Dynasty
Nastiest GIFs
The List
Dynasty
Nastiest GIFs
The List

Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 4/26/24 Depth Chart

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

Josh Mockensturm
Fantasy 4/26/2024

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

 

  • There was a nearly full slate on Thursday with 10 games. As is apparently tradition this year, we did have rain impact 1 game, but it wasn’t a full postponement.
  • The following teams did not have any bullpen action today: BAL, TBR, TOR, DET, KCR, LAA, ATL, MIA, NYM, STL, ARI, SFG
  • Texas activated Josh Sborz from the 15-day injured list and he was immediately back in the action. Kirby Yates has been a steadying hand for the Rangers bullpen, but there is an opportunity for Sborz to possibly supplant former closer José Leclerc for high-leverage work, so this will be something to watch going forward for Holds and Save + Hold.
  • Bowden Francis was placed on the 15-day injured list by the Blue Jays with forearm extensor tendinitis. Francis had recently been moved to the pen to make way for Yariel Rodríguez. Recently there had been talk that Yariel could be returning to the bullpen, but this move probably ensures that Rodriguez will stay in the rotation for now.

 

Yesterday’s Performances

SEA 4 – TEX 3

HD: Ryne Stanek (4), Gabe Speier (4)

SV: Andrés Muñoz (3)

  • Seattle was able to deploy their big three to close out the win in this one with two holds (Ryne Stanek and Gabe Speier combining for two innings), a save (Andrés Muñoz), and nary an earned run, though Ryne Stanek did allow an unearned run thanks to an error saving his ERA.
  • The game stayed close, and Texas’ bullpen kept it that way with three perfect innings of work. Cole Winn was the standout, striking out four in his two innings of work. Josh Sborz came in after Winn after being activated from the IL earlier in the day.

 

MIN 6 – CHW 3

HD: Caleb Thielbar (2), Brock Stewart (6)

SV: Griffin Jax (4)

  • Simeon Woods Richardson, single biggest beneficiary of the smaller names on the jerseys, got his shot back in the rotation and delivered five innings of two-run ball but left in a tied game. As a result, Cole Sands found himself with the win after his scoreless work in the top of the sixth and the Twins scoring three runs in the bottom of the same inning. After SWR, everyone in the bullpen walked away with something. Sands with the win, Caleb Thielbar and Brock Stewart both took home holds for their scoreless work and Griffin Jax secured his fourth save of the season. Oh, and none for Steven Okert. He allowed one run, unearned, in 0.1 innings and did not give up the lead but I guess the official scorer decided it didn’t deserve a hold (despite much worse appearances getting one). H*ck, Griffin Jax was the one who allowed the inherited run to score!
  • Chicago basically did the opposite. Their starting pitcher Michael Soroka did also pitch five innings of two-run ball, but Tanner Banks failed to get an out allowing one run on three hits and was eventually charged with the loss. After the Banks failed, he was replaced by Jordan Leasure who was the sole White Sox player reliever to NOT allow a run. John Brebbia allowed his first run of the season in the seventh, and Steven Wilson allowed two home runs in the eighth, to complete the palindrome of earned runs.

 

MIL 7 – PIT 5

HD: Joel Payamps (3), Colin Holderman (3), Ryder Ryan (3)

SV: Trevor Megill (1)

  • It finally happened! Trevor Megill got his first career save! With Devin Williams injured to start the year, it seemed like Megill was in line for a shot at some saves, but none materialized before he ended up getting hurt. Since coming back he’s been pitching in the highest leverage situations, regardless of save opportunity, and the stars finally aligned. Odds are that Megill will still share duties with Joel Payamps (who got the hold ahead of Megill), but the situation is probably fluid as we saw earlier this year with how Abner Uribe went from clear closer to… whatever it’s called when your manager has you pitch in the sixth inning or sometimes earlier. Uribe struck out the side in his inning of work here and Jared Koenig got the win.
  • Mitch Keller outdueled Freddy Peralta (still technically a duel if they allow four and five earned runs respectively, right?), so the Pirates bullpen took over with a lead and some hold opportunities. Ryder Ryan delivered a solid 1.2 scoreless innings of work for his third hold of the season and was rewarded with… a demotion to AAA. The ever-aptly named Colin Holderman came in to face Rhys Hoskins with a man on second and allowed a hit but struck out the next batter to end the inning and secure the hold. The not aptly named Aroldis Chapman took over in the eighth and got charged with a blown save and loss (both his second of the season). This was Chapman’s fifth straight appearance allowing a run (earned or unearned) and you have to wonder if there might be some rearranging in the hierarchy soon.

