Relievers to Stream for Wins and Saves – 7/27

With the MLB in full-swing, most bullpen hierarchies are becoming a lot more clear. While some managers may keep fantasy owners guessing, it is important to at least have an idea of who has a chance at a save and who is most likely not even going to appear in a game today. Don’t sleep on saves! In a shortened season, they all count that much more.

Before the chart, let’s examine some notes from yesterday’s games.

NOTES

• Cole Sulser recorded a two-inning save for Baltimore after Mychal Givens and Richard Bleier each threw over 20 pitches on Saturday.
• Sean Doolittle came into the game for the Nationals in the eighth inning with a 2-2 score and gave up a walk and two hits, which allowed New York to take and ultimately keep the lead. Daniel Norris pitched a perfect ninth inning for Washington.
• After allowing a hit and a walk in the ninth, Zack Britton recorded his first save of the season for the Yankees.
• Hector Neris only threw eight pitches in his non-save appearance on Sunday. It was his first appearance of the season.
• Yimi Garcia threw 37 pitches and recorded another hold on Sunday after throwing 22 pitches on Friday. Brandon Kintzler finished the game in the ninth but only threw 14 pitches after throwing seven during his save on Friday. 
• Joe Jimenez, Wade Davis, and Trevor Gott each recorded their second save in as many days. San Francisco and Colorado are off on Monday but expect Buck Farmer to get the save opportunity for Detroit if one presents itself.
• Ken Giles gave up two ER and was pulled after 22 pitches with elbow soreness before being able to finish the ninth inning, forcing extra innings in Tampa Bay. Expect Anthony Bass to get the next save opportunity for the Blue Jays.
• Though Taylor Williams did give up two doubles and let a run score, he struck out the side to record the save on Sunday for Seattle, while Matt Magill threw 18 pitches in the fifth inning.
• Bryan Abreu came in the fifth inning for Houston and though he was a bit wild (he hit two batters) he finished 1.2 innings unscathed for his first hold. Meanwhile, Chris Devenski blew a save opportunity in the eighth inning giving up three ER on three hits and a walk.
• Nick Burdi pitched a three-K ninth inning for the Pirates in a non-save situation, further pushing himself into the end of game plans for Pittsburg
• The Brewers asked Corey Knebel to clean up the mess left by Freddy Peralta in the fourth inning. Instead, he allowed all three inherited runners to score along with recording an earned run of his own after allowing three straight hits. He was pulled after striking out Kris Bryant.
• Archie Bradley blew the save in the eighth for the Diamondbacks on Sunday after allowing an inherited runner from Andrew Chafin to score on a line drive single by Greg Garcia. After Arizona took the lead in the top of the ninth by knocking around Kirby Yates (3 ER, 3 BB, 2 H, .2 IP), Bradley was allowed to finish out the game but didn’t make it easy on himself by allowing an earned run of his own on two more hits. After finally getting Wil Myers to ground out, Bradley walked away with the win.
• Liam Hendriks threw 16 pitches and recorded his first save of the season on Sunday. Hendriks was one of five relievers Oakland used during the game—the same five relievers that were used during the first nine innings on Friday (Yusmeiro Petit, TJ McFarland, Joakim Soria, and Jake Diekman) and in the same order.
• Corey Oswalt pitched four innings of relief on Sunday, cutting him out of possibly starting for the Mets on Tuesday (or possibly ever after that outing—4 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, BB, 3 K, 3 HR).