Welcome to the RP Roundup, my daily fantasy baseball article reviewing every reliever performance from the previous day.
MIN 1 – KCR 3
SV: John Schreiber | HLD: Daniel Lynch IV | HLD: Nick Mears
Kody Funderburk — 1.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 Whiffs, 26.9% CSW. Blegh
Justin Topa — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 40.0% CSW. Not interested.
Taylor Rogers — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 28.6% CSW. The sweeper’s still good, but I don’t think you want to chase this in any format.
Daniel Lynch IV (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Located the sinker well today, but this isn’t worth chasing in holds leagues.
Nick Mears (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 50.0% CSW. Mears finally pitches and looked…OK. Only 8 pitches, but it was a good start.
John Schreiber (SV) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 20.0% CSW. Schreiber got the save chance with Erceg and Strahm off and survived. Don’t read into it, and I don’t even really trust him in holds leagues.
TEX 5 – BAL 2
SV: Tyler Alexander | HLD: Jakob Junis | HLD: Jalen Beeks
Jakob Junis (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 50.0% CSW. Location expert was locating today (outside of one changeup).
Jalen Beeks (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 38.5% CSW. If his four-seam command can stay consistent, this might have been a great find for the Rangers.
Tyler Alexander (SV) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 3 Whiffs, 40.0% CSW. Alexander is now tied for the league lead in saves with two. On the one hand, this team doesn’t have a set closer, especially with how Garcia and Martin have looked so far. Luke Jackson took the closer role from those two last April, after all. Skip Schumaker is open to someone just taking this role and riding the hot hand. But on the other hand, this is Tyler Alexander. The changeup and sweeper are nice, but the fastballs aren’t, and he’d need near elite command every game to have some sort of late-career breakout. So yes, he may be Luke Jackson 2.0, which means no, do not make him a priority on waivers or with FAAB. This likely won’t end well.
Dietrich Enns — 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 5 Whiffs, 32.4% CSW. Great results despite average stuff from Enns. It helps having a solid four-pitch mix.
Rico Garcia — 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 3 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Garcia is so underappreciated. He should be their 8th inning guy for now.
Tyler Wells — 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 4 Whiffs, 30.8% CSW. Wells hasn’t had much success this year, but the stuff looks great out of the pen. He should settle in eventually.
PIT 0 – CIN 2
SV: Connor Phillips | HLD: Jose Franco | HLD: Graham Ashcraft
Isaac Mattson — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 26.7% CSW. Not the best four-seam command here, but he survived.
Justin Lawrence — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 Whiffs, 50.0% CSW. Ok Lawrence, this is what happens when you have some sort of command.
Jose Franco (HLD) — 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 14.3% CSW. Who?
Graham Ashcraft (HLD) — 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 8 Whiffs, 55.6% CSW. Woah. The command wasn’t even great, but the stuff Ashcraft is working with right now. Such a fun two-pitch mix.
Connor Phillips (SV) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 25.0% CSW. A little surprised Phillips got the save chance over Ashcraft, but I also get it. The sweeper was near-perfect today; he just had zero fastball command. That will be the key for him moving forward, that four-seam command.
WSN 13 – PHI 2
HLD: Brad Lord
Brad Lord (HLD) — 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 10 Whiffs, 35.3% CSW. Nothing to be excited for.
Cole Henry — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 22.2% CSW. Kind of surprised at Henry’s usage thus far. He’s looked really good, but keeps getting stuck in mop up duty.
Jonathan Bowlan — 1.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 5 Whiffs, 26.9% CSW. Some bad luck for Bowlan in this one (and bad changeup locations). Stuff is still great.
Tim Mayza — 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 3 Whiffs, 34.8% CSW. As long as he is locating well, he can be effective.
José Alvarado — 0.1 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 6 Whiffs, 24.1% CSW. This was the old Alvarado that I thought we had moved on from. He couldn’t locate anything; it was either outside of the zone or in the middle of the zone. Hopefully, this is just a blip and not a trend.
