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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 6/5/24 Depth Chart

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

Scott McDermott
Fantasy 6/5/2024

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

 

  • What’s this?  A full slate of games without any rainouts or delays?  Wednesday also has all 30 teams on the schedule but the weather may not be as kind, as storms creep toward the east coast.
  • The Mets’ Edwin Diaz threw a bullpen session Tuesday to see if his shoulder impingement had improved, and should see action in a minor-league game Thursday.  The Mets expect him to last just the minimum on the 15-day IL and be back June 11th.
  • To make room for Henry Davis and Jack Suwinski, the Pirates optioned lefty pitcher Marco Gonzalez to AAA (and moved Ji Hwan Bae to the IL).
  • With John Means getting Tommy John and Tyler Wells also done for the season, the Orioles signed Julio Teheran to a minor league deal.  Unclear if he might have a starter’s or bullpen role should he pitch well enough to get called up, but the Orioles are suddenly starving for arms.
  • It looks like the Guardians are moving Logan Allen to the bullpen in a bulk-reliever role as they’re giving the ball to Nick Sandlin to start Wednesday’s game against KC.
Yesterday’s Performances

 

KCR 5 – CLE 8

W: Cade Smith (3-0)

SV: Emmanuel Clase (19)

L: Sam Long (0-1)

HD: Scott Barlow (15)

  • The Indians survived a pair of homers by Bobby Witt Jr. and scored five runs of their own in the seventh to take the lead.
  • Clase and Barlow warrant a lot of attention but Cade Smith has had an incredible start to the year, with 38 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched (though no K’s in this one).  He also has an ERA of 1.67 and a WHIP of 0.89.  He’s given up just one run in his last fifteen appearances, seemingly getting better with each.
  • Clase did come on and do his thing, but his control was a bit looser than normal as he’d throw just eleven of twenty pitches for strikes.  With a runner on, he was aided by a VERY generous 3-1 called strike to Witt.  A high-and-tight fastball on the next pitch would strike Witt out and end the game.

 

LAD 0 – PIT 1

HD: Colin Holderman (7), Aroldis Chapman (11)

SV: David Bednar (11)

  • The Dodgers were shut out for the first time all season thanks to a bounce-back start from Jared Jones, out-dueling Tyler Glasnow for the 1-0 win.
  • Jones would work six innings and throw exactly 100 pitches, ceding to Holderman in the seventh.  Holderman’s had a career year in his age-28 season, keeping his ERA and WHIP both below one in twenty appearances.
  • Chapman was up and down per usual, working around a hit and a walk, but he got the outs when he needed.  Teoscar Hernández almost took him deep for a 3-run bomb, but his 107.2 mph rocket wasn’t elevated quite enough and resulted in a hard out.
  • Bednar worked a much cleaner ninth, needing just eight pitches to ice the bottom of the Dodgers’ order.  Three lazy fly balls were the end result and the night was Pittsburgh’s.

 

TBR 9 – MIA 5

SV: Pete Fairbanks (7)

  • The Rays scored all nine of their runs in the fourth and fifth innings and just tried to hold on the rest of the night.
  • Miami made things interesting in the ninth as Phil Maton came on in a non-save situation and promptly loaded the bases without getting any outs.
  • That forced Tampa’s hand and they got Fairbanks warmed up in a hurry, coming in up four but with the bases juiced.  Fairbanks was up to the task, though, striking out his first two batters (Bryan De La Cruz and Jake Burger) and getting Josh Bell to weakly ground out to the pitcher and end it.

 

MIL 1 – PHI 2

W: Seranthony Domínguez (2-2)

L: Joel Payamps (1-2)

  • The Phillies were another offense held in check Tuesday, with Milwaukee going the opener/bulk-reliever route.  Jared Koenig threw fifteen pitches to get the first four outs and gave way to Colin Rea for the next four innings.
  • Philadelphia would stay scoreless until Alec Bohm tagged Elvis Peguero for a solo shot in the eighth to tie the game.
  • Matt Strahm got the ball in the top of the ninth and struggled a bit, ceding a couple of hits, but kept the Brewers off the board to lower his ERA to 0.72.  Trevor Megill was called upon by Milwaukee to do the same—he struck out three and forced it to extras.
  • Seranthony Domínguez may have an ERA over five this year, but Philly trusts him when it counts.  His night was off to an inauspicious start, however, when he hit Sal Frelick on his first pitch.  A grounder moved the ghost runner to third and Philly moved their infield in to cut the runner off at home.  The strategy paid off as a sharp grounder got the runner out, then a pop-up ended the threat.
  • With Megill out, Milwaukee turned to Joel Payamps.  Payamps IBB’ed Bryson Stott to get to Nick Castellanos and Milwaukee may want to take that one back, as a line-drive double on the first pitch walked it off.

 

DET 3 – TEX 1

SV: Jason Foley (12)

HD: Alex Faedo (6), Shelby Miller (4), Tyler Holton (3)

  • The Rangers’ World Series hangover continued as they scratched just two hits off Jack Flaherty, who worked five strong innings before departing early (fingers crossed Flaherty’s ok, sounds like a back issue).  It’s the second night in a row the Rangers have managed a single run.
  • Faedo was pressed into the game in the sixth—earlier than he probably expected since Flaherty had only thrown 60 pitches.  The reliever had good stuff but was wild, walking three in 1.2 innings and needing 44 pitches (22 were strikes).
  • The Tigers gave the ball to Tyler Holton in the ninth presumably because Josh Smith, the next batter, was a lefty.  Holton gave up a few singles, though, and allowed a run.
  • With Wyatt Langford coming up and two out, Detroit capitulated and asked Jason Foley to ice it.  Though Foley had thrown twice in the last three days, he looked fine and induced a weak ground ball on five pitches for the final out.

