Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 8/1/23 Depth Chart

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

 

• We had 10 games on Monday as there was as much action off the field as there was on it with the trade deadline approaching. Teams enjoying a day off were: MIN, DET, CHW, KCR, TEX, OAK, NYM, PIT, STL, and LAD.
• The big trade splash of the day came from the Diamondbacks as they traded a tasty haul for Mariners closer Paul Sewald as they hope to cement their post-season ambitions. Scott McGough will step down into setup duties with Andrew Chafin now likely irrelevant in terms of save opportunities.
• The Reds acquired lefty setup man Sam Moll from the Oakland A’s to add firepower for their playoff run.
• The Houston Astros designated lefty Blake Taylor for assignment. Matt Gage was called up from Triple-A in replacement. He’ll provide low-leverage depth relief. Jake Cousins was also claimed off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers.
• Atlanta activated high-octane lefty A.J. Minter from the 15-day injured list. It remains to be seen whether he slots straight back into a setup role after the acquisition of Pierce Johnson and the presence of veteran Kirby Yates.

 

 

CIN 6 – CHC 5

H: Fernando Cruz (4), Alex Young (12), Lucas Sims (18), Ian Gibaut (16)

SV: Alexis Díaz (32)

• Another day, another perfect inning for Alexis Díaz. The Reds closer struck out Nico Hoerner and made light work of the top of the order for the Cubs en route to another dominant outing. Diaz leads the majors with 32 saves and has been ruthless with his 12.9 K/9 over 50 appearances this season.
• The Cubs bullpen kept the Reds off the board but a rare shaky outing from Marcus Stroman left them too much work to do to get back into the contest. Javier Assad threw well in bulk relief.

 

BAL 4 – TOR 2

H: Danny Coulombe (19), Yennier Cano (25)

SV: Félix Bautista (29)

• Hot on Diaz’s heels is Orioles flame-thrower Félix Bautista, who notched his 29th save of the season as Baltimore made a statement in an important win over the Blue Jays. Bautista threw a season-high 35 pitches, walking two and striking out three across one and two-thirds innings. He will likely give way to Yennier Cano for a save opportunity today.
• Bowden Francis was impressive through two scoreless innings of relief. The promising 27-year-old struck out two and now boasts an impressive 2.20 ERA with 15 strikeouts in just eight major league appearances.

 

CLE 3 – HOU 7

H: Bryan Abreu (18)

SV: Ryan Pressly (25)

• Eli Morgan was charged with just his second loss of the season after failing to stymie the Astros’ rally in the sixth inning. Morgan has had a rough last week after being one of the more reliable bulk relievers in baseball over the past year or two.
• Ryne Stanek allowed the Guardians to load the bases without recording an out in the top of the ninth inning forcing Dusty Baker into calling upon Ryan Pressly to protect the four-run lead. He was professionally ruthless, striking out Myles Straw before forcing the final two outs. Pressly remains an elite fantasy option in the ninth inning.

 

PHI 4 – MIA 2

H: Matt Strahm (3), Jeff Hoffman (3)

SV: Craig Kimbrel (18)

• Craig Kimbrel failed to strike out a batter but pitched a perfect inning to notch his 18th save of the season. Remarkable, Kimbrel is rolling back the years and boasts a stunning 0.82 ERA over his last 22 innings. Equally as impressive is the fact that the veteran closer has allowed just three earned runs since the start of June. Elite!
• Despite the flurry of recent trades to strengthen their bullpen, the Marlins came unstuck once again out of the bullpen with the usually reliable Tanner Scott coughing up the winning run after loading the bases in the seventh inning.

 

MIL 3 – WSN 5

H: Mason Thompson (10)

SV: Kyle Finnegan (15)

• Elvis Peguero gave up three runs on two singles, a double, and a walk as the Brewers let a golden opportunity slip in the seventh inning, missing the chance to put more pressure on the Reds in the NL Central.
• With an impressive showing as the trade deadline approaches, Kyle Finnegan quietly went about his business to record his 15th save for the middling Nationals. The young reliever tossed 11 of 15 pitches for strikes as he extended his scoreless streak to six innings. Finnegan is an attractive trade piece thanks to an underrated 3.00 ERA and 43:14 K:BB rate through 45 innings this season.

 

LAA 4 – ATL 1

H: Aaron Loup (7), José Soriano (9)

SV: Reynaldo López (4)

• Reynaldo López recorded his first save for his new club and his first since May 5 after being called upon with one out in the eighth inning against Atlanta. After being acquired from the White Sox last week, Lopez was allowed to roll with the hot hand as he struck out three and got the remaining five outs for the Angels. He could factor into the ninth inning more often down the stretch.
• A.J. Minter and Pierce Johnson both got important innings as Atlanta dropped a rare game despite their overall dominance in the National League.

 

ARI 4 – SFG 3 (11)

H: None

SV: Scott McGough (9)

• Despite the acquisition of Paul Sewald earlier in the day, Scott McGough showed why he is very valuable at the back end of the Diamondbacks bullpen by recording his ninth save of the season in an extra-innings win over the Giants. Despite a wild pitch moving the zombie runner to third base, McGough recovered and struck out two batters to finish up the contest.
• Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval worked perfect eighth and ninth innings for the Giants but Scott Alexander and Taylor Rogers each game up a run in extras to condemn the Giants to defeat.

 

The best of the rest…

• The Rays demolished the Yankees with seven strong frames from Tyler Glasnow. Pete Fairbanks was used in the ninth despite a non-save situation – he last pitched on Friday and three 22 pitches yesterday.
• Joe Jacques gave the game away for the Red Sox after entering in relief of Nick Pivetta in the bottom of the eighth trailing 2-1. Pivetta gave up a double before Jacque hit Jose Cabellero and walked J.P Crawford to load the bases. He then gave up a two-run single to Julio Rodriguez to blow the game open. Seattle went on to win 6-2 with Matt Brash picking up the win in relief.
• The Rockies sneaked past the Padres 2-1 in extra innings – Matt Kock survived despite loading the bases in the top of the 1oth with nobody out. Veteran Brad Hand picked up the win after coming in to force a double play. Brenton Doyle beat Juan Soto’s arm on a shallow fly ball to score the winning run off Nick Martinez.

 

Bullpen Depth Charts

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

 

Photos by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)