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
- We’ve got a “heavy” Thursday slate on deck today. On top of a doubleheader between Cleveland and the Chicago White Sox, only eight teams have the day off: BOS, NYY, TB, DET, KC, MIA, NYM, and CHC. Weather permitting, that’s 12 games — more than usual for a Thursday.
- Neither Reynoldo Lopez and Jimmy Lambert are likely to pitch 6+ innings deep into their outings for the White Sox today. That means that we’re almost a lock to see several members of the White Sox bullpen active in this doubleheader matchup. They will have everyone available after yesterday’s rainout, so Michael Kopech and Garrett Crochet should both see action of some sort today, if not with a win up for grabs, then potentially a hold. The team can also clinch the AL Central today after a few rough days of trying, so it feels more likely than usual that we would see them push some chips in to finally check that off. If either is available, they both make strong speculative adds for today.
Transaction Notes
- The Dodgers designated Shane Greene for assignment to clear room on the roster for AJ Pollock. Greene was neither pitching well nor in high-leverage situations, so this move shouldn’t impact the Dodgers bullpen much going forward.
Yesterday’s Performances
- Drew Steckenrider picked up his second save in two nights of work against the A’s, striking out one and giving up just one hit; he’s likely off tonight, and the rested Paul Sewald should be their closer for tonight. If Sewald isn’t rostered in your league, he’s an easy save streaming option, but that’s a big if.
- Ian Kennedy pitched 30 pitches for the second night in a row last night. His heavy pitch count only came against five batters: after two outs to open the inning, he walked two batters in a row before a flyout sealed the win for the Phillies. José Alvarado has also gone in back-to-back days, so Héctor Neris is a likely candidate to be the closer-of-the-day for their matchup against the Pirates. He’s the clearest streaming pick for saves, then, assuming your league-mates haven’t held on to him since he (somewhat undeservedly) lost his closer job.
- The San Fransisco bullpen is in desperate need of some rest. Jake McGee’s oblique strain has him on the IL, and not only has Tyler Rogers thrown two days in a row, but so too have Dominic Leone and Tony Watson, two of their other top late-inning options. José Álvarez could see some important usage tonight should Logan Webb have them in line for a win against the Padres, and he’s still likely to appear if they’re not.
- Alex Colomé picked up a save in his second night of work in a row, and he will likely be off for the day today as Minnesota takes on Toronto. Colomé entered the game with a three-run lead, and he gave up two earned runs, making it very nearly the worst outing that a reliever can manage while still earning a save. That said, Colomé has still put together a strong run of outings since the trade deadline, with a 2.80 ERA ever 22.2 innings. He’s still not striking anyone out, but if the Twins can turn Joe Ryan’s 91 mph fastball into the centerpiece of an approach that earns seven consecutive strikeouts, who knows what they can do with more time with Colomé?
- Tanner Rainey was the only other pitcher to accrue a save last night, and he secured his second of the year after entering the game in the middle of the 9th after Ryne Harper couldn’t guarantee a win from a five-run lead. This has been a frustrating season for Rainey, who entered the year as the setup arm with electric stuff that many (myself included!) expected to fight his way into the closer conversation and potentially outperform Brad Hand. Instead, he hasn’t resembled the 2019 or 2020 version of himself where he struck out more than 36% of the batters he faced: his 27.4% strikeout rate now comes with a 15.6% walk rate. Rainey is one of many pitchers who will be worthing watching next year to see whether they can redesign themselves to survive in a post-Spidertack world. Whether he’s on a major league roster next year could depend on it.
- There were not many close games yesterday, severely limiting our opportunities to talk closers. So, we owe it to ourselves to talk about the crowning team achievement that is the Astros and Angels combining for five clean Manfredball half-innings. As a proud member of the “putting a runner on second is super fun” club (it prevents a huge number of grueling bullpen innings! it encourages managers to use their best relievers instead of holding them for a potential save situation! it’s chaotic!), I can still appreciate when teams fight entropy and manage not to score. So, congrats to Blake Taylor, Yími García, Josh James, and Andrew Wantz for doing something incredible.
Bullpen Depth Charts