Dynasty
Nastiest GIFs
The List
Dynasty
Nastiest GIFs
The List

Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 9/4/24 Depth Chart

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

Scott McDermott
Fantasy 9/4/2024

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

 

  • Four teams were off on Tuesday: the Reds, Padres, Astros, and Tigers.  Barring any weather issues, Wednesday should be a full slate.
  • Nestor Cortes will likely be a reliever either Friday or Saturday, depending on how either Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt do in their returns from the IL.
  • In a flurry of moves, the Marlins recalled RHP Anthony Maldonado and DFA’ed both Kent Emanuel and Emmanuel Ramirez.  Maldonado has a pretty decent swinging-strike rate (14.9%) on a slider he throws more than 60% of the time, but the rest of his stat line is below average (6.23 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 14% K-rate).

 

Yesterday’s Performances

COL 0 – ATL 3

SV: Raisel Iglesias (29)

HD: Joe Jiménez (23)

  • The Braves coasted to an easy win as Cy Young favorite Chris Sale tossed seven dominant innings with nine K’s.
  • Joe Jiménez followed things up in the eighth and struck out the side, though he did allow a walk.
  • Atlanta threatened to score in the eighth with a double-steal moving runners to second and third, but Colorado reliever Justin Lawrence wiggled out of it to preserve the Save opportunity for Iglesias.
  • Like the other Braves’ pitchers, Raisel Iglesias had no trouble sitting down the Rockies away from Coors, going 1-2-3 on twelve pitches.  He’d catch Hunter Goodman looking at strike three to complete the shutout.

 

PHI 10 – TOR 9

W: Orion Kerkering (4-2)

L, BS: Chad Green (4-5, 2)

SV: Matt Strahm (2)

  • This game looked over early after the Blue Jays jumped all over returning starter Tyler Phillips, who had missed the last three weeks.  Phillips would surrender six earned runs in less than an inning of work.
  • The Phils would claw back into it, though, tagging Zach Pop for two earned runs and Erik Swanson for one to make it 8-7 (they’d also score an unearned run resulting from an Addison Barger error).
  • They had another chance in the eighth with two on, nobody out.  But Génesis Cabrera coerced a double-play ball out of Bryson Stott, and Brandon Marsh grounded out to second to leave it at 8-7.
  • Chad Green came in with a chance to close it out, but he’d put the first two runners on.  Kyle Schwarber, who already had two homers on the night to break a pretty epic slump, Schwar-bombed a third dinger into the second deck and Philly took a 10-8 lead.
  • Now ahead in the bottom of the ninth, the Phillies asked Matt Strahm to bring it home.  He struck out Will Wagner swinging and did the same to Alejandro Kirk, but Leo Jiménez would tag him for a solo shot to put the game within a run.
  • Strahm would buckle down, though, getting Ernie Clement out on a pop-up to seal the comeback and give the Phillies an important win.  That’s only Strahm’s second Save on the season, but his ratios are a thing of beauty (2.18 ERA, .87 WHIP) and maybe he gets another chance or two by season’s end.

 

MIN 1 – TBR 2

SV: Garrett Cleavinger (5)

HD: Drew Rasmussen (2), Edwin Uceta (5)

  • Drew Rasmussen has been outstanding in his long relief role and continues to look better with each appearance, with a 1.38 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in his last 13 IP.
  • Rasmussen filled in after Tampa starter Jeffrey Springs threw six quality innings and followed up with two perfect frames, notching three K’s.
  • Clinging to a 2-1 lead, the Rays opted for Edwin Uceta–but he’d surrender two hits and not be able to finish the inning (though he did strike out two).  Tampa plugged in Garrett Cleavinger to get the last out and he came through, getting Christian Vasquez to ground out to short.  A rare two-pitch Save!

