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
- Monday (6/20) was a travel day for a bit over a third of the league. Twelve teams received a scheduled day off, including BAL, CLE, MIN, HOU, OAK, SEA, TEX, PHI, WAS, CIN, LAD, and COL.
- Sean Newcomb cleared waivers and was sent to AAA by the Chicago Cubs.
- Los Angeles Dodgers placed Caleb Ferguson on the 15-day IL
- Josh Hader returned to the Brewers bullpen, spending the past few days on the paternity list.
- New York Mets placed Seth Lugo on the paternity list.
- Seattle activated Ken Giles from the IL and DFA’d Sergio Romo to make room on the roster.
Yesterday’s Performances
SF 1 – ATL 2
- Kenley Jansen locked down his fourth win of the season after set up man Will Smith allowed an inherited runner to score in the eighth inning, tying the game at one run a piece. Beyond that hiccup, Smith looked just fine overall and should continue to be expected to act as the go-to eighth inning option and fill in closer when Jansen is unavailable.
- Camilo Doval took the loss after allowing the walk-off single to Orlando Arcia in the bottom of the ninth inning. This marks Doval’s first earned run in his last ten appearances so one should expect him to have earned a bit of a leash here. The catch would be that Doval has now pitched in three of the last four days so he could simply be unavailable on Tuesday, opening the door for Jake McGee to walk in and vulture a save opportunity if one were to present itself.
MIA 0 – NYM 6
- Adam Ottavino picked up his eighth hold of the season, recording five outs on five batters. Drew Smith followed Ottavino, pitching a scoreless eighth inning, allowing just one hit along the way. Smith wouldn’t walk away with any typer of decision however as the Mets added an insurance run during Ottavino’s time on the mound.
- Dylan Floro and Anthony Bass pitched scoreless innings during their team’s losing effort. This was Bass’ first appearance since Wednesday and Floro’s first time pitching in a game since last Tuesday, so both were due for some action, regardless of the score.
ARI 1 – SD 4
- Taylor Rogers picked up his 21st save of the season, pitching a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts for good measure. Luis Garcia picked up his 11th hold, setting up Rogers with a scoreless eighth inning and redeeming himself ever so slightly after taking the loss on Saturday. Neither Rogers nor Garcia needed more than 14 pitches in their outing Monday.
- The the top of the Arizona bullpen received some rest in their losing effort Monday, providing Kyle Nelson and J.B. Wendelken and inning of work. Each pitched around a walk in their scoreless inning. Mark Melancon hasn’t pitched since Wednesday and Ian Kennedy only threw three pitches on Sunday, his first outing since last Tuesday, so unless there’s an injury at play the Diamondbacks aren’t telling us about, expect the top of the bullpen to get some work today.
KC 6 – LAA 2
- After scoring an additional three runs in the top of the eighth inning, putting the Royals’ up by four runs, Kansas City went with Scott Barlow to ensure the lead would stay in tact. Barlow pitched a perfect inning, recording a strikeout along the way, to set up Josh Staumont to close things out in the ninth. Staumont pitched around a walk and a hit, but ultimately kept the Angels scoreless to end the game and preserve the Kansas City victory. After needing 24 pitches however, expect Staumont to get some rest on Tuesday.
STL 0 – MIL 2
- Josh Hader returned from paternity leave and immediately got to work, recording his 20th save of the year with relative ease. Hader threw 16 pitches, allowing a hit and recording one strikeout, in his return and should easily be available on Tuesday if needed again. Devin Williams returned to his set up role as expected, pitching a perfect eighth inning, throwing 16 pitches of his own. Williams has now be used on back-to-back days (and three of the last four), so a day of rest should be expected on Tuesday.
TOR 7 – CWS 8
- Perhaps it was the three run cushion. Maybe it was the match ups. Or maybe, just maybe, Joe Kelly has some dirt on manager Tony LaRussa that he’s holding over his head. Whatever the reason, Kelly received the save opportunity for the White Sox on Monday, not Kendall Graveman. It went about how you’d expect, with Kelly striking out Matt Chapman to start things off but then giving up back-to-back hits, including a two-run shot to Cavan Biggio, before finally closing the door with two straight ground outs. Graveman pitched a scoreless eighth inning, facing the heart of the Toronto line up. Liam Hendriks is due to be out for another 15 days or so, giving this situation more time for LaRussa to confuse and confound us.
- Toronto’s Matt Gage finished things off for the Blue Jays, pitching a perfect final frame and continuing to impress in his limited MLB action. In his five outing so far, Gagne has faced 21 batters and has only given up two hits while walking one.
NYY 4 – TB 2
- Clay Holmes recorded his first blown save of the season after allowing three straight hits, pushing in two runs, one credited to starter Gerrit Cole and one earned by Holmes). Luckily for Holmes, the Yankees’s bats came back alive in the top of the ninth inning when they would get to Tampa’s Jason Adam for two runs, ultimately saddling Adam with the loss. The rule book came into play however and Holmes was denied the back-door win, as the scorers assigned it to Wandy Peralta instead as the “most effective” pitcher. Go figure.
- Wandy Peralta would redeem himself after his blown save/loss on Sunday by firing a scoreless frame, giving up just one walk and striking out one, good for his second
savewin of the season. Peralta needed 23 pitches in this one and threw 20 pitches on Monday, so don’t expect him to make it three in a row on Tuesday. Michael King should be rested up enough after his 33-pitch outing on Saturday if a reliable late inning arm is needed.
CHC 1 – PIT 12
- Alec Mills did his part for the Cubs’ pitching staff – taking it on the chin and carrying the weight of their 11 run loss. Though he didn’t take the official loss, that went to starter Caleb Kilian, Mills would take the bulk of the abuse, pitching four and a third, giving up five earned runs off eight hits. Daniel Norris would record the final four outs for the Cubs, allowing the bulk of their bullpen to go untouched and ready to fight another day.
DET 2 – BOS 5
- Tanner Houck seems to like this closer roll as he picks up his third save in the past four days on Monday. The rest of the Red Sox bullpen took home some hardware with Jake Diekman, Matt Strahm, and John Schreiber each picking up holds while being used as minimally as possible. No Boston reliever three more than 14 pitches, and only Houck pitched an entire inning. Houck and Schreiber have seen time on the mound in each of the past two days and should be expected to rest Tuesday.
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 6/9: Ranking the Top 100 Relievers for Holds
Closing Time 6/14: Ranking the Top 40 Closers
Top 100 Relievers for Save+Hold Leagues: 6/17
Photos by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)