Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/16

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

BAL 10 – TBR 2

Baltimore Orioles
Alex Hoppe	1.0 IP	0 H	2 K	1 Whiffs	31% CSW
Grant Wolfram	1.0 IP	1 H	1 K	2 Whiffs	24% CSW
Albert Suárez	1.0 IP	1 H	1 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW

Alex Hoppe — Slider usage 15% (-31 pts vs. 46% usual). Hoppe just dealing with his fastballs in this one.
Grant Wolfram — Curveball usage 41% (+26 pts vs. 15% usual). Probably for the best to lead with the curveball.

Tampa Bay Rays
Garrett Cleavinger	0.1 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	22% CSW
Steven Matz	0.2 IP	5 ER	4 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	19% CSW

BOS 3 – PIT 8

Pittsburgh Pirates
Hunter Barco	3.0 IP	3 ER	2 H	1 BB	4 K	2 Whiffs	32% CSW
Kirby Yates – W (1)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	43% CSW
Camilo Doval	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	27% CSW
Mason Montgomery	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	64% CSW

Hunter Barco — Four-Seamer down 1.1 MPH (93.0 vs. 94.1 season avg)
Kirby Yates — Four-Seamer up 0.8 MPH (91.7 vs. 90.9 season avg)
Camilo Doval — Sinker down 1.3 MPH (97.2 vs. 98.5 season avg)
Mason Montgomery — Four-Seamer usage 18% (-41 pts vs. 59% usual). Crazy that he’s moved on from the four-seamer, arguably his best pitch, to the sinker now, but it’s working. He has four (maybe five with the changeup?) plus-plus pitches at this point, so good luck hitting him.

ARI 3 – ATL 5

Arizona Diamondbacks
Taylor Clarke – L (3)	0.2 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	25% CSW
Brandyn Garcia	0.2 IP	2 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	35% CSW
Gerardo Carrillo	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	9% CSW

Brandyn Garcia — Sinker down 1.2 MPH (96.0 vs. 97.2 season avg). Ugh. Garcia threw a 95.8 MPH 3-0 sinker middle-down to Olson here, which he took deep to center field for a three-run homer. Also, the seventh-inning usage confirms he’s the high-leverage arm here, not “closer”.

Atlanta Braves
Didier Fuentes – W (5)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	7 Whiffs	43% CSW
Dylan Lee – HLD (28)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	40% CSW
Raisel Iglesias – SV (25)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW

Didier Fuentes — Slider usage 52% (+28 pts vs. 25% usual); Four-Seamer usage 43% (-27 pts vs. 70% usual). Fuentes threw a 94.9MPH 3-1 fastball over the plate to Vargas here, which he turned on for a solo shot. Fuentes was able to bounce back after that, but he clearly did not have his best stuff here, and hopefully he’s not hitting a late-season wall here.
Raisel Iglesias — Four-Seamer down 1.1 MPH (93.3 vs. 94.4 season avg). This team needs a healthy Robert Suarez back, and I’m just not sure they are going to get that.

NYY 4 – TOR 3

New York Yankees
David Bednar – W (6)	1.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	29% CSW
Tim Hill – SV (2)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	18% CSW

David Bednar should have had a save here, as a routine groundball booted by Rice at first led to an unearned run to score in the ninth. The stuff was a bit down here for Bednar, but could be due to the multi-inning outing.

Toronto Blue Jays
Brendon Little	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW
Paul Sewald	1.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	22% CSW
Braydon Fisher – L (4)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	8% CSW

Paul Sewald — Four-Seamer usage 33% (-27 pts vs. 60% usual). Good stuff from Sewald in his Blue Jays debut. He should settle into a middle relief/setup role.

WSN 3 – NYM 4

Washington Nationals
Max Kranick	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	37% CSW
Jake Bird	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW

Jake Bird — Four-Seamer down 1.8 MPH (91.8 vs. 93.6 season avg); Four-Seamer usage 50% (+36 pts vs. 14% usual); Sinker usage 6% (-30 pts vs. 36% usual). Don’t think this is sustainable.

New York Mets
Nate Lavender – HLD (4)	0.2 IP	1 K	1 Whiffs	29% CSW
Daniel Duarte – HLD (3)	1.0 IP	1 K	1 Whiffs	18% CSW
Kodai Senga – SV (3)	1.0 IP	2 K	3 Whiffs	36% CSW

Daniel Duarte — Four-Seamer up 1.2 MPH (95.8 vs. 94.6 season avg). This will play.
Kodai Senga — Forkball usage 54% (+31 pts vs. 24% usual). So far, so good for Senga in the closer role. He’s not going to take the role from Devin Williams, but at least they may have found a quality setup man here (at $14 million).

SDP 5 – CLE 0

San Diego Padres
Jeremiah Estrada – HLD (12)	1.0 IP	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	35% CSW
Adrian Morejon	1.0 IP	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	22% CSW
Yuki Matsui	1.0 IP	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	26% CSW

The splitter may be taking over as Jeremiah Estrada’s primary offering, and while I’m not sure that’s a long-term solution, it can work as a stopgap for now.

