Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 5/23/23 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 had 12 games on Monday meaning just six teams enjoyed a scheduled day off. They were: BAL, NYY, NYM, WSH, CHC, and SDP.
• There were a whopping seven saves across the league with 10 of the 12 games settled by three runs or less.
• Zack Burdi replaced Jake Diekman in the Rays bullpen after the flame-haired lefty was placed on the paternity list on a quiet day for transactions of note.
• Clayton Kershaw was placed on the bereavement list so Bobby Miller will start today for the Dodgers those looking for a streamer to vulture a win.

 

CWS 0 – CLE 3
SV: Emmanuel Clase (16)

• Gregory Santos gave up a two-run homer to Mike Zunino, the first batter he faced, to hand the Guardians a 3-0 lead which they would not surrender. Earlier in the game Jesse Scholtens had pitched well over five innings in relief of opener Jimmy Lambert to no avail.
• Emmanuel Clase notched his 16th save of the season to put him four ahead in baseball’s stat leaders for saves. Ironically, he is also the leader for blown saves with five. Either way, he is the locked-on elite closer in fantasy. Trevor Stephan threw a perfect eighth inning.

 

TOR 4 – TBR 6
SV: Pete Fairbanks (5)

• Chris Bassitt gave up all six runs to the Rays although only two were earned. The important arms in the bullpen were saved for today’s game.
• Everyone’s favorite bulk reliever, Josh Fleming picked up his first win of the season thanks to six excellent innings where he struck out two and gave up two runs. Zack Littell was called upon to protect a four-run lead in the ninth but gave up a home run to Dalton Varsho before leaving two runners on base for closer Pete Fairbanks. Brandon Belt drove in a run before Fairbanks got Bo Bichette to ground out to first base to end the contest. Fairbanks has regained his closer role from Jason Adam but Adam could be in line for a save today as Fairbanks is sure to be managed after his recent injured list stint.

 

ARI 6 – PHI 3
SV: Andrew Chafin (7)

• Andrew Chafin’s dominance in the ninth inning continued as he struck out three of the four batters he faced in a scoreless outing to notch his seventh save of the year. Chafin had ceded some opportunities to Miguel Castro recently but Castro looked shaky earlier in the contest giving up a hit and two walks to load the bases. He managed to wriggle out of it though. It’s a fluid situation for the surprisingly productive Diamondbacks bullpen.
• Zach Wheeler is not helping his fantasy managers right now as he gave up four runs to take his fourth loss of the season. Jeff Hoffman and Andrew Bellatti both gave up earned runs to stretch out Arizona’s victory margin. There’s nothing much to shout about for the Phillies right now.

 

SFG 4 – MIN 1
SV: Scott Alexander (1)

• Somewhat miraculously Scott Alexander added his first save of the season to his four wins as the Giants edged past the Twins to earn a win on the first game of the road series. Alexander pitched a perfect ninth inning but isn’t likely to be a regular option for saves. Tyler Rogers came in to get the final two outs in the eighth inning after Tristan Beck gave up a home run and hit Byron Buxton to cause trouble. Camilo Doval had pitched the previous two days and was unavailable.
• The Twins have now lost five of the last seven games against unfancied teams – the bullpen did its job and held the Giants scoreless but Bailey Ober failed to work past the five inning.

 

MIA 3 – COL 5
SV: Pierce Johnson (9)

• Jurickson Profar just missed on a long ball leaving the park but his two-run double off JT Chargois in the seventh inning was enough to give the Rockies a lead to hang on to.
• Pierce Johnson came away with his ninth save of the season, and the fourth in his last six appearances. Johnson has not allowed a run in three straight outings and is the clear and present choice in the ninth for the underwhelming Rockies.

 

LAD 8 – ATL 6
SV: Brusdar Gratertol (3)

• Closer Evan Phillips was brought in early in this game after the recently recalled Gavin Stone walked Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson to start the sixth inning with the Dodgers leading 6-4. Phillips earned the win after giving up just one run to preserve the Dodgers’ lead. That gave Brusdar Graterol his first save for nearly a month as he retired four batters to end a thrilling contest.
• Charlie Morton was hit hard before A.J. Minter gave up a solo homer to J.D. Martinez, his second of the night, to put the game out of reach for Atlanta. Minter is now out of the picture for saves with Raisel Iglesias and Nick Anderson firmly entrenched as the preferred options.

 

DET 8 – KCR 5 (10)
SV: José Cisnero (1)

• Closer Alex Lange picked up his third win of the season after this contest went to extra innings. José Cisnero was given the opportunity to register his first save of the year with a three-run lead in the bottom of the 10th – he gave up a lead-off walk and threw a wild pitch but got the key outs of Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez to earn the save.
• Scott Barlow threw a scoreless ninth inning but gave up a bases-clearing three-run double in the 10th to take the loss. His 36 pitches mean he will be unavailable for today’s game with Aroldis Chapman next in line for save opportunities.

 

Best of the rest

• Chase Silseth was excellent over two dominant innings to pick up his first win of the season for the Angels as they sneaked past the Red Sox thanks to Mickey Moniak’s solo home run off Kutter Crawford in the eighth inning. After Matt Moore and Carlos Estévez were used last night, the Angels played the confidence card with Silseth, who could see more opportunities going forward.
• Ian Gibault picked up the win for the Reds in extras after a walk-off Nick Senzel sacrifice fly. Closer Alexis Díaz worked around three walks and a bases-loaded situation in the ninth to strike out four over one and two-thirds scoreless innings to set up the win. Both sides used their high-leverage arms in this one so look for opportunities elsewhere in the second game of the series tomorrow.
• The Rangers bullpen imploded in the seventh inning with Pirates youngster Tucupita Marcano hitting a grand slam off Joe Barlow after Josh Sborz had worked himself into trouble after an overturned call on the field for a tag out. David Bednar was called upon in a non-save situation but allowed a two-run home run to Josh Jung in the ninth inning to make it interesting.
• Yordan Alvarez destroyed the Brewers with a five-RBI night that included two home runs as relievers Elvis Peguero and Hoby Milner combined for five earned runs in the sixth inning to blow the game wide open. Corbin Burnes had coughed up four homers in a disastrous night for the Brew Crew. That’s eight straight now for Houston.
• The A’s got pummelled again, as did Shinjaro Fujinami who is all but irrelevant right now. The Mariners could roll out the lower-leverage arms after a brilliant Luis Castillo performance in an 11-2 rout.

 

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)