 

CHW 6 – CHC 7

SV: Héctor Neris (8)

W: Luke Little (2-1)

L: Jordan Leasure (0-1)

  • This intra-city battle proved to be highly entertaining, though a short rain delay threw things off.  The South-Siders had been getting to Cubs starter Shota Imanaga to take a five run lead, and then out came the tarp.
  • The Cubs heated up once the rain stopped.  The delay being less than an hour, White Sox starter Chris Flexen worked another inning.  He’d hit the showers after five, though he threw only 63 pitches.
  • The Sox bullpen would try in vain keep it together, but as has been the case all season they would struggle.  Justin Anderson (7.56 ERA, 1.80 WHIP) gave back two runs and Tanner Banks (4.88 ERA, 1.37 WHIP) two more.
  • Jordan Leasure, usually the setup man for Michael Kopech, inherited a one-run lead as Luis Robert Jr. came off the IL to mash a homer in the top of the eighth.  But Leasure would lose the lead on an Ian Happ two-run double.
  • That left Héctor Neris to come in and close a tight one.  The Sox managed a walk and then pinch-runner Duke Ellis stole second.  With one out and the tying runner on, Neris spun around and picked Ellis off at second.  Five pitches later, the game was over.

 

 

STL 5 – HOU 8

SV: Ryan Pressly (1)

W: Tayler Scott (2-2)

HD: Seth Martinez (2), Bryan Abreu (12)

  • The Astros banked seven runs on the Cardinals early and never really looked back, coasting to a three-run win even though a comebacker ended Spencer Arrighetti’s night early.
  • With Josh Hader going two of the last three nights, Houston opted to allow Pressly to get his first Save of the season.
  • The former closer seemed to relish the opportunity and made the most of it, throwing a perfect inning and capping it with a swinging K to end the game.  Pressly may have an ERA over five at the moment but his peripherals look decent given a 28.2% K-rate and 31.6% CSW.  Should Hader get hurt he’d be a potential add for Saves as Houston heats up.

 

SEA 4 – OAK 3

SV: Tayler Saucedo (2)

HD: Ryne Stanek (10), Austin Voth (2), Trent Thornton (7), Andrés Muñoz (4)

  • Uh oh.  As Andrés Muñoz came in to lock down a 4-2 lead, a wild pitch with a runner on third led to a play at the plate.  Munoz dashed for home, stretched to catch the ball, and rolled into the runner.
  • It was an awkward collision and Munoz appeared to twist his leg.  After a minute with the trainers he tried to throw a few practice pitches, then shook his head and left the game.  Seattle mentioned that Munoz has been dealing with a lower back issue as well, but either way, an IL stint is likely—though fortunately, nothing sounds too serious.
  • Ryne Stanek, who worked the seventh in this one, would be the next man up should an IL stint occur.  He’s saved three of four opportunities this season.

 

 

SFG 5 – ARI 8

W: Kevin Ginkel(4-1)

SV: Paul Sewald (6)

HD: Justin Martinez (3), Joe Mantiply (5)

  • Arizona starter Blake Walston left with a lead, but only lasted 4.1 innings—so Kevin Ginkel was the fortunate beneficiary of the piggy-back win after completing the fifth.
  • The D-backs were up 8-2 after seven but San Fran got to reliever Bryce Jarvis, who failed to earn himself a hold but in making it a three-run game created a Save opportunity for Sewald.
  • Speaking of Sewald, he has been dominant as ever, going through a stretch over his last seven games where he’s surrendered a single hit and posted five saves.  If he keeps this up he’ll be a top-5 closer.

 

The Best of the Rest

  • The Yankees took a four-run lead in the bottom of the eighth to erase the Save Situation for Clay Holmes, so they brought on Luke Weaver to work the ninth instead.  Weaver’s had a couple of blips lately but retired the side in order on ten pitches, nine for strikes.
  • Baltimore pounded the stuffing out of the Blue Jays for the second straight day, 10-1.  With Burnes working seven and a couple of low-leverage relievers getting work, their ‘pen is rested in a week where they play every day.
  • Reds starter Frankie Montas was able to keep Coors Field at bay, allowing just two fly balls and a single hit with nine Ks.  It was his best start all season.  With the Reds up four, Buck Farmer was the choice in the ninth instead of Alexis Díaz.  Farmer gave up the Rockies’ only run on a Brendan Rodgers double.
  • Carlos Estévez doesn’t always make things look pretty but he delivered a 1-2-3 ninth on just nine pitches.  Padres starter Adam Mazur had a Quality Start in his impressive MLB debut, but Yuki Matsui earned the loss by giving up three runs in the seventh.

 

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

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.

2 responses to “Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 6/5/24 Depth Chart”

  1. Dave says:
    June 5, 2024 at 10:51 AM

    The Indians? Is there any editing happening here anymore or is it let any fluff write pieces as fast as they can?

    Reply
  2. Babbo B says:
    June 5, 2024 at 4:41 PM

    FWIW the Pirates made several roster moves yesterday but none involved Marco Gonzalez, who’s on the 60-day IL.

    Reply

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