Welcome to the RP Roundup, my daily fantasy baseball article reviewing every reliever performance from the previous day.
TBR 5 – STL 6
W: Ryne Stanek | L: Griffin Jax | HLD: Riley O’Brien | HLD: JoJo Romero
Cole Sulser — 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 3 Whiffs, 17.1% CSW. Sulser’s changeup is filthy, and it was working in this one.
Bryan Baker — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 4 Whiffs, 53.8% CSW. Baker shut things down in the ninth, flashing his three-plus offerings. With Jax getting off to a shaky start, I’m not against taking a flier on Baker and seeing how things play out.
Griffin Jax (L) — 0.1 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 11.1% CSW. Jax walked Jordan Walker on four pitches to begin the inning, which is all you need to know about how poor his command was today. I’m a little concerned, but two games into the season, we can not panic yet as long as the stuff is still there (it is).
Riley O’Brien (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 11.1% CSW. Still lacking any sort of command, but the stuff is good enough to bail him out more often than not.
JoJo Romero (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 23.5% CSW. Romero does have a three-pitch mix to get lefties and righties out, and he used all three to get his three righties out in this one.
Matt Svanson — 0.2 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 10.0% CSW. The stuff and locations aren’t where they need to be right now, and I’ve mentioned him as potentially being this years Porter Hodge before, which I really hope is not the case, but he’s not helping the allegations so far.
Ryne Stanek (W) — 1.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 5 Whiffs, 25.9% CSW. Stanek’s second inning was much better, as he finally gained some control of his fastball. For the most part though, this chart is a mess, and while the Stuff is going to be A or A+ most nights, it means nothing if he can’t locate.
WSN 2 – CHC 10
Andre Granillo — 0.2 IP, 2 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 22.2% CSW. Sliders cool, fastball is still lagging behind.
Ken Waldichuk — 1.1 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 Whiffs, 31.2% CSW. Waldichuk had 3 pitches grade out 109 or higher Stuff-wise, here, which is fun, but the command is still an issue.
Cole Henry — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 36.4% CSW. Henry has impressed me this month, and I do think he could be a not-so-awful closer. The command is much better than what Beeter brings, and his sweeper is a legit swing and miss offering. Plus the fastball looks better this year.
Phil Maton — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Maton is great and still underrated because he throws 90 MPH.
Caleb Thielbar — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 18.8% CSW. Thielbar didn’t have his typical command in this one, but man that four-seamer looked dope (93.4 MPH, 21.6″ iVB).
Jacob Webb — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 25.0% CSW. Webb also didn’t have his best command, but the stuff looked great.
ATH 7 – TOR 8
W: Spencer Miles | L: Luis Medina | HLD: Elvis Alvarado | HLD: Hogan Harris | BS: Michael Kelly | BS: Scott Barlow | BS: Brendon Little
Mark Leiter Jr. Jr. — 0.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 2 Whiffs, 23.5% CSW. Leiter was ok in this one, as he shied away from his fastballs. Can he throw his curveball and splitter for strikes at a high enough rate though?
Elvis Alvarado (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 2 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 3 Whiffs, 15.4% CSW. Good stuff, terrible command as usual with Alvarado. If we could just get consistent C command, we’d be all set.
Hogan Harris (HLD) — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 2 Whiffs, 26.3% CSW. Another “A stuff, F locations” outing for Harris, which feels so different from last year. The four-seamer gets me excited though, just find a consistent secondary.
Michael Kelly (BS) — 1.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Kelly’s fastballs are a problem, but the sweeper/slider will play. Just don’t hang that sweeper.
Scott Barlow (BS) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 3 Whiffs, 50.0% CSW. Barlow is struggling to touch 90 MPH these days, but still has two plus breakers, so he may stay relevant.
Luis Medina (L) — 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 3 Whiffs, 30.0% CSW. Results aside, Medina gave us a little taste of what could be here with his four-seamer sitting 99 MPH to pair with a swing-and-miss slider. If one of him or Alvarado can just figure out their command, the A’s may finally have a closer.
Braydon Fisher — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 50.0% CSW. Spamming his breakers per usual.
Mason Fluharty — 0.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Very weird/unfortunate outing here, as he got hit by two comebackers before leaving. FWIW, Fluharty finished his 9 pitch outing with triple A+ grades (Stuff/Locations/PLV).
Brendon Little (BS) — 0.2 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 Whiffs, 21.7% CSW. Worth noting that IF healthy, the Blue Jays prefer Fluahrty to Little as their top lefty. It makes sense, Little’s command is just way to inconsistent despite his curveball being a plus offering.