Cleveland Guardians
Matt Festa	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	4 Whiffs	27% CSW
Tim Herrin	0.2 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	19% CSW
Logan Allen	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	21% CSW
Cade Smith	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	50% CSW

Matt Festa — Four-Seamer up 1.9 MPH (94.5 vs. 92.6 season avg).
Logan Allen — Four-Seamer up 1.4 MPH (92.1 vs. 90.7 season avg). Even with the added velocity, still a pretty meh profile.

CHW 7 – DET 5

Chicago White Sox
Hagen Smith – W (2)	1.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	27% CSW
Huascar Brazobán – HLD (10)	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	11% CSW
Sean Newcomb – SV (4)	2.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	33% CSW

Sean Newcomb — Four-Seamer up 0.9 MPH (95.5 vs. 94.6 season avg). Still in the mix for saves, I see. This continues to be a 3+ man committee.

Detroit Tigers
Tyler Holton – L (5)	1.0 IP	3 ER	3 H	2 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	21% CSW
Tanner Rainey	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW
Jacob Waguespack	2.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	25% CSW

Jacob Waguespack — Four-Seamer up 0.8 MPH (93.6 vs. 92.8 season avg). Thats cool, but Tanner Rainey’s fastball is back, y’all. Still has no command, but it’s still great to see.

MIA 7 – CIN 1

Miami Marlins
Josh Ekness – W (1)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	42% CSW
Michael Petersen – HLD (21)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 K	2 Whiffs	21% CSW
Tyler Zuber	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 K	2 Whiffs	31% CSW

Michael Petersen gave up a home run on the first pitch he threw here, a fastball down and away to Stephenson. He was fine after that.
Tyler Zuber — Four-Seamer up 0.8 MPH (96.1 vs. 95.3 season avg)

Cincinnati Reds
Julian Garcia	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	4 K	9 Whiffs	43% CSW
Tejay Antone – L (2)	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	2 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	20% CSW
Ron Marinaccio	1.1 IP	5 ER	2 H	3 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	23% CSW

Wheels may be falling off for Tejay Antone here, unfortunately. At this point in the season though, I’d love to see the Reds turn to some of their younger/lesser known relief options.

PHI 7 – MIN 5

Philadelphia Phillies
Tim Mayza	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	43% CSW
Orion Kerkering – W (7)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	25% CSW
Jonathan Bowlan – HLD (9)	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	43% CSW
Jhoan Duran – SV (26)	1.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	3 K	5 Whiffs	30% CSW

Tim Mayza — Sinker usage 21% (-39 pts vs. 60% usual)
Orion Kerkering — Sinker down 1.3 MPH (95.1 vs. 96.4 season avg). He’s just trying to hang on at this point.
Jonathan Bowlan — Four-Seamer usage 71% (+28 pts vs. 44% usual). Not his best command here, but the stuff was still great.

Minnesota Twins
Kody Funderburk – HLD (8)	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	25% CSW
A.J. Minter – HLD (4)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	36% CSW
Andrew Morris – L (4)	1.0 IP	3 ER	4 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	21% CSW
Taylor Rogers	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	19% CSW

Andrew Morris — Four-Seamer up 0.8 MPH (98.0 vs. 97.2 season avg). This was due (overdue, to be honest), but I don’t think he’s completely cooked yet. The issue is that Minter is throwing well, and they brought in Hoffman, so Morris may have a hard time finding hold chances moving forward.

STL 11 – CHC 4

St. Louis Cardinals
Luis Gastelum	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	3 K	6 Whiffs	38% CSW
Gordon Graceffo	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	21% CSW
Caleb Ferguson	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	26% CSW

Super small sample alert, but Luis Gastelum has struck out 8 over his past 4.1 IP, allowing just one hit and one walk (no runs) over this three-game span. The changeup (the pitch that made him a relief prospect to monitor) did the bulk of the work here, and there’s a chance that fastball ends up being just good enough to pair with the changeup and sweeper.
Gordon Graceffo — Four-Seamer up 0.8 MPH (96.2 vs. 95.4 season avg). Doesn’t really matter.

Chicago Cubs
Ryan Rolison	1.1 IP	2 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	11% CSW
Aaron Civale	2.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	4 K	8 Whiffs	40% CSW
Caleb Thielbar	0.2 IP	2 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	40% CSW
Trent Thornton	0.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	40% CSW
Carson Kelly	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	9% CSW

Aaron Civale — Sinker up 1.8 MPH (93.2 vs. 91.4 season avg). The sinker is fine, but the cutter actually looks really good in these short stints. Could be something here.

COL 13 – SFG 7

Colorado Rockies
Nick Frasso – W (1)	1.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	32% CSW
Parker Mushinski – HLD (2)	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	29% CSW
Jimmy Herget	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	42% CSW
Zach Agnos	2.0 IP	2 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	27% CSW

Meh. The remaining schedule for the Rockies is going to make things rough for this bullpen.

