Reliever Ranks – 4/11

Welcome back to the newest 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

 

• Mets Closer Edwin Díaz is still on bereavement leave. He’s out for at least one more game.
• There were ALOT of blowouts across the league on Sunday so bullpen use is a little all over the place from what we usually see.

 

Yesterday’s Performances

 

 

• The Athletics bullpen followed up Daulton Jefferies five shutout innings with four innings of one run excellence.  Sam Moll and Domingo Acevedo both struck out a pair in an inning of work to earn holds while Kirby Snead pitched a scoreless 8th inning with no strikeouts. Since Lou Trivino hadn’t pitched yet this season, he came in to pitch the 9th in a non-save situation striking out one and giving up a solo home run to Jean Segura before ending the game.
• For Philadelphia, Bailey Falter came in to start the 5th inning, giving up two decisive earned runs including a HR by Billy McKinney over 2.1 innings pitched with two strikeouts and four hits allowed. Connor Brogdon came in to finish the inning without giving up any additional runs, surrendering a hit and striking out one. Damon Jones came in and pitched the final two innings giving up two more runs, two hits, a walk and compiling a pair of strikeouts.

• We’ll probably say this a lot this season but it was a long and rough game for the Baltimore bullpen. It started out okay as Felix Bautista and Joey Krehbiel scattered three hits and a walk over 3.1 innings pitched with 3 strikeouts. Then Bryan Baker gives up a run on one hit in the 6th while striking out two. Paul Fry wrapped the game up giving up 3 more earned runs over the last two innings to go with four hits, two walks and just one strikeout.
• Tampa Bay’s bullpen had a much better day as they combined for 4.1 scoreless innings. First, Jeffrey Springs came to get the last out of the fifth inning in relief of starter Corey Kluber and would end up getting credited with the win. Jason Adam followed him with a scoreless inning and a strikeout with Jalen Beeks coming right after him, giving up two hits, a walk, and striking out two over 1.2 innings pitched. Finally, Matt Wisler came in and pitched the final 1.1 innings remaining, giving up just one hit and racking up three strikeouts.

 

• The White Sox only got four innings out of starter Michael Kopech so they had to call on the bullpen to carry a bit larger load. Luckily they led this one by a sizable margin so it didn’t matter that Liam Hendriks had pitched the day before. Kyle Crick took over for Kopech in the fifth pitching one scoreless inning with a strikeout and picking up the win. Matt Foster and Kendall Graveman each pitched scoreless eventless innings as well, before Tanner Banks closed things out over the last two innings giving up no runs, no hits, two walks and no strikeouts. The Sox are off tomorrow so the bullpen should reset itself for Tuesday.
• Tarik Skubal got roughed up over four innings so like their opponents, the Tigers had to ask a bit more out of their bullpen than normal. Elvin Rodriguez was up first and he coughed up four more runs over 2.2 innings pitched allowing three hits, walking two, striking out two and a home run to Andrew Vaughn. Rony García took over and pitched 1.1 scoreless innings with one strikeout before Jason Foley ended the blowout pitching the final inning and giving up a run on two hits and striking out no one.

 

• The Mets got an efficient 5.2 innings pitched from starter Carlos Carrasco, so they didn’t have to dip too far into their bullpen for this one, but mismanagement cost them the game anyways. Manager Buck Showalter wanted Chasen Shreve and Trevor Williams to get their work in today, so he first sent in Shreve to relieve Carrasco and he did alright, pitching 1.1 innings with hit and one walk while leaving behind baserunner Dee Strange-Gordon, who would come around to score the tying run on Lucius Fox’s suicide squeeze play, tying the game. Trevor Williams took over for Shreve and didn’t fair much better, surrendering two hits and two runs (unearned) over the last inning and shouldering the loss and a blown save with no strikeouts. It’s worth remembering that Mets closer Edwin Díaz is currently out on Bereavement Leave and the Mets do play tomorrow, so presumably if there is a save opportunity that role would still go to Trevor May if needed.
• The Nationals got five solid innings from Erick Fedde, meaning the Nationals bullpen didn’t have to do too much in this one. Steve Cishek pitched a scoreless inning giving up one hit and two walks to go along with one strikeout. Sean Doolittle followed that up with a goose egg inning of his own along with two strikeouts. Kyle Finnegan was next and not only did he match their scoreless innings and strike out a batter, but picked up the win as well. Finally, Tanner Rainey came in to pitch the 9th and snagged himself a save. I’m not sure what to make of the Nationals use of Finnegan and Rainey over the last two games. Both pitched on Saturday when the Nationals were down five and then Finnegan was brought in the 8th in this one to face Pete Alonso, Eduardo Escobar, and Dominic Smith. My suspicion is that Finnegan is still the most likely save candidate but that Dave Martinez will use him outside of save situations if it’s the highest leverage situation.

