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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 6/19/24 Depth Chart

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

Scott McDermott
Fantasy 6/19/2024

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

 

Transactions and Schedule

 

  • Sad day in the baseball world as Willie Mays, the Say Hey Kid, passed away at the age of 93.  Mays hit 660 home runs during his unparalleled career.
  • The day had a full slate of games with good weather, so all 30 teams were in action.
  • The Yankees placed Ian Hamilton on the IL and he apparently won’t throw a baseball for 3-4 weeks.  New York also placed Cody Poteet on the IL and Aaron Judge left Tuesday night’s game after getting hit on the hand (x-rays were negative).
  • The Red Sox optioned reliever (and sometimes starter) Cooper Criswell, activating RHP Chris Martin in his place.

 

Yesterday’s Performances

 

CIN 2 – PIT 1

HD: Fernando Cruz (14)

SV: Alexis Díaz (16)

  • The Reds were only able to manage two runs, but it was enough for Nick Lodolo.  His only blemish in seven strong innings was a solo shot to Ke’Bryan Hayes.
  • Fernando Cruz worked the eighth and is looking more comfortable as the setup man.  His 42.0% K-rate is third among all pitchers and he has a 20.9% swinging-strike rate to back it up.  He wouldn’t get any strikeouts in this one but worked around a walk to keep the lead.
  • That left Alexis Díaz with the Save opportunity.  Diaz has been dropped in a fair amount of leagues lately as he struggles when overworked, but he came back from a 2-0 count to strike out Jack Suwinski then got two lazy ground balls for a clean inning.  Diaz is now 16-of-18 in converting Saves, fifth in the NL.  If someone dropped him, pick him up.

 

STL 8 – MIA 9

W: Calvin Faucher (2-1)

L, BS: Chris Roycroft (1-1, 1)

  • Both starters got more or less rocked in this one and the game was tied at a touchdown apiece after six.
  • Tanner Scott worked the ninth with the game still tied, and though he didn’t have anything to show for it he looked great, striking out one in a perfect inning.
  • Once the game went to extras , the Cardinals were able to land the ghost runner home on a pair of deep fly balls.  That left it 8-7 going into the bottom of the tenth.
  • Ryan Helsley would have been the obvious choice to close it out, but having thrown twice in the last four nights (43 pitches total), Oli Marmol opted for Chris Roycroft.
  • Roycroft got the first out but then ran into trouble of his own making when he froze on a chopper to first and didn’t cover the bag.  Scored a single, it really was a huge mental mistake by the pitcher.  A swinging bunt by Tim Anderson, which also was called a hit, tied the game.
  • That left Vidal Bruján to be the hero, and he delivered a liner up the middle to walk it off for Miami.

 

SDP 3 – PHI 4

W: Jeff Hoffman (2-0)

L, BS: Robert Suarez (4-1, 1)

  • Suarez has been a revelation all season but the wheels came off on a hot night in Philly.  The Padres were up one in the ninth in a game where the Phils had plenty of baserunners but couldn’t bring them home.
  • That would change with Suarez on the bump.  First, Bryce Harper pulled a ball into shallow left, then Alec Bohm moved Harper to third on a line drive to center.  Another base hit by Bryson Stott scored Harper to tie it and moved the winning run to second.
  • So that was three base hits on Suarez before he’d gotten his feet wet.  Nick Castellanos had been 0-for-17 coming into this series with the Padres, but he’d gotten three hits of his own this night already.  He’d get a fourth hit on a blooper down the line that Fernando Tatis dove for and missed.  The ball bounced into the seats for a ground-rule double and the winning run sauntered home.
  • Philly gives Suarez his first Blown Save and first Loss in the same night, but he’s still special.

