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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 7/31/24 Depth Chart

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

Scott McDermott
Fantasy 7/31/2024

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

 

  • It was a whirlwind last few hours of the trade deadline, with deals big and small.  A few to note:
    • Tanner Scott is acquired by the Padres.  He’ll likely back up Robert Suarez and lose out on consistent Save opportunities, which is a bummer for owners.
    • Bryan Hoeing was also part of the deal.  The Marlins get a pretty big haul in return: RHPs Robby Snelling, Adam Mazur, and two infield prospects.
    • The Phillies traded reliever Gregory Soto to the Orioles.  Soto’s been middling this year with a 4.08 ERA and 1.58 WHIP, but had 24 Holds in 2023 with a 1.14 WHIP and 3.12 xERA.
    • In a separate deal, the Phillies get LHP Tanner Banks from the White Sox.  Banks has decent stuff but a problem with letting baserunners score, ranking in the 11th percentile.
    • The Diamondbacks acquired Dylan Floro from the Nationals, who’s had a career year with a 2.06 ERA, 1.05 WHIP despite a 19.6 K%.  He keeps the ball in the park though with a microscopic 2.3% HR/FB rate.
    • Enyel De Los Santos is a Yankee, acquired from the Padres.  He’s a live arm and basically the exact opposite of Floro, with a 22.9% HR/FB rate (which might be interesting in Yankee Stadium) but a 28.2% K-rate.
    • Luis Garcia goes from the Angels to the Red Sox, so LA is completely emptying out their ‘pen (Carlos Estévez became a Phillie two days ago).
    • Bulk reliever/sometime starter Ryan Yarbrough is moving to Toronto after the Dodgers traded him to the Blue Jays.
    • The Reds traded Lucas Sims to Boston for another reliever in Ovis Portes.  Sims has 12 holds so far this year and earned 23 last year.  This was his seventh season with Cincinnati.
    • A’s setup man Lucas Erceg is now a Royal.  Erceg throws hard, averaging 98 on the fastball, and has shown a lot of improvement in his second year in the league.
    • And finally, lefty journeyman Andrew Chafin moves from the Tigers to the Texas Rangers.  This will be his seventh team in eleven seasons, so he’s a popular dark horse on the Immaculate Grid—he’s also got a 30.9% K-rate this season.
  • There were also baseball games played and lots of them—all 30 teams were in action.  Barring any rainouts, the same will be true on Wednesday, but only five games are scheduled for Thursday.

 

Yesterday’s Performances

 

NYY 7 – PHI 6

W, BS: Michael Tonkin (4-4, 2)

L: Orion Kerkering (2-2)

BS: Clay Holmes (8), Matt Strahm (6)

  • Jazz Chisholm Jr. might be the biggest difference maker of the deadline.  He mashed two home runs, including a three-run shot to give the Yankees the lead in the seventh.  That’s now four dingers in his last two games.
  • 5-4 would be the score going into the bottom half of the ninth, with Clay Holmes getting the ball.  After a nightmare stretch about a month ago, Holmes has settled down in his last seven with a 1.29 ERA but only two Saves.
  • He wouldn’t get a Save in this one, either—J.T. Realmuto singled off a Sweeper in an 0-2 count to get the rally started, and the bottom of the order was able to move him over to third with two outs.  A wild pitch would score the tying run.  Kyle Schwarber would get an intentional pass and Trea Turner singled to load the bases.
  • That brought up Bryce Harper, who hit it hard enough to first to bounce the ball off D.J. Lemahieu, but Gleyber Torres was able to gather it up and throw Harper out.  So on to extras we’d go.
  • Jeff Hoffman was on for Philly, and he’s had a tremendous season thus far but might lose out on Saves now with Carlos Estevez joining the team.  Hoffman went 1-2-3 but not without drama, as Anthony Volpe just missed a home run on the third out.
  • Next came the Yankees’ other new acquisition, Mark Leiter Jr. from the Cubs.  Inheriting a zombie runner in extras in your first appearance with a new team is probably not an ideal position, but Leiter acquitted himself from a bases-loaded jam by getting Bryson Stott on a flyout.
  • Hoffman stayed on for a second inning to work the top of the eleventh, though this time he’d get into trouble working the middle of the order.  Soto and Judge both singled and the inherited runner scored to make it 6-5 Yanks.
  • Michael Tonkin relieved Leiter Jr. and allowed a run of his own–and it took a diving catch by Trent Grisham to save the game.
  • It was Orion Kerkering’s turn in the twelfth.  He’d face Chisholm to start and give up a single to make it first-and-third, no out.  Gleyber Torres brought the runner in on a sac fly to again give the Yankees a one-run lead.
  • Tonkin came back to close things out, and he’d get the Phils in order this time, including a foul-tip K to Realmuto and a swinging strikeout to pinch-hitter Weston Wilson to close the game.
  • Worth noting: new Phillie Austin Hays batted ninth but collected 4 RBIs in the game, going 2-4.

