Fantasy Baseball Reliever Roundup

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

CHC 4 – TBR 6

Chicago Cubs
Phil Maton	1.0 IP	2 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	26% CSW
Riley Martin	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	30% CSW

Not sure what’s going on with Phil Maton’s command lately, but his locations are all over the place. Not that he’s a big velo guy to begin with, but it was down about 2 MPH here.
I wasn’t prepared to talk about Riley Martin, but 94.5 MPH with 20″ iVB from the left side? I’m intrigued. The curveball seems promising as well (the slider maybe too?), so this is a name to keep an eye on as he could potentially be that second lefty in this bullpen long term.

Tampa Bay Rays
Kevin Kelly (W)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	36% CSW
Ian Seymour (HLD)	1.1 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 K	3 Whiffs	24% CSW
Hunter Bigge (HLD)	1.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW
Bryan Baker (SV)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	2 K	3 Whiffs	50% CSW

Kevin Kelly can be pretty good when he avoids or carefully uses his fastballs, as he did here. The same can be said for Ian Seymour, although he does have a deeper arsenal.
Hunter Bigge can be so good; he just needs to get more consistent with his command.
Bryan Baker finally picked up his first save, while also getting two K’s as that changeup is dominating lefties right now. The 1-0 slider he threw to Shaw for the HR wasn’t even a terrible pitch. Baker has really good stuff, and while it’s not the best in this bullpen (Griffin Jax, and maybe even Bigge have him there), he’s locating really well right now, and I can definitely see a path for him to run with this role.

KCR 4 – CLE 2

Kansas City Royals
Matt Strahm (HLD)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Lucas Erceg (SV)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	21% CSW

This was better from Lucas Erceg, especially in the command department. The four-seamer was interesting here; the velo is still below 97 MPH, but there was better shape, and he didn’t even bother with the sinker. It’ll be interesting to see if this sticks, but I’d prefer him throwing 97 with some shape and iVB to his four seamer than 98 with bad shape. This could work.
I led with the closer, but it’s also interesting to note that Matt Strahm’s four-seamer is also seeing similar changes this year (less velo, better shape, iVB, etc.).

Cleveland Guardians
Tim Herrin	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	20% CSW
Peyton Pallette (L)	2.0 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	37% CSW
Kolby Allard	2.0 IP	2 ER	3 H	1 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	23% CSW

There aren’t a lot of Rule 5 draft guys still on the active roster right now, but Peyton Pallette’s still kicking (and deservedly so).

SDP 5 – PIT 0

San Diego Padres
Ron Marinaccio	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	27% CSW
David Morgan	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	3 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	23% CSW

David Morgan struggled with his command here, and with Jason Adam’s return looming, he may be fighting for a roster spot as Ron Marinaccio has no options left.

Pittsburgh Pirates
Yohan Ramírez	1.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	22% CSW
Isaac Mattson	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	38% CSW
Justin Lawrence	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	38% CSW
Gregory Soto	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	28% CSW

I’m not sure why we are wasting Gregory Soto bullets down 5 in the ninth inning, and he didn’t have his best stuff/command.

CIN 2 – MIA 0

Cincinnati Reds
Brock Burke (HLD)	0.1 IP	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	50% CSW
Tony Santillan (HLD)	1.0 IP	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	40% CSW
Emilio Pagán (SV)	1.0 IP	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	23% CSW

The more it continues to work, the more comfortable I’m getting with Tony Santillan at 94 MPH. The arm angle has dropped, so he’s getting some extra arm side run on the pitch now as well, and as long as he is locating it well, I won’t panic (yet).
Promising outing from Emilio Pagán despite no K’s and just 1 whiff. This was probably the best his four-seamer has looked so far this season.

Miami Marlins
Tyler Phillips	1.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	26% CSW

Tyler Phillips helped save the Marlins bullpen yesterday and is just one of many arms there that can be productive in the right role.

