Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/23

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

TBR 3 – BAL 1

Tampa Bay Rays
Cam Booser – HLD (9)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	14% CSW
Kevin Kelly – HLD (26)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 K	4 Whiffs	43% CSW
Bryan Baker – SV (37)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	17% CSW

Bryan Baker — Four-Seamer down 1.4 MPH (95.3 vs. 96.7 season avg). Just need you to hang in there for a few more weeks, please. Although if I’m the Rays, I wonder if it makes sense to give Baker a quick 15-day IL stint to get a break before the postseason (like the Red Sox and Brewers are doing with Whitlock and Uribe).

Baltimore Orioles
Grant Wolfram	1.1 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 Whiffs	28% CSW
Anthony Nunez	1.0 IP	1 H	2 BB	2 Whiffs	13% CSW
Cam Sanders	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 Whiffs	11% CSW

Anthony Nunez — Four-Seamer up 1.0 MPH (97.2 vs. 96.2 season avg). The command was terrible for Nunez in his return to the big club, but the stuff remains great. He could be a big factor for this team down the stretch.
Cam Sanders — Four-Seamer down 0.9 MPH (95.2 vs. 96.1 season avg). I think we can move on from Sanders for now.

STL 4 – PHI 6

St. Louis Cardinals
Luis Gastelum	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	20% CSW
Justin Bruihl – HLD (10)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	40% CSW
Ryne Stanek	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW
George Soriano	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	15% CSW
Riley O’Brien – L (5)	0.2 IP	6 ER	5 H	1 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	23% CSW

Ryne Stanek — Four-Seamer down 2.8 MPH (95.2 vs. 98.0 season avg)
This nearly 40-pitch Riley O’Brien outing had been brewing for a while, and I didn’t expect the regression to happen all in one game, but sometimes that’s just how it is with relievers. He gave up a lead-off double to Harper here, but then got two outs right after, and everything was looking fine. The outing then finished with a single, walk, double, single and the walk-off home run by Schwarber. It wasn’t all hard contact, but this will happen from time to time when you’re a sinkerballer who lacks swing and miss. This outing was good for -19 points in one of my points leagues and -11 in another, which is why I strongly fade fringey closers in points formats.

Philadelphia Phillies
Tim Mayza	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	29% CSW
Alex McFarlane – W (3)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	30% CSW

Alex McFarlane keeps racking up these vulture wins, but he also looked awesome here (despite zero whiffs). He caught Wetherholt looking at a 102 MPH fastball on the inside corner, just nasty stuff. I hope we can start seeing him in higher-leverage outings now.

TOR 3 – NYY 8

Toronto Blue Jays
Braydon Fisher	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	31% CSW
Mason Fluharty	0.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW
Brendon Little	1.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Simeon Woods Richardson	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	24% CSW

No walks for Brendon Little, at least, but the stuff wasn’t as sharp as it typically is.

New York Yankees
Paul Blackburn – W (5)	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	28% CSW
Ryan Yarbrough – HLD (1)	1.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	27% CSW
Brent Headrick	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 K	4 Whiffs	31% CSW

Paul Blackburn — Sinker usage 60% (+27 pts vs. 33% usual). Four hard-hit balls on these six outs. I guess just Vargas Rule it in holds leagues for now.

WSN 2 – MIA 6

Washington Nationals
Trevor Williams	2.1 IP	2 ER	2 H	3 BB	3 K	6 Whiffs	23% CSW
Max Kranick	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	20% CSW

Miami Marlins
Michael Petersen – W (3)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	25% CSW
Calvin Faucher – HLD (14)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Jack Ralston – HLD (1)	2.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	39% CSW
Pete Fairbanks	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW

Jack Ralston is D-level stuff and A-level funk, so I’m not really sure what to expect moving forward.
Pete Fairbanks — Four-Seamer down 1.5 MPH (95.8 vs. 97.3 season avg); Slider usage 50% (+25 pts vs. 25% usual). Yeah, this is definitely concerning. That’s now back-to-back outings for Fairbanks with his fastball down 1.5 MPH. We’ll see what happens, but if Fairbanks misses time, I’d lean towards Calvin Faucher being the next man up in the ninth.

