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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 6/01/24 Depth Chart

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

Justin Havelock
Fantasy 6/1/2024

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

 

  • All 30 teams were in action last night and with no double-headers currently scheduled, we could see our first full weekend slate of games in a while.
  • The Los Angeles Dodgers DFA’d Elieser Hernández to make room to activate Evan Phillips off of the 15-day IL.
  • Lucas Erceg was officially placed on the 15-day IL with forearm tightness, retroactive to May 26th. Amidst a flurry of roster moves the Oakland A’s called up Dany Jiménez and Brady Basso to bolster their bullpen.
  • The Toronto Blue Jays made a few roster moves of their own as they placed Alek Manoah on the 15-day IL. The Jays also traded for journeyman Ryan Burr and immediately called him up to take Manoah’s spot on the active roster.

 

Yesterday’s Performances

 

PHI 4 – STL 2

HD: Matt Strahm (6), José Alvarado (5)

SV: Jeff Hoffman (5)

  • Aaron Nola wrapped up a hot May with his fourth consecutive quality start. After coming in with one out on the board in the seventh, Matt Strahm continued his own more quiet stretch of dominance with a quick flyball and a strikeout to end the inning. Despite not picking up a strikeout, Alvarado was lights out in a 10-pitch eighth inning before he passed the ball to Hoffman in the ninth. Hoffman came close to striking out the side against the heart of the Cardinals lineup but had to settle for a flyout against Nolan Arenado.
  • On the other side, Miles Mikolas also recorded a quality start but a weak groundball from Kyle Leahy and a poor throw to home from Dylan Carlson tacked another run onto the board in the seventh. Leahy wouldn’t get a chance to finish the inning as the Cards brought in Matthew Liberatore for the final out. Liberatore had one of his best performances of the season as he kept the basepaths clear against the top of the order, recording four outs and striking out three.

 

TOR 5 – PIT 3 (14)

HD: None

SV: None

  • The Blue Jays put on a show for the debut of their new City Connect jerseys and it truly was Night Mode in Toronto as the Jays went to the 14th inning for the first time since the ghost runner was introduced in 2020. The Blue Jays used five different relievers but were efficient against the Pirates’ offense. Nate Pearson breezed through the 10th and 11th on only 16 pitches and dropped his four-seam usage to a season-low 25%. Given Pearson’s command issues and ability to miss bats with his slider and curveball, I’m very interested to see how this new blueprint works out for him.
  • Yimi García, Chad Green, and Tim Mayza could all still be available for further action in this series, especially given closer Jordan Romano was unavailable due to a sore elbow and is considered day-to-day. Keep a close eye out for any further updates throughout the weekend.
  • The Pirates needed six different relievers to get through this one after Colin Holderman blew a save in the seventh. In a rare rough outing for Holderman, he plunked George Springer, narrowly brushing a button on Springer’s jersey but the umpires were defensive of the new City Connects and a pinch-hit double from Daniel Vogelbach tied the game up.

 

NYM 10 – ARI 9

HD: Dedniel Núñez (1)

SV: None

  • Arizona Diamondbacks starter Jordan Montgomery was tagged for nine hits, six earned runs, and three walks in four innings last night, forcing the Diamondbacks to go to Logan S. Allen for four innings of his own. Allen fared much better, allowing five hits, two earned runs, and one walk in his extended relief appearance. The upside here is that the rest of the bullpen received a day off after the Diamondbacks were forced to use six relievers on Thursday with the injury to Zac Gallen. Closer Paul Sewald hasn’t pitched since May 25th and barring an unreported injury should make an appearance or two this weekend, alongside high-leverage relievers Kevin Ginkel and Joe Mantiply.
  • After spending just two days in the minors, the Mets called Dedniel Núñez back up for some bullpen reinforcements and Nuñez earned his first career hold, striking out both the batters he faced. Reed Garrett continued to struggle in the ninth inning, as he allowed back-to-back home runs to Joc Pederson and Christian Walker before getting out of the game with a strikeout.

 

ATL 4 – OAK 2

HD: Pierce Johnson (6), Joe Jiménez (11)

SV: Raisel Iglesias (14)

  • Johnson took the mound in the seventh and struck out one while allowing one walk in his inning of work. In the eighth, Jiménez ran into some trouble with a walk and a single to start the inning but settled down after a quick flyball to strikeout the final two batters of the inning. Iglesias came in for the ninth and quickly allowed a ground-rule double to Zack Gelof. Gelof managed to score off a pair of groundballs but a first-pitch lineout ended the game and earned Iglesias his 14th save of the year.
  • Newly called-up Brady Basso made his MLB debut last night and dazzled. Basso struck out one in a clean ninth and posted two whiffs with a 50% CSW on his eight-pitch inning. Not bad at all against a top-tier offense like Atlanta!

 

SEA 5 – LAA 1

HD: None

SV: Andrés Muñoz (12)

  • The Mariners leaned heavily on their high-leverage arms after a six-inning shutout from Bryan Woo unravelled early in the seventh. Trent Thornton took the ball from Woo and struck out the first batter he faced but then gave up a walk, a double, and a walk before getting the hook. Tayler Saucedo entered with the bases loaded and two outs but a grand slam from Jo Adell tied the game for the Angels. While Saucedo would only be charged with one earned run due to inheriting a bases-loaded situation, he then gave up a single to Zach Neto who proceeded to swipe a pair of bases. Ryne Stanek gave the Mariners a clean eighth inning while striking out two to earn his third win of the season. It was Muñoz who truly won this game for Seattle, however, as with two outs in the ninth and a runner on first, Muñoz picked off Kevin Pillar to end the game.
  • While Muñoz and Saucedo could still pitch this weekend, Gabe Speier will also likely pop up in a high-leverage role having only thrown eight pitches since Monday.
  • On the Angels’ side, closer Carlos Estévez hasn’t pitched since Tuesday and could potentially go back-to-back this weekend, if needed.

 

The best of the rest…

  • Alexis Díaz picked up his 11th save of the season in a 5 – 4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Díaz continued to struggle, however, as he allowed a single and a walk before recording his first out of the night. A double from Seiya Suzuki put another run on the board for the Cubs, but Díaz managed to escape with the strikeout-less save thanks to a quick one-pitch flyball. If Cincy decides to add to their bullpen, Díaz could be in the hot seat soon.
  • If I’m a batter facing the Cleveland Guardians, I’m probably hoping for a complete game right now because this bullpen has been absolutely terrifying. Cade Smith earned his seventh hold of the season and struck out one of the two batters he faced in the seventh. Hunter Gaddis took the ball in the eighth for a quick one-two-three inning before Emmanuel Clase came up and reminded us all that he’s one of the best closers in baseball. Clase struck out three on 13 pitches earning four whiffs and a 54% CSW (!). The Guardians’ bullpen has had plenty of rest this week so just about everyone should be ready to go. Sorry Nationals fans!
  • Victor Vodnik earned his fourth hold of the year in the Colorado Rockies‘ 4 – 1 win over the Dodgers but allowed a single and a walk without recording a strikeout in his two-out appearance. In the eighth inning, Jalen Beeks to the ball from Vodnik and struck out two in a clean four-out appearance that nabbed him his sixth save of the season. Both bullpens should be well-rested for the final two games of the series.

 

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

 

Photo by Zac BonDurant/Icon Sportswire

Design by Jackson Wallace

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