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

Breakdowns of key bullpen usage from yesterday's slate of games.

Scott McDermott
Fantasy 4/24/2024

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

 

  • After eight teams had an off day Monday, the schedule was full tonight and will be full again on Wednesday.
  • Jhoan Duran kicked off his rehab assignment with AAA St. Paul, and though he didn’t look particularly sharp (2 runs on 4 hits) he threw 27 pitches and hit 99 on the gun.  He might need another tune-up or two before rejoining the Twins on the other side of town, but probably will be back within the week.
  • After being scratched from a start over the weekend, the Diamondbacks placed Merrill Kelly on the IL with a shoulder injury (expected to miss a month) along with reliever Miguel Castro.  In a corresponding move the team called up SP Tommy Henry and reliever Andrew Saalfrank.  In ten innings at the Major League level Saalfrank gave up zero runs with a 1.06 WHIP and 17.3% swinging strike rate, so he could have some value in the deepest of leagues.
  • The Cubs called up Hayden Wesneski and Matt Mervis from AAA Iowa.  Wesneski was up-and-down as a starter last year but has a live arm averaging 95 mph on his fastball.  He will likely see bulk relief opportunities and could get a spot start if the opportunity arises.  Both Drew Smyly and Kyle Hendricks were placed on the IL, Smyly with a hip impingement and Hendricks with a back issue. Neither figure to be out too long.
  • The Reno Aces announced that Paul Sewald will make a rehab appearance on Wednesday.

 

Yesterday’s Performances

CLE 4 – BOS 1

W: Scott Barlow (1-2)

H: Hunter Gaddis (6)

SV: Emmanuel Clase (7)

  • The injuries are really piling up in Fenway, now with Triston Casas being diagnosed with a fractured rib.  Tyler O’Neill did return from concussion protocol and got one of Boston’s few hits.  Otherwise, the Red Sox looked anemic against spot-starter Ben Lively.   Lively’s fastball might not crack 90 but he mixes five pitches well and can nibble the corners while staying low in the zone.
  • The late-inning relievers for Cleveland continue to shove.  Hunter Gaddis had a little early trouble giving up a leadoff single in the eighth, but helped himself out by picking off the runner.  His swinging strike rate has doubled from 8.2% last year to 16.0% this year and his K-rate is an impressive 38.5%.
  • Clase then did his thing in the ninth, striking out Boston’s 2-3-4 hitters with ease.  He threw thirteen pitches, eleven of them strikes, and blew the door shut.

 

OAK 3 – NYY 4

SV: Clay Holmes (9)

H: Ron Marinaccio (1), Caleb Ferguson (4), Dennis Santana (2)

  • The A’s kept it close again in Yankee Stadium as Paul Blackburn was solid after a rough first inning.  That four-run first would be all the Yankees needed to avenge Monday’s loss.
  • Oakland was able to score three off Marcus Stroman but the ‘pen kept them hitless after Marinaccio took the ball in the top of the sixth.  Only one batter reached base in the last four innings of play.
  • Holmes looked dominant but got a little help from a questionable strike-three call to Lawrence Butler.  Butler was tossed for his mild dismay as the umpiring crew continued their no-tolerance ejection policy in New York.

 

MIL 1 – PIT 2

SV: David Bednar (4)

H: Colin Holderman (2)

  • That’s three nights of work in a row for Bednar, who continues to settle in after a rocky start to the campaign.  He threw eleven pitches in this one, nine strikes, and looks to have regained his form.  He should be a top-ten option going forward.
  • The Pirates opted to rest Aroldis Chapman after he also worked the last two games, though he threw considerably more pitches.  Chapman is still entrenched in his eighth-inning role but Bednar is clearly the guy, and outings like this one will only reinforce the longstanding trust management has in their closer.
  • Holderman made good on his name to get his second Hold, striking out two and lowering his ERA to 1.69.  He might not get a lot of work but has been effective when he does.

 

DET 4 – TBR 2

SV: Jason Foley (7)

W, BS: Alex Faedo (1-1, 2)

H: Phil Maton (7), Alex Lange (1)

L, BS: Colin Poche (0-1, 2)

  • This one got a little topsy-turvy in the late innings. Down a run in the sixth, Tampa took the lead on an Isaac Paredes two-run shot off of Alex Faedo.  Faedo was able to shrug off the damage and pitch two strong innings, keeping the score 2-1.
  • The Tigers offense then rewarded his effort with three runs in the top of the eighth. Alex Lange took care of business in the bottom half to leave Foley with the two-run lead, which turned out to be more than enough.
  • Foley is marching up the ranks with eleven appearances in the young season, all of them scoreless, and earned his seventh Save with ease.  There isn’t a whole lot Foley is doing different from previous years but he’s throwing hard sinkers 70% of the time and has increased his strikeout rate to 25.6% after being under 20% the rest of his career. His xFIP sits at 3.90 so there may be a bump or two in the road ahead, but Detroit is finding itself in a ton of low-scoring games so the opportunities will pile up.

