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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 5/29/24 Depth Chart

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

Scott McDermott
Fantasy 5/29/2024

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

 

  • We nearly got a full slate of games tonight (along with a bonus game in the Mets-Dodgers twin bill), but the much-anticipated matchup between Tarik Skubal and Jared Jones got washed out.  They’ll hopefully face each other tomorrow—or could we get Skubal/Skenes??
  • Tigers RHP Shelby Miller started a rehab assignment with AAA affiliate Toledo.  Miller had been having a bit of a career renaissance since last year until allowing five runs in his last four appearances, but still carries a 1.04 WHIP and can get occasional Holds.
  • Blue Jays RHP Chad Green has been reinstated from the 15-day IL.  In a corresponding move, Toronto optioned Erik Swanson to AAA Buffalo.

 

Yesterday’s Performances

 

LAD 5 – NYM 2 (Game 1)

W: Daniel Hudson (2-1)

L: Jorge López (1-2)

SV: Blake Treinen (1)

  • The Mets led most of the way in the first match-up of the double-header, plating two runs on a Francisco Lindor homer off Tyler Glasnow.  Mets starter Tylor Megill looked sensational, working seven scoreless and striking out nine.  He threw 98 pitches.
  • Alas, the bullpen did not fare so well.  Edwin Diaz hasn’t thrown since Saturday but wouldn’t be called upon as he’s been assigned a lower-leverage role.  Reed Garrett, the best relief pitcher in the Majors this side of Mason Miller in April, was only allowed to get one out as he gave up a single and hit a batter.  But still, the Mets were up 2-1 going into the ninth.
  • New York called upon Adam Ottavino to close things out and he immediately coughed up two singles to make it first and third with no men out.  The Dodgers went for the squeeze play as Chris Taylor’s bunt went under the pitcher’s glove and brought home the tying run.
  • The Mets were deflated after that, and in the tenth, Jorge López gave up three runs, including a homer to Freddie Freeman (who is heating up).
  • Blake Treinen was then asked by LA to finish the game and he delivered his first Save of the season.  He was perfect in the tenth, striking out two on thirteen pitches (nine strikes).

 

LAD 3 – NYM 0 (Game 2)

SV: Alex Vesia (2)

  • New York ended up scoring only two runs in two games, getting blanked in the night match thanks to starter Gavin Stone.  The first-game loss seemed to sour the Mets’ mood and they were pressing in many of their at-bats.
  • After seven innings from Stone, Los Angeles turned to Alex Vesia to work both the eighth and ninth.  Though Vesia had a down year in 2023 with a 4.35 ERA, he’s been practically unhittable this season, allowing a .120 AVG on his fastball.  His only knock is a 15% walk rate and he’d allow a free pass to keep that ratio intact, but otherwise locked things down for his second Save on the year.

 

OAK 3 – TBR 0

SV:  Mason Miller (11)

HD: TJ McFarland (6), Michael Kelly (3)

  • MILLER TIME.  The league’s livest arm made an appearance in Tampa, as Oakland led by three in the ninth despite having multiple chances to break the game open.
  • Miller’s command was off, though, and seemed afraid to go to the slider initially.  His first eleven pitches were fastballs and he got behind in the count to every batter he faced.
  • After Yandy Díaz singled, Brandon Lowe drew a nine-pitch walk to bring the tying run to the plate.  But Isaac Paredes struck out in three pitches to end it, tipping a hard slider into the glove.
  • Miller doesn’t typically work back-to-back games, but it’s safe to assume he’ll be off Wednesday after throwing 27 pitches.
  • Fun fact: this game featured zero earned runs, as the only damage on starter Zack Littell came after a Brandon Lowe error.

 

KCR 2 – MIN 4

SV: Jhoan Duran (8)

  • Duran got in trouble immediately when Salvador Perez banged a 400-foot double and Adam Frazier singled to put the tying run on first with no one out.  Things would turn quickly after that, though, as pinch-runner Dairon Blanco was caught stealing second, MJ Melendez struck out, and then a weak grounder to first by Nick Loftin finished things off.
  • The Royals have now lost three straight, which is their longest losing streak of the year.

