What more is there to say about Yennier Cano right now, as he still has yet to allow a run on the season and has allowed just 4 baserunners total! As Cano was not exactly a household name entering the season, it made sense to be a bit skeptical at first, but we are now more than a month into the season and it’s quite clear he is the best non-closer reliever in baseball. There are plenty of numbers I could list out here to prove it, but just do yourself a favor and go to his player page. The only “negative” is that he only misses bats at an above average rate, but I think that’s more to do with him living in and around the strike zone as the stuff is clearly good enough to get more whiffs if needed (he does have a 35% Chase rate after all). If he’s available in any of your leagues still, go get him now, I don’t think you’ll regret it.
Notes
- A.J. Minter and Clay Holmes have moved in to set up roles for the time being, and while both have not been great this season, theres still reason to be optimistic they can return holds league value at least. Minter is still getting Whiffs at a high rate (18% SwStr rate) with his three pitch mix and his 5.49 PLV is good for 12th highest. Holmes is still missing bats at an above average clip (29.3% K, 31.8% CSW rates) and continues to get a ton of groundballs (63.6%).
- The Phillies lost José Alvarado this week, and while a lot of attention has been put on Craig Kimbrel and Seranthony Domínguez, we may be sleeping on Gregory Soto here. Soto does have 48 saves over the past two season after all. I was not a big fan of that Tigers version of Soto however, I love the changes he’s made since moving to the Phillies, throwing his slider 24% more this season while also tweaking it to get more break. The changes have led to an impressive 38.6% CSW rate and we may see Soto as this years Alvarado, so get in now before it’s too late.
- Drew Smith continues to be a key contributor in the Mets bullpen, and while he doesn’t throw particularly hard or get swings and misses in bunches, he does generate great spin rates on his pitches. While I think regression is pretty obvious here, his 4.61 xFIP feels a bit high, as he also has .175 xBA and .278 xSLG so for now I would continue to ride this out as his 7 holds are only two behind the league leaders.
- John Schreiber has been fine this season, so it’s surprising to see the team go with other options in set up roles while Schreiber remains the “fireman” option to clean up other peoples messes. That’s great and all, but has led to just two holds over the past month. This role will keep him as a streaky holds option, and he isn’t exactly going to be a huge boost for ratios (1.32 WHIP) or K’s (29% K rate).
- Ian Hamilton has been a great find for the New York Yankees, and Aaron Boone trusts him so much so that he’s already comfortably using him in save situations. Theres nothing to suggest that the stuff isn’t for real either, as he’s generating a ton of swings and misses (17.3% SwStr and 33.3% K rates) as well as groundballs (60.5%) going along with a 2.42 xFIP. The Yankees bullpen is in shambles a bit at the moment, so expect Hamilton to factor in to more and more high leverage situations.
- I had Huascar Brazoban in my early top 100 relievers for 2023 rankings, but didn’t really have any expectations as he was left off many Marlins opening day roster projections. Which is crazy because this guy is legit, and should remain the top set up option for the team moving forward. Brazoban is just above average across the board while using his cutter/sinker/changeup mix to limit hard contact (14.4% rate) and while he’s not a big time swing and miss guy, I’ll take a 23.1% K-BB rate anyday.
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