Fantasy Baseball Reliever Roundup

Welcome to the RP Roundup, my daily fantasy baseball article reviewing every reliever performance from the previous day.

DET 5 – ATL 2

Detroit Tigers
Drew Anderson – W (1)	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	6 Whiffs	39% CSW
Kyle Finnegan – SV (1)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	29% CSW

Kyle Finnegan picked up the save here after Kenley Jansen’s BSL (Blown Save + Loss) the day prior, and while Jansen should be considered the closer for the weekend, he could be on the hot seat. Neither Finnegan nor Will Vest has looked like a no-doubt closer type (certainly not on Louis Varland’s level), but there’s at least closer experience here with Finnegan, and he has been pitching better lately.
Drew Anderson has looked the best of this group over the past week as his fastball velo has jumped 2+ MPH in his last three outings. Over those three games (5.1 IP), Anderson holds 35% K-BB, 19.5% SwStr, and 39% CSW rates. Small sample, but if this velo increase can stick, Anderson might be able to put his name in the closer conversation if things continue to spiral with Jansen.

Atlanta Braves
Tyler Kinley – HLD (5)	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	19% CSW
Joel Payamps – L (2)	0.1 IP	2 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	24% CSW
Aaron Bummer	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	17% CSW
José Suarez	1.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	2 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	26% CSW

Joel Payamps was DFA’d after this game, and I get it, the results have not been great, but he’s also been dealing with a lot of bad luck. Payamps currently sits with a 4.08 SIERA, 14% K-BB, and 10.6% SwStr rates, while Tyler Kinley holds a 3.95 SIERA, 12% K-BB, and 11.3% SwStr rates. Kinley just happens to have a .250 BABIP and 82.4% LOB, while Payamps is at a .333 BABIP and 39.2% LOB rate (3rd lowest amongst relievers). Don’t get me wrong, Payamps allows way too much hard contact, but he’s also been very unlucky so far and should latch on to a team in need of bullpen depth rather quickly.

HOU 3 – BAL 10

Houston Astros
Steven Okert	0.2 IP	3 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	31% CSW
AJ Blubaugh	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	23% CSW
Jason Alexander	2.0 IP	5 ER	2 H	3 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	13% CSW

Steven Okert has been one of the more trustworthy relievers in this bullpen, but he had no command here in this one.

Baltimore Orioles
Rico Garcia – HLD (6)	0.1 IP	0 H	1 Whiffs	50% CSW
Anthony Nunez	1.0 IP	3 H	1 Whiffs	23% CSW
Jose Espada	1.0 IP	2 H	1 Whiffs	27% CSW

I’m not worried about the three hits from Anthony Nunez here (two bloop inside-out swings and the third “hit” should have been an error). Maybe a little worried about only 1 whiff, but the stuff all looked great.

HOU 11 – BAL 5

Houston Astros
Bryan Abreu	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	2 BB	3 K	6 Whiffs	44% CSW
Enyel De Los Santos	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	6 Whiffs	32% CSW
Cody Bolton	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	17% CSW

Bryan Abreu’s fastball ranged from 90 to 97 MPH, while the slider ranged from 82 to 87 MPH. It’s hard to know what to make of this, but until we see some consistency, he’s off the fantasy radar.

Baltimore Orioles
Cameron Foster	2.0 IP	1 ER	3 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	28% CSW
Keegan Akin	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	43% CSW
Tyler Wells	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	25% CSW
Yennier Cano	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	50% CSW

Keegan Akin may not be long for this roster once Dietrich Enns is ready to return. Between Enns and Wolfram they have lefties covered, and Akin doesn’t look like the same guy we’ve seen in the past.

STL 10 – PIT 5

St. Louis Cardinals
Justin Bruihl	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	28% CSW
Gordon Graceffo – W (2)	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	25% CSW
JoJo Romero – HLD (8)	0.2 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	43% CSW
Ryne Stanek	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	40% CSW
Matt Svanson	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	24% CSW

JoJo Romero looked great in his first couple of outings, but since the start of April, he’s been a different pitcher (past 11 IP: 7.91 xERA, 4% K-BB, 5% SwStr) and has now allowed runs in four of his past five appearances.

Pittsburgh Pirates
Yohan Ramírez	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	44% CSW
Mason Montgomery	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	8% CSW
Isaac Mattson	0.2 IP	5 ER	3 H	2 BB	0 K	4 Whiffs	29% CSW
Chris Devenski	1.1 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	37% CSW

Isaac Mattson actually saw an uptick in fastball velocity here, at the loss of command, though, and while he does see a lot of hold chances, the stuff (or lack thereof) does concern me.

SFG 2 – PHI 3

San Francisco Giants
Erik Miller – HLD (4)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	21% CSW
Ryan Walker – L (1)	0.2 IP	2 ER	3 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	24% CSW

Ryan Walker threw 20 sinkers here and just 1 slider as he only threw five pitches to right-handed batters here. Erik Miller came in to face the two big lefties in Schwarber and Harper in the eighth, but he should see more ninth-inning work after this one, you’d imagine.

Philadelphia Phillies
Orion Kerkering	0.2 IP	2 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	29% CSW
Tanner Banks	1.1 IP	2 H	2 K	4 Whiffs	30% CSW
Chase Shugart – W (2)	0.1 IP	0 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	50% CSW

Tanner Banks continues to be very hittable, and given his stuff, I don’t think that’s going to get a whole lot better without a drastic command improvement.