Tommy Nance — 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 54.5% CSW. The Blue Jays love throwing offspeed stuff, and Nance leaned on his curveball and slider for 10 of his 11 pitches here. And why not, both are really really good.
Tyler Rogers — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 Whiffs, 71.4% CSW. Look at Rogers missing bats at this rate. He filled up the zone in this one and remains great at what he does.
Louis Varland — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 28.6% CSW. A+ stuff with C locations here, we’ll take it. Not many relievers can touch his upside.
Spencer Miles (W) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 31.2% CSW. What a debut for the Rule 5 pick who picked up a win. The slider is very intriguing, and the fastball can sit 98, so he’s someone to keep an eye on in deeper dynasty formats.
MIN 4 – BAL 1
W: Anthony Banda | SV: Cole Sands | HLD: Kody Funderburk | HLD: Eric Orze | HLD: Justin Topa
Anthony Banda (W) — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 3 Whiffs, 40.0% CSW. He threw 2 of his 15 pitches in the zone here, so that line is very generous.
Kody Funderburk (HLD) — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 2 Whiffs, 23.1% CSW. Blegh. Fun last name aside, there’s not much to get excited about here. The deep pitch mix could keep him afloat for a while though.
Eric Orze (HLD) — 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Cool to see the Twins trust Orze in this high leverage spot, and the splitter looked great, but what happened to his fastball (down 3 MPH)? The high splitter usage has me thinking he could be a poor man’s Fernando Cruz.
Justin Topa (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 0 Whiffs, 41.7% CSW. Topa can maybe make things work by throwing his fastball less than 50% of the time, although he did locate it well today.
Cole Sands (SV) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 4 Whiffs, 31.2% CSW. Taylor Rogers didn’t even pitch in this game (perhaps he was the emergency option if Sands ran into trouble?), so that’s definitely good news for those who bet on Sands being the closer. The stuff and command weren’t great here, but the deep pitch mix gives him a chance to hang on to this role in a weak bullpen.
Yennier Cano — 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 37.5% CSW. I want to believe in Cano again, I’m just not sure the Orioles even do. He looked fine today though.
Dietrich Enns — 1.2 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 5 Whiffs, 27.3% CSW. Changeup and sweeper command were not there for Enns, but that should be more of an anomaly than the norm.
Yaramil Hiraldo — 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 3 Whiffs, 100.0% CSW. Hiraldo came in and threw three sliders to Byron Buxton and got three whiffs. Not bad.
Anthony Nunez — 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 6 Whiffs, 45.5% CSW. This is the one guy from yesterday that needs to be on your radar. In dynasty formats he should probably be rostered, in deeper holds leagues, at least keep an eye on him. When Akin and Kittredge return, he may not have a roster spot, but Nunez has three plus pitches, and while the command wasn’t ideal yesterday, the pure nasty stuff overshadowed it.
TEX 5 – PHI 4
W: Chris Martin | L: Jhoan Duran | SV: Tyler Alexander | HLD: Jalen Beeks | HLD: Jakob Junis | HLD: Robert Garcia
Cole Winn — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 6 Whiffs, 52.6% CSW. I still don’t see much here to make Winn interesting. Plus extension and good slider I guess.
Jalen Beeks (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 71.4% CSW. Beeks is a SWATCH, but man that fastball is rough.
Jakob Junis (HLD) — 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 2 Whiffs, 43.5% CSW. Junis had some elite command in this one, which is his calling card since the stuff is middling. In a weak bullpen though, that command should keep him in an important role, and I wonder if they’d consider him as a potential closer despite it being unorthodox.
Robert Garcia (HLD) — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 Whiffs, 27.8% CSW. Good news is that Garcia got the first save chance for the Rangers while Chris Martin was not even used (yet). Bad news is that Garcia had no command in this one, either missing the zone or, when he did find the zone, leaving pitches middle/middle.
Chris Martin (W) — 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Martin tried to bail out Garcia in this one, but gave up a double and a single to let the Phillies back into this one. The stuff is more or less gone, so Martin really needs to execute with great locations to succeed.
Tyler Alexander (SV) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 0 Whiffs, 23.8% CSW. Smoke and mirrors approach, but it works (sometimes)
Tanner Banks — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 0.0% CSW. Banks is a command over stuff lefty, and was able to make it work in this one.
José Alvarado — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 3 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Alvarado is the stuff over command lefty, as we saw today.
Tim Mayza — 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 4 Whiffs, 34.4% CSW. Mayza is low stuff and command but hey it worked in this one as he gave the Phillies two valuable innings.
