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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 7/1/24 Depth Chart

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

Jake Crumpler
Fantasy 7/1/2024

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

 

Transactions and Schedule

 

  • Just four games will be played on Monday, so most bullpens will be well-rested heading into the first week of July.
  • There were no notable transactions on Sunday.

 

Yesterday’s Performances

 

PIT 4 – ATL 2

HD Kyle Nicolas (2), Carmen Mlodzinski (1)

SV: Aroldis Chapman (3)

  • Aroldis Chapman is holding down the fort with David Bednar on the IL. And you know how it goes with the southpaw. He’ll succeed if he controls his fastball and has top-notch velocity. Well, the velocity wasn’t there, explaining the pair of hits and a run on the ledger, but he didn’t walk anyone, so he came away with the save. Chapman is the closer version of a Cherry Bomb, so roster at your own risk.

 

SDP 1 – BOS 4

HD: Chris Martin (9)

SV: Kenley Jansen (16)

  • It had been a week since Kenley Jansen last recorded a save, but he pitched a perfect ninth on Sunday, showing no signs of rust. The future Hall-of-Famer is one save shy of tying Francisco Rodríguez for fourth on the all-time saves leaderboard. Jansen has pitched to a 0.71 ERA (12.2 IP) with a 12/1 K/BB ratio since May 21st.

 

MIA 6 – PHI 7

W: Seranthony Domínguez (3)

L: Andrew Nardi (1)

HD: Gregory Soto (5), A.J. Puk (4), Andrew Nardi (9)

SV: Jeff Hoffman (6)

  • It was Jeff Hoffman’s turn to get a save as he faced two righties, a lefty, and a switch hitter, retiring the side without increasing his WHIP. Since his 14.2-inning scoreless streak ended on 5/21, Hoffman has pitched to a 1.23 ERA (14.2 IP) with a 16/1 K/BB ratio. He should be rostered universally even if he’s not the outright closer.

 

CLE 2 – KCR 6

  • Emmanuel Clase pitched the eighth with the Guardians trailing by four. With Clase having not pitched in four days and an off day on Monday, the right-hander got a maintenance outing to stay fresh. He was perfect, lowering his ERA to 0.69 (39.1 IP), the lowest in baseball (min. 20 IP). Yesterday’s zero extended his scoreless streak to seven innings.
  • I’ve seen James McArthur dropped in both of the 15-team leagues I’m in. I guess it makes sense given he has just three saves since May 18th and has pitched to a 4.15 ERA (13 IP) with a 4/4 K/BB ratio during that time. I still think he’s worth rostering, especially in leagues that deep, because he has no competition and his stuff suggests future success. He’s better than what’s on the wire.

 

COL 5 – CHW 4 (F/14)

W: Jalen Beeks (5)

L: Michael Soroka (8)

  • A marathon ballgame saw both bullpens deploy a plethora of relievers. It’s still unclear who the closer is in Colorado. There are three pitchers with multiple saves. Justin Lawrence has just two and sports a 5.34 ERA (28.2 IP) after a scoreless eighth on Sunday. Tyler Kinley has five, but his ERA is even higher at 8.27 (32.2 IP) despite a pair of hitless innings in the ninth and 10th. And then there’s Jalen Beeks, who leads the way with six saves and a 4.43 ERA (40.2 IP) after working around an unearned run to close out the game and earn the win. Pick your poison.
  • Michael Kopech pitched a perfect ninth in this one, but I’d like to put the spotlight on Michael Soroka. In his first season in Chicago, he struggled to a 6.39 ERA (43.2 IP) with a 24/24 K/BB ratio across his first nine starts. Soroka transitioned to the bullpen from there and has become a completely different pitcher. After covering four innings while allowing two unearned runs on Sunday, Soroka has a 4.07 ERA as a reliever, but the more interesting aspects lie beneath the surface. His strikeout rate has risen 25.6% to an elite 38% thanks to increasing his fastball velocity 1.5 mph to 94 mph. He’s also become a four-seamer/slider pitcher, shelving the changeup and sinker. The slider has been elite with a 38.2% CSW across 37.8% usage and earned nine whiffs on Sunday. Target him in SP/RP leagues and leagues where starts are limited.

 

CIN 0 – STL 2

HD: Andrew Kittredge (24), JoJo Romero (25)

SV: Ryan Helsley (30)

  • Alexis Díaz pitched a perfect eighth with the Reds trailing by two. With an off day up ahead and Diaz having not pitched in three days, this can be considered a maintenance outing. It’s been a successful June for Diaz who has a 2.00 ERA (9 IP) and six saves despite a continuous struggle with the free pass that may come back to bite him in the second half like it did last year.
  • Ryan Helsley has been ridiculous this year. It’s not like his stuff is off the charts or that his ratios are leading the league, but his durability and ability to lock down a save on any given night has been incredible. He’s on pace to break Eric Gagne’s National League record of 55 saves set back in 2003, and he could even rival Bobby Thigpen’s and Edwin Diaz’s second-place total of 57. I love to see records get broken.

 

MIN 5 – SEA 3

W: Cole Sands (3)

L: Ryne Stanek (2)

HD: Caleb Thielbar (6), Steven Okert (5), Kody Funderburk (5)

SV: Jhoan Duran (12)

  • The Twins showcased their excellent trio of lefties to quiet the Mariners’ bats on Sunday. They then capped things off with one of the best closers in baseball. It’s a deadly combo, especially with guys like Griffin Jax not even accounted for. It’s a good sign to see Jhoan Duran back in a save situation. His last one came on June 16th and he’d made five appearances since then. Let’s hope this is the start of a new trend.

 

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

 

 

Jake Crumpler

A Bay Area sports fan and lover of baseball, Jake is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz with a B.A. in English Literature. He currently writes fantasy articles for Pitcher List, is the lead baseball writer at The Athletes Hub, and does playing time analysis at BaseballHQ. Some consider his knowledge of the sport to be encyclopedic.

One response to “Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 7/1/24 Depth Chart”

  1. zSassoon says:
    July 1, 2024 at 1:10 PM

    Agree on McArthur having no competition. that being said, any thoughts on pennington coming up and see high leverage opps?

    Reply

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