STL 6 – WSN 9

St. Louis Cardinals
Justin Bruihl (BS)	0.2 IP	1 ER	1 H	2 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	22% CSW
JoJo Romero	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	24% CSW
Ryne Stanek	0.2 IP	3 ER	3 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	26% CSW
Matt Svanson (L)	0.2 IP	3 ER	3 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW

And there is the Ryne Stanek we are used to, right? Maybe this is just who he is, constantly dealing with “bad luck,” and with his four-seam just slightly off today, it resulted in this outcome. As good as his four-seamer can be, he doesn’t command it consistently enough, not to mention he rarely throws his offspeed stuff over the plate, so hitters are just sitting fastball (as seen by the first two singles here). That’s not great, especially when he’s leaving the four-seamer near the middle of the plate (the HR pitch to Wood was middle-down). Maybe someday Stanek will harness his incredible stuff, and we’ll see some consistent command gains, but then again, he’s 34 years old, so we are running out of time.
Matt Svanson has now allowed 10 ER (3 HR) over 6 IP this season after allowing 13 ER (3 HR) over 60+ IP last year. He needs some time at AAA to work on some things.

Washington Nationals
Ken Waldichuk (BS)	2.1 IP	3 ER	2 H	2 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	30% CSW
Andre Granillo	0.2 IP	2 ER	2 H	2 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	21% CSW
Cionel Pérez (W)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	29% CSW

Cionel Pérez looked better here and didn’t have to deal with tipping pitches, as no one made it to second base on him.

MIL 8 – BOS 6

Milwaukee Brewers
Aaron Ashby (W)	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 Whiffs	30% CSW
Grant Anderson (HLD)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Angel Zerpa (SV)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 Whiffs	31% CSW

Aaron Ashby might get us 10 wins this season if he can stay healthy despite middling stuff. He’s a weird guy to figure out right now, especially in holds leagues, because he’s not going to get many in this role. He may be more useful in standard formats, just getting wins, accumulating innings, and (hopefully) not destroying your ratios.
Angel Zerpa just throws sinkers over the plate and challenges hitters to beat him, which you gotta respect. I’m not sure it’s going to work for him long term, and I’d like to see some more sliders and changeups, but so far, so good.

Boston Red Sox
Danny Coulombe	0.2 IP	0 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	17% CSW
Jovani Morán (BS)	3.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	4 K	7 Whiffs	42% CSW
Garrett Whitlock (L)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	2 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	30% CSW
Ryan Watson	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	10% CSW

Garrett Whitlock looked a little rusty in his return from the paternity list, as he had no fastball (command and velo/shape were down) today. Not overly concerned about him long-term, but it has not been the best start to the season.

LAD 14 – TOR 2

Los Angeles Dodgers
Will Klein	2.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Edgardo Henriquez	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	36% CSW
Miguel Rojas	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	11% CSW

Umm, Edgardo Henriquez had a ridiculous four-seamer in this one at 101.7 MPH, with 17.5″ iVB, 1.4° HAVAA, and 6.6′ of extension. That’s Mason Miller levels (actually, it’s better?). Consistency is the next step for the 23-year-old and finding that go-to secondary (is it the cutter or slider, maybe curveball needs more love?), but man, this type of upside obviously does not grow on trees.

Toronto Blue Jays
Josh Fleming	3.0 IP	4 ER	6 H	2 BB	1 K	5 Whiffs	17% CSW
Joe Mantiply	0.2 IP	3 ER	1 H	2 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	12% CSW
Tommy Nance	1.1 IP	4 ER	6 H	0 BB	3 K	2 Whiffs	28% CSW
Spencer Miles	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	38% CSW
Tyler Heineman	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	27% CSW

Kind of crazy, the only “pitcher” here to not allow a run or even a baserunner is the backup catcher.

DET 3 – MIN 7

Detroit Tigers
Drew Anderson	3.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	2 BB	4 K	7 Whiffs	24% CSW
Brant Hurter	0.2 IP	1 ER	1 H	2 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW

Drew Anderson has a great changeup, but he didn’t have great command of it today, and the four-seamer can be vulnerable. More interesting than roster-worthy at this point.

Minnesota Twins
Anthony Banda (HLD)	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	35% CSW
Eric Orze (HLD)	0.2 IP	0 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	50% CSW
Kody Funderburk (HLD)	0.2 IP	0 H	3 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	20% CSW
Cody Laweryson (SV)	1.2 IP	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	43% CSW

Cody Laweryson was able to command his fastball and changeup here (only 12 pitches) to get through the five-out “save”. He’s not on the fantasy radar.

BAL 2 – CHW 1

Baltimore Orioles
Tyler Wells (HLD)	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	31% CSW
Rico Garcia (HLD)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	40% CSW
Ryan Helsley (SV)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	2 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW

Rico Garcia getting the hold in the 8th, this bullpen is finding its groove now.
A perfect quote from “TheSizzler” yesterday in the Pitcher List Discord sums up Ryan Helsley perfectly: “Got so caught up in the Helsley will obviously be better than last year of it all that I forgot even at his best he’s chaotic” This is so true, even Helsley at his best makes things shaky with lapses in command or the occasional hard hit ball. We saw the command issues yesterday, and as reliable as Helsley can be, don’t expect things to be easy for him.