SFG 5 – PHI 6

San Francisco Giants
Ryan Borucki	0.1 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	25% CSW
Caleb Kilian	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	41% CSW
Keaton Winn	2.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	3 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	26% CSW
Matt Gage – L (1)	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW

Keaton Winn got a chance to finish this game, and while he hasn’t gotten more than three outs in a game this season, the Giants felt comfortable letting him go two innings here for some reason. I’m not worried about Winn as long as he’s maximizing his stuff in one-inning stints.

Philadelphia Phillies
Nolan Hoffman	2.0 IP	1 ER	4 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	20% CSW
Jonathan Bowlan – BS (1)	1.0 IP	2 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	21% CSW
Trevor Richards – BS (1)	2.1 IP	1 ER	3 H	1 BB	3 K	3 Whiffs	21% CSW
Brad Keller	1.0 IP	1 ER	0 H	0 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	35% CSW
José Alvarado	0.2 IP	0 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	5 Whiffs	29% CSW
Chase Shugart – W (2)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW

Jonathan Bowlan is back, and while the velo was down quite a bit and his command was not present, the stuff still looks great overall. He really should be stretched out as a starter.

COL 4 – CIN 6

Colorado Rockies
Antonio Senzatela	1.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Victor Vodnik	1.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	24% CSW

Antonio Senzatela velo was down in the 95-96 range, and while I don’t love the stuff anyway, he at least has much better command right now than Victor Vodnik.

Cincinnati Reds
Connor Phillips – HLD (3)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	26% CSW
Tony Santillan – HLD (9)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	20% CSW
Emilio Pagán	1.0 IP	2 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	9% CSW

I’m actually not too worried about this outing from Emilio Pagán, he got Singled Out with a couple bloop hits. I’d like to see more whiffs, but it’s not like he was getting hit hard here.

WSN 5 – NYM 4

Washington Nationals
Mitchell Parker – W (2)	3.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	15% CSW
Richard Lovelady – HLD (2)	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Gus Varland – SV (3)	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	27% CSW

Gus Varland came in and got the final three outs for the Nationals here to procure his 3rd save, and while the fastball velo was still down (weather-related?), the slider looked great, and he leaned on that in this one. He should continue to see save chances at least while Clayton Beeter remains out.

New York Mets
Brooks Raley – HLD (4)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 K	3 Whiffs	58% CSW
Luke Weaver – L (1)	1.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	1 K	2 Whiffs	23% CSW
Devin Williams	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 K	3 Whiffs	36% CSW

Devin Williams has looked a little bit better the past couple of times out, and even the hit here probably should have been an out (or at least could have been). Zero strikeouts isn’t ideal, so I’d like to see him do a better job putting away hitters, and that might be the issue here ultimately. Williams changeup PutAway rate in 2023 and 2024 was 30.8% and 31.9%. Last year and this year, it’s been at 21.4% and 20%.

ARI 1 – MIL 13

Arizona Diamondbacks
Philip Abner	2.1 IP	2 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	24% CSW
Jonathan Loáisiga	0.2 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	18% CSW
Brandon Pfaadt	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	47% CSW
James McCann	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	12% CSW

I wonder if there’s been consideration for Brandon Pfaadt being a one-inning reliever and just maximize his fastball velo. Could be interesting down the road.

Milwaukee Brewers
Grant Anderson	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Shane Drohan – W (1)	4.0 IP	1 ER	5 H	0 BB	4 K	8 Whiffs	32% CSW
Trevor Megill	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW
Brian Fitzpatrick	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	40% CSW
Jake Woodford	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	70% CSW

Trevor Megill continues to piece together quality outings. Are they ready for him to go back to pitching in high leverage situations (what options do they have)?

KCR 3 – ATH 6

Kansas City Royals
John Schreiber	1.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW
Alex Lange	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW

I’m not sure John Schreiber or Alex Lange belong on an MLB roster at this point, but what other options do the Royals have?

Athletics
Luis Medina – W (1)	2.2 IP	0 ER	3 H	2 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	19% CSW
Scott Barlow – HLD (6)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	29% CSW
Brady Basso – HLD (1)	1.1 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	8% CSW
Jack Perkins – SV (3)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	31% CSW

Jack Perkins didn’t have his best stuff here, but we don’t care. 0 ER, 1 K, 1 SV, he appears to be THE closer here.

TOR 1 – MIN 7

Toronto Blue Jays
Tommy Nance	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	3 K	5 Whiffs	56% CSW
Mason Fluharty	0.1 IP	3 ER	3 H	2 BB	1 K	5 Whiffs	30% CSW
Joe Mantiply	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW

Mason Fluharty may be more of a Cherry Bomb than we’d want and the stuff was down here as well as the command obviously. It’s frustrating because there is a ton of upside, but we don’t want to deal with this command. One of these “hits” was a pop-up on the IF that no one caught (Okamato just froze), so this was by far all Fluharty’s fault. That being said, he did give up a rocket to Bell and walked two guys.

Minnesota Twins
Anthony Banda – HLD (2)	0.2 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 Whiffs	29% CSW
Andrew Morris – HLD (3)	1.1 IP	1 H	0 BB	2 Whiffs	21% CSW
Justin Topa	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	0 Whiffs	8% CSW

Somewhere between April 10th and April 21st, Anthony Banda rediscovered his velocity, and over his past six games, he’s now averaging 94.5 MPH again, closer to his 2025 numbers (still down about 1.5 MPH). Over this six-game span, he holds a 2.13 xERA, 0.92 WHIP, 29.4% K and 14% SwStr rates as well as a 106 Stuff+. Not exactly closer-esque, but in this bullpen, he may be the best option at the moment.

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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 4/30

Rick Graham