Fantasy Baseball Reliever Roundup

Los Angeles Angels
Mitch Farris	3.0 IP	3 ER	6 H	0 BB	2 K	7 Whiffs	26% CSW
Adam Frazier	1.0 IP	4 ER	5 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	17% CSW

There’s a day off joke here for Mitch Farris

Toronto Blue Jays
Mason Fluharty – W (2)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 K	3 Whiffs	42% CSW
Braydon Fisher	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Joe Mantiply	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	10% CSW
Tyler Rogers	1.0 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 K	2 Whiffs	28% CSW
Tommy Nance	1.0 IP	0 ER	3 H	1 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW

Back-to-back rough outings for Tyler Rogers (7 hits, 3 ER over his past 1.1 IP), and that’s just going to happen from time to time with him as he doesn’t strike guys out and lives in the strike zone. I’m not overly concerned.

Athletics
Hogan Harris	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	36% CSW
Scott Barlow	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	50% CSW
Mark Leiter Jr. Jr.	1.0 IP	2 ER	3 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	37% CSW
Joel Kuhnel	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	23% CSW

Please do not see Scott Barlow’s ratios and think he is by any means “safe”. That .116 BABIP is not going to last forever, especially with the fastball being as bad as it is these days (somehow just 2 hits allowed on 87 fastballs so far).

Baltimore Orioles
Lou Trivino	2.1 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	3 K	7 Whiffs	35% CSW
Dietrich Enns	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	20% CSW
Andrew Kittredge	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	31% CSW

Dietrich Enns and Andrew Kittredge don’t have the same stuff they finished 2025 with, and it’s showing. It’s best to stay away from these two until things turn around.

Houston Astros
Enyel De Los Santos	1.0 IP	2 K	3 Whiffs	67% CSW
Steven Okert	1.0 IP	0 K	0 Whiffs	10% CSW
Bryan Abreu	0.1 IP	0 K	1 Whiffs	40% CSW

Bryan Abreu came in to face one batter (Stewart) and threw him five straight sliders (down 3 MPH). The fifth slider he hung at the top of the zone and was driven to the fence in CF. He’s having the strangest year.

Cincinnati Reds
Brock Burke – HLD (3)	1.0 IP	1 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW
Graham Ashcraft – HLD (8)	1.0 IP	2 K	1 Whiffs	26% CSW
Pierce Johnson – SV (1)	1.0 IP	0 K	0 Whiffs	17% CSW

This was the best Graham Ashcraft has looked in a while, but it came in the 8th innings with the Reds turning to Pierce Johnson for the save (classic Francona going with the oldest guy in the pen). I don’t see a scenario with Johnson as their closer that ends well. Best-case scenario, he finishes with ratios around the lower end of his career averages (3.75 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 25% K rate) and doesn’t have enough major meltdowns to give up the role. There’s just too much talent in this bullpen (or AAA bullpen for that matter), someone has to figure things out and break out here, right?

Washington Nationals
Zack Littell	4.0 IP	2 ER	5 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	17% CSW
Mitchell Parker – L (1)	1.0 IP	5 ER	5 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	26% CSW
Zak Kent	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	36% CSW

Ugh, man, I was just starting to buy into Mitchell Parker the reliever, too. His fastball command was a mess here, and he faced a lot of right-handed hitters, so that slider got hit around pretty hard. He’s going to be matchup dependent.

Miami Marlins
Lake Bachar	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 K	3 Whiffs	38% CSW
Andrew Nardi – W (3)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Michael Petersen	0.2 IP	3 ER	4 H	0 K	2 Whiffs	25% CSW
John King – SV (1)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	67% CSW

Michael Petersen had some bad luck here. The first “hit” should have been caught in RF. He then left a fastball down that Milas singled up the middle, and the double to Wood wasn’t even a bad pitch; James Wood is just incredibly locked in right now. The fourth hit was a changeup to Garcia that hung up in the zone. The secondaries are not great, and Petersen doesn’t command them well. He really can’t command his fastball that well either. That’s what’s holding him back, and I just am not sure he’s going to be able to fix these things in season.

