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In what was a mostly trying week for relievers around the league, there were a few veterans whose success stood out among the crowd. Will Harris had another solid week, delivering 2.1 scoreless and baserunner-less innings while also adding two strikeouts and two holds. Harris has both his ERA and WHIP under 1 now and is up to seven holds for the season, so there’s value to be had here. The one downside with Harris is his overall usage, as he’s only worked 19 innings this year, which figures out to be about two innings per week, limiting his upside with this past week being his ceiling.
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Outside of maybe the Nationals, no bullpen has been as shaky as the Royals this year, with Jake Diekman being the one steady contributor all year for them. By now, he should have worked himself into the closer conversation as he’s looked the part, especially over the past month with his 2.45 ERA, .727 WHIP and 21:4 K/BB ratio over 11 innings. He’s throwing his slider at an all-time high rate (49% compared with his 29% career average) and it’s led to a career-high 16% swinging-strike rate, good for 21st among all relievers.
- Ryne Harper has been a pleasant surprise for a Twins bullpen that’s had its ups and downs this season. The 30-year-old rookie now has a 1.61 ERA, .851 WHIP and 20:5 K/BB ratio over his first 21.1 innings at the MLB level. His numbers over the past month have been even more impressive, with all four of his SV+HDs coming in that time frame. He is not overpowering at all, featuring a sub-90s fastball that he throws just over 40% of the time, with his 73 mph curveball being his go-to pitch. It’s tough to imagine this success lasting, but it could be worth riding while he’s hot.
- Others moving up the ranks include Chaz Roe, who is starting to work his way back into being a steady contributor as well despite being stuck in a loaded bullpen. The walks are still a concern, as is his usage a la Harris, but he hasn’t allowed an earned run in over a month now to go with 11 total holds on the year. Jeurys Familia hasn’t been good this year, but the same can be said about a lot of relievers lately so Familia’s track record and (somewhat) positive strides this week get him back in the top 40. Ryan Buchter has settled down after a rough start to the year and is starting to pick up holds again as of late. His 1.00 ERA and .889 WHIP over the past month are much more indicative of his talent than his April numbers.
[holds_list_2019 list_id=”31909″ include_stats=”1″]