San Francisco Giants
Sam Hentges – L (5)	1.1 IP	2 ER	1 H	2 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	23% CSW
JT Brubaker – BS (2)	0.0 IP	2 ER	0 H	2 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	8% CSW
Reiver Sanmartin	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	10% CSW
Keaton Winn	0.2 IP	2 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	22% CSW
Trent Harris	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	37% CSW
Jason Foley	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	27% CSW

Sam Hentges — Four-Seamer up 1.4 MPH (95.6 vs. 94.2 season avg). At least the fastball is trending up. The stuffs still well below average.
JT Brubaker — Changeup usage 38% (+27 pts vs. 12% usual); Sinker usage 23% (-26 pts vs. 49% usual). That didn’t work (he also hit a batter).
Keaton Winn — Four-Seamer down 1.2 MPH (94.9 vs. 96.1 season avg). This bullpen is this bad, yet Ryan Walker can’t even make it back up?
Trent Harris has an interesting sweeper; at least he has one plus pitch compared to the other options here.

TEX 2 – ATH 5

Texas Rangers
Chase Silseth	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	13% CSW
Tyler Alexander	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	11% CSW
Jakob Junis – L (2)	1.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	39% CSW
Peyton Gray	0.1 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	13% CSW
Cole Winn	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW

Chase Silseth — Four-Seamer down 1.1 MPH (94.8 vs. 95.9 season avg); Sweeper usage 47% (+32 pts vs. 15% usual)
Jakob Junis and Peyton Gray need to be guys to rely on here if this bullpens going to have any shot.

Athletics
Luis Medina – W (4)	1.0 IP	1 H	2 K	2 Whiffs	28% CSW
Elvis Alvarado – HLD (7)	0.2 IP	1 H	1 K	3 Whiffs	27% CSW
Drew Rom – HLD (2)	0.1 IP	0 H	1 K	0 Whiffs	75% CSW
Hogan Harris – SV (12)	1.0 IP	0 H	2 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW

Luis Medina — Four-Seamer up 0.8 MPH (98.5 vs. 97.7 season avg)
Hogan Harris — Four-Seamer up 1.0 MPH (96.1 vs. 95.1 season avg). No walks?! Love to see it.

KCR 3 – LAA 0

Los Angeles Angels
Blake Weiman	1.0 IP	2 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	29% CSW
Michael Fulmer	1.2 IP	0 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Luke Murphy	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	39% CSW

Wait, Michael Fulmer is still kicking around? We haven’t really seen him since 2023 (last year doesn’t count), but the stuff looks more or less the same as it did three years ago.

MIL 6 – LAD 2

Milwaukee Brewers
Chad Patrick – HLD (8)	0.1 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 K	0 Whiffs	18% CSW
Aaron Ashby – HLD (11)	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
DL Hall	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	29% CSW

Chad Patrick — Sinker up 1.6 MPH (96.9 vs. 95.3 season avg); Cutter usage 73% (+30 pts vs. 42% usual)
DL Hall — Sinker up 2.2 MPH (97.2 vs. 95.0 season avg). I know he gave up the home run to Pages, but this sinker at 97 MPH can be a difference-maker for Hall.

Los Angeles Dodgers
Edgardo Henriquez	0.2 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Alex Vesia	0.1 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	22% CSW
Kyle Hurt	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	3 K	7 Whiffs	40% CSW
Jack Dreyer	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	39% CSW

Edgardo Henriquez — Sinker up 0.8 MPH (101.6 vs. 100.8 season avg). He got two outs and gave up a single to Chourio off the end of his bat. Vesias then gave up a double and a single as he continues to struggle.

SEA 3 – HOU 2

Seattle Mariners
Eduard Bazardo – HLD (24)	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	12% CSW
Gabe Speier – HLD (15)	0.2 IP	2 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	23% CSW
Seranthony Domínguez – HLD (5)	0.1 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	17% CSW
Andrés Muñoz – SV (22)	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	44% CSW

Eduard Bazardo — Sinker up 0.8 MPH (96.3 vs. 95.5 season avg)
Gabe Speier — Four-Seamer up 1.4 MPH (96.8 vs. 95.4 season avg)
Seranthony Domínguez — Four-Seamer up 0.8 MPH (98.0 vs. 97.2 season avg)
Andrés Muñoz — Four-Seamer up 1.5 MPH (101.1 vs. 99.6 season avg); Slider usage 22% (-28 pts vs. 50% usual). Nice bounce-back performance from Muñoz, and look at that slider usage…hmm.

Houston Astros
Bennett Sousa	1.0 IP	1 ER	3 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	29% CSW
Bryan Abreu	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	18% CSW
Steven Okert	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	45% CSW
Josh Hader	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	23% CSW

Bennett Sousa — Four-Seamer down 1.4 MPH (92.4 vs. 93.8 season avg). Cool cool cool.
Josh Hader — Sinker down 1.0 MPH (94.0 vs. 95.0 season avg). Is it ideal? No, but even at 94 MPH, the stuff’s amazing, so as long as he feels healthy, I’m not too worried.

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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/16

Rick Graham

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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/16

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