 

BOS 4 – TOR 3

W: Zack Kelly, (1-1)

L: Brendon Little (0-1)

H: Brennan Bernardino (5), Justin Slaten (6)

SV: Kenley Jansen (13)

  • A night after earning a one-out Save on six pitches, Kenley Jansen got another opportunity with the BoSox up 4-3.  He faced Isaiah Kiner-Falefa to start things off, who flied out to right.
  • Another fly to right on behalf of Ernie Clement made it two outs.  That brought up the pinch-hitting Danny Jansen, setting up a Jansen-vs-Jansen battle with the game on the line.
  • The Blue Jays’ Jansen laid off many of Boston Jansen’s usual barrage of cutters to work a full count.  Then Pitcher Jansen spun his last cutter just off the outside corner but got a generous call to end it, leaving Batter Jansen shaking his head.  The Red Sox pull out a close one.

 

DET 1 – ATL 2

SV: Raisel Iglesias (19)

  • Iglesias has been busy of late, working three games out of four before getting Monday night off.  But he’d look just fine in this one, needing only eleven pitches to dust off the Tigers.
  • Coming off a loss in his last outing, Iglesias drew the bottom of the order and struck out his first batter in three pitches.  He’d cruise from there.  Atlanta wins 2-1 for the second night in a row.

 

HOU 0, CWS 2

SV:  John Brebbia (2)

  • The White Sox, at 20-54, are not a very good team.  But they’ve introduced the league to some quality rookie pitchers this year.  Starter Jonathan Cannon had the game of his life on Tuesday, coming an out away from throwing a complete game shutout.
  • A pair of singles in the ninth, though, pushed Cannon’s pitch count above a hundred and Chicago was forced to bring in Brebbia with two outs and two on.
  • Michael Kopech hasn’t made an appearance since last thursday as he’s struggled most of the season.  But it was curious that he didn’t get the call here as he was rested and ready.
  • Brebbia came in with Victor Caratini up to bat.  Caratini’s had two walk-offs this year but there would not be one this time as Brebbia got him on a grounder to first.  Chicago gets the shutout.

 

SFG 2 – CHC 5

W: Tyson Miller (2-0)

L: Tyler Rogers (0-2)

SV: Keegan Thompson (1)

  • Starters Logan Webb and Justin Steele both went deep into the game but ended up canceling each other out as things were knotted 2-2 going into the eighth.
  • The Cubs’ bullpen was heavily depleted after last night’s game, with closer Hector Neric, Mark Leiter Jr., and Hayden Wesneski all throwing 25 or more pitches.  So they were all presumably on the shelf, which left Tyson Miller.  He worked efficiently, getting four outs on fifteen pitches, and would benefit from the Cubs scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth.
  • That left Thompson to take the ninth.  The right-hander had been in AAA last week after struggling in May.  He’d had an 8.22 ERA and 1.96 WHIP in his last seven appearances, but seemed to right the ship and earn some trust in the minors.
  • And wouldn’t you know it, he’d strike out the side.  Matt Chapman, Thairo Estrada, and Jorge Soler all went down in order.  With Neris blowing Monday’s game, there might be some chatter around Wrigley on a bullpen reshuffle.  Thompson has a 13.2 K/9 so despite his inflated numbers early in the season he has great stuff.  This is a situation to monitor.

 

 

SEA 8 – CLE 5

SV: Andrés Muñoz (13)

HD: Ryne Stanek (11), Austin Voth (6)

  • Andrés Muñoz has returned.  After missing a week with a back injury and slowly working his way into higher-leverage situations, Munoz got the ball with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth.
  • A grounder to short brought a run home to make it 8-5, but Munoz got the next batter to end the inning.  He’d come back on in the ninth and looked good if not great, giving up a couple of 90+ mph flyouts to get the first two batters.  He then surrendered a 75-mph double to David Fry.
  • Unfazed, Munoz struck out Will Brennan on a 98-mph fastball to close it out, earning his first Save since May 31.

