Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 5/17/23 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

 

• We saw 15 games played on Tuesday with all 30 MLB teams in action.
• There was one extra innings game played (ARI – OAK). There were six converted save opportunities.
• The Chicago Whitesox activated Garrett Crochet from the 15-Day IL. There may be some late-inning opportunity here eventually.
• The Brewers called up J.B. Bukauskas from the minors. While slated to work long relief, it is always a good idea to keep an eye on Milwaukee relief pitchers.
• The Texas Rangers recalled Joe Barlow from the minors. This will be Barlow’s first bit of MLB action this year as he looks to return from off-season wrist surgery. His AAA numbers look encouraging and it was not so long ago that Barlow was in the late-inning mix.

 

Bullpen to Stream

San Fransisco Giants

• The SF bullpen has gotten a lot of work lately. Camilo Doval has pitched in two straight with sizable pitch counts—he may be unavailable today. Tyler Rogers has pitched in two of the last three and fired 27 pitches through two IP last night. And even Taylor Rogers has pitched in two straight games. This leads us to some speculation opportunities! 
• Save Stream: John Brebbia
• Hold Stream: Scott Alexander

NYY 6 – TOR 4
SV: Wandy Peralta (3)
HD: Clay Holmes (3)

 

• The Yankees bullpen continues to look like a committee with Clay Holmes working a scoreless 8th inning followed by Wandy Peralta to close the door in the ninth. Michael King pitched the day before earning a four-out save—but threw only 12 pitches and had pitched just twice during a five-day span. Meanwhile, Peralta has been given (and successfully converted) three of the last four save opportunities. Wandy might be emerging as the favorite for the lion’s share of saves in the Bronx. 
• For Toronto, Erik Swanson pitched an ugly 8th inning in a tie-game, allowing three hits and issuing two walks on his way to his second loss of the season. This is likely just a blip on an otherwise strong season from Swanson and he should continue to see late-inning / high-leverage work.

 

MIL 3 – STL 2
SV: Devin Williams (6)
HD: Peter Strzelecki (10)

 

• Devin Williams continued his dominant campaign while converting his sixth save. While the save number is a bit low amongst other elite late-inning options league-wide, Williams’ 37.8% strikeout rate and pristine ratios demonstrate that there is nothing to worry about.
• Peter Strzelecki has solidified himself as the premier 8th-inning bridge option for Milwaukee after converting his MLB-leading 10th hold.

 

ATL 4 – TEX 7
SV: Will Smith (8)
HD: Josh Sborz (3)

 

• Will Smith wasted no time in converting his 8th save—needing only 10 pitches to seal the deal in a clean 9th inning. 
• Josh Sborz has emerged as a potential bridge option in a Texas bullpen desperate for stability. Sborz has now converted two holds in the last week while sporting a robust 30.9% strikeout rate. For those scouring the wire for help in deeper Saves + Holds leagues, Sborz might prove to be useful.

 

CIN 3 – COL 1
SV: Alexi Diaz (10)
HD: Alex Young (5); Ian Gibaut (6)

 

• Alexis Díaz has been absolutely dominant. He needed a mere six pitches to close out this game while picking up another strikeout. That’s three saves in his last five games with a wild 49.2% strikeout rate overall.
• On the other side, Danial Bard pitched in back-to-back games for the second time since returning from the IL. The Rockies have stuck with Pierce Johnson in the closer role, but it is encouraging to see Bard get back into the swing, and will likely find himself back in the late-inning mix sooner than later.

 

PHI 3 – SFG 4
SV: Camilo Doval (10)
HD: John Brebbia (6); Tyler Rogers (8)

 

• Despite giving up a solo home run to Kyle Schwarber in the 9th inning, Camilo Doval secured his 10th save of the season—entering the double-digit save club. Doval has been utilized as the exclusive closing option for San Fransico and has thrived with a 35.7% strikeout rate.
• Tyler Rogers was called upon to pitch the 7th & 8th innings and danced around three hits on his way to securing two run-free IPs. It was Rogers’s fifth multi-inning appearance in his last 11 games which is an interesting trend for the righty reliever.

 

Best of the rest

• Scott Barlow earned his fifth save with a clean inning and one strikeout. Aroldis Chapman pitched the 7th inning, striking out two and earning his fifth hold.
• Will Vest notched three strikeouts during his two relief innings backing up a strong outing from Michael Lorenzen. Vest didn’t earn a hold since the Tigers were up by four runs, but the performance is still encouraging for high-leverage purposes, especially paired with his decent 31.3% strikeout rate.
• Scott McGough was given a difficult task. The Diamondbacks brought McGough in for extra innings—all of the extra innings. He navigated the 10th and 11th innings well enough but the 12th proved to be a step too far as an intentional walk of Jace Peterson led to back-to-back singles from Nick Allen and Esteury Ruiz giving the A’s a walk-off victory. It’ll go down as a loss, but it was a valiant effort from McGough. 

 

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