Dylan Moore — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 0.0% CSW. I guess he fared better than Alvarado.
CHW 9 – MIA 4
SV: Jordan Hicks
Sean Newcomb — 2.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K, 9 Whiffs, 37.3% CSW. Newcomb did his job here before running into trouble in his third inning. This will probably be his role much of the season.
Jordan Hicks (SV) — 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 Whiffs, 15.4% CSW. Still not interested, don’t fall for the 99 mph sinker.
Lake Bachar — 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 10 Whiffs, 31.0% CSW. Bachar could be a setup man for a lot of teams with four plus pitches. He had no four-seam command today, but still put together a nice line.
John King — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 27.3% CSW. Throwing six different pitches in an 11 pitch outing. Whatever works I guess.
Michael Petersen — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 0 Whiffs, 27.3% CSW. I mean, this dude could be a monster with his stuff (96.5 MPH four-seam with 21″ iVB). The Marlins bullpen is going to be a serious problem for opposing teams.
COL 14 – TOR 5
W: Chase Dollander | L: Louis Varland
Jaden Hill — 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 0.0% CSW. He threw one changeup.
Chase Dollander (W) — 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 11 Whiffs, 29.7% CSW. Not worth chasing Dollander at this point, but the stuff did look pretty good despite the results.
Louis Varland (L) — 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 4 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Tough loss for Varland here. He actually looked really good in this one.
Spencer Miles — 1.2 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 3 Whiffs, 22.0% CSW. Not there yet.
Brendon Little — 0.2 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 4 Whiffs, 30.0% CSW. Oh boy. The stuff hasn’t fallen off of a cliff or anything, but if he can’t locate, he’s going to have inconsistencies. Fluharty is way more locked in right now.
Tyler Rogers — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 40.0% CSW. Kind of a wasted outing, but…
Tyler Heineman — 2.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 18.5% CSW. Hey we got two position players to pitch today!
ATH 0 – ATL 4
HLD: Aaron Bummer | HLD: Robert Suarez
Justin Sterner — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 6 Whiffs, 63.6% CSW. Sterner was missing bats at a high clip here, but it’s sad to see him this low in the pecking order in this bullpen. That shouldn’t last long.
Elvis Alvarado — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 3 Whiffs, 31.2% CSW. Leaned on his four-seamer here, which is a good enough pitch for him that he can do so when needed. And the command wasn’t terrible.
Mark Leiter Jr. Jr. — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 37.5% CSW. Eight pitches, but he located well, and the splitter remains a weapon.
Michael Kelly — 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Meh, he’s OK. Not worth chasing in most holds leagues.
Aaron Bummer (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 4 Whiffs, 53.8% CSW. Lee got the day off so Bummer filled in for him, and the sweeper was nasty to lefties here. The breakers will play and he threw 10 of them in his 13 pitches.
Robert Suarez (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 2 Whiffs, 16.7% CSW. No feel for his changeup in this one, but it’s interesting to see that cutter usage again (4/18 pitches). It’s not a great pitch, but as a third wrinkle, why not?
Raisel Iglesias — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 2 Whiffs, 37.5% CSW. Fine season debut for Iglesias, only needing 8 pitches to finish this one.
LAA 2 – CHC 7
SV: Colin Rea
Joey Lucchesi — 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 3 Whiffs, 20.0% CSW. nope
Shaun Anderson — 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 20.0% CSW. cool changeup, rest is blegh.
Colin Rea (SV) — 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 4 K, 7 Whiffs, 31.0% CSW. Rea fulfilled his long man duties in this one and was able to save the Cubs bullpen.
TBR 3 – MIL 2
W: Garrett Cleavinger | L: Trevor Megill | SV: Kevin Kelly | HLD: Ian Seymour
Griffin Jax — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 33.3% CSW. Jax entered in the 7th inning here in a tie game, which isn’t what we want, but at least he looked a bit better in this one. The stuff remains elite, but the command is just not there. Maybe there’s something mechanically going on, or he’s just rusty (only 7.1 IP this spring). Give it time.