DET 7 – KCR 11

Detroit Tigers
Jacob Waguespack	1.1 IP	2 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	27% CSW
Ty Madden	1.2 IP	3 ER	3 H	1 BB	3 K	8 Whiffs	39% CSW
Kyle Finnegan	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	21% CSW

Jacob Waguespack — Four-Seamer down 1.0 MPH (91.8 vs. 92.8 season avg)
Ty Madden — Four-Seamer up 1.2 MPH (94.5 vs. 93.3 season avg)
This bullpen is a mess outside of Sommers.

Kansas City Royals
Mason Black	0.2 IP	3 ER	3 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	16% CSW
Connor Thomas	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	22% CSW
John Schreiber – W (1)	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW
Jose Cuas – HLD (3)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	2 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	23% CSW
Nate Pearson – HLD (3)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Steven Cruz	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	24% CSW

And we are back to Cruz in the ninth and Pearson in the eighth. Pearson was tasked with 9-1-2 (and 3) here, which could favor him for top-of-the-order work, but I think it’s best to fade this situation at this point.

ATH 7 – HOU 6

Athletics
Brady Basso	1.0 IP	3 ER	4 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	23% CSW
Scott Blewett – HLD (2)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	27% CSW
Luis Medina – HLD (8)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	38% CSW
Hogan Harris – SV (13)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	36% CSW

Scott Blewett — Four-Seamer up 2.0 MPH (97.3 vs. 95.3 season avg). If we can get him to Milwaukee, he’ll be throwing 99 MPH by the end of the year.
Luis Medina — Four-Seamer up 1.2 MPH (98.9 vs. 97.7 season avg); Slider usage 50% (+34 pts vs. 16% usual). I may be intrigued again.
Hogan Harris — Four-Seamer up 0.8 MPH (96.0 vs. 95.2 season avg). Alvarado was off in this one, but I’d still lean towards Harris being closer option 1A at the moment. It’s another situation you’d be better off avoiding, though.

Houston Astros
Enyel De Los Santos	0.1 IP	3 ER	3 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	24% CSW
Kai-Wei Teng	1.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	4 K	9 Whiffs	57% CSW
Steven Okert – L (2)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	36% CSW
AJ Blubaugh	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	19% CSW
Josh Hader	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	38% CSW

Let’s keep Kai-Wei Teng in the bullpen, shall we? Just spam the sweeper and sprinkle in the fastball.
The fastball velocity was back to normal for Steven Okert, but he left a fastball middle-middle to Muncy here that resulted in a home run.

NYM 1 – CHW 2

New York Mets
Dedniel Núñez	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 K	6 Whiffs	40% CSW
Daniel Duarte	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	3 K	6 Whiffs	36% CSW
Kodai Senga – L (9)	0.1 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 K	0 Whiffs	11% CSW

Daniel Duarte — Sinker up 0.9 MPH (94.1 vs. 93.2 season avg). Duarte tried sneaking a cutter in to Benintendi here, but it caught too much of the plate and wound up hitting the bottom of the fence in right for a double. The only mistake here in another wise great outing.
Kodai Senga — Four-Seamer down 0.9 MPH (95.4 vs. 96.3 season avg). The walk-off home run was a 96 MPH fastball, which is fine, but I think we were all hoping he’d be closer to 97-98 MPH as a reliever.

Chicago White Sox
Sean Newcomb	2.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	3 K	6 Whiffs	29% CSW
Hagen Smith	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	36% CSW
Grant Taylor – W (6)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	2 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	24% CSW

The good news here is that Grant Taylor saw his third consecutive ninth-inning outing. It just did not go as planned, as Taylor was fighting his command in this one. The usage is promising, though.

LAA 3 – TEX 5

Los Angeles Angels
Luke Murphy	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	16% CSW
Sammy Peralta	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
José Fermin	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	67% CSW

José Fermin with zero walks AND a 67% CSW? Eight of his nine pitches here were sliders, so that makes sense.

Texas Rangers
Peyton Gray	1.1 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Tyler Alexander	0.1 IP	2 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	23% CSW
Chase Silseth – HLD (13)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	33% CSW
Jacob Latz – SV (26)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	6 Whiffs	38% CSW

It remains a struggle to find consistency in this bullpen in front of Jacob Latz, but Latz continues to be a consistent force at the back end at least (the walk here was intentional).

