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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 7/15/24 Depth Chart

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

Jake Crumpler
Fantasy 7/15/2024

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

 

 

Yesterday’s Performances

NYY 5 – BAL 6

W: Craig Kimbrel (6)

L: Clay Holmes (4)

HD: Cionel Pérez (13), Yennier Cano (24)

  • Craig Kimbrel was one of the biggest snubs from the All-Star Game and he squared off against maybe the luckiest man to make it. Kimbrel had surrendered just one earned run across his past 21 innings pitched before surrendering three runs on Sunday. He still came out on top as the Oriole offense had his back.
  • Clay Holmes was lucky to become an All-Star and proved why on Sunday. Holmes was let down by his defense but was unable to recover, surrendering three unearned runs as the O’s walked it off. Holmes has allowed someone to cross home plate in six of his last 10 outings.

 

KCR 4 – BOS 5

HD: Brennan Bernardino (7)

SV: Kenley Jansen (19)

  • It was likely the last day for James McArthur as the closer. He pitched the eighth with the Royals down by two, something he’s likely to do more often going forward. With Hunter Harvey in town, I’d expect him to get the majority of saves going forward. McArthur has a slightly better ERA, but Harvey has closer stuff with a strikeout rate 8.5% higher than McArthur’s. Go pick him up where you can as we wait to see how they deploy their arm barn in the second half.
  • Kenley Jansen worked around a run as he secured the final six outs for the 439th save of his career. The outing ended Jansen’s 9.2-inning scoreless streak, but even still, his ERA since the beginning of June is 1.15 ERA (15.2 IP). Jansen should stick around with the Red Sox in the playoff conversation and will be a top-20 closer in the second half.

 

LAD 3 – DET 4

W: Alex Faedo (4)

L: Yohan Ramírez (5)

HD: Michael Petersen (1), Anthony Banda (3)

  • Jason Foley recorded three outs across the eighth and ninth, but is was Alex Faedo who was the pitcher of record after he got the final out of the game. I think this bullpen isn’t worth chasing in fantasy. Foley has allowed a run in five of his last seven outings and the other options in Detroit aren’t great. If you can trade Foley ahead of the deadline, I’d advise doing so.

 

COL 8 – NYM 5

W: Justin Lawrence (2)

HD: Tyler Kinley (7)

SV: Victor Vodnik (2)

  • If we’re staying away from the Tigers’ arm barn, we’re staying even further away from the Rockies’ bullpen. Four different active relievers have recorded multiple saves this year and the team has never seemed comfortable sticking with just one guy. Some of these arms are likely to be traded or waived ahead of the deadline, so we may have more clarity on the ninth inning in the second half. Regardless, the pitchers aren’t great here and the ballpark is awful. Don’t do it.

 

CLE 0 – TBR 2

HD: Colin Poche (12), Jason Adam (18)

SV: Pete Fairbanks (17)

  • It’s been an uncharacteristic and concerning July for Pete Fairbanks. He’s allowed two earned runs after allowing just three between May and June combined. Additionally, he has a 2/2 K/BB ratio in five innings and we should really start preparing for Fairbanks to face more adversity. A higher reliance on balls in play isn’t ideal for someone like Fairbanks who doesn’t initiate weak contact or ground balls. Furthermore, with more walks, home runs will hurt even more. It may be a good time to trade him, especially with the possibility he’s dealt out of a closer role this July.

 

MIA 3 – CIN 2

W: A.J. Puk (3)

L: Fernando Cruz (7)

SV: Tanner Scott (14)

  • Tanner Scott has been on fire for quite some time, setting himself up to be the most-coveted reliever in the trade market this month. He has allowed an earned run just once in his last 32 appearances, leading to a 0.55 ERA (32.2 IP) since mid-April. Scott is the most likely closer to remain one after being dealt. A.J. Puk should take over closing duties when Scott’s gone. Since transitioning to the bullpen, Puk has a 2.39 ERA (26.1 IP) and 21% K-BB%, and he’s been even better recently with 12.2 consecutive innings without surrendering an earned run with an 18/2 K/BB ratio. Pick him up now before he becomes a closer in a couple of weeks.
  • Alexis Díaz has just two saves in his last seven appearances and if you can trade him now, I’d go for it. His numbers don’t look that bad right now, but I expect them to be much worse in the second half. He could even lose his closer role at any point which would make him completely irrelevant in fantasy. A 4.98 xFIP and an 8.3% K-BB%. I’ll just leave that there.