Jhoan Duran (L) — 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 5 Whiffs, 36.4% CSW. Duran may have leaned too heavily on his fastballs in this one, but he also couldn’t locate an offspeed pitch. No concern here yet.
BOS 5 – CIN 6
W: Connor Phillips | L: Justin Slaten | HLD: Pierce Johnson | HLD: Graham Ashcraft | HLD: Tony Santillan | BS: Emilio Pagán
Greg Weissert — 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 Whiffs, 25.9% CSW. Meh. The sweeper moves a ton, but it hasn’t been a succesful pitch for him so far in his career.
Danny Coulombe — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 35.7% CSW. Command needs to be better for Coulombe to be useful, it may take time after a slow start to the spring.
Ryan Watson — 2.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 3 BB, 1 K, 7 Whiffs, 23.5% CSW. Despite the lack of command, you can see what the Red Sox see in Watson as he has a deep mix and plus extension. He should have a chance to last as the team’s long reliever all year.
Aroldis Chapman — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 44.4% CSW. Hey we finally got a K from Chapman. He was electric here in the ninth to keep things tied, and didn’t even need his slider.
Garrett Whitlock — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 17% CSW. Easy work for Whitlock here, who didn’t even have his best fastball.
Justin Slaten (L) — 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 36.4% CSW. Poor luck for Slaten here, who also didn’t have great command (it’s early in the season, alright).
Sam Moll — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 20.0% CSW. Meh.
Pierce Johnson (HLD) — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 28.6% CSW. Stuff is not what it once was, but he located today at least.
Graham Ashcraft (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 3 Whiffs, 42.1% CSW. Little bit better command, and Ashcraft will be very tough to hit.
Tony Santillan (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 Whiffs, 32.0% CSW. Good stuff, poor command…although the four-seam velo sitting at 93.9 MPH is concerning. Santillan sat 97.2 MPH in 2024 when he broke out as a reliever.
Emilio Pagán (BS) — 1.1 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 5 Whiffs, 36.4% CSW. Pagán really only made one bad pitch in this one, and Abreu just made him pay. I’m not concerned here.
Connor Phillips (W) — 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 6 Whiffs, 43.5% CSW. This is what C locations can get you when you have A+ stuff. Phillips may be the best reliever in this bullpen, and days like these should help him see future high-leverage situations.
PIT 2 – NYM 4
W: Richard Lovelady | L: Hunter Barco
Justin Lawrence — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 Whiffs, 30.4% CSW. The sweeper is awesome, but it comes with a lack of command. Will be tough to rely on him consistently.
Gregory Soto — 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 4 Whiffs, 29.6% CSW. Soto has been a whiff machine so far this season, and I think he should be on your radar in most leagues, with Santana being the only competition in front of him at this point.
Dennis Santana — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 2 Whiffs, 16.7% CSW. Santana’s changeup looked awesome today, which kind of came from out of nowhere. The fastballs are still a mess though, so I have my concerns. That changeup is worth keeping an eye on though.
Hunter Barco (L) — 1.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 20.8% CSW. Barco probably shouldn’t have started that second inning and definitely should not have been pitching to Luis Robert Jr., so it’s hard to blame him for this result. He should be piggybacking Mlodzinski starts or even starting himself.
Huascar Brazobán — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 50.0% CSW. Good changeup today in his short outing.
Luke Weaver — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 25.0% CSW. Velo is still down for Weaver but we’ll take the 21″ iVB as a trade off. The changeup was awesome today (as it was for everyone in this game today…wind aided?)
Brooks Raley — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 3 Whiffs, 45.5% CSW. Raley doesn’t need velocity when he has three pitches that break a ton. His sweeper was ridiculous in this one due to the wind or whatever jet stream was pulling pitches into the right-handed batter’s box.
Devin Williams — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 Whiffs, 26.3% CSW. Due to that crazy jet stream, Williams changeup was even more unhittable than usual but it was the fastball that got both Whiffs (and strikeouts).
Luis García Jr. — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 2 Whiffs, 26.3% CSW. Blegh, this isn’t really interesting.
Richard Lovelady (W) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. The wind-aided sweeper was sweeping yesterday.
COL 3 – MIA 4
W: Calvin Faucher | L: Jaden Hill | SV: Pete Fairbanks
Brennan Bernardino — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 2 Whiffs, 25.0% CSW. Curveball is good, he just needs to be careful with his fastball.
Zach Agnos — 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 6 Whiffs, 30.0% CSW. Six different pitches in this one, most of which aren’t that interesting.
Jaden Hill (L) — 1.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 26.1% CSW. Meh, not really interesting yet.