Chicago White Sox
Grant Taylor	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	31% CSW
Lucas Sims	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW

Oh cool, Grant Taylor continues to open games. (I do get it from a team context, just does nothing for us in fantasy)

SEA 1 – TEX 2

Seattle Mariners
Jose A. Ferrer	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	42% CSW
Cooper Criswell	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	17% CSW

Jose A. Ferrer threw 6 sinkers, 4 sliders, and 2 changeups here. Let’s continue this pitch mix, please?

Texas Rangers
Jalen Beeks (W)	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	31% CSW
Tyler Alexander (HLD)	0.2 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	29% CSW
Cole Winn (HLD)	0.1 IP	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
Robert Garcia (HLD)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	29% CSW
Jakob Junis (SV)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW

Jakob Junis threw four pitches here to get his first save as a Ranger. Despite having below-average stuff (to put it nicely), if he is able to consistently command his arsenal and keep hitters off balance and unable to square him up, I suppose this could work for a while (him being the “closer”). I don’t have a ton of faith in it, and Robert Garcia did look much better tonight. Cole Winn is throwing the ball well right now too, so between Winn and Garcia, I see them as better season-long closer candidates.

HOU 7 – COL 9

Houston Astros
Ryan Weiss (L)	2.2 IP	6 ER	8 H	2 BB	4 K	5 Whiffs	19% CSW
Enyel De Los Santos	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW

Welcome to Coors Field moment for Ryan Weiss last night.

Colorado Rockies
Jimmy Herget (HLD)	1.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	5 Whiffs	24% CSW
Zach Agnos	0.1 IP	2 ER	4 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	17% CSW
Juan Mejia (SV)	1.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	29% CSW

Ok, good stuff from Juan Mejia here as he got the final 5 outs without allowing a hit. Back-to-back solid outings from him now, can he keep it going?

ATL 2 – LAA 6

Atlanta Braves
Joel Payamps	1.0 IP	1 K	2 Whiffs	36% CSW
Aaron Bummer	1.0 IP	1 K	1 Whiffs	29% CSW
Osvaldo Bido	2.0 IP	1 K	3 Whiffs	28% CSW

No hits or walks over four innings for this crew, and I do like how Joel Payamps has looked so far.

Los Angeles Angels
Chase Silseth	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	25% CSW
Jordan Romano (SV)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	67% CSW

Jordan Romano came in for a 3-pitch save as Chase Silseth couldn’t close the door, and while it was just a three-pitch outing, Romano did run one of those fastballs up to (*checks notes*) 96.3 MPH!? He had been averaging 94.5 MPH, and this could just be a fluke given the situation, but the fact that he has that in there still is certainly intriguing. Not to mention, he actually was able to locate the three fastballs he threw here almost exactly where he wanted to. I need to see how he looks in his next full inning of work, but at least this gives us some hope for potential long-term success.

PHI 6 – SFG 4

Philadelphia Phillies
Tim Mayza	1.0 IP	0 H	1 K	2 Whiffs	44% CSW
Jonathan Bowlan (W)	1.0 IP	0 H	2 K	3 Whiffs	40% CSW
José Alvarado (HLD)	1.0 IP	0 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	23% CSW
Brad Keller (HLD)	1.0 IP	1 H	2 K	3 Whiffs	35% CSW
Jhoan Duran (SV)	1.0 IP	1 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	12% CSW

This group can be awfully tough for opposing lineups when they are on, and it was good to see Jhoan Duran’s stuff look better here, despite the one hit/zero K result.

San Francisco Giants
Ryan Borucki (L)	0.1 IP	2 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	17% CSW
Caleb Kilian	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	35% CSW
Matt Gage	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	40% CSW
Blade Tidwell	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	32% CSW

This bullpen remains terribly frustrating, and is interesting as Caleb Kilian looks (at times), his stuff/command are pretty inconsistent. If Blake Tidwell can shore up his command, maybe he’s the best guy in this bullpen? Just so much inconsistency with everyone here.

If you’re looking for potential relievers to stream today, check out RP Streamers

Also, if you’re looking for the detailed list or ranking of Relievers, check out my weekly RP Ranks

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 4/6

Rick Graham