching the threshold for the third time in his 11-year career. He’ll have to continue to perform to stave off the ever-present Aroldis Chapman, but he’s done well enough so far to avoid any concerns about the stability of his job.
TOR 5 – BOS 4
H: Génesis Cabrera (7), Yimi García (12), Tim Mayza (17)
SV: Erik Swanson (4)
- The Blue Jays continue to switch things up in the ninth. Since Jordan Romano got injured on July 28th, we’ve seen three different arms record saves. Yimi García got one the day Romano got injured and had to leave the game early. He has also pitched in the ninth with a four-run lead and pitched the 10th in a tie game. Jordan Hicks was acquired at the deadline to help with the late innings with Romano out, and he recorded a save on Friday. Erik Swanson leads the way with two saves in the past four days. He may be the team’s preferred option until Romano returns, but we’ll likely see Hicks factor into a couple more ninth innings as well.
- Nick Pivetta keeps getting paired with an opener, so he technically gets to remain a topic of the Reliever Ranks. He tossed four innings, allowing eight baserunners and three runs while striking out two. He induced eight whiffs with 24% CSW. This was one of his worst outings since becoming a reliever. He started in his last outing but returned to being a reliever again on Friday. Since he became a full-time reliever on May 21st, he owns a 2.58 ERA (52.1 IP) with a 34.7% K%. Those are elite numbers and he’s someone to consider as a SPARP or in leagues where starts are limited.
SFG 1 – OAK 2
H: Austin Pruitt (3), Angel Felipe (1)
- Ryan Walker allowed a run and took the loss, but he hasn’t been doing much of that this year. In his debut campaign, the 27-year-old is sporting a 2.56 ERA (38.2 IP) and a 1.19 WHIP with a 25.8% K% and the ability to go multiple frames. His Statcast and Pitcher List player pages are streaked red with his best skill being his ability to avoid hard contact. He has no saves or holds this year because of his usage patterns, but he’s definitely a hidden gem that could have more significant roles in future seasons.
- Trevor May came on in the eighth with two men on and proceeded to allow an inherited runner to score despite not allowing any hits or walks of his own. It resulted in his third blown save of the year. Luckily for him, the A’s fought back in the bottom half so May wound up with his third win as a consolation prize. May has been pitching well since the calendar flipped to July, with a 0.87 ERA (10.1 IP). However, he has yet to figure out his control, with a 9/5 K/BB ratio that is unappealing.
PIT 2 – MIL 3
H: Yerry De Los Santos (3)
- David Bednar blew his second save, surrendering a run in the 9th. That forced extras and the bullpen would be unable to hold off the Milwaukee offense. Bednar got off to a really hot start in April with a 0.69 ERA (13 IP) and nine saves. He’s slowed down since then, but not in the performance department. As the Pirates have cooled down, Bednar’s save opportunities have dwindled. He owns a 1.65 ERA (32.2 IP) but has saved just 13 games in the last three-plus months. That likely won’t change down the stretch, so while Bednar is an elite pitcher, he’s a step below in fantasy because of his lack of save chances. He has pitched on consecutive days and will likely turn the ball over to Colin Holderman in the ninth on Sunday.
- With Bednar blowing the lead and the Brewers’ offense walking it off in the 10th, Devin Williams was the benefactor. He held the score in the top of the 10th and then earned his sixth in after the walk-off. Joel Payamps also tossed a scoreless frame in this one. He may be the most underrated reliever in baseball this year. His results have been incredible with a 1.89 ERA (52.1 IP), a 0.86 WHIP, and a 29.2% strikeout rate to go with 22 holds (T-4th in MLB). A pitch mix change to focus more on his slider and a one-mph jump in fastball velocity have been key factors in his breakout.
Best of the Rest
- Clay Holmes closed out his 16th save of the year against the Astros. Tommy Kahnle and Michael King joined him in securing the lead with their 10th and seventh holds respectively.
- The Cubs turned to Adbert Alzolay in the ninth despite a four-run lead. He allowed two runs to make the home fans sweat, but he was able to secure the win anyway. Mark Leiter Jr. and Julian Merryweather had scoreless outings that resulted in their 20th and 11th holds respectively.
- Kyle Finnegan pitched the ninth up by four in a win versus the Reds. His save got ruined because the offense tacked on a run in the top half of the ninth. Andrés Machado and Jordan Weems recorded their second and third holds respectively as well. All three have pitched on consecutive days, so Jose A. Ferrer may be the team’s go-to option in the ninth on Sunday.
- Craig Kimbrel recorded his 19th save with a hitless frame. He was preceded by Seranthony Domínguez who notched his 11th hold of the season.
- Paul Sewald pitched the eighth down by nine. It was a maintenance outing given that he hadn’t appeared since July 28th.
- Aaron Bummer pitched the final two frames. He came on with a four-run lead and surrendered two runs. He’s the fill-in closer with Gregory Santos on the bereavement list.
- Giovanny Gallegos pitched the ninth up by four in a maintenance outing after not pitching since July 30th. He is the team’s interim closer for the time being.
- Andrés Muñoz worked around a run to record his fifth save of the year. Matt Brash recorded his 15th hold in the eighth. Munoz has worked extensively in the past week and Brash has gone back-to-back, so Justin Topa could get a shot at a save on Sunday.
Bullpen Depth Charts
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)