Ryan Helsley has pitched fairly well this season, and while not being as dominant as last year, I don’t have many concerns with Helsley outside of the fact that, well, what really is his role here?
Over the past month, Giovanny Gallegos and Helsley have pitched 13.1 and 13.2 innings respectably, with Gallegos posting a 3.38 ERA and 1.28 WHIP with 9 K’s while Helsley has been better, with a 2.63 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 16 K’s. Despite that, Gallegos has five saves to just three for Helsley, with them now having six saves apiece on the season.
While it’s frustrating for those of you who spent a top 100 pick on Helsley in drafts, I think you still should be rostering him at this point as he’s not hurting your ratio’s and he’s actually picked up three wins this past month as well. Just don’t expect 20+ saves from him.
Notes
- Liam Hendriks made his 2023 debut on Monday, and while it was a rough outing, it’s just great to see him out there again. The velocity is down 2 MPH right now and his command isn’t sharp, so we should expect it to be a bit until Hendriks is back to full form, but give it time as he did return rather sooner than we all originally thought.
- David Robertson currently has 3 saves over the past month, while Adam Ottavino has two, and Brooks Raley and Drew Smith each have one a piece. Over the past two weeks, Robertson, Ottavino and Raley each have one save. With other closers working their way into full time closer status, Robertson slides down a bit this week as he is fully in a committee.
- Pete Fairbanks is going back on the IL again (this time for a hip injury) so we are back to Jason Adam as the Rays closer once again. Adam has pitched well in save situations this season, although he does have a 4.50 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in May. That does however come with 20 K’s in 12 innings, and he currently has 7 saves in the month of May.
- The Diamondbacks continue to split their save chances evenly amongst Andrew Chafin and Miguel Castro, and each are worth a look in most leagues right now. I still like Chafin a little bit better in the long run, as the swing and miss stuff is better and this bullpen doesn’t need to restrict him to a left handed specialist role (at least once Joe Mantiply returns).
- Pierce Johnson now has a 6.23 ERA and 1.80 WHIP on the season, as things have gone off the rails for him in May, but where could the Rockies turn to from here? The two most logical answers are Justin Lawrence or Jake Bird, so that being said I’d imagine Daniel Bard or Brad Hand could start mixing in to save situations soon.
- Dylan Floro had a tough blown save this past week in Colorado, allowing three runs on four hits, while JT Chargois was called on to close out the Marlins’ 2-0 win on Sunday. This bit of insecurity here should be enough to quell any concerns A.J. Puk may not return to the closer role once activated from the IL. Puk seems close to a return, and could be back on the list by next week.
And if you want more daily reliever updates, please check out our Reliever Ranks series
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Miguel Castro | ARZ | Chafin won’t face right handed heavy lineups |
| 2. | Giovanny Gallegos | STL | Looking more and more like a committee with Helsley |
| 3. | Adbert Alzolay | CHC | In some sort of committee with Leiter Jr. maybe, worth a look |
| 4. | Adam Ottavino | NYM | Even in timeshare, becomes a valuable mixed-league reliever. |
| 5. | Brusdar Graterol | LAD | Looks like he still may see the occasional save |
| 6. | Michael King | NYY | Still worth a look, best floor/ceiling in NYY bullpen |
| 7. | Hunter Harvey | WAS | Best WAS reliever, but how valuable can he be, even in closer role? |
| 8. | Daniel Bard | COL | Johnson has not been great, but tough situation to chase |
| 9. | Jeremiah Estrada | CHC | This is just a fun deep speculative add in a crowded pen |
| 10. | Ben Joyce | LAA | This is just another fun deep speculative add |
| Rank | Pitcher | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Devin WilliamsT1 | - |
| 2 | Félix Bautista | - |
| 3 | Josh Hader | - |
| 4 | Alexis DíazT2 | - |
| 5 | Emmanuel Clase | - |
| 6 | David Bednar | - |
| 7 | Jordan Romano | - |
| 8 | Paul SewaldT3 | - |
| 9 | Ryan Pressly | - |
| 10 | Jhoan Duran | - |
| 11 | Raisel Iglesias | - |
| 12 | Liam Hendriks | +UR |
| 13 | Camilo Doval | - |
| 14 | Evan PhillipsT4 | -2 |
| 15 | Alex Lange | - |
| 16 | Kenley Jansen | - |
| 17 | Scott Barlow | +1 |
| 18 | Carlos Estévez | +1 |
| 19 | Will Smith | +1 |
| 20 | Ryan HelsleyT5 | -6 |
| 21 | David Robertson | -4 |
| 22 | Craig Kimbrel | +2 |
| 23 | Jason Adam | +UR |
| 24 | Clay Holmes | -1 |
| 25 | Andrew Chafin | -3 |
| 26 | Mark Leiter Jr. | +1 |
| 27 | Kyle FinneganT6 | +2 |
| 28 | Pierce Johnson | -3 |
| 29 | Dylan Floro | -3 |
| 30 | Trevor May | - |
Sir-not-appearing Kendall Graveman?
I am so happy to see Hendriks back healthy and pitching. Still think Graveman might have more use then some guys listed here. Short and medium term atleast. Love the list as usual, you are awesome Rick. Thanks keep up the great work. Will hang up and listen
Andrew Chaffin going down makes sense. He got 4 saves in the last 7 days and didn’t give up a run. Others have a factor on the ranks but he didn’t lose 3 spots.
Just phone it in next time Graham.