 

CLE 6 – BOS 5

HD: Nick Sandlin (3), Scott Barlow (6), Cade Smith (2)

SV: Emmanuel Clase (8)

  • Going into the season, many thought this was the year Emmanuel Clase finally fell off. Adding fuel to the fire was Clase’s 5.63 Spring Training ERA, five earned runs in eight innings pitched. Well, the reports of his demise appear to have been greatly exaggerated as he logged his eighth save of the season, second only to Clay Holmes and Robert Suarez who both have nine. The Guardians deployed six total relievers after starter Triston McKenzie only logged four innings of work. The Red Sox made some noise in the fifth and scored two runs in the sixth off of Nick Sandlin, but the 7-8-9 went perfectly for Cleveland, capped off by Clase.
  • Boston only got 1.2 innings out of Chase Anderson, so they had to let the bullpen do some heavy lifting (yet still managed to use one less pitcher than the Guardians). The bullpen then returned 6.1 innings of work, scoreless apart from an unearned run charged to Chris Martin. Since it was close, and he hadn’t pitched in nearly a week, Kenley Jansen threw the eighth inning and struck out one while not allowing any baserunners.

 

CHC 3 – HOU 1

HD: None

SV: Héctor Neris (3)

  • Hayden Wesneski secured his second win in his second appearance of the season throwing 2.1 innings. The Héctor Neris closer experiment continued for the Cubs, and he secured his third save of the season, and second in as many days, despite two walks. I guess things come in twos sometimes.
  • The Astros bullpen continues to blow up more than a Space X rocket. At least Seth Martinez kept his inning clean (shoutout to the inaugural PL Relief Pitcher league where I roster Seth … doing good work bud).

 

COL 10 – SDP 9

HD: Enyel De Los Santos (3)

SV: Justin Lawrence (2)

  • DISCLAIMER: this matchup includes pitchers with ERAs that may be upsetting to some. Viewer Discretion is advised.
  • Justin Lawrence got a save! His second of the season! His ERA is 5.59! You have to be really desperate to roster Colorado relievers! I’m gonna stop with the exclamation points now!
  • An Enyel De Los Santos hold was the bright spot in this one for the Padres, striking out every batter he faced. Meanwhile, the lowlight was Wandy Peralta getting the Loss in what was heralded in the PLRP league as, “one of the worst relief performances I’ve ever seen”! Peralta allowed four runs of his own, while also allowing two inherited runners to score and charge back to Yuki Matsui. Randy Vasquez started, but only went 2.2 innings so this was more or less a bullpen game.

 

LAD 2 – WAS 1

HD: Alex Vesia (2), Daniel Hudson (6)

SV: Evan Phillips (7)

  • Evan Phillips good. Evan Phillips now has seven saves and a sparkling 0.84 ERA for the Dodgers. Daniel Hudson earned his sixth hold ahead of Phillips despite allowing a run, and Alex Vesia locked down the seventh before Hudson, striking out three.
  • Kyle Finnegan pitched despite being down since he hadn’t gone in five days and threw a clean ninth, striking out one.

 

OAK 3 – NYY 1

HD: Austin Adams (6), Lucas Erceg (6), T.J. McFarland (4)

SV: Mason Miller (6)

  • Mason Miller continued his destruction of the Yankees with 1.1 scoreless innings and three Ks.  Also, Oakland has a lot of holds (tied for 6th at 17)! Austin Adams and Lucas Erceg both notched their sixth of the season in this contest.
  • Nasty Nestor Cortes allowed three runs on two HRs in the third and that was all she wrote. I’m not sure who “she” is, but I guess she isn’t a Yankees fan since the A’s and Yanks split the four-game series.

 

The Best of the Rest…

 

  • Zack Wheeler was good. As was the Cardinals bullpen. Nick Martinez was bad in his spot start. The Reds bullpen didn’t add to the damage. Nary a relief win, hold, or save in this one. Is using “nary” twice in one article too much?
  • The Kansas City/Toronto game was called after five innings on account of rain, so no relievers made it into this matchup meaning Toronto and Kansas City should be fully rested for today.

 

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

Josh Mockensturm

Josh is an Ohio Born, North Carolina residing Boston Red Sox fan thanks to his mom (and her love of Wade Boggs). If he's not watching or reading about baseball, he's probably watching a movie, reading a book, or making a dumb spreadsheet about Baseball, movies, or books.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Account / Login