Yency Almonte, Lucas Erceg, Kyle Finnegan, Yimi García, Hunter Harvey, Ryan Helsley, Raisel Iglesias, Mark Leiter Jr., Tyler Rogers and JoJo Romero all had three SV+HLD’s this past week. Almonte has seen an uptick in hold chances with the Cubs bullpen down Julian Merryweather, but I’m not buying into him being a longterm option yet. The 30.6% K rate is nice but it comes with a 14% BB and 8.6% SwStr rate. Leiter Jr., on the other hand, could be valuable in the first half at least, just like he was last year before the wheels fell off. Rogers is doing his thing with three holds this week and zero K’s while allowing three hits. He’s a fine option if you just are looking for holds and nothing more. Erceg on the other hand does have some strikeout potential, he just needs to keep the walks in check.
Notes
- Mark Leiter Jr., Caleb Thielbar, Lucas Erceg, Reed Garrett, and Tyler Matzek all join the list this week. Thielbar is returning from the IL and already has a hold. Leiter Jr. and Erceg were talked about above. Matzek will likely be on and off the list until he is more consistent. Garrett now is the interesting one here. He currently has a 0.81 WHIP, 55% K, and 21.6% SwStr rate plus a not-too-shabby 123 Stuff+ for the Mets. I’m skeptical this will last as hitters have been doing a lot of the work for him (34% Zone rate) and he doesn’t have one truly plus offering (maybe the Sweeper). The five-pitch mix is still solid, and there are some similarities here to Seth Lugo in that regard, but we’ll have to see if he can keep this hot start going.
- Jorge Alcala, Kyle Nelson, George Soriano, Caleb Ferguson, and Nick Burdi all fell off the list this week. Alcala and Soriano were optioned to AAA, but for different reasons as Alcala had actually been pitching well while Soriano has not. Nelson and Burdi will likely be on and off the list until they find some sort of consistency week to week. Ferguson has been a disappointment so far in New York, but there’s obviously plenty of time for him to turn things around.
- The news that Robert Stephenson will miss the entire season as he needs elbow surgery is just devastating for the Angels and baseball alike as he was the best reliever in the world from June on last season. The fallout from this is that it gives Carlos Estévez some wiggle room as the team’s closer as the only real competition now is Matt Moore, who is left-handed and has five career saves. Estevez has been fine this year, with a great 38.7% CSW (he’s fourth in baseball in Called Strike% at 26.7%), and his fastball grades out well with a 5.68 PLV, as despite decreased velocity he has been able to locate it much better this year. I still have my doubts about Estevez, but he’s certainly worth looking at in a Vargas Rule type situation.
- Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey, Ryan Helsley, Clay Holmes, Andrew Kittredge, and JoJo Romero lead the league in SV+HLD’s for the season with seven apiece. Harvey and Finnegan may both have seven SV+HLD’s, but it’s very obvious who the better pitcher is between the two (hint: it’s the guy with the 39% K-BB rate, not 8.3%). I think Finnegan is at best the third-best reliever in that bullpen (Robert Garcia is pretty good), so if you can flip him now, I’d suggest doing so.
- The Cardinals are highly represented here as well, although Giovanny Gallegos seems like a notable absence His role is more of the fireman/high leverage which will be chaotic in terms of hold chances. As far as the trio of Helsley, Romero, and Kittredge go, there are zero complaints here as the Helsley/Romero duo has perhaps been the best in baseball so far. Kittredge has been fantastic as well to start, as we’ve never seen a K rate like this from him before.
And if you want more daily reliever updates, please check out our Reliever Ranks series.
Injured List
| PITCHER | TIER | INJURY. NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Devin Williams | 1-2 | Back. On the 60 day IL now. Likely out until after the All-Star break, and maybe longer. |
| Jhoan Duran | 2 | Oblique. Likely out until about mid-May. Hoping to do mound work soon. |
| Matt Brash | 3-4 | Elbow. Encouraged by his recent live session, could begin a rehab stint soon. |
| Josh Sborz | 3-4 | Shoulder. Rotator cuff strain is mild, could return next week when eligible. |
| Paul Sewald | 3-4 | Oblique. Similar to Duran, grade 2 strain likely keeps Sewald out until late May/early June. Starting to throw now. |
| Julian Merryweather | 3-4 | Rib. Could be a rather lengthy injury with the rib stress fracture. No timetable. Added to 60-day IL. |
| Gregory Santos | 6 | Lat. Close to mound work, could return in May. |
| Tommy Kahnle | 6 | Shoulder. Should throw a bullpen in the coming days, rehab assignment after that |
| Keynan Middleton | 6-7 | Forearm. Had a setback, received a PRP injection, could resume throwing next week. |
| Brusdar Graterol | 6-7 | Shoulder. Added to the 60-day IL, but was cleared for mound work. |
| Ryan Borucki | 7-8 | Tricep. Should be relatively short stint, expected to resume throwing soon. |
| Justin Topa | 7-8 | Knee. Throwing a bullpen this weekend, could return later this month |
| John Brebbia | 7-8 | Calf. Still dealing with the calf issue that slowed him this spring. |
| Blake Treinen | 7-8 | Lung. Throwing again but still weeks away from a return. |
Do you also put together lists that are holds only? My league uses Holds as a category and I guess I am finding it hard to separate the relievers from the true middle relievers.