Colorado Rockies
Tanner Gordon	3.0 IP	2 ER	4 H	0 BB	3 K	8 Whiffs	23% CSW

Philadelphia Phillies
Tim Mayza – W (1)	0.1 IP	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
Tanner Banks	2.0 IP	3 K	6 Whiffs	44% CSW
Chase Shugart	1.0 IP	3 K	3 Whiffs	39% CSW
Orion Kerkering	1.0 IP	1 K	1 Whiffs	21% CSW

Nothing like some classic Rockie Road to produce lines like this for Tanner Banks and Chase Shugart. There’s nothing to get excited about with either one, though.

Minnesota Twins
Andrew Morris	0.2 IP	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	27% CSW
Taylor Rogers	1.0 IP	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	24% CSW
Yoendrys Gómez	0.1 IP	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	40% CSW
Kody Funderburk	0.1 IP	2 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
Eric Orze – W (1)	1.2 IP	3 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	7% CSW
Luis García Jr. – SV (1)	1.0 IP	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	15% CSW

Not one hit allowed by THIS bullpen over five innings is impressive, although it did come with six walks and just two strikeouts (just 4 whiffs). Taylor Rogers was throwing 2 MPH harder here, so that could be interesting if it sticks.

Cleveland Guardians
Hunter Gaddis	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	31% CSW
Colin Holderman	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	50% CSW
Erik Sabrowski	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	43% CSW
Peyton Pallette – L (2)	2.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	3 K	5 Whiffs	35% CSW

A much better showing from Hunter Gaddis here, with his velo up over 1.5 MPH, and he showed off the splitchange in this one. It looks like he has some competition here from at least Colin Holderman for that right-handed setup role, but if Gaddis can match this stuff consistently, he should be just fine.

Chicago Cubs
Jacob Webb	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	27% CSW
Ethan Roberts	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	17% CSW

Ethan Roberts was leaning on his sweeper and cutter here, and the sweeper is great, but the cutter hasn’t been as consistent.

Texas Rangers
Jalen Beeks – W (2)	1.1 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	31% CSW
Cole Winn	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	45% CSW
Gavin Collyer	2.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	26% CSW

Gavin Collyer had issues locating his cutter here, and he threw it 22 times out of his 35 pitches. He’s really been leaning on that cutter, but I’d like to see more sinker/four-seam from him (and of course the sweeper).

Detroit Tigers
Burch Smith (opener)	0.1 IP	2 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	9% CSW
Tyler Holton	1.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	31% CSW

Burch Smith had been looking great out of the bullpen for the Tigers, and then they had to go and have him open, and this is what we get. I still believe the stuff can be pretty good, and hopefully, this is the last time we see him opening.

Kansas City Royals
Matt Strahm	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	22% CSW
Steven Cruz	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	27% CSW

This was Steven Cruz’s first game at the MLB level in over a month, and we saw a 2+ MPH velo uptick across the board. The fastball can be really good for him, and the command was great here as well. Someone to keep an eye on to see if he can string together more outings like this.

Seattle Mariners
Josh Simpson	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	16% CSW
Nick Davila	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	31% CSW
José Suarez	2.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	2 BB	3 K	6 Whiffs	19% CSW

Man, imagine in March thinking these three guys would be throwing the final four innings of a Mariners game. I can’t get excited about any of them, unfortunately.

Chicago White Sox
Grant Taylor	2.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	3 K	3 Whiffs	31% CSW
Bryan Hudson	1.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	37% CSW
Tyler Schweitzer	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	50% CSW

Grant Taylor is still working with lower velocity, and it may be by choice, but it’s not like it’s drastically helping his command. Hopefully, all is well.

New York Yankees
Brent Headrick – HLD (5)	1.1 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	20% CSW
Camilo Doval – BS (3)	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
David Bednar	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW
Fernando Cruz – L (1)	0.1 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	30% CSW
Tim Hill	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	29% CSW

Tucked in between a couple of less-than-ideal bullpen outings, we had David Bednar, who put together this fine line…but the velo dipped back down into the 95 MPH range again. I thought we were back in the 96-97 range again? At least he is pitching well for the time being.

