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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 6/23

A Review of Key Bullpen and Reliever Usage from Yesterday's Games

Rick Graham

RP Roundup 10 Hours Ago

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

HOU 9 – TOR 7

Houston Astros
Steven Okert	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW
Enyel De Los Santos – BS (2)	1.1 IP	2 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	5 Whiffs	19% CSW
Nate Pearson	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW
Josh Hader	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	38% CSW
Logan VanWey – W (1)	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	17% CSW

It’s been a tough couple of weeks for Enyel De Los Santos as he left a 2-0 changeup up in the zone to Varsho here for a two-run homer. That changeup has been the reason for De Los Santos breakout this year, so it’s not the pitch choice, just the execution that failed.

Toronto Blue Jays
Tommy Nance	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	24% CSW
Mason Fluharty	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	5 Whiffs	47% CSW
Spencer Miles	1.1 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	3 K	2 Whiffs	43% CSW
Jeff Hoffman	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	23% CSW
Tyler Rogers – BS (3)	1.0 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	17% CSW
Braydon Fisher – L (3)	2.0 IP	2 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	27% CSW

Louis Varland was down after pitching two of the past three days, leading to a rare Tyler Rogers save chance, which did not end well for the Jays. Rogers allowed three singles before the first run scored on a catcher’s interference, with the tying run scoring on a sac fly. Rogers now has a 2.95 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, and 2% K-BB rate over his past 21.1 innings dating back to early May.

SEA 3 – PIT 2

Seattle Mariners
José A. Ferrer – HLD (9)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW
Eduard Bazardo – HLD (16)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	33% CSW
Andrés Muñoz – SV (14)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	3 K	6 Whiffs	50% CSW

Yes Andrés Muñoz, this is the way: bullying hitters with his overpowering fastball and mixing in the slider here and there. I love seeing him get back to his fastball, and his confidence in it growing game to game. We’ll see how the rest of the week goes, but Muñoz should be back in that second tier of closers barring any setbacks.

Pittsburgh Pirates
Mason Montgomery	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	3 K	6 Whiffs	42% CSW
Isaac Mattson	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	46% CSW
Dennis Santana	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW

Mason Montgomery allowed a bloop single, but those three strikeouts stand out. Montgomery is now throwing a sinker in addition to his four-seamer, so his arsenal has now grown to five pitches this year after being a four-seam/slider only guy in 2024-25. It’s cool that he’s tinkering and adding to his mix, but at the end of the day, if he can command his four-seamer and the curveball or slider…does he really need all these pitches?

KCR 12 – TBR 5

Kansas City Royals
Steven Cruz	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	10% CSW
Matt Strahm	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	31% CSW
Beck Way	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	25% CSW
Connor Seabold	1.0 IP	3 ER	4 H	1 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	24% CSW

A much-needed steady outing from Matt Strahm here, and even with the diminished fastball velocity, it’s still a solid offering when he’s locating well. The changeup can be good, but he really struggles to locate it, and it’s a pitch that’s fairly new to him (and maybe needs to be scrapped at this point?).

Tampa Bay Rays
Steven Matz	2.0 IP	5 ER	6 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	26% CSW
Ben Williamson	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	27% CSW

Steven Matz is just one of those rare Rays misses.

TEX 4 – MIA 6

Texas Rangers
Jose Corniell – L (1)	3.1 IP	5 ER	7 H	2 BB	3 K	8 Whiffs	23% CSW
Joe Ross	2.2 IP	0 ER	2 H	1 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	23% CSW

Jose Corniell made his debut here, and the breakers are OK, but nothing else is worth getting excited about.

Miami Marlins
Tyler Zuber	0.2 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	22% CSW
Lake Bachar	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW
Pete Fairbanks	1.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	12% CSW

Pete Fairbanks got two quick outs here before leaving a fastball down to Pederson, hitting Langford with a fastball, and leaving another fastball down in the zone to Nimmo, who ripped a triple into the rightfield gap (and Jung just missed a game-tying HR on a hanging slider). His fastball command was just terrible here, with everything middle down.

NYY 4 – DET 3

New York Yankees
Fernando Cruz – HLD (12)	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	24% CSW
Brent Headrick – HLD (8)	1.2 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	23% CSW
David Bednar – SV (15)	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	29% CSW

Four outs with zero strikeouts for David Bednar…but we’ll take zero baserunners. The fastball was below 96 MPH, but located well enough with his splitter and three curveballs mixed in.