Garrett Cleavinger (W) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 4 Whiffs, 37.5% CSW. I’m more worried about Cleavinger, whose stuff has taken a hit. He can’t command his fastballs, and the velo is way down (3 MPH yesterday, 2 MPH for the season). Something to keep an eye on, and hopefully this isn’t health-related, and it’s more mechanical/”rust” related.
Ian Seymour (HLD) — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 50.0% CSW. Seymour did his job here and got his lefties. Good bounce-back outing for him.
Kevin Kelly (SV) — 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 40.0% CSW. Maybe the Rays will really go back to that 2021/22 bullpen usage.
Aaron Ashby — 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 4 Whiffs, 41.7% CSW. The results have been mostly fine, but I’m not loving where Ashby is at right now, stuff and command-wise. He’ll probably be fine, but I don’t think he’s a must roster in holds leagues.
Angel Zerpa — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 4 Whiffs, 60.0% CSW. The sinker was giving Yandy Díaz and Cedric Mullins issues last night. I wouldn’t expect multiple K outings from him often, though.
Trevor Megill (L) — 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 5 Whiffs, 40.0% CSW. Surprised he pitched the ninth in this one after pitching the night before, especially with Uribe having two days off. He was fine until a walk and a double to Nick Fortes ruined his night. The command will come and go with Megill, especially on back-to-backs, as we saw both decreased velocity and command with his fastball.
NYM 4 – STL 2
SV: Devin Williams | HLD: Tobias Myers | HLD: Brooks Raley
Tobias Myers (HLD) — 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 4 Whiffs, 50.0% CSW. Great outing here from Myers, who was able to locate his fastball well. That will be the key for him.
Brooks Raley (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 29.4% CSW. Raleys sweeper makes his sinker play up, and he was dominating with it in this one. Great reliever who doesn’t need velocity.
Devin Williams (SV) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 4 Whiffs, 58.3% CSW. Should be one of many dominant saves for Williams this year.
Matt Svanson — 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 8 Whiffs, 25.0% CSW. Svanson continues to have issues with his command and is not in the Cardinals circle of trust right now. It could come eventually, but we can move on for now.
George Soriano — 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 4 Whiffs, 28.6% CSW. When/if the fastball command improves, there could be something here.
BOS 1 – HOU 8
Johan Oviedo — 3.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 5 Whiffs, 20.8% CSW. Not very encouraging, but he’s not on the fantasy radar right now anyway.
Ryan Weiss — 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 4 Whiffs, 36.4% CSW. Mhmm, I mean between him and Blubaugh, they are both good enough to be starting. If one or both stay in the bullpen, I’d like to see them in a high-leverage role soon, please and thank you. Kind of reminds me of when the Astros had Chris Devenski and Brad Peacock back in 2016/17.
SFG 3 – SDP 2
SV: Ryan Walker | HLD: Matt Gage | HLD: Keaton Winn
Matt Gage (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 3 Whiffs, 40.0% CSW. Middling stuff with good command tonight.
Keaton Winn (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 5 Whiffs, 61.5% CSW. Heavy splitter usage here (10/13), and the Padres had no answers for it. It is a great pitch, and in this bullpen, Winn could easily work his way into the high-leverage mix consistently.
Ryan Walker (SV) — 1.0 IP, 2 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 27.3% CSW. Walker had no command here, leaving his slider over the middle of the plate and not being able to find the plate with his sinker. He shouldn’t be a closer, but he’s what they got (for now).
Wandy Peralta — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 14.3% CSW. Typical Peralta outing.
David Morgan — 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 3 Whiffs, 25.0% CSW. Good curveball and location tonight.
Ron Marinaccio — 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 5 Whiffs, 27.6% CSW. Command has been good so far, can it stick?