CLE 7 – COL 2

Cleveland Guardians
Craig Yoho	1.1 IP	2 H	1 K	3 Whiffs	30% CSW
Tim Herrin	1.0 IP	0 H	1 K	3 Whiffs	36% CSW
Matt Festa	0.2 IP	0 H	2 K	2 Whiffs	27% CSW
Logan Allen	1.0 IP	0 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	22% CSW

Craig Yoho — Changeup usage 80% (+32 pts vs. 48% usual). I’m shocked. Shocked! Well, not that shocked.

Colorado Rockies
Mark Manfredi	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	33% CSW
Jimmy Herget	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	17% CSW
Jaden Hill	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	20% CSW
Nick Frasso	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	24% CSW
Jordan Romano	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	31% CSW

Nope.

SFG 4 – BOS 5

San Francisco Giants
JT Brubaker	1.2 IP	1 ER	3 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	15% CSW
Sam Hentges	1.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	35% CSW
Trent Harris	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW

Sam Hentges — Four-Seamer up 1.0 MPH (95.4 vs. 94.4 season avg). The stuff is at least back to average-ish, but the command is hit or miss.

Boston Red Sox
Tyron Guerrero – HLD (17)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	9% CSW
Aroldis Chapman – SV (29)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	5 Whiffs	40% CSW

Aroldis Chapman — Four-Seamer usage 7% (-30 pts vs. 36% usual). I alluded to this a few weeks ago, and Chapman went with 8 off-speed pitches here to 7 fastballs (mostly sinkers). We’re used to Chapman being about 75% fastball, but expect that number to be closer to 50% as the velocity remains down. The slider and splitter can both be really good anyway.

PIT 0 – LAD 4

Pittsburgh Pirates
Lake Bachar – L (3)	2.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	3 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	14% CSW
Carmen Mlodzinski	3.0 IP	3 ER	5 H	0 BB	4 K	8 Whiffs	31% CSW
Khristian Curtis	3.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	5 Whiffs	22% CSW

Lake Bachar — Four-Seamer down 1.5 MPH (93.0 vs. 94.5 season avg). Things are not trending well for Bachar.
Khristian Curtis replaces Kelly on the roster and is in a similar situation as the stuff plays up nicely out of the pen, but he’s mostly just been making starts at AAA. Curtis probably has a better shot as a starter, but Kelly’s three-pitch mix as a reliever could be elite.

Los Angeles Dodgers
Edgardo Henriquez	1.0 IP	0 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Brock Stewart	1.0 IP	0 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	50% CSW
Alex Vesia	1.0 IP	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	24% CSW

Edgardo Henriquez — Four-Seamer up 1.1 MPH (101.7 vs. 100.6 season avg); Sinker usage 0% (-27 pts vs. 27% usual); Four-Seamer usage 58% (+26 pts vs. 32% usual). Henriquez has gotten back on track in August, and now holds a 1.04 ERA, 0.46 WHIP, and 42% K rate over his past nine outings. Not sure if it’s good enough for Dave Roberts to trust, though.
Brock Stewart — Four-Seamer up 1.1 MPH (96.9 vs. 95.8 season avg). Love to see it. Can it last?
Alex Vesia — Four-Seamer up 1.3 MPH (93.4 vs. 92.1 season avg). Vesia needed this, even with the walk, we will take the relatively calm outing from him.

CHC 19 – SEA 2

Chicago Cubs
Trent Thornton	1.0 IP	0 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	50% CSW
Caleb Thielbar	1.0 IP	0 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	50% CSW
Carson Kelly	1.0 IP	1 H	0 K	0 Whiffs	25% CSW

Trent Thornton — Sinker up 2.1 MPH (96.4 vs. 94.3 season avg). Makes him slightly more interesting.
Caleb Thielbar — Four-Seamer up 1.4 MPH (94.7 vs. 93.3 season avg). Good to see.

Seattle Mariners
José A. Ferrer	1.2 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	8% CSW
Eduard Bazardo	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	31% CSW
Michael Rucker	0.2 IP	7 ER	4 H	2 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW
Jhonny Pereda	0.1 IP	2 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	25% CSW
Weston Wilson	1.0 IP	3 ER	5 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	11% CSW

Eduard Bazardo — Sinker up 1.0 MPH (96.5 vs. 95.5 season avg). Sure.
Well, it was fun for a minute Michael Rucker.