 

TEX 4 – HOU 2

W: Josh Sborz (2)

HD: José Leclerc (5), Jacob Latz (8)

SV: Kirby Yates (16)

  • The Rangers are doing their best to remain in contention. They’re four games under .500, but they’re just five games back from first in the AL West. The team’s performance over the next two weeks will directly decide whether Kirby Yates, David Robertson, and José Leclerc are dealt at the deadline. If they are, Josh Sborz would likely take over as the closer.

 

MIN 2 – SFG 3

W: Ryan Walker (6)

L: Jhoan Duran (4)

HD: Tyler Rogers (18)

  • It felt like Jhoan Duran was finally getting going after starting the year on the IL and getting off to a slow start upon his return. He had allowed a run in just one of his last 15 appearances. The unearned run on his line from Sunday will put an end to that streak, but it won’t inflate his ERA. I think we should be confident that Duran’s going to get back to normal in the second half. He went seven straight outings with a strikeout before Sunday – a good sign that he’s recovering his bat-missing ability.
  • Camilo Doval was bailed out by his offense after allowing two runs in the ninth and blowing his fourth save. Doval was in the same boat as Duran, looking like he was finally turning things around with just one run allowed across his last nine innings. He ended that streak in dramatic fashion on Sunday and our concerns have returned as Doval sports a 4.38 ERA (37 IP). The Giants will neither trade, nor replace him, so we’ll just have to hold him and pray.

 

SEA 2 – LAA 3

W: Hans Crouse (3)

L: Austin Voth (4)

SV: Roansy Contreras (1)

  • No Carlos Estévez as he had pitched back-to-back days. Instead, we got the front end of the bullpen and a better look at Hans Crouse and Roansy Contreras. Crouse is a 25-year-old former top starting pitching prospect who began with the Rangers and was dealt to the Phillies as part of the Spencer Howard trade. Crouse pitched to a 2.70 ERA (23.1 IP) with a 37.3% K-BB% at Triple-A in his first year with the Angels’ organization and second year as a full-time reliever. So far, Crouse has a 0.71 ERA (12.1 IP) and a 30.6% K% in the Majors. As for Contreras, he recorded the second save of his career but hasn’t carried over the prospect pedigree from his time as a starter to the bullpen.

 

TOR 8 – ARI 7

W: Trevor Richards (2)

L: Kevin Ginkel (2)

HD: Ryan Burr (1), Brendon Little (4)

SV: Chad Green (6)

  • This could’ve been Chad Green’s last save for a while. Yimi García is expected back after the All-Star break, and he’ll take over the closer role when he returns. Garcia, a free agent this upcoming offseason, is all but guaranteed to be traded at the deadline, which would hand the ninth inning reigns back over to Green. Green is a bottom five closer when in the role, but that still means he needs to be rostered universally.
  • Paul Sewald pitched the ninth with the DBacks trailing by one. The club has gotten itself back in playoff consideration, so Sewald is likely safe in the closer role in Arizona. After surrendering mutliple runs in three consecutive outings, Sewald has bounced back with three straight scoreless appearances. If anything does happen at the deadline, Arizona will likely just add reinforcements.

 

ATL 6 – SDP 3

HD: Joe Jiménez (18)

SV: Raisel Iglesias (22)

  • Prior to June 16th, Raisel Iglesias had struck out multiple batters just three times in 27 appearances. Since June 16th, Iglesias has struck out multiple batters five times in nine outings. It’s a promising development as Iglesias was falling down the closer ranks because of his lack of punchouts. It limited his ceiling and pointed towards inflated ratios in the second half. Now, we can be confident that the second half will be great for the right-handed veteran.

 

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.

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