Detroit Tigers
Tyler Holton	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	41% CSW
Kyle Finnegan	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	4 K	8 Whiffs	56% CSW
Enmanuel De Jesús	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	43% CSW

Signs of life from Kyle Finnegan, finally. The fastball velocity was up here, and the splitter was located well (plus a good slider mixed in). Maybe this is the start of something.
If the Tigers do wind up selling at the deadline, someone could be getting a bargain in Enmanuel De Jesús. Great fastball/changeup lefty with a solid cutter as well.

PHI 14 – WSN 9

Philadelphia Phillies
Jonathan Bowlan	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	60% CSW
Orion Kerkering – W (4)	1.0 IP	3 ER	2 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	32% CSW
Chase Shugart	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	42% CSW

Orion Kerkering can’t get consistent holds, but here he is getting his fourth win despite allowing three earned (thanks Lord). The three-run shot to Vivas came off a sweeper Kerkering left middle-middle (after he walked and hit the previous two batters).

Washington Nationals
Zack Littell	4.0 IP	2 ER	5 H	0 BB	5 K	8 Whiffs	36% CSW
Mitchell Parker – HLD (5)	1.1 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	20% CSW
Orlando Ribalta – HLD (6)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	29% CSW
Richard Lovelady – HLD (8)	0.1 IP	3 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	27% CSW
Clayton Beeter – BS (3)	0.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	22% CSW
Brad Lord – L (1)	0.2 IP	6 ER	5 H	1 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	30% CSW
Paxton Schultz	0.1 IP	2 ER	3 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	24% CSW

Brad Lord giveth, and he also taketh away. It’s a shame, as he had been pitching well lately, but that closer role is a different animal and not everyone is built for it. This bullpen currently ranks last in baseball with a -2.1 WAR and 18% K rate (only bullpen under 20%), with the Royals being the only other team with a WAR less than -0.7.

CHC 9 – NYM 6

Chicago Cubs
Hoby Milner	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	17% CSW
Phil Maton	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	24% CSW
Ryan Rolison	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	58% CSW
Jayden Murray	1.0 IP	3 ER	2 H	1 BB	2 K	9 Whiffs	46% CSW

Ryan Rolison was throwing harder again here (95.8 MPH), and that velo with his breakers gives him well-above-average stuff. Eventually the Cubs will trust him, right?

New York Mets
Cionel Pérez	2.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	28% CSW
Tobias Myers	2.0 IP	2 ER	4 H	2 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	22% CSW
A.J. Minter	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	29% CSW

A.J. Minter has yet to allow a run over his first 10 innings. The stuff looks good, and he seems healthy, so Minter should net the Mets a nice prospect or two at the deadline at least.

MIL 2 – CIN 0

Milwaukee Brewers
Aaron Ashby – HLD (4)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	36% CSW
Abner Uribe – HLD (10)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	38% CSW
Trevor Megill – SV (10)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW

Rare to see Trevor Megill not pick up at least one strikeout, but it was a bunch of weak contact here against the Reds lineup. Over the past month, Megill has held a 1.50 ERA (1.18 xERA), 0.75 WHIP, and 36% K rate.

Cincinnati Reds
Julian Garcia – L (1)	1.2 IP	1 ER	0 H	2 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	40% CSW
Caleb Ferguson	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	38% CSW
Pierce Johnson	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	57% CSW
Chase Petty	2.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	3 K	8 Whiffs	38% CSW

Julian Garcia made his debut and has an interesting pitch mix. He went 30/35 breakers here, with his sweeper leading the way with 25 thrown. The fastball is not overpowering, but it has pretty good shape (6.7′ Ext, 17.6″ iVB), so I don’t think he needs to lean on his sweeper/slider so much.
Pierce Johnson returned, and he was throwing 2 MPH harder here, with his fastball at 97 MPH. His stuff now grades out around average at least.

LAD 12 – MIN 3

Los Angeles Dodgers
Edgardo Henriquez	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	44% CSW
Brock Stewart	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	28% CSW

Brock Stewart is back (again) and looked…OK. We only saw two sweepers as he focused mostly on his fastballs, so it’s hard to get a real read on him. Edgardo Henriquez remains the best right-handed reliever in this bullpen, and he may be running away with that title.