Calvin Faucher (W) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 41.7% CSW. That cutter is such a good pitch, especially when he can sprinkle in a 98 MPH sinker or his sweeper/curveball. I mean, if he’s throwing 98 consistently all of a sudden, he’ll be nearly untouchable.
Pete Fairbanks (SV) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Pitching on back-to-back days, the velocity was down for Fairbanks, but that cutter was still great for him. He’s in a good place right now.
LAA 9 – HOU 11
W: Kai-Wei Teng | L: Walbert Ureña
Walbert Ureña (L) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 6 Whiffs, 27.1% CSW. Urena dealt with bad luck in this one, and could be a really good reliever some day I just think the Angels may have rushed him.
Joey Lucchesi — 0.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 24.0% CSW. You can see why no team was that interested in his services this offseason.
Brent Suter — 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Still a decent mop-up guy despite the lack of stuff at his age.
Kai-Wei Teng (W) — 2.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 4 Whiffs, 30.8% CSW. Teng gave the Astros much-needed innings in this one, and possesses good offspeed stuff. If he can locate his four-seamer like he did here, he could be alright.
Bryan King — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 Whiffs, 41.2% CSW. Good sweeper, bad fastball, but he located the fastball well enough today to survive (he did leave a few middle-middle to righties).
Bryan Abreu — 1.0 IP, 3 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 3 Whiffs, 23.1% CSW. A+ stuff, F locations kind of day for Abreu here. The fastball velo is still down a tick, but it being March, I’m not overly concerned yet.
CHW 1 – MIL 6
W: Aaron Ashby
Chris Murphy — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 3 Whiffs, 26.7% CSW. Blegh.
Grant Taylor — 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 19.2% CSW. A+ stuff, F locations for Taylor here, as he couldn’t locate anything where he wanted to. He’s worth being patient with.
Bryan Hudson — 0.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 4 Whiffs, 24.2% CSW. No
Jedixson Paez — 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 0.0% CSW. He threw one pitch, so nothing to really see here.
Seranthony Domínguez — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 23.1% CSW. I think we will see a lot of middling stuff and locations from Seranthony this year. Will it be enough to work for him as the closer, we shall see.
Aaron Ashby (W) — 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 5 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Ashby should be in line for a few more wins in this role, even as he didn’t have his best stuff yesterday.
Angel Zerpa — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 23.5% CSW. Zerpa located well here and his stuff is better right now than where Koenig is at. He should be the seventh-inning guy for them.
Abner Uribe — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 Whiffs, 35.7% CSW. Uribe looked great in the 8th inning here, and he should remain the Brewers top setup option as long as Megill is healthy.
DL Hall — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 27.8% CSW. In a non-save chance, the Brewers decided to save Megill’s bullets (wisely) and let Hall finish the game. Nothing exciting of note.
KCR 2 – ATL 6
W: Osvaldo Bido | L: Carlos Estévez | HLD: Matt Strahm | HLD: Lucas Erceg
Matt Strahm (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 30.8% CSW. Still struggling with velo, but his deep mix and breaking stuff should help keep him in a high-leverage role in this bullpen.
Lucas Erceg (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 0.0% CSW. Erceg did not struggle with velo in this one, as he was sitting…99 MPH!? That kind of came from out of nowhere, but we will certainly take it. The command was a mess, though, so it wasn’t all positive.
Carlos Estévez (L) — 0.1 IP, 6 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 14.8% CSW. This poor guy shouldn’t be pitching right now. Manager Matt Quatraro acknowledged that they may need to build him up in lower-leverage situations for now.
Dylan Lee — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 2 Whiffs, 16.7% CSW. Lee looked great today, and the low velo is not a concern yet.
Joel Payamps — 0.1 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 13.3% CSW. Not great, and he looked better in spring training.
Aaron Bummer — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 25.0% CSW. It wasn’t that long ago Bummer threw 96 MPH. Now at 91 MPH, there’s not much to be excited about.
Osvaldo Bido (W) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 4 Whiffs, 37.5% CSW. Bido striking out the side in order here is a surprise. A locations will do that for you, even with D stuff.
NYY 3 – SFG 1
W: Jake Bird | SV: David Bednar | HLD: Tim Hill
Brent Headrick — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 21.4% CSW. I like Headrick a lot, but the command is still not where it needs to be.
Jake Bird (W) — 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 2 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Bird located better in this one and should be OK as long as he is commanding his fastball like he was today.
Tim Hill (HLD) — 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 36.4% CSW. Hill is just so good at locating his middling stuff, proving it’s not all about velocity.
David Bednar (SV) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 20.0% CSW. Is there any reason to be concerned with Bednar? I don’t think so yet, he was pitching on back-to-back days, but these are some of the location issues he has struggled with in the past.
