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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 7/24

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

Rick Graham

RP Roundup An Hour Ago

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

COL 5 – MIL 2

Colorado Rockies
Victor Vodnik – HLD (5)	1.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	30% CSW
Antonio Senzatela – HLD (3)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	17% CSW
Jordan Romano – SV (16)	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	27% CSW

There’s just no way the Jordan Romano Rockies era will end well, right? The stuff hasn’t improved since his Angels era, and Coors is home now.

Milwaukee Brewers
Grant Anderson	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	27% CSW
Craig Yoho	2.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	5 Whiffs	22% CSW

Craig Yoho’s fastball is finally being labeled as a sinker, and it doesn’t change a whole lot; it’s an OK fastball and more often than not should be a good enough pairing with the changeup.

KCR 1 – DET 2

Detroit Tigers
Brenan Hanifee – HLD (3)	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	23% CSW
Kenley Jansen – SV (12)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	38% CSW

Kenley Jansen didn’t have his best cutter here but made it work despite just two pitches located in the zone.

CHC 3 – PIT 2

Chicago Cubs
Jacob Webb	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	50% CSW
Caleb Thielbar – W (3)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	17% CSW
Gavin Hollowell – SV (1)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	20% CSW

Caleb Thielbar got the ninth here with Jacob Webb in the eighth, which is a bit surprising, but it allowed Webb to get the middle of the Pirates lineup with Thielbar getting Lowe to start the ninth. Usage aside, Thielbar looked great in this one,

Pittsburgh Pirates
Wilber Dotel	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW
Mason Montgomery	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	3 K	3 Whiffs	40% CSW
Gregory Soto	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	12% CSW
Yohan Ramírez – L (3)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	2 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	26% CSW

Yes, Mason Montgomery was filthy in this one, but let’s talk about Yohan Ramírez, who will have a bigger role with Dennis Santana out of the picture. His fastball was up 1.4 MPH, sitting 98 MPH, but we knew the stuff was electric. It’s always going to come down to his command, which was all over the place here.

ARI 3 – WSN 2

Arizona Diamondbacks
Juan Morillo – HLD (12)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	50% CSW
Kevin Ginkel – HLD (10)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	57% CSW
Paul Sewald – SV (24)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	44% CSW

Kevin Ginkel had a really good fastball here (only three thrown, but still), and it was good to see him and Paul Sewald bounce back after a bit of a rough patch.

Washington Nationals
Carson Palmquist	1.1 IP	2 ER	2 H	3 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	27% CSW
Tom Cosgrove	0.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	22% CSW
Orlando Ribalta	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	3 K	7 Whiffs	45% CSW
Max Kranick	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	22% CSW

Orlando Ribalta is not typically known for his swing-and-miss ability, but the fastball had some extra life on it here, producing four whiffs on just six thrown. He feels close to a true breakout; we just need some prolonged consistency.

NYY 1 – PHI 0

New York Yankees
Brent Headrick – HLD (13)	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	5% CSW
David Bednar – SV (19)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	22% CSW

David Bednar’s fastball was up here again, and despite Marsh just missing taking him deep to tie this one up, Bednar gave us his 19th straight scoreless outing.

Philadelphia Phillies
Jonathan Bowlan	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	40% CSW
José Alvarado	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW

Alright, partner
Keep on Bowlan, baby
You know what time it is

ATL 7 – BAL 6

Atlanta Braves
Danny Young	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	2 K	0 Whiffs	27% CSW
Tyler Kinley	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	25% CSW
Elieser Hernández – W (1)	3.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	3 BB	2 K	7 Whiffs	27% CSW
Dylan Lee	1.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	40% CSW

Dylan Lee continues to give up runs lately, and now his ERA is all the way up to…2.12. O’Neil did a good job with a slider down and out of the zone here, blooping it to center before CES took a changeup that was left up the other way for a home run. Nothing to worry about here.

Baltimore Orioles
Rico Garcia – BS (3)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW
Tyler Wells	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	35% CSW
Andrew Kittredge – L (2)	0.2 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	44% CSW
Grant Wolfram	0.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW

Despite the blown save, this was a better Rico Garcia than we have seen in some time. The fastball was up nearly a MPH (sitting 96.2), and the curveball looked good. Even the changeup to Baldwin for the home run was a quality pitch.