MIN 1 – SDP 8

Minnesota Twins
Kody Funderburk – L (2)	0.1 IP	2 ER	0 H	2 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	18% CSW
Jeff Hoffman	0.2 IP	2 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	24% CSW
Travis Adams	1.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	1 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	24% CSW
Taylor Rogers	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	20% CSW

Kody Funderburk — Sinker up 1.1 MPH (94.1 vs. 93.0 season avg); Cutter usage 59% (+26 pts vs. 33% usual). Not all velocity boosts are helpful, especially when you struggle to throw strikes as a result.
Jeff Hoffman’s stuff has fizzled out over the past month, and I wonder if there’s some underlying injury here (or maybe just fatigue).

San Diego Padres
Wandy Peralta	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	19% CSW
Yuki Matsui	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	33% CSW

Yuki Matsui — Splitter usage 52% (+26 pts vs. 26% usual). Interesting pitch mix going basically splitter/four-seamer here. Works for me.

CIN 3 – ARI 5

Cincinnati Reds
Luis Mey – BS (1)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	2 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	18% CSW
Pierce Johnson	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW

Luis Mey — Sinker down 0.9 MPH (97.4 vs. 98.3 season avg). Mey had been trustworthy, allowing just two walks over his previous 10.2 innings heading into this game. The triple to Vargas would have been a groundout if the infield was at normal depth.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Gerardo Carrillo	1.2 IP	1 H	2 BB	3 K	8 Whiffs	40% CSW
Taylor Clarke	1.1 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	40% CSW
Jonathan Loáisiga – W (5)	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Juan Morillo – HLD (17)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	19% CSW
Brandyn Garcia – HLD (14)	0.2 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	42% CSW
Kevin Ginkel – SV (2)	0.1 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	42% CSW

Taylor Clarke — Changeup usage 60% (+33 pts vs. 27% usual)
Jonathan Loáisiga — Sinker up 0.9 MPH (98.7 vs. 97.8 season avg); Sinker usage 58% (+26 pts vs. 33% usual)
Juan Morillo — Sinker usage 44% (+27 pts vs. 17% usual)
Brandyn Garcia — Sinker up 1.5 MPH (98.7 vs. 97.2 season avg). Everyone but Justin Martinez pitched here, and I know there’s a lot of trust in the other guys in this bullpen, but no one can touch Martinez/s upside.

ATL 4 – MIL 2

Atlanta Braves
Didier Fuentes – HLD (15)	2.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	36% CSW
Dylan Lee – HLD (30)	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	33% CSW
Raisel Iglesias – SV (27)	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	22% CSW

Didier Fuentes — Four-Seamer up 1.0 MPH (98.2 vs. 97.2 season avg); Four-Seamer usage 44% (-26 pts vs. 70% usual). Happy to see his velocity back up. It does fluctuate for him, though.
Dylan Lee — Four-Seamer up 0.9 MPH (94.2 vs. 93.3 season avg). A slider to Yelich and a fastball to Lara caught too much of the plate here for the two mistakes from Lee.
Raisel Iglesias — Four-Seamer down 1.8 MPH (92.6 vs. 94.4 season avg). Hung on for the save, although Contreras was inches from a walk-off homer (a home run in 7 parks). If Contreras walks it off here, I wonder if we are talking about a new closer in Atlanta today?

Milwaukee Brewers
Grant Anderson	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW
DL Hall	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	35% CSW
Bryse Wilson	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	26% CSW
Aaron Ashby	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	25% CSW

Grant Anderson — Sinker up 1.2 MPH (94.3 vs. 93.1 season avg); Sweeper usage 0% (-36 pts vs. 36% usual); Four-Seamer usage 5% (-33 pts vs. 38% usual)
Bryse Wilson — Sinker down 1.0 MPH (91.3 vs. 92.3 season avg); Cutter usage 0% (-31 pts vs. 31% usual); Sinker usage 0% (-26 pts vs. 26% usual)
Aaron Ashby — Sinker down 0.8 MPH (96.9 vs. 97.7 season avg). Just the second home run Ashby has allowed to a left-handed hitter here (and it wasn’t even a bad pitch).

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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/23

Rick Graham

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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/23

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