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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 7/8/24 Depth Chart

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

Justin Havelock
Fantasy 7/8/2024

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

 

  • There weren’t any notable relief pitching transactions on Sunday.

 

Yesterday’s Performances

NYM 3 – PIT 2

W: Edwin Diaz (3)

L: Aroldis Chapman (4)

HD: Dedniel Núñez (6)

  • Edwin Diaz recorded the game’s final four outs and was rewarded with the win when the Mets took the lead in the top of the ninth. He’s made two scoreless appearances since returning from his sticky stuff suspension, proving that cheating wasn’t the key to his success. Díaz should be a top-three closer moving forward. He has pitched on consecutive days, but so has Reed Garrett, so expect Adam Ottavino or Jake Diekman to be deployed in the ninth depending on matchups.
  • Aroldis Chapman completely lost his control, walking three batters and allowing two runs as he took the loss. Chapman has been filling in as the Pirates’ closer with David Bednar on the IL but hasn’t helped out fantasy managers who attempted to take advantage of the short-term situation. Chapman has only recorded two saves across six appearances and has pitched to a 5.40 ERA during that time. He will always be the reliever version of a Cherry Bomb, meaning it’s always boom-or-bust with him, so assess your risk tolerance before rostering him.

 

DET 5 – CIN 1

  • Alexis Díaz pitched the eighth with the Reds down by one but surrendered three unearned runs to put the game out of reach. Díaz has been excellent since the beginning of June, recording a 1.50 ERA (12 IP), though he’s sustained a high walk rate (12.2%) and sports an xFIP north of 4.50. Don’t let him fool you; Díaz doesn’t have the stuff to be a high-end closer.

 

SFG 4 – CLE 5

W: Cade Smith (4)

L: Sean Hjelle (3)

HD: Tim Herrin (10), Hunter Gaddis (18)

SV: Emmanuel Clase (27)

  • Emmanuel Clase is the #1 closer for a reason. He leads the American League in saves and led baseball in ERA before surrendering a run in his outing on Sunday. It was the first run he’s allowed since June 11th. Still, his 0.85 ERA (42.1 IP) is the lowest among pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched. Clase has now pitched on back-to-back days which means Scott Barlow should be targeted for a vulture save.

 

CHW 4 – MIA 7

W: JT Chargois (1)

L: Michael Kopech (8)

HD: Tanner Banks (6), John Brebbia (12)

  • Michael Kopech had a rough day, allowing four runs in the bottom of the ninth, all culminating in a walk-off home run off the bat of Jake Burger. Kopech is not someone to target as he has a 9.00 ERA (15 IP) since May 25th. That performance likely won’t deter other teams from targeting him in trades because his underlying metrics are still good and he still has another level to unlock. It’ll only cheapen the asking price.

 

HOU 2 – MIN 3

W: Jhoan Duran (4)

L: Josh Hader (5)

  • Josh Hader served up a walk-off home run to Christian Vázquez, saddling him with the loss. It’s been another season marred by homers, but this season has been the most egregious. Hader’s 1.85 HR/9 is the highest of his career and is one of the worst rates among closers. Unfortunately, it’s the only knock on his otherwise flawless game.
  • Jhoan Duran took advantage of the walk-off, earning a win for his efforts in the top of the ninth. Duran has just four saves since the beginning of June and his 3.29 ERA (13.2 IP) and 23.5% K% during that time are uncharacteristic for the usually elite closer. His velocity is essential to his success and it has been down this year, so increasing his velo will be the key to recovering the form from the first couple of years of his career.

 

LAA 0 – CHC 5

HD: Porter Hodge (2)

SV: Héctor Neris (12)

  • Carlos Estévez pitched a hitless eighth in a maintenance outing as he hadn’t pitched since last Saturday. With free agency on the horizon, Estévez should be a relatively highly-coveted reliever at the trade deadline, though he isn’t likely to get save chances in his new home. With Matt Moore, Luis Garcia, and others likely to be dealt as well, Ben Joyce could find himself taking over as the closer of the present and future.
  • Héctor Neris has not been great this year, but his ERA (4.06 ERA, 31 IP) isn’t that bad and he has 12 saves. With a 2025 club option that turns into a player option at 60 appearances, Neris is likely to be dealt at the deadline with the Cubs in last place. From there, his usage will likely be limited to avoid the option vesting. As soon as he’s traded, his fantasy viability will disappear.

 

BAL 6 – OAK 3

HD: Jacob Webb (12), Yennier Cano (23)

SV: Craig Kimbrel (23)

  • Craig Kimbrel was one of the biggest snubs from the All-Star game rosters announced yesterday. He’s having one of the best seasons of his career at the age of 36 with his lowest ERA (2.10, 34.1 IP) and WHIP (0.90) since 2017 and his highest strikeout rate (38.5%) since 2016. Kimbrel is also in sole possession of fourth place on the all-time saves leaderboard with 440.

 

TOR 5 – SEA 4 (F/10)

W: Chad Green (2)

L: Collin Snider (1)

SV: Génesis Cabrera (2)

  • Chad Green has been filling in as the closer in Canada with Yimi García and Jordan Romano on the IL. With García expected to be back soon, Green’s fantasy relevance is coming to an end. Green only got a couple of saves and a win while in his interim role, but he helped in the ratio department. He still has one more year of control, so don’t expect him to be traded at the deadline.
  • Andrés Muñoz pitched a scoreless ninth when this game was still tied. Muñoz was another snub from the All-Star team as he’s pitched to a career-best 1.50 ERA (36 IP), a top-ten mark in baseball. However, his 30.2% strikeout rate is the lowest of his career and he’s failed to strike out a batter in each of his last five outings. It’s something to keep an eye on as Muñoz will struggle without the punchouts.

 

MIL 9 – LAD 2

W: Jakob Junis (1)

  • Trevor Megill got a maintenance outing after not pitching for four days. He showed no signs of rust, recording all three of his outs via the strikeout in a scoreless ninth. Megill has struck out five batters across his last two outings after going three straight appearances without a punchout. Devin Williams is set to return by the end of the month, so the clock is ticking on Megill as a closer.

 

BOS 3 – NYY 0

HD: Justin Slaten (10)

SV: Kenley Jansen (18)

  • Kenley Jansen is right behind Craig Kimbrel on the all-time saves leaderboard and it’s crazy how much their careers overlap. They’re the same age, they’ve played the same number of seasons, and they’re separated by just two career saves. Jansen is also in the midst of a renaissance season with his best ERA (2.01, 31.1 IP) since 2017. Jansen doesn’t have the same underlying metrics to support his comeback campaign as Kimbrel does and he may be a sell-high candidate because his 4.00+ xFIP suggests hard times in the second half.

 

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

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