 

CHC 6 – MIL 3

W, BS: Héctor Neris (5-0, 2)

L: Trevor Megill (0-1)

HD: Hayden Wesneski (1), Mark Leiter Jr. (8)

  • Starter Ben Brown outdueled Freddy Peralta, throwing seven no-hit innings (aided by Cody Bellinger robbing Willy Adames of a home run).  He’d strike out seven and his curveball is elite.
  • Alas, Brown would be pulled after 93 pitches, a career-high for him. Hayden Wesneski lost the no-no in the eighth but kept the lead with a solid inning.
  • Héctor Neris was asked to close it, and got two quick groundouts. But he would walk Christian Yelich on four pitches, then balk to move Yelich to second (the balk was questionable and Chicago’s pitching coach was ejected for arguing it).
  • Willy Adames came back up for some redemption. A hard line drive over the third baseman tied the game, but Adames was thrown out trying to stretch into a double.
  • On to extras, and Trevor Megill came up for the eleventh. But Mike Tauchman hit a line drive straight into Megill’s throwing elbow, which scored the ghost runner and took Megill out of the game (he was walking off the field before the play was over).
  • So the Brewers turned to Hoby Milner, forced to come in cold. Some bad luck turned worse for Milwaukee as a pair of bloopers fell to make it 3-1. Ian Happ muscled a double on the next pitch to make it 5-1, and the game was dusted.

 

ARI 2 – TEX 4

W: Andrew Heaney (1-6)

SV: Kirby Yates (8)

HD: Grant Anderson (1), David Robertson (12)

  • The Rangers were two hours from game time without naming a starting pitcher before tagging Nathan Eovaldi, who last saw MLB action on May 2nd.  Not fully stretched out, Eovaldi would last three innings before turning the ball to Andrew Heaney.
  • Heaney seemed more relaxed coming out of the ‘pen, though he wasn’t dominant he got the outs he needed and kept runs off the board.
  • A three-run Corey Seager Bomb gave Texas all the offense they needed as the rest of the bullpen locked things down.
  • The Rangers have found something in the 8-9 tandem of David Robertson and Kirby Yates, who both looked sharp (though Yates did allow two baserunners).  Both pitchers struck out a pair to win this first game of the World Series rematch.

 

PHI 0 – SFG 1

W: Sean Hjelle (2-1)

L: Matt Strahm (3-1)

  • Pitching seemed to dominate everywhere last night (Colorado being the exception), but nowhere more than San Francisco.  The game stayed scoreless through regulation as Zack Wheeler blanked the Giants and Philly couldn’t get anything going against a San Francisco bullpen game (though Spencer Howard went four innings in a bulk role).
  • Sean Hjelle, who also pitched the top of the ninth, kept the Phils off the board again in the tenth.  Though he carries a career ERA of 5.26, Hjelle has it down to 2.95 this season with 21 K’s in 14 appearances.
  • That left Matt Strahm to take the bottom half of the tenth, with the difficult task of keeping the ghost runner at bay.  In typical fashion for this game, the Giants would win not on a hit but rather a couple of deep fly balls that moved the speedy Tyler Fitzgerald around to home, the last one being a sac fly by Luis Matos.  Strahm has had a career year thus far, but he’d take the tough-luck loss 1-0.

 

The best of the rest…

  • Robert Suárez collected Saves the past two nights, so with a four-run lead the Padres opted to go with Jeremiah Estrada.  Estrada’s been just as effective and this game was no different as he struck out the side in quick fashion.  Estrada’s WHIP and ERA are both an insane 0.57.
  • Andrés Muñoz also worked the last two games and had the night off, even as Seattle took a late-inning lead on Astros set-up man Ryan Pressly.  That left former Astro Ryne Stanek to finish things off, and he K’ed the first two before an easy fly-out ended it.
  • The Yankees have seen their bullpen pull things out time and time again this season, but were not so lucky against the Angels.  A two-run Taylor Ward double off of Clay Holmes flipped the game around and then Carlos Estévez managed to get the last three outs to vulture a win for Los Angeles.

 

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

Scott McDermott

Scott lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, two daughters, and a couple of furballs. When he’s not dissecting box scores and pondering over the optimal starting lineup for the Cincinnati Reds, he covers fantasy baseball for Pitcher List. He’s also the author of the award-winning book series 'Election 2064', available on Amazon.

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