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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 9/18/24 Depth Chart

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

Scott McDermott
Fantasy 9/18/2024

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

 

  • Every team was in action on Tuesday, and the same will go for Wednesday with the Cubs and A’s kicking things off at 2:20 pm EST.
  • It looks like the season is over for Rays closer Pete Fairbanks, who is recovering from a lat strain.  The Rays mentioned he’s feeling better, however, and should be full go for next season.  Fairbanks last appeared in a game on August 18th and will finish the season with 23 Saves and a 3.57 ERA.  Jeffrey Springs is also done for the year.

 

Yesterday’s Performances

PIT 1 – STL 3

SV: Ryan Helsley (45)

HD: Ryan Fernandez (12), Matthew Liberatore (5)

  • The Cards plated an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth to give Helsley some extra breathing room, but he wouldn’t need it.  Looking for his 45th Save, Helsley faced the Pirates’ 6-7-8 hitters and made quick work of the first two.
  • After Bryan De La Cruz flied out to right, Jared Triolo whiffed on a curveball that bounced in front of the plate. Nick Yorke got just enough wood on a low-and-away slider to push a hit to center and bring up the tying run.
  • The Pirates opted for Yasmani Grandal as a pinch-hitter.  After a ball on his first pitch, Helsley went fastball-slider-curve and Grandal was left staring at all three for strikes for the reverse-K to end the game.

 

ATL 5 – CIN 6

W: Brent Suter (1-0)

L, BS: Pierce Johnson (5-5  3)

SV: Alexis Díaz (28)

HD: Emilio Pagán (7)

  • The Braves lit up starter Brandon Williamson for three runs in the first and an injury took him out in the second in what looked like a blowout.  But Cincy rallied on some key hits by Tyler Stephenson and Noelvi Marte, and Spence Steer’s 20th homer in the seventh gave them a lead.
  • That gave Alexis Díaz the chance to continue his remarkable run after allowing just a single baserunner in his last seven appearances.  Diaz isn’t known as a WHIP guy given his 12.3% walk rate but he’s been pumping in strikes the last month.  He’d get the first two batters in order, including a strikeout to Jarred Kelenic, before allowing a hard single to Orlando Arcia.  With the tying run aboard, the Braves opted for a pinch-runner in Eli White who promptly stole second.  But Diaz recovered and struck out Michael Harris II, so this game belonged to the Reds.

 

OAK 4 – CHC 3

SV: Mason Miller (26)

HD: Scott Alexander (10), Tyler Ferguson (9), Michel Otanez (4), T.J. McFarland (18)

  • Miller Time at Wrigley!  Mason was gifted a two-run lead and the number nine batter Miguel Amaya, who waved at a pair of sliders for an easy strikeout.  Ian Happ came on next and was able to foul off a few balls before connecting just enough to poke a ball over the left-field ivy and into the basket.  At 103 mph, this was the fastest pitch hit for a home run in the Statcast era.
  • With the lead cut in half, Dansby Swanson came on after striking out in each of his last four at-bats.  Swanson put the ball in play at least, but it was a dribbler to first for the second out.
  • The Cubs’ last chance would be from the lumber of Seiya Suzuki, but Miller kept dialing up the velocity after Happ took him yard, getting him swinging on a 104 mph fastball that burned its way into the mitt.

 

DET 3 – KCR 1 (10)

W: Tyler Holton (7-1)

L: Lucas Erceg (2-6)

SV: Jason Foley (26)

  • Detroit was able to fend off another ace-level start from Cole Ragans, keeping the game at 1-1 into extra innings.  That’s when Parker Meadows plated the inherited runner (who had moved to third on a balk by Erceg) with one out, and got a second run from an RBI single from Riley Greene.
  • Though he’d be pitching in his third game in three days, the Tigers went with Jason Foley to finish things off, now up two.  Foley is gaining confidence in the closer role as the year goes on, with a 0.60 WHIP in his last seven appearances and a 6:1 K’s-to-Walks ratio.  He’d keep the ghost runner stranded in a 1-2-3 inning that included a Bobby Witt Jr. groundout, and the Tigers took the first two games of their series with KC with Tarik Skubal on the bump Wednesday, looking for a sweep.

 

HOU 4 – SDP 3 (10)

W, BS: Josh Hader (8-7, 3)

L: Adrian Morejon (2-2)

SV: Héctor Neris (18)

HD: Ryan Pressly (22)

  • It was a wild finish in San Diego as both the Padres and Astros were tied 2-2 going into the eighth.  Houston would get a go-ahead run on a bases-loaded walk to Alex Bregman by Jason Adam.
  • San Diego re-tied the game in the bottom half of the inning after Fernando Tatis Jr. laced a 108.8 mph double off Ryan Pressly.  Pressly was pulled with two outs in favor of Josh Hader, but Tatis (who had made it to third by then) scored on Hader’s wild pitch.  Though the run was charged to Pressly that made a Blown Save for Hader.
  • Jeremy Peña doubled off Robert Suarez to start the top of the ninth, but Suarez shut things down from there, getting the next three batters including a strikeout to Victor Caratini.
  • Hader was equally effective when coming back for the bottom half of the inning, going 1-2-3 against Bogaerts, Cronenworth, and Donovan Solano.  So on to extras we went.
  • Adrian Morejon took the ball for San Diego against Yordan Alvarez, who moved the ghost runner to third on a groundout.  Kyle Tucker then lined a single to make it 4-3.
  • Héctor Neris hasn’t gotten too many Save attempts since coming over from the Cubs, but he’d get his chance tonight after Hader went 1.1 IP (though he only threw 12 pitches).  Neris has been sharp of late with a 1.05 WHIP since the All-Star Break (a sharp drop from 1.56 in the first half).
  • That said, this turned into a nailbiter.  Elias Díaz walked to make it first-and-second, nobody out.  Luis Arraez grounded into a fielder’s choice, and then Tatis struck out, but Jurickson Profar got grazed in the elbow after an umpire review and the bases were loaded.
  • With a 1-2 count, Manny Machado smashed a grounder up the middle…but that’s exactly where second baseman Grae Kessinger was playing him.  He slid to his right and flipped the ball to Pena for the force at second to bail Neris out of the jam and end the game.

 

The best of the rest…

  • Griffin Jax picked up a Save piggy-backing off Jhoan Duran, who worked the eighth and got the first out in the ninth.  Duran was up to 30 pitches and had 2 K’s for the Hold, and Jax gave up a hit but needed just eight pitches to finish off the Guardians in a key AL-Cental matchup.
  • Though the Yankees were up huge against the Mariners, Marcus Stroman earned the Long Save after going the last three innings.  He threw 64 pitches and gave up a solo homer.
  • After warming up three different times in the bullpen, Jeff Hoffman finished the game for the Phillies with a perfect ninth and one K.  Unfortunately an RBI single by Trea Turner in the eighth gave Philly a four-run lead and took away the Save opportunity.
  • Up 11-7 going into the ninth, the Marlins brought in Jesús Tinoco to finish off the Dodgers.  Tinoco got into trouble and surrendered a pair of runs on a Max Muncy double, but Miami left him in to finish the game.  Tinoco struck out Tommy Edman looking to preserve the win.

 

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.

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