Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 6/18

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

TOR 4 – BOS 3

Toronto Blue Jays
Tommy Nance – W (1)	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	36% CSW
Mason Fluharty – SV (1)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	40% CSW

Mason Fluharty needed just five pitches to close this one out, and this was only the second time this month he’s not allowed a baserunner in an outing.

Boston Red Sox
Justin Slaten	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	27% CSW
Aroldis Chapman – L (2)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	25% CSW

Aroldis Chapman allowed his first run since April 4th here, and he actually had better stuff than we had seen from him in a while. Things started with an infield hit before Valenzuela hit one of the more Fenway-friendly doubles you’ll see off the Monster (0.10 xBA). Chapman should be just fine.

CLE 4 – MIL 2

Cleveland Guardians
Tim Herrin – HLD (12)	0.2 IP	0 H	2 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Colin Holderman – HLD (6)	0.1 IP	0 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW
Hunter Gaddis – HLD (12)	0.2 IP	1 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	33% CSW
Cade Smith – SV (24)	1.1 IP	0 H	2 BB	2 K	6 Whiffs	36% CSW

Hunter Gaddis is still getting eighth-inning usage for some reason, although he did strike out a lefty here. The fastball velocity was down again, and the slider isn’t what it once was.

Milwaukee Brewers
Joel Kuhnel – BS (1)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	14% CSW
Grant Anderson – L (3)	0.2 IP	2 ER	1 H	2 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	24% CSW
Drew Rom	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 BB	3 K	7 Whiffs	44% CSW
Craig Yoho	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	7 Whiffs	53% CSW

It’s nice to see an outing from Craig Yoho outside of Colorado, and also to see that fastball velocity at 95 MPH. It’s still not a great fastball, but with the changeup as his primary, this can still work.

MIN 9 – TEX 3

Minnesota Twins
Justin Lawrence	1.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	50% CSW
Taylor Rogers	0.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	27% CSW
Andrew Morris	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	25% CSW
Eric Orze	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	42% CSW
Cody Laweryson	1.0 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	24% CSW

Taylor Rogers has seen better years, but the fastball velocity has been rising, and while it’s still terrible, the sweeper could intrigue a team in need of left-handed bullpen help at the deadline.

Texas Rangers
Peyton Gray	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	70% CSW
Robby Ahlstrom	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	29% CSW
Cal Quantrill	2.0 IP	2 ER	4 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	19% CSW
Cole Winn	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW

Peyton Gray’s fastball was up 1.2 MPH here, and in that mid-93 MPH range, the pitch becomes above average and gives him a solid three-pitch mix. If we are trying to determine which setup option is better here, Cole Winn’s splitter and slider have more potential, but Gray’s fastball is the better of the two.

BAL 0 – SEA 3

Baltimore Orioles
Rico Garcia	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW

Rico Garcia looked better here than he had his last time out, but the fastball is still down under 95 MPH, which is less than ideal. We may see that changeup usage rise above his fastball.

Seattle Mariners
Eduard Bazardo – HLD (14)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	18% CSW
Andrés Muñoz – SV (12)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW

Andrés Muñoz only got 4 swings on the first 20 pitches he threw here: a slider whiff, two groundballs on fastballs, and a fastball was fouled off. The command was as it has been for him, all over the place. He did find the zone with 1/3 of his pitches, but he landed just one slider in the strike zone (and it was middle-middle). The fastball velocity was up again, but it won’t matter much if he can’t locate anything.

NYM 6 – PHI 4

New York Mets
Huascar Brazobán – W (4)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	20% CSW
A.J. Minter – HLD (1)	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	12% CSW
Luke Weaver – HLD (9)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	3 K	3 Whiffs	36% CSW
Devin Williams – SV (11)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	5 Whiffs	36% CSW

Not the strongest outing from Devin Williams, but the first “hit” was an infield dribbler before Crawford stuck his bat out and blooped a single to center, so I’m not overly concerned. He just can’t be walking guys like Stott, so he can avoid having to face Schwarber with two on in a two-run game in the ninth (Schwarber line out to right had a 105 MPH exit velo and .550 xBA).

Philadelphia Phillies
Seth Johnson	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	41% CSW
José Alvarado – L (2)	1.0 IP	3 ER	3 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	23% CSW
Bryse Wilson	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	10% CSW

Seth Johnson is finally back and was averaging 99.3 MPH with his fastball here. Hopefully, he gets an extended look this time, as the stuff is definitely MLB-ready, and his command has been better this season as well.

CHW 5 – NYY 1

Chicago White Sox
Bryan Hudson	1.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	41% CSW

New York Yankees
Fernando Cruz – L (2)	0.2 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 K	2 Whiffs	30% CSW
Tim Hill	0.1 IP	2 ER	0 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	10% CSW
Camilo Doval	1.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 K	3 Whiffs	25% CSW

Camilo Doval’s first pitch was a 100 MPH sinker down and in to Benintendi that he cleared out for a grand slam to blow this game open. For what it’s worth, Venable just outmanaged Boone here in the 8th inning, but you’d still expect this trio to give you a better output in the eighth.

STL 6 – KCR 14

St. Louis Cardinals
Gordon Graceffo	1.2 IP	4 ER	4 H	2 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	17% CSW
Max Rajcic	2.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	15% CSW
Justin Bruihl	2.2 IP	1 ER	4 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	23% CSW

Max Rajcic made his debut here, and there’s some intrigue with the pair of breakers he has. The fastball also isn’t terrible as he was sitting 96 MPH here and the shapes decent. This bullpen lacks depth, so Rajcic could stick around for a while, and he looks better than Graceffo at least.

Kansas City Royals
Mason Black	2.0 IP	2 ER	3 H	2 BB	0 K	4 Whiffs	28% CSW
Beck Way	2.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	2 BB	2 K	7 Whiffs	33% CSW

Blegh, I think at least one of these two may figure it out eventually (Way just needs some command), but we aren’t there yet.

LAA 0 – ATH 5

Los Angeles Angels
Brent Suter	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	32% CSW
Ryan Zeferjahn	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	29% CSW

If we could just get Ryan Zeferjahn to limit his walks (just give me a 10% BB rate), the stuff can be so nasty. It’s hard to trust him with this command/control, but it’s also hard to quit someone with stuff like this.

Athletics
Mason Barnett	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	23% CSW
Hogan Harris	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	28% CSW

Hogan Harris with three strikeouts and no walks is a nice sight to see (the singles were deserved), and it feels like he still may be in the driver’s seat for saves here over Alvarado.

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

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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 6/18

Rick Graham

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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 6/18

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