NYY 1 – SEA 2
W: Matt Brash | L: Paul Blackburn | HLD: Jose A. Ferrer | BS: Eduard Bazardo
Fernando Cruz — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 6 Whiffs, 54.5% CSW. 10/11 splitters. Only one of which was in the zone. It’s a nasty pitch, I get it.
Jake Bird — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 28.6% CSW. This was the best-case scenario result, given Bird was only able to throw his sinker in the middle of the plate.
Brent Headrick — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 2 Whiffs, 43.8% CSW. Left a couple of sliders over the plate (once that resulted in a double), but overall, Headrick looked good here.
Camilo Doval — 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 50.0% CSW. Only threw two sinkers (at 93.6 MPH?). Not worried about velocity on two pitches, but maybe something worth monitoring.
Paul Blackburn (L) — 1.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 18.2% CSW. All set with this.
Jose A. Ferrer (HLD) — 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 6.7% CSW. Still sinker dominant as a Mariner (12/15 here). Frustrating. He threw 7 straight sinkers to Jazz Chisholm Jr. Maybe mix in one slider (or even a changeup)?
Eduard Bazardo (BS) — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 16.7% CSW. I think Bazardo needs some time off because it feels like he’s been pitching since October still.
Gabe Speier — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 4 Whiffs, 43.8% CSW. Better outing from Speier here, but the stuff and locations are still not quite right. He’ll probably be fine over time.
Matt Brash (W) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 4 Whiffs, 41.2% CSW. 14/17 pitches were sliders here, but his one sinker was at 97.7 MPH, which is cool. He also threw a nasty changeup in this one.
DET 6 – ARI 9
SV: Paul Sewald | HLD: Juan Morillo | HLD: Taylor Clarke
Enmanuel De Jesus — 1.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 Whiffs, 21.1% CSW. A bit different from his first outing. Command was a bit off here, but I think I prefer him to Hurter?
Brant Hurter — 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 23.1% CSW. See above.
Kyle Finnegan — 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Whiffs, 40.0% CSW. 5 pitches, 3 splitters. Keep that splitter usage up.
Tyler Holton — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 21.1% CSW. Terrible command from Holton in this one, which is very uncharacteristic of him. Cutter was able to bail him out of any more trouble.
Kevin Ginkel — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 38.5% CSW. Still working with diminished stuff and can’t be trusted right now.
Joe Ross — 0.2 IP, 6 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 4 Whiffs, 19.2% CSW. Ooof.
Ryan Thompson — 0.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 7.7% CSW. Pretty useless outing here.
Juan Morillo (HLD) — 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 20.0% CSW. Morillo bailed everyone out (barely).
Taylor Clarke (HLD) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 3 Whiffs, 25.0% CSW. I don’t know who this team should trust to get the ball to Sewald, but I don’t think Clarke is the answer. He was able to throw his slider for strikes in this one at least.
Paul Sewald (SV) — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 Whiffs, 41.7% CSW. Great fastball command helped carry Sewald to his first save of the year. I’m cautiously optimistic about him this season.
CLE 4 – LAD 2
HLD: Erik Sabrowski
Shawn Armstrong — 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 16.7% CSW. Located his way to zero runs allowed.
Erik Sabrowski (HLD) — 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 3 Whiffs, 35.0% CSW. Sabrowski threw 19 straight four-seamers before dropping a slider to Ohtani in the 8th inning. The four-seamer is so good, I get it.
Cade Smith — 1.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 Whiffs, 20.7% CSW. Smith just has no feel for his offspeed stuff right now. I have no longterm concerns at the moment.
Tanner Scott — 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 6 Whiffs, 43.8% CSW. From a holds standpoint, I don’t love Scott’s early-season usage as he keeps pitching early in games. He looked great in this one at least.
Justin Wrobleski — 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 6 Whiffs, 26.7% CSW. Mixed bag from Wrobleski, who should continue to see similar usage this season.
Also, if you’re looking for the detailed list or ranking of Relievers, check out my weekly RP Ranks
