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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 5/23/24 Depth Chart

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

Wynn McDonald
Fantasy 5/23/2024

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 were 15 1/2 games on Wednesday, including the resumption of the Cardinals-Orioles tilt that was suspended on Tuesday. Roughly half the league has the day off on Thursday, so many bullpens should be fairly fresh going into the weekend.
  • The Rangers signed free agent Nabil Crismatt to a minor league contract yesterday after he was outrighted by the Dodgers last week. The former Padre could join the Texas bullpen within the next few weeks.
  • The Yankees activated Tommy Kahnle from the IL, optioning Clayton Andrews to Triple-A to make room. Kahnle made his season debut in a 7-3 victory on Wednesday. He was one of New York’s top set-up options in 2023 and should resume that role swiftly.
  • The White Sox placed Steven Wilson on the IL, recalling Nick Nastrini in his place.

 

Yesterday’s Performances

 

BAL 1 – STL 3 (Game 1)

SV: Ryan Helsley (15)

HD: Andrew Kittredge (14), JoJo Romero (17)

L: Jacob Webb (0-3)

  • The suspended game from Tuesday was picked up at 11 a.m. local time in St. Louis, with Jacob Webb taking the mound first in the bottom of the sixth inning. Webb retired the first two batters before allowing a walk, then was lifted for Keegan Akin. Akin’s fourth pitch was a two-run, go-ahead homer to Nolan Gorman that ended up being the difference in the ballgame. He pitched the rest of the game for Baltimore, but the damage was done — though Webb was technically credited with the loss.
  • St. Louis went with their standard late-innings trio of Andrew Kittredge, JoJo Romero and Ryan Helsley. After allowing a one-out walk in the ninth, Helsley induced a game-ending double play to tie Emmanuel Clase atop the MLB saves leaderboard with 15.

 

MIN 3 – WSH 2

SV: Jhoan Duran (4)

HD: Kody Funderburk (4), Griffin Jax (7), Caleb Thielbar (4)

W: Steven Okert (1-0)

  • Rocco Baldelli opted to lift Simeon Woods Richardson with two out in the fifth, leaving the task to his bullpen to hold their one-run lead; they did so, but only just. Steven Okert was first out of the gate, and he ended up earning the win with a perfect inning-plus. Kody Funderburk allowed a run in the seventh, and Jhoan Duran allowed one in the ninth, but on both occasions, the Twins’ offense had supplied an insurance run just before.
  • The Nats turned to Robert Garcia and Hunter Harvey to cover the last three innings after Jake Irvin’s departure. Harvey allowed back-to-back hits in the top of the ninth to let in what proved to be the deciding run. It’s just the seventh earned run allowed by Harvey in 22 appearances this season, as he remains entrenched in the back end of Washington’s pen.

 

SFG 9 – PIT 5 (10)

W: Ryan Walker (4-2)

HD: Hunter Stratton (4)

BS: Colin Holderman (1)

L: Carmen Mlodzinski (0-1)

  • A short outing from Blake Snell preceded a caravan of relievers for San Francisco. Sean Hjelle and Randy Rodríguez got them through the seventh, after which they turned to their heavy hitters in Tyler Rogers, Ryan Walker and Camilo Doval, who combined to allow just one baserunner. Doval pitched the bottom of the 10th and would have earned a save, if not for the four-run margin.
  • Pittsburgh got a decent outing from Jared Jones, but their bullpen couldn’t hold the lead. Aroldis Chapman was completely wild in the eighth, walking all three batters he faced with 12 consecutive balls. Colin Holderman entered and escaped the frame with just one run allowed, but the Giants tied it in the ninth on a pair of hits and a throwing error. They went on to punish Carmen Mlodzinski in the 10th, hanging a four spot with a flurry of singles.
  • The only high-leverage arms for either team who didn’t pitch on Wednesday were David Bednar and Taylor Rogers, each of whom pitched two of the previous three days. The list of available arms for Thursday afternoon’s series finale may be limited in both dugouts.

 

COL 4 – OAK 3 (12)

SV: Matt Koch (1)

BS: Jalen Beeks (2)

W: Nick Mears (1-3)

L: Kyle Muller (0-1)

  • A dominant start from Austin Gomber had the Rockies in good position going into the ninth, but with Justin Lawrence unavailable, they turned to Jalen Beeks to finish things off in the ninth. As you can see, this game went 12 innings, so he did not finish things off. The A’s tied the game on a two-out RBI single by Zack Gelof and sent the game to extras. They had three more chances to walk it off in the 10th, 11th, and 12th, but strong work from Victor Vodnik and Nick Mears held the A’s in check. The Rox finally went back ahead in the 12th, and Matt Koch came on to record the final out.
  • After Mitch Spence allowed two runs in the first inning, things seemed to be going downhill quickly — but impressively, Oakland’s pitching kept Colorado off the board from then until the 12th inning, when a Ryan McMahon homer finally broke the seal. Six different relievers contributed, including Lucas Erceg, who effectively locked down the ninth and 10th. It was Kyle Muller who allowed the game-deciding shot in the end, hanging a slider middle-middle that McMahon did not miss.

 

The best of the rest…

  • With Clase and Scott Barlow on rest due to a heavy workload this week, Cade Smith earned his first career save in Cleveland’s 6-3 win over the Mets. The Guardians are off on Thursday, so their All-Star closer should be ready to go for the weekend series in Anaheim.
  • Another rookie, Ryan Fernandez, picked up his first career save in St. Louis’ second game of the day, since Helsley pitched earlier. John King earned the win for two strong innings of middle relief.
  • Luis Garcia picked up his third save closing out the Angels 2-1 win in Houston. He was the only reliever needed for the Halos, since Tyler Anderson was aces for the first eight frames. Carlos Estévez was resting, having worked the previous two days.
  • Alex Lange had another blowup in Detroit’s 8-3 loss to Kansas City, allowing four earned runs on three hits (all of which carried 95+ mph exit velocities). He issued two walks and a hit-by-pitch as well. With a 9.00 ERA and 2.50 WHIP in the month of May, the chances of Lange regaining his closer role this season are looking more and more slim.
  • Only four pitchers in total were used in Miami’s 1-0 win over Milwaukee since both starters nearly went the distance. Elvis Peguero pitched the eighth inning for the Brewers, while Tanner Scott earned his sixth save of the year by closing things out in the top of the ninth.
  • There were also just four pitchers in the Braves-Cubs game, thanks to Max Fried’s complete game shutout. Atlanta tagged José Cuas for four runs in the later innings, putting the game well out of reach.

 

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

 

Wynn McDonald

Born a Kentuckian, much like Dan Uggla. Braves fan by choice, unlike Dan Uggla. I enjoy long walks on the Brandon Beachy. @twynstagram

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