Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/20

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

STL 10 – CIN 9

St. Louis Cardinals
Ryne Stanek – BS (4)	0.2 IP	2 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	32% CSW
Peter Strzelecki – W (1)	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	26% CSW
George Soriano	0.2 IP	4 ER	1 H	3 BB	2 K	6 Whiffs	32% CSW
Riley O’Brien – SV (33)	0.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	13% CSW

Riley O’Brien — Sinker down 1.0 MPH (96.9 vs. 97.9 season avg). This game was a mess in the ninth inning, with O’Brien needing to come in and bail out Soriano. O’Brien was clearly expecting the day off here cause this was ugly. The final out came with the bases loaded as McLain ripped a line drive to the wall in right that Walker made a great play on (102 MPH exit velo, .560 xBA). He’s leading the NL in saves and is the early frontrunner for most overdrafted reliever by ADP in 2027.

Cincinnati Reds
Julian Garcia – HLD (3)	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	25% CSW
Tejay Antone – HLD (8)	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	36% CSW
Brock Burke – L (5)	0.2 IP	2 H	3 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	19% CSW
Zach Maxwell	0.1 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	60% CSW

Brock Burke was tasked with protecting a one-run lead in the ninth here as Emilio Pagán is dealing with something, and despite allowing zero earned runs (thanks to a brutal error in CF by Myers), this was an ugly outing that included two hits, two walks, and a hit by pitch.

SFG 2 – CLE 5

San Francisco Giants
Sam Hentges	0.2 IP	1 H	1 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW
Carson Seymour	1.0 IP	1 H	2 K	4 Whiffs	29% CSW
JT Brubaker	1.0 IP	2 H	1 K	3 Whiffs	27% CSW

Carson Seymour — Four-Seamer up 2.2 MPH (98.9 vs. 96.7 season avg). Well, this type of velocity with his slider and cutter will certainly play. Can he stay at 98+ MPH moving forward, or was this just a one-off?

Cleveland Guardians
Tim Herrin – HLD (15)	0.1 IP	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	50% CSW
Erik Sabrowski – HLD (22)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Hunter Gaddis – HLD (25)	1.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	19% CSW
Cade Smith – SV (32)	1.0 IP	0 H	2 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	35% CSW

Cade Smith — Four-Seamer up 1.3 MPH (98.7 vs. 97.4 season avg). The command wasn’t as bad as the two walks suggest; there were a lot of close takes, and 9 of his 20 pitches were in the zone.

TOR 5 – TBR 1

Toronto Blue Jays
Spencer Miles	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Louis Varland	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	24% CSW

Louis Varland did not have his best command here, but made do here in a non-save situation.

Tampa Bay Rays
Casey Legumina	2.0 IP	2 ER	4 H	1 BB	3 K	5 Whiffs	26% CSW
Chris Roycroft	2.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	16% CSW

Casey Legumina had been throwing well; the fastball got got here, though.

ATH 2 – KCR 6

Athletics
Taylor Rashi	2.0 IP	1 ER	3 H	2 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	28% CSW
Scott Blewett	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	27% CSW

Kansas City Royals
Carlos Duran	0.1 IP	2 ER	1 H	3 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	22% CSW
Connor Thomas – W (1)	1.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	40% CSW
Craig Kimbrel	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	17% CSW
John Schreiber	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	31% CSW
Nate Pearson	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	17% CSW

Nate Pearson in the ninth up four runs and not Cruz…still looking like a possible committee here.

ATL 2 – CHW 0

Atlanta Braves
Didier Fuentes – HLD (14)	1.0 IP	3 K	4 Whiffs	64% CSW
Dylan Lee – HLD (29)	1.0 IP	2 K	4 Whiffs	54% CSW
Raisel Iglesias – SV (26)	1.0 IP	2 K	3 Whiffs	58% CSW

Didier Fuentes — Four-Seamer up 0.9 MPH (98.1 vs. 97.2 season avg); Four-Seamer usage 36% (-34 pts vs. 70% usual); Slider usage 57% (+32 pts vs. 25% usual). Just straight dominant.
Dylan Lee — Four-Seamer up 1.5 MPH (94.8 vs. 93.3 season avg); Four-Seamer usage 62% (+31 pts vs. 31% usual). Lee was also dominant here, as were Iglesias and Holmes.

Chicago White Sox
Huascar Brazobán	0.2 IP	2 H	1 K	2 Whiffs	50% CSW
Hagen Smith	1.1 IP	0 H	3 K	6 Whiffs	60% CSW
Trevor Richards	1.0 IP	1 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW

Hagen Smith did this mostly with his four-seamer, throwing 11 four-seamers in this 15-pitch outing. It’s an above-average fastball for sure, but is it this good?

SEA 4 – MIL 7

Seattle Mariners
José A. Ferrer	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	21% CSW
Michael Rucker	2.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	4 K	6 Whiffs	45% CSW
Jhonathan Díaz	1.1 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	32% CSW

This is the first we’ve seen of Jhonathan Díaz this season, and I can’t imagine he sticks around too long.

Milwaukee Brewers
Chad Patrick – W (7)	2.1 IP	2 H	0 BB	4 K	5 Whiffs	35% CSW
Aaron Ashby – HLD (12)	2.0 IP	0 H	2 BB	4 K	4 Whiffs	42% CSW
Trevor Megill – SV (23)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	31% CSW

Chad Patrick — Four-Seamer up 1.1 MPH (96.5 vs. 95.4 season avg). Are the Brewers going to wind up with two relievers with double-digit wins?

NYY 6 – BAL 1

New York Yankees
Ryan Yarbrough – SV (3)	3.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	4 K	7 Whiffs	33% CSW

Baltimore Orioles
Grant Wolfram	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	18% CSW
Albert Suárez	2.0 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	22% CSW

Albert Suárez — Four-Seamer up 0.8 MPH (94.4 vs. 93.6 season avg). Still kicking around.

WSN 0 – TEX 2

Washington Nationals
Orlando Ribalta	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	38% CSW
Clayton Beeter	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	27% CSW
Tom Cosgrove	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	19% CSW

Clayton Beeter — Four-Seamer up 1.4 MPH (97.1 vs. 95.7 season avg). Cool…still threw 9 of his 15 pitches not even remotely close to the zone here.

Texas Rangers
Jakob Junis – HLD (16)	1.0 IP	2 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	21% CSW
Chase Silseth – HLD (12)	1.0 IP	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW
Jacob Latz – SV (25)	1.0 IP	1 BB	3 K	5 Whiffs	56% CSW

Chase Silseth — Sweeper usage 46% (+28 pts vs. 19% usual). Looks like the Rangers are now trusting Silseth with the primary setup role. I’m fine with more sweepers, but he shouldn’t abandon the splitter completely.

LAA 18 – HOU 3

Los Angeles Angels
Blake Weiman	2.0 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	31% CSW

Houston Astros
Bryan King	1.1 IP	5 ER	5 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	19% CSW
Tatsuya Imai	3.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	2 BB	3 K	9 Whiffs	30% CSW
LaMonte Wade Jr. Jr.	1.0 IP	2 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	9% CSW

This may be the bottom for Bryan King, but with Okert and Sousa’s velocities both dropping lately, this team may need King more than ever.

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: 8/20

Rick Graham

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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/20

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