Bullpen Depth Charts: Relievers To Stream – 9/16

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 yesterday’s full slate, only 18 teams are in action today, and 12 teams have the day off: BOS, TOR, CLE, MIN, SEA, MIA, NYM, WAS, MIL, STL, ARZ, and LAD.
• Today presents more than a few potential options for long-relief stream plays depending on what’s available to you. Tampa Bay will likely start Louis Head to open a bullpen game, so both the well-rested J.P. Feyereisen and the distance-ready Collin McHugh should be on your radar to be pitching the fifth inning if the Rays have a lead against the Tigers. Elsewhere, the Pirates will start Connor Overton, who last pitched five innings in early July and pitched in relief two days ago; Cody Ponce might have the best shot at relieving him and picking up the win as the Pirates go for a sweep against the Reds. Finally, Pierce Johnson will open for the Padres before likely handing the ball off to Ryan Weathers in what be one of the easier bulk-relief win opportunities to see coming — if they weren’t facing the Giants and Kevin Gausman. I suggest Weathers if he’s available for you, but McHugh is an easy second choice.

 

Transaction Notes

• The Royals placed Wade Davis on the 10-day IL with elbow inflammation. Relievers Gabe Speier and Scott Blewett were recalled and could help to replace him in middle relief. Mike Minor was also placed on the 10-day IL, allowing them rome for these moves.
• The Astros recalled Josh James from the minors. He’ll likely operate out of long relief, but with Cristian Javier performing a high-leverage long-relief role, he and Brandon Bielak are more likely to be used to help give their other arms some rest down the stretch with the AL West title within reach.

 

Yesterday’s Performances

• Aroldis Chapman picked up the first save of his three-game-in-a-row stretch last night, striking out two to finish off the Yankees’ win over Orioles. Chad Green also threw 25 pitches last night, so he is less likely to be featured than Clay Holmes, but either could be in line for a save tonight depending on how deep Jordan Montgomery goes into his start. And If Chapman isn’t off tonight, please contact OSHA yourself to file a complaint.
• During the current Giants-Padres series, Mark Melancon has appeared twice and given up earned runs in both outings without being presented with a save chance. Both his performance and his usage are worth watching over the final weeks, but for tonight, Melancon seems all but guaranteed to have the night off. With Pierce Johnson opening for Ryan Weathers, Daniel Hudson is the locked-in closer for the night. Happy streaming!

 

• Jordan Romano picked up his 18th save of the year in a 6–3 win over the Rays. His fantasy managers owe some thanks to Brett Phillips for his 8th inning home run off of Joakim Soria that cut into Toronto’s lead and created a save situation. Across the other eight innings, Romano and Robbie Ray combined to allow four hits and struck out 14 without walking a batter. As the odds of a Blue Jays wild card appearance tick up, the chances that we’ll see what Ray and Romano can do with the team’s season on the line also tick up.
• Detroit’s Michael Fulmer completed a two-inning save by striking out four batters and allowing just one hit. He’s likely off today, and Gregory Soto should return to potentially closer — Fulmer covered two innings in part because Soto needed the rest after his own long outing on Tuesday. Fulmer is now at 1.4 fWAR on the season, just a tenth of a win behind his total from 2018 as a starter: he hasn’t been quite as valuable as he was at his best, but he’s provided plenty to his team this year in their most meaningful season since his rookie year.

 

• Raisel Iglesías picked up his third save of the month in only his fourth appearance. The Angels’ closer struck out two in what was his 32nd save of the year, but his declining usage of late has been frustrating — he’s topped 10 appearances in every month this year and has hit 13 twice, but he’s on track to fall short of that pace as the season comes to a close over the two and a half weeks.
• New A’s closer Andrew Chafin closed out a wild 22-run game against the Royals. After relieving Jake Diekman with two outs in the eighth, Chafin struggled in the ninth, allowing one run to score on two walks on two singles. But with this save, his fourth of the year, he now has more saves this year than in the rest of his career combined. His success does look very reliant on preventing line drives — something he doesn’t have a track record of doing, and something that even elite sinkerballers don’t typically keep up to the degree he has this year.

 

• Dylan Floro struck out one in a clean final frame to pick up his 12th save for the Marlins in their 8–6 win over the Nationals. On the other side of things, Kyle Finnegan blew a save chance with a two-run cushion, walking one and allowing four hits, including a go-ahead two-run shot to Jesús Sanchéz. While this wasn’t Finnegan’s night, both of these NL East closers have been effective this year — they both entered the day with sub-3.00 ERAs — and both should be in line for late-inning roles next year.
• The Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen struck out the side to closer out the Dodgers’ 5–3 win over Diamondbacks. He’s now at 33 saves on the year, and his 2.35 ERA should be nothing be great news, right? I’m worried that he’s been lucky this year, but he’s one of the few pitchers who have shown an ability to manage a line drive rate close to 20% over multiple seasons in the past, so his 19% mark on the year might be less flukey than it would be for most other pitchers. But, with his strikeouts down and walks up, the room for him to come down to earth is definitely there.