Milwaukee Brewers
Chad Patrick	3.0 IP	2 H	1 BB	5 K	9 Whiffs	33% CSW
DL Hall	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	19% CSW
Aaron Ashby – W (7)	2.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	3 K	3 Whiffs	44% CSW

Aaron Ashby is the league leader in wins and is currently on pace for 31 wins. Now that won’t happen, but it seems highly likely he beats Adrian Morejons 13 win mark from last season, and probably Ryan Yarbrough’s 14 relief wins mark from 2018. Prior to Yarbrough (and Morejon), we hadn’t seen anyone with 13 or more relief wins in a single season since 1986.

New York Mets
Austin Warren	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	35% CSW
Craig Kimbrel	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	21% CSW

Craig Kimbrel’s stuff looked much better here away from Coors, but the command was all over the place. IF he can command his fastball and sit 95 MPH, that’s pretty big time. I just don’t see a scenario where he has both the command and velocity on a consistent enough basis.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Taylor Clarke – HLD (7)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	42% CSW
Paul Sewald – SV (8)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	29% CSW

Finally, we got another Paul Sewald save, and while Vientos just missed taking him deep, he was able to strike out his two lefties (Melendez and Benge), which was nice to see. Keep him in your lineups until things unravel.

St. Louis Cardinals
Justin Bruihl	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	33% CSW
Matt Svanson	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	5 Whiffs	44% CSW

Matt Svanson continues to give up loud contact, even as the stuff has been looking better. He’s not back on the fantasy radar in holds leagues quite yet.

San Diego Padres
Jeremiah Estrada – HLD (5)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	20% CSW
Jason Adam – HLD (7)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	18% CSW
Adrian Morejon – HLD (7)	0.2 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	36% CSW
Mason Miller – SV (12)	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	4 K	8 Whiffs	41% CSW

We finally get to see the four horsemen all pitch in the same game, and while Morejon allowed a run (grazed Wetherholts’ jersey with a HBP followed by a double by Herrera on a 3-0 count) and Miller issues two walks (given his zone rate, 5 walks on the season is pretty low), this was a pretty dominant stretch from these guys. Jeremiah Estrada’s fastball velocity was up almost 2 MPH (97.2 MPH), and that’s so close to where he was sitting last year (97.9 MPH).

Pittsburgh Pirates
Evan Sisk	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW
Cam Sanders	1.0 IP	2 ER	1 H	3 BB	0 K	6 Whiffs	18% CSW

Evan Sisk has given the Pirates a third lefty in the bullpen they can trust, and one that is completely different from Montgomery. Sisk comes from a low arm angle and tops out around 90 MPH, but the breakers are really tough on lefties and righties alike, and he’s been throwing a changeup this year as well.

San Francisco Giants
Ryan Borucki	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	12% CSW
Ryan Walker	0.2 IP	2 ER	3 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	27% CSW
Matt Gage	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	40% CSW
JT Brubaker	0.2 IP	3 ER	4 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	20% CSW
Gregory Santos	1.1 IP	0 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Christian Koss	1.0 IP	3 ER	5 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	21% CSW

Gregory Santos’s velocity was down 3 MPH here, and I think we can move on from him as a potential high-leverage arm for now. The only relievers that can be trusted in this bullpen right now are Kilian, Winn, and maybe Peguero? Matt Gage looks like 2025 Erik Miller with his higher WHIP than ERA and 0% K-BB rate.

Atlanta Braves
Dylan Lee	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	22% CSW
Reynaldo López	2.0 IP	2 ER	4 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	21% CSW

I think we (and the Braves) were hoping to see Reynaldo López’s stuff look better out of the pen, but that has not been the case. His fastball shouldn’t be sitting at 92.5 MPH in the bullpen.

Los Angeles Dodgers
Jack Dreyer	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	27% CSW
Edgardo Henriquez	1.2 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	6 Whiffs	26% CSW
Paul Gervase	3.0 IP	1 ER	4 H	1 BB	5 K	8 Whiffs	38% CSW

Paul Gervase was basically a throw-in in that weird Feduccia trade last year, but he’s a fun depth reliever to have with his crazy extension (7.7′). I’d love a better fastball (velo or shape-wise), but the four-seamer did most of his damage here, and the offspeed offerings (slider/changeup) are well above average as well. Maybe one day we can get 95 MPH out of that massive frame.

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

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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 5/9

Rick Graham

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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 5/9

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