LAD 4 – NYM 2

Los Angeles Dodgers
Evan Phillips – HLD (2)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	27% CSW
Tanner Scott – SV (16)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	31% CSW

Evan Phillips hung a sweeper to Alvarez here for a home run but otherwise looked fine. I’d still prefer Edgardo Henriquez (or others) in this role, but Roberts loves his veterans.

New York Mets
Brooks Raley – L (5)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	9% CSW
A.J. Minter	1.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	8% CSW
Cionel Pérez	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	38% CSW

Of the three lefties in this bullpen, Cionel Pérez wound up looking the best here, as his fastball was up over a MPH (sitting 98 MPH) and the curveball was sharp. Pérez may be better suited for this four-seam over sinker approach moving forward.

CLE 3 – TBR 11

Cleveland Guardians
Matt Festa	1.2 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	18% CSW
Franco Aleman	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	3 K	3 Whiffs	29% CSW
Tim Herrin	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	31% CSW
Shawn Armstrong	0.2 IP	3 ER	1 H	2 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	9% CSW
Hunter Gaddis	0.1 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	17% CSW

Both Franco Aleman and Hunter Gaddis’s fastballs were down over 2.5 MPH here, although Gaddis only threw two (one was a home run). Aleman’s fastball has been decreasing lately, so I guess it’s even more impressive he managed three strikeouts here.

Tampa Bay Rays
Cole Sulser	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Chris Roycroft – SV (2)	3.0 IP	2 ER	4 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	26% CSW

Cole Sulser continues to pitch well as of late, but can he sustain this success and see consistent hold chances?

SDP 4 – MIA 2

San Diego Padres
Kyle Hart	2.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	32% CSW
Wandy Peralta – BS (2)	1.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	35% CSW
Bradgley Rodriguez	0.2 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	32% CSW
Adrian Morejon – W (8)	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	21% CSW
Mason Miller – SV (26)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	45% CSW

Adrian Morejon picked up his eighth win of the season here, and there’s a chance he could match last year’s total of 13, especially if he stays in San Diego. Morejon and Aaron Ashby currently rank as the 23rd reliever in standard Yahoo leagues.

Miami Marlins
Cade Gibson	1.0 IP	1 ER	0 H	2 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	24% CSW
Michael Petersen	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	13% CSW
Lake Bachar	1.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	28% CSW
Tyler Zuber – L (1)	0.2 IP	2 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
John King	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	22% CSW
Calvin Faucher	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	42% CSW

I understand wanting to use Michael Petersen as your fireman, but I’m not sure the Marlins bullpen is deep enough to afford that kind of luxury, using their best reliever in the fifth inning.

TOR 4 – BOS 6

Toronto Blue Jays
Mason Fluharty	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	50% CSW
Braydon Fisher	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW
Jeff Hoffman	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	17% CSW
CJ Van Eyk – L (1)	0.1 IP	2 ER	4 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	14% CSW
Adam Macko	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	50% CSW

Jeff Hoffman’s fastball was down again here, and it’s been down a MPH for about a month now. It hasn’t really hurt him yet, but I’m more worried about there potentially being something under the hood that’s wrong.

Boston Red Sox
Tyron Guerrero	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	5 Whiffs	46% CSW
Greg Weissert	1.0 IP	3 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	20% CSW
Garrett Whitlock – W (6)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	25% CSW
Aroldis Chapman – SV (24)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	22% CSW

Can we just stop trying to make Greg Weissert happen? Bring back Gamboa, please.

HOU 9 – CHW 5

Houston Astros
AJ Blubaugh	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	8 Whiffs	29% CSW
Kai-Wei Teng – W (5)	2.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	21% CSW
Bennett Sousa – HLD (2)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	5 Whiffs	43% CSW
Bryan Abreu – HLD (6)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	50% CSW
Steven Okert – HLD (14)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	25% CSW
Josh Hader	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	46% CSW

I think Bryan Abreu is like 80% of the way back now? He’s still not the best version of himself, but he’s probably worth considering again in deeper holds formats.

