Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 4/2/24 Depth Chart

Welcome back to the latest edition of our Reliever Ranks series! 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 looking to stream saves or wins. This series runs seven days a week, so check in every morning to get your daily bullpen fix!

 

Notes

 

Transaction and Schedule Notes

 

• The Twins and the Brewers enjoyed a scheduled day off but all other 28 teams were in action on a busy opening Monday of the season. Going into today’s games, the Pirates and the Nationals are not scheduled to play so make your moves accordingly.
• A couple of minor lower-leverage relievers received call-ups yesterday – the Yankees called up veteran Jake Cousins and the Dodgers gave the nod to Dinelson Lamet, who worked two scoreless innings in the 8-3 drubbing of the Giants.

 

 

LAA 7 – MIA 4

W: Adam Cimber (1-0)

HD: Matt Moore (1)

SV: Carlos Estévez (2)

• The Angels heaped more misery on the winless Marlins as they used five relievers on the back of Chase Silseth’s three innings, in which he gave up four runs in the opening frame. Adam Cimber notched the win before the Angels’ preferred late-inning options Matt Moore and Carlos Estévez threw scoreless frames to preserve the three-run lead. Despite Estevez recording his second save of the season, he is yet to strike out a batter. He is what he is.
• The Marlins bullpen walked four and gave up five runs after young Max Meyer threw five strong innings. Presumptive closer Tanner Scott had a rotten showing, walking the bases loaded with no outs in a tied ballgame in the eighth inning. He induced a couple of grounders to get out of the inning conceding just one run. Anthony Bender got into more trouble in the ninth before shipping a couple of runs as the Angels gave Estévez some insurance.

 

CLE 4 – SEA 5

HD: Tayler Saucedo (1), Gabe Speier (1), Andrés Muñoz (1)

SV: Ryne Stanek (1)

• The Guardians had to call on their bullpen early as Triston McKenzie pitched himself into a hole in the fourth inning. Lower-leverage guys Nick Sandlin, Tyler Beede, and Hunter Gaddis all threw scoreless frames. So did young Cade Smith, who struck out another three hitters to go along with his five strikeouts in his debut against the A’s. He is an arm to watch for higher-leverage duties as the season progresses.
• In a slight surprise, Ryne Stanek earned the save in front of Andrés Muñoz as the Mariners decided to roll out the closer in the eighth to face the Guardians’ best hitters. Muñoz made light work of José Ramírez but immediately gave up a solo homer to Josh Naylor to make things interesting. He got out of the inning before Stanek stepped in and retired the side in order. Don’t expect that to be a regular occurrence; it is frustrating but game management does come in to ruin things this early in the season.

 

NYY 5 – ARI 2

W: Luke Weaver (2-0)

HD: Nick Burdi (1)

SV: Victor González (1)

• Figuring to fill in a bulk reliever role for the Yankees depleted rotation, Luke Weaver picked up his second win in as many outings after riding a bit of luck through two and a third innings. Still, Weaver could be a useful streamer for wins if the Yankees continue their hot start. After closer Clay Holmes pitched three times in the last four days, including back-to-back saves over the weekend, lefty Victor González got the nod and pitched a clean ninth inning to earn his first save in three years. With multiple relievers unavailable due to heavy usage we are not reading too much into this but it could be that the Yankees see the former Dodger as someone who could fill in a more higher leverage role.
• Ryne Nelson was knocked out of the game in the third inning requiring the Diamondbacks to go to the pen early. Kyle Nelson, Miguel Castro, and Joe Mantiply all pitched multiple innings and held the Yankees scoreless for the rest of the contest.

 

KCR 4 – BAL 6

W: Craig Kimbrel (1-0)

L: Nick Anderson (0-1)

• James McArthur once again disappointed in a big spot as he gave up a run and allowed three hits to hand the Orioles the advantage in the eighth inning. McArthur faced the heart of the Orioles’ indomitable lineup and gave up hits to Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson before Ryan Mountcastle knocked in a run. McArthur threw 15 of his 26 pitches for strikes but never looked like overpowering the Orioles hitters. The (bad) good news is that another in the competition for saves, Nick Anderson gave up a two-run bomb to Jordan Westburg in the bottom of the ninth. With Will Smith struggling also, the Royals’ late-inning situation is a complete mess right now.
• Orioles closer Craig Kimbrel blew the save opportunity but earned the win thanks to Westburg’s blast. Holding a one-run lead in the top of the ninth inning, Kimbrel allowed baserunner Dairon Blanco to steal his way to third base before Maikel Garcia’s sacrifice fly tied the contest. Kimbrel answered back in style with a big inning-ending strikeout of Bobby Witt Jr.

 

CIN 6 – PHI 3 (10)

W: Alexis Díaz (1-1)

• After a disastrous first outing of the year in which he blew a save and took the loss against the Nationals, Alexis Díaz returned to the imperious form that made him a standout fantasy closer in 2023. Pitching one and two-thirds frames through the eighth and ninth innings, Díaz struck out two and looked dominant as he earned the win with the Reds putting up four runs at the start of extra innings. It is worth noting that Tejay Antone handled the bottom of the 10th in a non-save situation, striking out two and allowing the zombie runner to score by giving up a hit.
• Jeff Hoffman was first out of the bullpen for the Phillies with two men on and nobody out in the sixth inning with a two-run lead. He gave up back-to-back singles as the Reds tied the contest before he hit back with strikeouts of Elly De La Cruz and Stuart Fairchild. Closer José Alvarado pitched a clean ninth inning before Connor Brogdon imploded in extras, walking the bases loaded before giving up a grand slam to Spencer Steer. Ouch! It’s Brogdon’s third consecutive nightmare outing of the year. Yikes!

 

DET 5 – NYM 0

W: Jason Foley (1)

• Despite allowing a hit, Tigers closer Jason Foley earned his first win of the season after striking out two of the four batters he faced as he ended the Mets’ threat in the bottom of the ninth inning with the game on the line. Foley adds the win to his two saves so far this season and he is looking a lock for saves opportunities going forward. Shelby Miller also impressed in the bottom of the 10th with three straight flyouts to end the contest.
• Edwin Diaz struck out two in a perfect ninth inning as the Mets looked likely to make something happen in the bottom of the inning to hand the returning closer a win. However, it did not happen and Michael Tonkin gave up a three-run homer in the top of the 10th to hand the win to the Tigers as the Mets dropped to 0-5. Brooks Raley looks to be a setup man for Díaz alongside Adam Ottavino.

 

The best of the rest…

 

• The Astros bullpen got the night off after unlikely hero Ronel Blanco’s no-hitter against the beleaguered Blue Jays.
• Atlanta’s 9-0 drubbing of the White Sox was cut short by rain and called complete after the eighth inning, a valuable night off for Atlanta’s relievers.
• Shota Imanaga was sensational on debut as the Cubs beat the Rockies 5-0. The Japanese veteran struck out nine and allowed two hits through six innings. Drew Smyly handled two innings in relief.
• Ryan Brasier and Joe Kelly both gave up runs as the Dodgers bullpen still looks short of quality despite their offense balling out. Nick Avila handled two innings of relief work for the Giants down five.
• Chris Devenski (Rays) and David Robertson (Rangers) handled multiple innings of work for their sides. Robertson looked impressive as the Rangers went on to win 9-3.