Minnesota Twins
Austin Voth – L (1)	4.0 IP	5 ER	11 H	1 BB	2 K	7 Whiffs	20% CSW
Travis Adams	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	4 K	6 Whiffs	33% CSW
Taylor Rogers	1.0 IP	5 ER	5 H	2 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	32% CSW

That may be it for Taylor Rogers, who could be a candidate to be DFA’d after this outing.

CLE 1 – CHW 2

Cleveland Guardians
Colin Holderman	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW

Colin Holderman only threw five sinkers here…but he was averaging 99 MPH, up 2.1 MPH on the season. If somehow this number were to stick, that’s just really not fair when paired with his sweeper.

Chicago White Sox
Sean Newcomb – SV (2)	2.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	29% CSW

Sean Newcomb may enter the rotation this weekend, but this would be a nice sendoff from the bullpen as he secured the 8-out save.

ARI 4 – STL 3

Arizona Diamondbacks
Juan Morillo	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	40% CSW
Kevin Ginkel – W (3)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	38% CSW
Paul Sewald	0.2 IP	3 ER	4 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	26% CSW
Brandyn Garcia – SV (1)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	75% CSW

Paul Sewald wasn’t as bad as the line looks, with the initial double a ball that Troy could have (should have?) caught in left. Sewald has been bad in non-save situations this year (classic closer curse), but he’s only blown one save chance to date.

St. Louis Cardinals
Max Rajcic	1.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Matt Svanson – L (2)	0.1 IP	3 ER	3 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	14% CSW
Gordon Graceffo	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	9% CSW

Womp Womp. Matt Svanson had been getting better results lately, but at the end of the day, I’m just not sure that sinker is good enough.

BOS 5 – COL 2

Boston Red Sox
Justin Slaten	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	14% CSW
Garrett Whitlock	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	21% CSW

Garrett Whitlock focused on his changeup here, with Tovar taking one deep in the process. I’m sure he’ll be happy to get out of Coors with his ERA relatively intact.

BAL 1 – LAA 5

Baltimore Orioles
Albert Suárez	3.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	3 K	8 Whiffs	33% CSW

Albert Suárez has been DFA’d three times over the past two months and, despite pitching well here, will likely be DFA’d again.

Los Angeles Angels
Samy Natera Jr.	0.1 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	36% CSW
Chase Silseth	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	44% CSW
Ryan Zeferjahn	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	3 K	3 Whiffs	31% CSW
Sam Bachman	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	50% CSW

This feels like a reasonable late-inning trio for the Angels moving forward (with Sam Bachman in the ninth), but man, Ryan Zeferjahn was electric here with his fastball up 2 MPH at 99 MPH. If only he had some semblance of command.

ATL 6 – SDP 7

Atlanta Braves
Carlos Carrasco – BS (2)	1.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	23% CSW
Dylan Lee	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	4 Whiffs	29% CSW
Raisel Iglesias – L (2)	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	37% CSW

Dylan Lee — Four-Seamer up 0.8 MPH (94.1 vs. 93.3 season avg)
Raisel Iglesias got charged with the loss after throwing just one pitch in the 10th inning (Machado lined a single up the middle, and the ghost runner scored), but he at least looked good in the ninth inning. With Robert Suarez dealing with forearm tightness, Iglesias hold on the closer role gets a little tighter.

San Diego Padres
Griffin Canning	0.2 IP	4 ER	4 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	20% CSW
Kyle Hart	2.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	33% CSW
Yuki Matsui	2.1 IP	1 ER	3 H	1 BB	3 K	8 Whiffs	34% CSW
David Morgan	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Adrian Morejon	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	50% CSW
Mason Miller – W (2)	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	3 K	7 Whiffs	41% CSW

There is no better late-inning duo than Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller right now. Morejon’s sinker was averaging 100.2 MPH here.

ATH 1 – SFG 3

Athletics
Matt Krook	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	28% CSW
Mason Barnett	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	2 BB	3 K	3 Whiffs	24% CSW
José Suarez	1.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	24% CSW

Meh. Barnett’s breakers are good, but that fastball just worries me.

San Francisco Giants
Caleb Kilian – SV (5)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	28% CSW

Caleb Kilian didn’t make things easy for himself with a single and a walk involved before getting the third and final out, but ultimately got Bolte to whiff on a curve to end the game. He’s got the closer role all to himself now with no real competition on the roster.

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

Rick Graham

Rick resides in the Boston area and has experience as a player and coach at the collegiate level. He has been covering relievers for Pitcher List since 2017.

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