 

• Hunter Greene’s electric five inning debut is a hard act to follow, but the Reds bullpen did a pretty good job. First, Luis Cessa threw 1.2 scoreless innings with one hit and one strikeout to snag his first hold of the season. Speaking of getting your first hold, Tony Santillan replicated the feat by holding the Braves scoreless over 1.1 innings pitched with a hit and a strikeout. Finally, as we all suspected, Art Warren came on in the 9th to close things out giving up no runs, one hit and a strikeout. I wouldn’t make the full leap that Warren is the full on closer as this could be simply is turn in the closer committee, but it’s certainly a good sign. Still if Warren is available in your leagues and you have the space, I would think about picking him up as it feels somewhat inevitable.
• Not too much to see here from Atlanta’s bullpen. Ian Anderson got roughed up and only pitched 2.2 IP but Sean Newcomb and Collin McHugh combined for 5 IP with seven strikeouts and one run allowed. Tyler Thornburg then came on to finish things off pitching for 1.1 IP with two strikeouts.

 

• Texas practically had to pull off a bullpen game after Spencer Howard got shelled for six runs in three innings. Interestingly enough, Brock Burke came in after Howard to pick up the win, pitching two innings with one hit, one walk and five strikeouts. Dennis Santana followed him and pitched a shutout inning to earn himself his first hold. From there, John King and Josh Sborz got the Rangers to the ninth with two scoreless innings where closer Joe Barlow finished things up with a spotless inning with two strikeouts in a non-save situation.
• Pretty much no one in the Toronto bullpen had a good day yesterday. After starter Hyun Jin Ryu also gave up six runs in 3.1 innings, Julian Merryweather came in to finish the fourth and gave up another run himself while striking out two and taking the loss. Then, Ross Stripling pitched the fifth and gave up two more runs while walking three hitters. David Phelps and Tayler Saucedo didn’t fair any better as they surrendered the final three runs of the game over the next two innings.  Trent Thornton was the only Toronto pitcher unscathed as he pitched the last two innings of the game with two strikeouts.

 

• Cleveland jumped out to an early lead after scoring ten runs in the first two innings. Starter Cal Quantrill went five innings and then was followed up by long reliever Eli Morgan, who got them through the 6th and 7th with a strikeout. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cleveland often piggyback Morgan onto other starters to keep the bullpen fresh early in the season. Sam Hentges pitched an unmarred 8th with one strikeout and finally Anthony Castro pitched the meaningless ninth as Cleveland was up 17-2 at that point, giving up a single run. They didn’t have to touch the back end of their bullpen at all so they should be fresh for today’s game.
• This was essentially a bullpen game for Kansas City as starter Kris Bubic didn’t make it out of the first inning. Taylor Clarke finished the first giving up an additional run while Jackson Kowar got it the worst giving up seven runs in 3.1 innings pitched with four strikeouts. Gabe Speier pitched 1.2 innings with out getting dinged with three strikeouts while Brady Singer came in for the final three innings giving up four more runs.

 

• The Mariners pitching as a whole struggled. Starter Marco Gonzales made it just two innings into game, so Matt Festa came in and pitched two more innings giving up runs three and four with four strikeouts. Erik Swanson went 1.1 IP with no runs and a strikeout before Yohan Ramirez went 1.2 innings coughing up two more runs with two strikeouts. Finally Justus Sheffield came in and finished the ninth without any more damage. They didn’t really have to dip into the backend of their bullpen so they should all be fresh.
• Things went smoother over on Minnesota’s side. Starter Bailey Ober pitched five innings; already up 8 to 4 at that point, they were able to save the heavy hitters in their bullpen while Danny Coulombe, Jorge Alcala, Emilio Pagán and Jhon Romero all combined for four scoreless innings to close out the game.

 

• Pirates starter Bryse Wilson went four innings giving up three runs, but by then Pittsburgh was up 7 to 3, so they didn’t need to use up their best bullpen pitchers in this one.  Miguel Yajure pitched the fifth and the sixth without giving up any runs to pick up the win, while Heath Hembree and Wil Crowe closed things out over the final three innings. Most of the bullpen should be fresh for today.
• Steven Matz was awful for the Cardinals as he went just three innings and gave up seven runs. Already so far behind, the Cardinals didn’t dip too deep into their bullpen mainstays as Jake Woodford pitched three scoreless innings with three strikeouts, while Andre Pallante gave up one run in one inning pitched, and Aaron Brooks gave up two more over the final two innings.