 

CHC 3 – CIN 6

W: Nick Martinez (5-5)

HD: Justin Wilson (10), Fernando Cruz (22), Buck Farmer (1)

SV: Alexis Díaz (21)

  • Cincy jumped out to a 5-0 lead on Cubs’ starter Justin Steele, who walked four in five innings but struck out seven.
  • The Reds went with Nick Martinez as a bulk reliever, following opener Tony Santillan in the second inning.  Martinez pitched well as he sometimes does, going four scoreless.  Martinez was talked about as a trade candidate but is still a Red.
  • Alexis Díaz later came in with a 6-3 lead, and he was able to work around a lead-0ff walk to an easy close–flyouts by Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki, and a ground ball from Michael Busch.  Diaz tends to tire as the season goes on so keep an eye on his workload, but he’s still a solid mid-tier option.

 

KCR 4 – CWS 3

L: Fraser Ellard (0-1)

SV: Sam Long (1)

  • The White Sox had a fire sale at the deadline and their bullpen was hit especially hard.  So it was no surprise they would blow a late lead (though they’ve been doing that most of the year already).  Bobby Witt Jr. tied the game at 2-2 with an RBI single, then Vinnie Pasquantino drove in two more.
  • Hunter Harvey would give back a run in the bottom of the eighth, trimming the Royals’ lead to 4-3, but Harvey struck out two for his 28th Hold.
  • James McArthur worked the last two games (and several other KC pitchers pitched last night), so Sam Long got the nod to close things out.  He’s quietly had a great year, though he’s not often used for high-leverage situations.  Still, he struck out two in a perfect inning to earn his first Save and lower his ERA to 2.35.

 

MIN 0 – NYM 2

SV: Edwin Diaz (13)

HD: Ryne Stanek (16)

  • In a low-scoring affair where Sean Manaea struck out eleven Twins (seriously, Minnesota swings and misses way too much), Edwin Diaz made an eighth-inning appearance and finished out the game for the four-out Save.
  • Diaz’s struggles have been notable this season but he might be settling into a groove: five Saves in his last seven appearances with a 1.29 ERA.  He’s not striking out 50% of batters like he used to—and also has five walks in those seven appearances–but he’s getting the job done which is a relief to many.

 

LAD 5 – SDP 6

W: Robert Suarez (6-1)

L: Alex Vesia (1-3)

BS: Blake Treinen (4)

  • This game looked like it would be a romp after the Dodgers scored five in the top of the first, batting around on San Diego starter Matt Waldron.  But they wouldn’t score again the rest of the way.
  • Blake Treinen came in with a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the ninth, but Manny Machado and future superstar Jackson Merrill both hit solo bombs to tie the game up.
  • The Padres countered with Robert Suarez, who kept the inherited runner at bay by striking out two on ten pitches.  In four appearances since the All-Star Break, Suarez has yet to yield a run and has a 0.40 WHIP with seven K’s.
  • With Waldron only going four innings, the San Diego bullpen gave up two hits (albeit with four BB’s) in their six frames.  They’ll only get better with Tanner Scott in the mix, though his role is yet unclear.

 

The best of the rest…

  • With the Mariners up 10-6, Anthony Munoz got the ball to close out the BoSox.  He’d strike out two in an eighteen-pitch outing in the non-Save situation, so might not be available Wednesday.
  • The Orioles also had a four-run lead in the ninth but decided against sending in closer Craig Kimbrel.  They instead turned to Seranthony Domínguez (part of the Austin Hays deal), who made his third appearance with Baltimore in five nights.  Dominguez looked as sharp as he’s been in a while, striking out two on eleven pitches.  He’s got a 0.67 WHIP and could knock on the door for Saves if Kimbrel stays unreliable and the O’s want to keep Yennier Cano confined to the setup role.
  • Another team up by four—the Pirates led 6-2 over the Astros and called on Hunter Stratton (Chapman and Bednar had both worked consecutive nights).  Stratton gave up two hits but also struck out two to secure the win over another Hunter (Brown).
  •  And what’s this, ANOTHER four-run game?  The fantasy closer gods must be angry, as the Braves asked Raisel Iglesias to finish off a 5-1 lead in a non-Save appearance.  Iglesias did as asked, going three-up/three-down but without any strikeouts.  He threw all of nine pitches, seven of them strikes.
  • Up 5-0 in the day game against the Tigers, the Cleveland Guardians surprisingly put in Emmanuel Clase.  What wasn’t a surprise: he made quick work of the three hitters he faced and recorded a K.
  • With the Angels dealing two of their biggest bullpen arms, Hunter Strickland served as the closer with a three-run lead.  He needed just nine pitches to throw a clean inning against the Rockies, including one strikeout.  It’s Strickland’s first Save in 50.0 IP this year but he has 29 on his career.  Ben Joyce got the Hold in the eighth for those keeping tabs.

 

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

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.

One response to “Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 7/31/24 Depth Chart”

  1. RCR says:
    July 31, 2024 at 2:55 PM

    I think you missed Armstrong to the Cardinals

    Reply

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