Reliever Ranks – 8/26

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

 

• Eighteen teams played nine games yesterday, so 12 teams got to rest their bullpens: DET, KCR, TEX, ATL, MIA, WSN, MIL, PIT, ARI, LAD, SDP, and SFG.
• All 30 teams are in action today, provided there are no postponements.
• There are no doubleheaders on the schedule for this weekend.
• The Rays are going with an opener today in JT Chargois. Tampa’s pen has been used a lot lately, so unless they call someone up today, we may see several relievers delivering an inning or two.
• Miami and San Diego haven’t announced starters for Friday as of the time of writing. If both go with bullpen games, the most likely pitchers for bulk innings are Huascar Brazoban for Miami and perhaps Steven Wilson for San Diego. Wilson is less clear as he threw 27 pitches on Wednesday.

 

• Robert Stephenson was DFA’d by the Rockies yesterday, so naturally, we dropped him as a holds option from the grid. Justin Lawrence was added in his stead.
• The Cardinals plan to reinstate Ryan Helsley from the Restricted List today, so get him back in your lineup. We have adjusted the ranks accordingly, with Packy Naughton sliding out of the hierarchy.
• Houston placed Ryan Pressly on the 15-Day IL with neck stiffness yesterday, retroactive to August 22. Seth Martinez was recalled to take his spot on the roster. We slid Rafael Montero into the Closer role, but Héctor Neris and Will Smith may also get opportunities. Also, we elevated Bryan Abreu to the holds option category and added Cristian Javier to the grid as the bulk option.

 

 

TBR 8 – LAA 3

• Drew Rasmussen earned the win after pitching into the sixth with a 5-1 lead. The Tampa bullpen took over from there, starting with Colin Poche, who got them through the seventh without further damage. Ryan Thompson had a rough start to the eighth inning, allowing two doubles and a single. He settled down, though, and only allowed two runs to cross. Shawn Armstrong got three groundouts in the ninth to close the game out. Poche and Thompson have gone in back-to-back games, so they’re likely out tonight.
• Patrick Sandoval gave up five runs in his six innings, but only one was earned. Touki Toussaint threw the last two innings in not particularly fine fashion, allowing three more runs to cross. On the positive side, he struck out three. On the negative side, he walked three and hit two batters.

 

STL 8 – CHC 3

• Dakota Hudson improved to 7-6 after allowing only two runs to plate over seven innings. Packy Naughton got the call in the eighth but only lasted four batters before giving up a run and leaving Jordan Hicks with two men on and one out. Hicks did his part, working out of the jam and throwing a clean ninth to boot.
• Marcus Stroman didn’t fool many Cardinals, allowing 11 hits and five runs over five innings. Sean Newcomb came on in the sixth and gave up a bomb to MVP front-runner Paul Goldschmidt. Michael Rucker pitched a clean seventh, and Kervin Castro threw the last two frames, also giving up a homer to Goldschmidt. If you’re keeping score, Goldy had five RBI in the game.

 

SEA 3 – CLE 1

• Marco Gonzales pitched well for the Mariners and earned the win after going six innings with only one run allowed. Erik Swanson and Matt Brash picked up holds covering the seventh and most of the eighth inning. With Paul Sewald unavailable, Seattle turned to Andrés Muñoz, who got the last four outs for his third save of the year.
• Triston McKenzie went six innings for Cleveland and left down 3-1. Sam Hentges and Eli Morgan both threw scoreless innings to finish the game for the Guardians, though Morgan loaded the bases before getting the last out.

 

PHI 4 – CIN 0

• Aaron Nola decided to give the bullpen the night off by firing a complete game shutout. How does this guy have a losing record?
• Justin Dunn pitched well for the Reds, but it didn’t matter with Nola dominating. He allowed two runs over six and handed it off to Ross Detwiler in the seventh, who promptly gave up two more runs in two-thirds of an inning. Dauri Moreta, who was just recalled today, got the last out of the inning and then pitched a clean eighth.

 

NYM 3 – COL 1

• Jacob deGrom was outstanding in Thursday’s victory. The only blemish came off a Ryan McMahon home run in the sixth. The bullpen was equally excellent, covering the last three innings without allowing a run. Seth Lugo earned his 15th hold in the seventh, and then, in a surprise move, Edwin Díaz came in for the eighth. Buck Showalter opted to use Diaz versus the heart of the Rockies’ order rather than save him for the ninth. Diaz got the hold, then Adam Ottavino came in to get the save. Those with Diaz on their roster are no doubt pleased with Showalter, but this is probably just a one-off.
• Ryan Feltner headed to the showers with two outs in the fifth and down 3-0. Jake Bird and Justin Lawrence split the final three and one-third innings in fine fashion, not allowing another run and only two hits. They kept the Rockies in the game, but unfortunately for them, the offense couldn’t mount a comeback.