 

• Pretty much everyone of the mainstays in the Brewers bullpen pitched yesterday as holds mainstays Brent Suter, Jake Cousins (credited with the blown save), and Brad Boxberger covered the 5th through 7th innings, while setup man Devin Williams got a hold in the 8th with a two strikeout performance. Closer Josh Hader came in to close the game out in the ninth with two strikeouts of his own. None of them had pitched the day before, so while the entire bullpen practically pitched yesterday they should be okay for today’s game.
• Marcus Stroman went five innings in his Cubs debut and was followed up by Jesse Chavez, who was credited with giving up three runs and a blown save in 0.2 innings. Daniel Norris followed him up by giving up an additional run in 1.1 innings pitched and taking the loss. David Robertson may have gotten the Cubs first save, but he was brought into this one in the 8th with the Cubs losing, where pitched a scoreless inning. Mychal Givens did the same in the ninth. This was a close game so it’s probably not indicative that Robertson was used here.

 

• Julio Urías only pitched two innings for the Dodgers so they had to dig into their bullpen depth a bit in this one.  Luckily, Mitch White came in gave them 3.2 solid innings, giving up just one run. Brusdar Graterol was the only fantasy noteworthy Dodger in the bullpen to pitch in this one, as he was brought in to close out the sixth. Evan Phillips and Justin Bruihl came in to pitch the final two innings.
• Antonio Senzatela pitched just 3.1 innings, so it looked like it was going to be a long day for the bullpen, but instead they used just two relievers. Jhoulys Chacín pitched 1.2 innings with three strikeouts to get the win and Ty Blach came in and pitched a Herculean effort, getting a save the old fashioned way by striking out four hitters over the final four innings. I wouldn’t read anything into that save, as I wouldn’t assume this changes anything about the backend of the Rockies bullpen.

 

• The Marlins bullpen was only called upon to pitch three innings in this one. It was a close one and pretty much everyone in the bullpen had pitched the day before, so the only mainstay pitcher of note to come into this one for the Marlins was Anthony Bass who pitched 1.1 IP into the eighth. That’s his second day in a row, so I would assume he would be unavailable for holds opportunities today, but otherwise all the backend options for the Marlins should be good to go.
• Anthony DeSclafani didn’t go very deep into this one so the bullpen had to pick up some of the slack for the Giants; they did admirably shutting down the Marlins for the rest of the game. Jarlín García pitched two innings and got the win while Zack Littell and Tyler Rogers each earned themselves holds for their efforts. Dominic Leone then pitched a flawless ninth with two strikeouts to pick up the save. I’m genuinely not sure what to make of Leone getting the save here while Jake McGee had pitched the previous two games. This seems to indicate that this bullpen might end up a true committee if McGee continues to struggle.

 

• This was a fairly straightforward one for Houston as Phil Maton, Rafael Montero, and Héctor Neris all pitched a single inning and each notched a hold as well. Montero and Maton both struck out two batters. No surprises in the ninth either as Ryan Pressly came on for the save and pitched a flawless ninth with a strikeout.
• Outside of Austin Warren, none of the Angels’ bullpen mainstays pitched in this one. It’s slightly surprising given that they were right in this game until the 8th but I suppose that’s right around when Warren came out, so it’s probably pretty understandable once the game got away from them a bit.

• Caleb Smith didn’t make to the second inning for the Diamondbacks, but fortunately long reliever Corbin Martin was able to put together four innings of one run ball saving the bullpen. Humberto Castellanos, Kyle Nelson and Carson Kelly (yes the catcher) pitched the final four innings but none of them should be fantasy relevant, at least for pitching.
• With Blake Snell a last second scratch, this was essentially a bullpen game for San Diego. Austin Adams pitched a rough fourth inning with three walks, but managed to avoid giving up any runs to secure the win. Craig Stammen and Robert Suarez pitched in this one as well. Stammen only pitched one inning so he might be available for today’s game, but Suarez pitched two so I would guess he would be unavailable today.

 

• Boston used most of their bullpen studs in this one. Kutter Crawford pitched two innings and got the win, while Matt Strahm and Hansel Robles each got holds. The most significant thing is that with the game on the line in the ninth, Manager Alex Cora called upon Jake Diekman to get the save instead of Matt Barnes. It sounds like Barnes wasn’t available though. No official closer has been named yet for the Red Sox, but I could certainly see picking up Diekman to see if he can snag the role.
• Nothing too significant to see here from the Yankees. Of the bullpen mainstays, Clarke Schmidt and Jonathan Loáisiga both pitched in this one but outside of that, there was really nothing new of note.