Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 5/19/23 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

 

• It was another quiet Thursday slate with only six games total. However, the Cardinals and Dodgers game featured a lot of fireworks as the Cardinals drubbed LA 16-8. Their bullpen usage was higher than typical, so if you have Dodgers pitchers on your roster, it could alter things headed into the weekend. The other five games of Thursday’s slate were closer and all featured a save.
• The Royals transferred Ryan Yarbrough from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL as he recovers from a line drive that left him with a fractured skull. Let’s hope all goes well in his recovery from this serious injury. Yarbrough has a flexible role and has pitched in relief and also made starts for Kansas City this season. He is 1-4 with one hold on the season.
• The Red Sox optioned Ryan Sherriff to Triple-A Worcester after a brief stay in the majors. Sherriff appeared in back-to-back games on May 16 and 17 and secured a hold in his first appearance of the season.
• Luke Jackson is nearing closer to a big league return after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2022. The Giants sent him for a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento after he threw a scoreless inning in Single-A last Sunday. He will provide a nice boost to the Giants’ bullpen as he returns. He could be someone to monitor if you play in SOLDS leagues.
• The Dodgers recalled Andre Jackson from the minors on Thursday. He captured the first save of the year for Los Angeles back on April 1 but was sent down in late April after a couple of rough outings.

 

Bullpen to Stream Today

New York Mets

• The Mets have some momentum for the first time this season after a series win over the Rays. They kick off a weekend home series against the Guardians today and will see if they can keep the good vibes rolling. David Robertson has pitched in two straight games and I am guessing he will be unavailable today, leaving a potential save chance for someone else in the New York bullpen.
• Look at Adam Ottavino as someone to stream for a save chance today. On the holds front, Brooks Raley just pitched yesterday after coming off the IL so the Mets will likely be cautious with him today, opening up a hold chance for Drew Smith. Smith has been excellent this season and has seven holds and one save thus far.
• Save Stream: Adam Ottavino
• Hold Stream: Drew Smith

MIA 5 – WSH 3

SV: Dylan Floro (4)
H: Matt Barnes (2), Steven Okert (3), Huascar Brazoban (7)

 

• Eury Pérez earned his first career win in the Marlins/Nationals game on Thursday after he pitched five innings, giving up one run with six strikeouts. After Perez departed, a trio of Marlins pitched and earned holds (Barnes, Okert, and Brazoban) before Dylan Floro came in for the ninth inning. He walked one during a scoreless inning and captured his fourth save of the year. Floro also pitched on Wednesday so expect him to be resting on Friday.
• For the Nationals, Mason Thompson and Erasmo Ramírez made appearances out of the bullpen. Thompson gave up an earned run in his outing as he continues to struggle in the month of May. Thompson had gotten off to a strong start to the year with a 2.12 ERA in April, but Thursday’s game was his fifth outing in a row with earned runs surrendered. His ERA now sits at 4.63 for the season. If you’re in a deep SOLDS league and had Thompson on your roster, it could be time to move on from him in favor of Hunter Harvey.

 

CLE 3 – CHW 1

SV: Emmanuel Clase (15)
HD: Trevor Stephan (6)
W: Nick Sandlin (2-1)

 

• Emmanuel Clase locked down his MLB-leading 15th save of the season, but it was Nick Sandlin who was credited with a win out of the bullpen. Sandlin pitched 1.1 scoreless innings and struck out one for his second win. Trevor Stephan also picked up his sixth hold for the Guardians. The tall righty has two wins and two saves with a 1.62 ERA for Cleveland this season.
• Gregory Santos, Aaron Bummer, and Garrett Crochet threw scoreless outings for the White Sox.

 

TB 2 – NYM 3

SV: David Robertson (8)
HD: Jeff Brigham (3), Brooks Raley (9)
L: Zach Littell (0-1)

 

• It appears things may be turning around in Queens as the Mets took two out of three games from the Rays with a 3-2 win on Thursday. After Mets starter Tylor Megill left the game after six innings, Brooks Raley pitched a scoreless inning to earn his ninth hold against his former team. Jeff Brigham appeared after Raley and captured his third hold of the season after throwing a scoreless eighth inning. David Robertson allowed one hit in the tight game but still closed out the victory for his eighth save of 2023.
• On the Tampa Bay side, Zach Littell lost his first game after allowing three hits and an earned run in the sixth inning. Jalen Beeks and Trevor Kelley were able to slow down the Mets and kept them off the board the rest of the way.

LAA 6 – BAL 5

SV: Carlos Estévez (10)
BS: Chris Devenski (1), Austin Voth (1)
HD: Andrew Wantz (3), Matt Moore (9)
L: Bryan Baker (3-1) 
W: Chris Devenski (1-0)

 

• Fans of relief action would have been excited watching the Angels/Orioles game as it was a rollercoaster of relief action with two blown saves by Austin Voth and Chris Devenski, as well as a save, a loss, multiple holds, and a win by relievers. Voth blew the save for the Orioles while Devenski blew the save for the Angels after allowing a home run to Adley Rutschman in the seventh inning. However, Devenski was ultimately credited with the win.
• For the Angels, Matt Moore secured his ninth hold of the year and Andrew Wantz another hold and it happened against the Orioles, his third for the year. Carlos Estévez is now in double-digits for saves on the year after giving up two hits, one walk, and striking out two in the ninth inning. His strong numbers on the year (a 1.35 ERA and 1.20 WHIP) have allowed him to emerge as one of the most reliable closers of the season.

NYY 4 – TOR 2

SV: Ron Marinaccio (1)
HD: Ryan Weber (1), Albert Abreu (2)

 

• Ron Marinaccio locked down his first career save for the Yankees with Wandy Peralta resting after consecutive outings. After blowing his first three save opportunities of the season, including Tuesday against the Blue Jays, Marinaccio pitched a scoreless ninth inning to capture the save. Ryan Weber and Albert Abreu also appeared out of the bullpen for New York and earned holds. Clay Holmes and Michael King have been used heavily this week so they were both resting on Thursday and will be ready for the weekend. Expect Michael King to get the first look for save opportunities this weekend.
• On the Toronto side, Yimi García closed out the seventh inning by getting the last out before Nate Pearson pitched two innings in long relief. Pearson did allow two hits, including a solo shot. It was Pearson’s second multiple-inning relief appearance for the Blue Jays on the year. He is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 8 IP.

LAD 8 – STL 16

HD: Drew VerHagen (5), Jordan Hicks (4)

 

• It was a tough night for Dodgers and Cardinals pitchers on Thursday as there were nine home runs in this game, including seven home runs hit by the Cardinals, tying their franchise record for a single game.
• The Dodgers bullpen was called upon early after Julio Urias gave up four home runs, including back-to-back-back home runs, in his three innings pitched. Phil Bickford was then the first out of the pen for LA and wasn’t much better, giving up three more earned runs and another home run.
• Next, it was Andre Jackson’s turn, fresh off of his major league call-up earlier in the day. Jackson jumped right back into action and performed well across three scoreless innings. Unfortunately, he ran into some trouble as he pitched into his fourth inning of the night, giving up three earned runs. Yency Almonte relieved Jackson and gave up two more homes to the Cardinals.
• The Cardinals’ Génesis Cabrera was also bitten by the home run bug and only pitched a third of an inning. Cabrera gave up a 412-foot shot to Freddie Freeman in the top of the sixth, after entering for Adam Wainwright. Drew VerHagen and Jordan Hicks then each pitched a scoreless inning for St. Louis and earned their fifth and fourth holds of the season.

 

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

 

(Photos by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)