 

BAL 4 – CHW 3 (11 innings)

• Jordan Lyles went seven innings for the Orioles and left with the score tied at two. Dillon Tate relieved him and surrendered a run before closing out the eighth. Joey Krehbiel pitched a scoreless ninth, and when Baltimore tied the game in the bottom of the inning, it went to extras. Félix Bautista took it from there, throwing two scoreless frames despite the inherited runners, and walked away with a well-deserved win. Bautista has thrown 45 pitches over the past three days, so he may not be available tonight.
• Lance Lynn pitched well for the Chisox, allowing two runs (one earned) over six innings before turning it over to Reynaldo López. Lopez made quick work of the Orioles in the seventh, as did Jimmy Lambert in the eighth. Lambert earned a hold as his team had taken the lead. Liam Hendriks couldn’t close the game out in the ninth, though, to be fair, Adam Engel dropped a foul pop-up that should have ended it. Instead, Kyle Stowers hit a dinger that sent the game to extras. Joe Kelly held down the fort in the tenth, but Jake Diekman allowed back-to-back singles to take the loss in the eleventh. Hendriks has thrown over 20 pitches two nights in a row and probably will sit tonight’s game out. Kendall Graveman could have a shot at a vulture save.

 

HOU 6 – MIN 3

• Luis Garcia didn’t have the best outing, allowing three runs over five innings, but it was good enough for the win. On the other hand, the Houston bullpen dominated by only allowing two hits and no runs over the final four innings. Will Smith, Phil Maton, and Héctor Neris all pitched a scoreless inning and earned a hold. As expected, with Ryan Pressly on the IL, Rafael Montero nabbed his eighth save of the season. Neris, Smith, or Stanek could vulture a save tonight, though, as Montero has gone back-to-back.
• Chris Archer could only give the Twins four innings before leaving the game down 5-2. Minnesota’s bullpen kept them in the game, not surrendering another run until the eighth. Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Jorge López held the Astros scoreless, but Trevor Megill allowed a run off an RBI double by Jeremy Peña.

 

TOR 6 – BOS 5 (10 innings)

• Kevin Gausman wasn’t sharp but left with a slim 5-4 lead after five innings. The lead evaporated quickly as Trevor Richards allowed the tying run to score in the bottom of the sixth. The Jays bullpen didn’t allow another run in the rest of the way, though. Anthony Bass, Adam Cimber, and Tim Mayza covered the seventh and eighth, and Jordan Romano got the win after pitching the ninth and tenth. Romano has gone in back-to-back games in addition to throwing two innings last night, so it would be a huge surprise if he pitched today. Yimi García is the most likely vulture candidate as Bass, Cimber, and Mayza have also thrown the last two days.
• Kutter Crawford surrendered ten hits and four runs in his four and two-thirds innings. He left in the top of the fifth after a two-out double by Matt Chapman. Matt Strahm replaced him and allowed a go-ahead HR to Danny Jansen. From there, the Sox bullpen settled down with Jeurys Familia, Hirokazu Sawamura, and Matt Barnes keeping the Blue Jays off the board through nine. In the tenth, John Schreiber allowed the inherited runner to score despite not allowing a hit or a walk. Schreiber has pitched back-to-back, so it may be Garrett Whitlock time tonight if the situation warrants it.

 

NYY 13 – OAK 2

• Jameson Taillon didn’t have to sweat this one out as his offense scored early and often. He cruised through six innings, only allowing a home run to Ryan Langeliers, and left with a 10-1 lead. Greg Weissert came on in the seventh and had major control issues, hitting two batters and walking two before Aaron Boone had seen enough. Lucas Luetge was summoned to restore order, but not before Oakland cut the score to 13-4. Luetge had an easier time in the eighth and ninth, retiring six of the seven batters he faced.
•  James Kaprielian’s ERA took a severe blow as the Yankees lit him up for eight earned runs in less than three innings of work. Kirby Snead picked him up in the third (and allowed the eighth run to score), then surrendered two runs of his own in the fourth. Next up was Norge Ruiz, who held the Bombers scoreless until the seventh, when they plated three more before he could get out of the game. Joel Payamps gets the last two outs of the inning and started the eighth but had to leave with an injury after getting one out. In came Sheldon Neuse, and it appeared the A’s had officially thrown in the towel. However, Neuse was awesome, holding the Yankees hitless and scoreless over one and two-thirds innings. There’s nothing better than a position player succeeding on the mound.

 

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)