 

TOR 2 – KCR 3

SV: James McArthur (5)

W: Chris Stratton (2-1)

H: John Schreiber (5)

  • Things stayed close all night long but the Royals were able to hang three unearned runs on Kevin Gausman. A costly error by Vladimir Guerrero kept the inning alive and that proved the difference.
  • Gausman still doesn’t look quite himself, striking out two in 6.2 innings pitched. He had only one whiff after his first three innings (four total) and his velocity and spin rates are still below last year’s averages.
  • After Royals starter Michael Wacha was pulled in the fifth with 96 pitches, the Royals’ bullpen came through. McArthur got the six-out save by pitching to contact and keeping the ball on the ground.

 

CHW 5 – MIN 6

W: Jay Jackson (1-1)

H: Jordan Leasure (3), Michael Kopech (1)

L, BS: Steven Wilson (1-2, 1)

  • You have to feel for Chicago after this one.  Their piddling offense was able to amass five runs and keep Pablo López to only four innings of ineffective work.  Starter Erik Fedde went six strong innings and struck out eleven.  He deserves better.
  • The Sox bullpen proceeded to cough up five runs in the last three innings and a seeing-eye grounder from Alex Kirilloff gave the Twins a walk-off victory.  Chicago somewhat surprisingly went with Kopech in the eighth, at the time with a three-run lead, but it was to face the top of the order.  He struck out a couple but gave up a two-run shot to Trevor Larnach.
  • That left Steven Wilson to work the ninth, who (checks notes) has one save in his last three seasons.  He had a 1.13 ERA going into this appearance, however (though that is no longer the case).

 

LAD 4 – WAS 1

SV: Evan Phillips (6)

H: Daniel Hudson (5)

W: Alex Vesia (1-2)

L: Hunter Harvey (1-1)

  • Washington starter Patrick Corbin somehow was able to keep the Dodgers scoreless, but LA got the last laugh after plating four in the last four innings.  James Paxton pitched well if not particularly efficiently, needing 89 pitches to go 4-and-2/3’s.
  • Evan Phillips will likely be on the shelf tomorrow after walking the bases loaded in the ninth to make things interesting.  He threw 32 pitches and only 16 were strikes, but he was able to strike out Jesse Winker to end the threat.  Washington also made a huge base-running blunder and got caught in a rundown between third and home.
  • Ohtani hit a frickin’ laser beam in the ninth for an extra insurance run.  At 118 mph off the bat, it might have put a hole in the upper deck seats…

 

 

The Best of the Rest…

  • Max Fried needed just 92 pitches to methodically dismantle the Marlins, throwing 69 pitches for strikes in a Maddux-esque performance.  He gave up three hits (just one to a player not named Luis Arraez), struck out six, and walked no one.
  • The other Logan Allen accomplished the rarest of feats for the Diamondbacks—earning a Save with his team winning by thirteen runs.  He came on up 14-1 in the seventh but pitched three scoreless frames to put a merciful end to St. Louis’s night.
  • Though it wasn’t a save situation, Andrés Muñoz handled a four-run lead with ease and finished off the Texas Rangers.  Most importantly, he threw 75% of his pitches for strikes and secured the win for a dominant Logan Gilbert.
  •  With Adbert Alzolay hitting the IL, many are wondering who will close for the Cubs.  Though they won 7-2, the game actually presented a save situation as Yency Almonte came on in the eighth up by four with runners aboard.  He got the out, an insurance run in the bottom of the inning, and finished off the Astros in the ninth.  Mark Leiter, Jr. made an appearance earlier in the game so that suggests Héctor Neris was held back unless the game got close.
  • The Rockies put a temporary halt to their skid with a win at Coors thanks in part to a grand slam by Brendan Rodgers.  Justin Lawrence got his first save of the season by inducing soft contact from the top of the Padres’ order, needing just ten pitches to ice it.
  • Camilo Doval was potentially off for the night with Logan Webb throwing eight shutout innings and the Giants up by five, but Tyler Rodgers gave up three hits to start the ninth and things were getting dicey.  Doval threw five pitches to get two outs, one of them a strikeout.

 

Bullpen Depth Charts

 

Also, if you’re looking for a detailed list or ranking of RPs, check out Rick Graham’s weekly pieces:

The Hold Up: Ranking the Top 100 Relievers for Holds Every Thursday

Closing Time: Ranking the Top 30 Closers

Top 100 Relievers for Save+Hold Leagues

Scott McDermott

Scott lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, two daughters, and a couple of furballs. When he’s not dissecting box scores and pondering over the optimal starting lineup for the Cincinnati Reds, he covers fantasy baseball for Pitcher List. He’s also the author of the award-winning book series 'Election 2064', available on Amazon.

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