Ryan Borucki — 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 40.0% CSW. Slider was good in this one.
Matt Gage — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 37.5% CSW. Middling stuff but great command. Is that command sticky?
Keaton Winn — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. That splitter looked great in this one, and as a full time reliever, there could be something here potentially.
Erik Miller — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 15.0% CSW. Ahh, there’s the location/command issues from last season. I don’t want to be on this bumpy ride unless the stuff improves, or more realistically, his command does.
JT Brubaker — 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 0.0% CSW. He threw just two pitches.
Ryan Walker — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 20.0% CSW. Located the fastball well in this one, and if he can do that he should be able to stick in the closer role here.
DET 0 – SDP 3
SV: Mason Miller | HLD: Kyle Hart
Brant Hurter — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Hurter usually wins with his command, which wasn’t there today.
Connor Seabold — 2.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 5 Whiffs, 20.0% CSW. Kept the Tigers in this game and actually looked pretty good in doing so. I wonder if he could be a decent fastball/changeup reliever.
Will Vest — 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 25.0% CSW. Interesting usage for Vest to begin the season.
Kyle Hart (HLD) — 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 2 Whiffs, 43.5% CSW. OK, this is kind of interesting. The stuff isn’t great, but he located four pitches well here, and the usage was also interesting as the Padres rested their top two setup guys. Maybe an interesting SP eligible option
Mason Miller (SV) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Command wasn’t great, but it rarely needs to be for Miller.
ARI 2 – LAD 3
W: Will Klein | L: Juan Morillo | SV: Edwin Díaz | HLD: Jonathan Loáisiga | HLD: Joe Ross
Jonathan Loáisiga (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 11.1% CSW. Loáisiga is getting that type of stopper/fireman usage he had back in his prime with the Yankees. If he can stay healthy, he could be valuable in holds leagues.
Joe Ross (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 2 Whiffs, 21.4% CSW. Interesting to see Ross get this kind of set up usage, but this bullpen is wide open I suppose.
Juan Morillo (L) — 0.2 IP, 2 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 2 Whiffs, 22.7% CSW. Morillo actually got his lefties out in this one, it was the righties that got to him. He just couldn’t really command anything.
Paul Sewald — 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 0.0% CSW. Sewald threw five pitches here with his fastball velo sitting 2 MPH higher than last season.
Alex Vesia — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 25.0% CSW. King of the high vert fastball.
Will Klein (W) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Klein, being the most trusted right-handed reliever in this bullpen not named Edwin, shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Plus breaking stuff.
Edwin Díaz (SV) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 0.0% CSW. No Whiffs here, but we will take the easy save from Díaz. 95.4 MPH on 8 fastballs…
CLE 6 – SEA 5
W: Cade Smith | L: Andrés Muñoz | SV: Connor Brogdon | HLD: Erik Sabrowski | HLD: Shawn Armstrong
Matt Festa — 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 35.7% CSW. Festa doesn’t throw hard, but he locates well typically, as he did in this one.
Tim Herrin — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 4 Whiffs, 36.8% CSW. Herrin’s slider was on today, and he should continue to lean on his two breakers (curveball being the other) this season.
Erik Sabrowski (HLD) — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 5 Whiffs, 30.0% CSW. Sabrowski was great in that first outing, but here you see the volatility as his command was not there tonight.
Shawn Armstrong (HLD) — 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 3 Whiffs, 36.8% CSW. Four pitch mix looked fine in this one, command was off though.
Cade Smith (W) — 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 7 Whiffs, 28.6% CSW. No splitter command from Smith tonight led to him having to lean solely on his fastball. Rough outing, but no cause for concern.
Connor Brogdon (SV) — 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 2 Whiffs, 23.5% CSW. All things considered, this didn’t look too bad from Brogdon. Just left a couple pitches up over the plate.
Eduard Bazardo — 0.2 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 0 Whiffs, 29.2% CSW. Is the heavy workload finally taking a toll on him?
Gabe Speier — 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 0.0% CSW. Only three pitches in this one.
Casey Legumina — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 17.4% CSW. There’s some interesting stuff here, locations need to be more consistent.
Cole Wilcox — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 30.0% CSW. The slider is intriguing, but nothing else really is
Andrés Muñoz (L) — 1.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 6 Whiffs, 45.0% CSW. Muñoz ran into a red-hot Chase Delauter in this one, unfortunately. Velo was down to 97 MPH working a back-to-back, so that’s something to note.
Also, if you’re looking for the detailed list or ranking of Relievers, check out my weekly RP Ranks