 

NYM 7 – TEX 6

SV: Edwin Díaz (7)

W: Reed Garrett (7-2)

L: Kirby Yates (3-1)

  • Edwin Díaz has also returned.  The best closer of his generation has struggled mightily this year, including a loss of his role and a stint on the IL.  But he’s back where he belongs, and after the Mets scored one or more runs in each of the last five innings–seriously, Texas, what is going on??–Diaz entered the game with a one-run lead (cue the trumpets).
  • Things looked iffy at first as Jonah Heim led off with a single.  But a nifty double-play on the next pitch ended the threat and Diaz was able to coax a pop-up from Leody Taveras and finish the game.
  • Diaz still isn’t feeling 2022–when he struck out 52% of the batters he faced–but hopefully this is a step in the right direction toward regaining his old form.  For now, it’s just nice to see him closing again.

 

LAD 11 – COL 9

SV: Evan Phillips (11)

W: Michael Petersen (1-0)

HD: Alex Vesia (5)

BS, L: Victor Vodnik (1-1, 1)

  • The Rockies, up 9-4 going into the ninth, appeared to have this in the bag.  But a pinch-hit grand slam by Jason Heyward cut the game to one and we were in for drama.
  • Victor Vodnik was brought in by Colorado and while he throws 100+ mph, he throws it right down the middle of the zone.  Shohei Ohtani got on with a hard grounder the other way, and after a wild pitch put him on second.  The Rockies gave Freddie Freeman a free pass to put the winning run on base.
  • So with two men on, Teoscar Hernández missed the first two pitches he saw.  Then, on a high heater, he check-swinged.  Though he apparently went around (and then some) the umpire called it clean (it was not).
  • That incensed the entire state of Colorado and earned their manager an ejection.  But just as Bud Black was storming to the locker room, Vodnik’s next pitch was blasted into the bullpen to give the Dodgers a two-run lead.
  • The seven-run inning left the stadium in shock and the Dodgers put in Alex Vesia to presumably finish the game.  Vesia got the first two outs but walked Nolan Jones, and with a righty coming up Dave Roberts replaced him with Evan Phillips.
  • After a few nasty sliders, Phillips struck out Hunter Goodman but this controversy is far from over.

 

TBR 6 – MIN 7

W: Jhoan Duran (3-2)

L: Pete Fairbanks (1-3)

  • Not to be outdone, the Twins and Rays outlasted a rain delay to serve up their own wild finish.  With the delay, the starters didn’t make it past four innings so that meant a long night for both ‘pens.
  • After the game was tied in the fifth inning, the score would stay 6-6 until the bottom of the ninth.  The Rays brought in closer Pete Fairbanks and he was getting it done until a comebacker hit him in the hand and took him out of the game.
  • Phil Maton was rushed into action with two men on and two outs, a tough situation if there was one.  The Twins pinch-hit Carlos Santana in response.  Maton left a 1-1 curveball on the inside part of the plate and Santana lined it up the middle to score the winning run.

 

The best of the rest…

  • Leading 4-0, the Yankees brought closer Clay Holmes in anyway.  Holmes has been wobbly of late and looked so again, giving up two runs on a homer by Anthony Santander before recording an out.  But the cushion proved too much for Baltimore and Holmes got the next three batters.  Holmes has a 5.47 ERA in his last 15 games.
  • The Oakland A’s had lost nine straight going into Tuesday, but a 7-5 lead meant it was MILLER TIME.  Mason Miller doesn’t get too many chances and has taken some lumps in June, but he looked sharp on this night, striking out Maikel Garcia in devastating fashion and then getting Bobby Witt Jr. on a weak fly ball.
  • The Brewers had blanked the Angels all night but LA was able to pull within three runs against Joel Payamps.  A single and walk with two outs brought the tying run to the plate, and Milwaukee countered by bringing in Trevor Megill.  Taylor Ward hit a shot to right but Sal Frelick scaled the right-centerfield wall to rob him of a homer, and that’s how the last game of the night ended.

 

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 Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire

Design by Jackson Wallace

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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