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 an excellent 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
- After this weekend’s full slate of games, 18 teams will have Monday off. That’s more than usual, so rather than viewing this through the lens of which teams could afford to be aggressive today and tomorrow, it’s better to look at which teams might not:
- 4 more games until rest: NYY*, OAK, SEA, ATL
- 5 more games until rest: HOU, CHC, COL
- 9 more games until rest: CHW, KC, PIT
- 12 more games until rest: TOR, ARI
- Both the Yankees (vs. Twins) and Red Sox (vs. Rangers) could have games canceled due to Hurricane Henri starting tomorrow, which could allow all four of those teams to be more aggressive in using their bullpens today.
Yesterday’s Performances
- The A’s only struck out one batter after the fourth inning, but their “crafty old guy” magic outperformed that Giants’ similar mystical power, earning them a 4–1 win. Closer Lou Trivino picked up his second straight save in the process, so he’s likely to be off today — Jake Diekman is the best guess to fill in if there’s a save chance for the A’s. Trivino was the only notable arm league-wide to go back-to-back yesterday thanks to rest days on Thursday.
- After the White Sox burning through multiple relievers before heading to extra — some questionable platoon management involving putting in the left-handed Aaron Bummer to face righties Randy Arozarena and Nelson Cruz was involved— Ryan Tepera was in for the 11th inning. A flyout advance the ghost runner, but Tepera struck out the last two batters to blank the Rays and pick up the save. They should have all of their options available today, however.
- Mychal Givens would not have been in a position to pick up a save if it were not for Lucas Sims allowing three runs to pull the Marlins within two of the Reds. Givens struck out two to close things out and pick up his fourth save of the year, all of which have come in his last five appearances this month. There’s been some luck involved — his walks are still way up, and the lack of hits that he’s given up is likely to regress somewhat. But Givens’ value is coming right now from his role, and as long as he’s pretty okay in it, he’s worth rostering everywhere right now.
- Don’t look now, but Kyle Finnegan has two saves in three days! He allowed one walk and struck out one to close out a combined 3-hit night for the Nats’ staff against the Brewers, giving him his fifth save of the year. Finnegan has hinted at being one of Washington’s best arms all year — he threw the team’s fifth-ever immaculate inning on May 5 — and his 2.96 ERA isn’t considerably out of line with his xERA or SIERA.
- Kenley Jansen struck out one in a 1-2-3 final frame against the Mets to give the Dodgers a 3–2 win over the Mets. Jansen is up to 26 saves on the year and his 2.92 ERA looks largely believable. If you haven’t been checking in on Jansen because of those numbers, though, you might be surprised to find that he’s put up a 15.2% walk rate, which has inflated his WHIP up to 1.26 on the year. Is it cause for concern? Not really — he had two bad outings on back-to-back days in July that make up 7 of his 15 runs allowed on the year, while the walks have been a somewhat consistent feature of his success this year. When you’re really good, you can afford to walk the best of the best on purpose sometimes.
- After the Phillies only got 4 1/3 innings from Matt Moore, their bullpen was asked to pick up the slack in the form of their top three relievers all earning more than three outs. Ian Kennedy, Archie Bradley, and Hectór Neris all threw at least 30 pitches and all carry some risk today. But outside of a Bradley being charged with a run after a run scored on a hit by pitch, but they were sharp, and they did combine to earn a save, hold, and win, respectively. Exercise some caution with all three tomorrow: I’d bet that Bradley, who threw 42 pitches, is guaranteed off tomorrow, while the other two are a medium risk to sit.
Bullpen Depth Charts