Welcome back to Relievers to Stream for Wins and Saves! This will bring you up-to-date bullpen depth charts every morning for the day’s games and makes for a great tool for those of you looking to stream saves or wins. This series runs seven days a week, so be sure to check in every morning to get your daily bullpen fix!
Notes
Schedule Notes
- No games today! The Yankees and Red Sox will kick off post-All-Star Game baseball on Thursday while everyone else will pick back up on Friday.
Transaction and Injury Notes
- Connor Brogdon was caught up in the Phillies COVID-19 fiasco and was placed on the IL. The length of these stints can be tough to predict, but a best-case scenario would have Brogdon only missing a few games.
- Kyle McGowin was placed on the IL with biceps fatigue, clearing room on the Nationals’ roster for Andres Machado.
Yesterday’s Performances and Notes
- With no games until Thursday and, therefore, no workload concerns, I won’t be commenting on every team today. I’ll focus on fluid situations and notable streaks.
- The Yankees bullpen problems continued as Chad Green and Domingo Germán combined to allow six runs in the bottom of the ninth and lose to the Astros. Green had closed the Yankees’ most recent save opportunity on July 7th and, while this wasn’t technically a save situation, it’s a situation where you would normally bring in your closer, so he seems to, at least temporarily, be in line for some save chances. Zack Britton is returning from injury soon and Jonathan Loaisiga’s stint on the COVID-IL is not likely to be long, so Green will soon be facing more competition for save chances even if Aroldis Chapman doesn’t return to form this year. Green should still be widely owned in SV+HLD leagues, but I’d still be cautious in save-only leagues.
- The Tigers were looking like they had a really nice back of their bullpen with Michael Fulmer, Gregory Soto, and José Cisnero all thriving in their roles, but the past few weeks have seen Fulmer go down with another injury and Soto struggle. Soto is still the guy with the more electric stuff and who advanced statistics like better, but Cisnero might prove to be more consistent with his lower walk rate. My money is on both Soto and Cisnero getting save chances in the second half.
- Liam Hendriks blew his fourth save of the year but earned his fourth win of the year as his offense picked him up in the top of the tenth. Hendriks has now allowed runs in four out of his past seven appearances. It might be frustrating for managers in weekly leagues, but his season numbers are still crazy (like his 63:4 K:BB) and there’s no reason to think he won’t be just as dominant in the second half. Don’t worry, y’all.
- Ranger Suárez locked down a seven-out save for the Phillies, his second of the year. With four guaranteed rest days coming up, the Phillies were comfortable asking Suárez to do a bit of overtime which speaks volumes about the amount of confidence they have in the rest of their bullpen right now. He sports a 0.77 ERA on the year and it’s really easy to see that and think that this is the big waiver wire acquisition to make right now, but I’m here to pump the brakes. All of his luck indicators (BABIP, LOB%, and HR/FB%) are favorable compared to his career average. His FIP and swinging strike rate are not indicative of a dominant reliever. Yes, he has been among the best in the league at limiting hard contact. His barrel rate and hard-hit rate are excellent, but will he be able to keep that up as hitters continue to make adjustments to him? He will likely get more save opportunities in the second half unless the Phillies bring in outside help and he may have some value for that reason alone. However, we can’t reasonably expect him to turn into a dominant closer.
- Art Warren, nooooooooooo! Warren left with an injury, but the more important story is how the Reds bullpen turned it around over the past month. They’re fourth in the majors in the past 30 days with a 3.17 bullpen ERA after spending most of April and May at the very bottom of the league. In addition to Warren, Heath Hembree and Josh Osich have contributed to this turnaround, as the two have combined to allow just two earned runs across 14 IP in the past two weeks. Osich earned the save on Sunday, but Hembree appears to be the top guy for now and, given his performance, will likely continue to be even when Lucas Sims returns. If you look past his 4.80 ERA on the year, Hembree has performed extremely well for certain stretches. 51 Ks and 12 BBs in 30 IPs certainly put him among the top in the league in terms of strikeout to walk ratio, but home runs have plagued him. To be fair, home runs have been a problem for him his whole career, but they’ve been extra bad this year, which explains the massive gulf between FIP (4.53) and xFIP (3.13) which standardizes home run rate. If he can get his home runs under control even a little bit, he just might stick as the Reds closer and provide excellent production in terms of strikeouts and WHIP.
- Josh Hader took his second loss in two days and has now picked up a blown save and two losses in four appearances after a scoreless June. As with Hendriks, I’d encourage everyone to look at the yearly numbers before freaking out over four innings. He still has filthy numbers on the year. His strikeouts and increased velocity are still there. Don’t overthink this. Sometimes, people give up runs. Hader was doing his best to convince us that this isn’t the case and he very likely will go back to doing just that post-ASB. Again, don’t panic, y’all.
Bullpen Depth Charts