 

STL 7 – MIL 4

W, BS: Ryan Helsley (7-4, 4)

L: Elvis Peguero (7-4)

  • In the first of two games to go to extras, the Cardinals and Brewers went into the ninth with the game tied 3-3.  Milwaukee opted to put in Devin Williams in the top half of the inning, and he’d go 1-2-3 with a pair of K’s in one of his most efficient appearances this year.
  • That left the Brewers with the chance at a walk0ff, but Matthew Liberatore held them scoreless to go into the tenth.
  • Joel Payamps took over for the Brew Crew and though a sac bunt moved the ghost runner to third, Payamps kept them from scoring on a Masyn Winn groundout and Nolan Arenado 371-foot fly ball.
  • Liberatore came back on in the bottom of the tenth, and though he’d get in some trouble this time (loading the bases on an intentional walk to rookie sensation Jackson Chourio was a smart idea), Blake Perkins struck out to end the threat.
  • With Nolan Arenado acting as the inherited runner, Paul Goldschmidt brought him home on a single to center field.
  • Now with a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the eleventh, it was time for Ryan Helsley.  But he’d be unable to finish things off as Willy Adames hit an RBI double to tie things up once again.
  • Moving to the top of the twelfth, the Cardinals broke things open by scoring three runs off Elvis Peguero, including a Michael Siani two-run single.
  • The Cards decided to keep Helsley in the game and give him a second crack at closing the game (though he was now in line for the Win, not the Save).  He’d come through this time, striking out Rhys Hoskins and finishing the next two batters in order.

 

NYY 4 – TEX 7

W: Walter Pennington (1-0)

L, BS: Clay Holmes (2-5, 11)

  • Carlos Rodón struck out eleven Rangers but left the game down 1-0 after six.  The Yankees then put up two runs in the seventh and eighth to take a 4-1 lead.
  • New York gave the ball to Jake Cousins in the bottom of the eighth, and he’d quickly find trouble, loading the bases.  The Rangers got to within 4-3 on a sac fly by Nathaniel Lowe, but the Yanks then subbed in Tim Hill.  Hill struck out Jonah Heim with the bases again loaded to keep the lead.
  • That brought on Yankee closer Clay Holmes in the bottom of the ninth, still holding a 4-3 edge.  Holmes has been decent of late, with 9 K’s and a .90 WHIP in his last 6.2 IP, but he’d find trouble in this one, giving up a single and a walk.  And another walk, this time to Marcus Semien, would load the bases with one out.
  • Wyatt Langford was up next and he worked a full count on a clearly wild Holmes.  After fouling off the first 3-2 pitch, Langford crushed the next one into the seats for an epic walk-off grand slam.  That’s now eleven blown Saves for Holmes, leading the league by far.

 

LAD 6 – LAA 2

W: Michael Kopech (5-8)

L: Roansy Contreras (2-4)

  • The Battle for Los Angeles went to extra innings after both teams managed just two runs in the first nine.  The drama was short-lived, though, as the floodgates opened for the Dodgers in the tenth.  A three-run homer off Roansy Contreras made it 6-2.
  • Ryan Brasier took advantage of a deflated Angels squad, putting down the side in order (unfortunately it wasn’t a Save situation with a four-run lead).
  • Worth noting: Michael Kopech has been outstanding of late, with a .52 WHIP in has last 15.2 IP and 20 K’s.  Think he’s glad to be out of Chicago?

 

ARZ 8 – SFG 7

SV: Justin Martinez (8)

  • The D’Backs were up big most of the way courtesy of another strong start from Ryne Nelson, who had 9 K’s on 6.2 IP.
  • Reliever Ryan Thompson wasn’t so fortunate as he allowed four earned runs in the eighth.  Arizona brought in Justin Martinez to bail him out, though he gave up a single that scored a run (credited to Thompson) and made it 7-6.
  • After Arizona got an insurance run in the top half of the ninth, Martinez returned for a chance at his eighth Save.  He had some issues though, yielding an RBI double to Heliot Ramos to make it 8-7.  But after giving Lamonte Wade Jr. a free pass, Martinez struck out the light-hitting Jerar Encarnación to finish a wild one.

 

The best of the rest…

  • The Nationals and Marlins had a 5-2 score in the ninth, but Washington would get an extra insurance run off George Soriano.  That took away the Save situation and left Kyle Finnegan on the pine, but Robert Garcia looked elite in striking out the side.
  • It was a similar situation for the Mets, who clung to a 3-2 lead over Boston heading into the bottom of the eighth.  But they’d blow up for four runs and put things out of reach, then ask Ryne Stanek to polish things off.  Stanek got Boston’s 6-7-8 hitters in order to finish the game at 7-2.
  • The A’s walked off the Mariners in the bottom of the ninth after a solid start from J.T. Ginn and three shutout innings of relief from Hogan Harris.  Seattle scored two runs in the first but was blanked the rest of the way and Seth Brown won the game with an RBI single off Trent Thornton.

 

 

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.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Account / Login