Chicago White Sox
Bryan Hudson – L (3)	0.2 IP	4 ER	3 H	1 BB	1 K	6 Whiffs	35% CSW
Seranthony Domínguez	0.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	26% CSW
Trevor Richards	2.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	3 K	6 Whiffs	46% CSW
Chris Murphy	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	9 Whiffs	38% CSW

Ugly outing for Bryan Hudson (Seranthony didn’t help), who is kind of in the mix for saves as well. You’d think this boosts Grant Taylor’s save-only value, but it probably won’t.

SEA 4 – TEX 5

Seattle Mariners
Eduard Bazardo	0.2 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	31% CSW
Michael Rucker	2.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	3 K	3 Whiffs	25% CSW

I feel like Michael Rucker should throw his cutter less and focus on his four-seamer/sinker and curveball/slider, maybe? The cutter currently grades out as average/below-average and has been the source of a lot of Rucker’s problems.

Texas Rangers
Peyton Gray – W (5)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	50% CSW
Jakob Junis – HLD (13)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	50% CSW
Tyler Alexander – HLD (9)	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	42% CSW
Cole Winn – HLD (9)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
Jacob Latz – SV (20)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW

Emerson hooked a curveball down the line for a double (which looked and felt lucky if we are being honest), but other than that, Jacob Latz was nails as usual. The fastball was up here, sitting over 96 MPH, so it’s great to see that he’s not fading so far in the second half.

ATH 2 – MIN 0

Athletics
Geoff Hartlieb – HLD (1)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	3 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	28% CSW
José Suarez – HLD (6)	1.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	25% CSW
Elvis Alvarado – HLD (5)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	10% CSW
Hogan Harris – SV (8)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	40% CSW

Hogan Harris looked great once again in the closer role here, with his fastball up over one MPH again (#SaveChanceEnergy). Maybe the A’s have finally found something with Alvarado in the eighth and Harris in the ninth?

Minnesota Twins
Kody Funderburk	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	25% CSW
Travis Adams	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	36% CSW
Jack Anderson	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	35% CSW

Meh.

CIN 4 – STL 2

Cincinnati Reds
Caleb Ferguson	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	19% CSW
Julian Garcia – W (1)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	40% CSW
Brock Burke – HLD (12)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	44% CSW
Tejay Antone – HLD (5)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	43% CSW
Emilio Pagán – SV (10)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	55% CSW

Emilio Pagán’s fastball was up a MPH here and sitting in the mid-95 MPH range, which was nice to see (although Burleson almost took him deep on a pitch at his head level).

St. Louis Cardinals
George Soriano – L (3)	1.0 IP	2 ER	3 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	20% CSW
Ryne Stanek	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	25% CSW
Luis Gastelum	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	2 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	15% CSW

George Soriano’s fastball was down 1.3 MPH here, but it was a slider he hung to Suarez here that was the big mistake.

LAA 6 – SFG 7

Los Angeles Angels
Brent Suter	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	14% CSW
José Fermin	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	54% CSW
Kirby Yates	1.0 IP	1 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	24% CSW
Samy Natera Jr.	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Ryan Zeferjahn	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	24% CSW
Chase Silseth – L (2)	0.1 IP	0 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	29% CSW

Ryan Zeferjahn continues to get closer usage as he pitched the ninth here. Sam Bachman seems to be getting the week off, but I think we may finally get the late-inning trio of Bachman (if healthy), Zeferjahn and Samy Natera Jr., which is actually kind of exciting. My guess is Ben Joyce will take Kirby Yates‘ roster spot after the deadline and likely eased into any leverage work.

San Francisco Giants
Dylan Smith – HLD (4)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	32% CSW
Jason Foley – BS (1)	1.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	20% CSW
Erik Miller	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Caleb Kilian – W (3)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	46% CSW

Erik Miller got the ninth inning here as the de facto Giants closer, and the command was about what you should expect from him. Caleb Kilian had a slightly better line (and a win) in the tenth, but I’d still guess he is behind Miller for saves at the moment.

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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.