Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/24

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

TBR 4 – DET 1

Tampa Bay Rays
Garrett Cleavinger – HLD (23)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	36% CSW
Manuel Rodríguez – HLD (1)	1.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	22% CSW
Bryan Baker – SV (38)	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	38% CSW

Manuel Rodríguez made his 2026 debut here, and the three strikeouts are nice, but the stuff (specifically the fastball) is not where it needs to be. The command was rusty, as to be expected, but the slider was good, so as long as the fastball and command get better from here, he should be fine.

Detroit Tigers
Tanner Rainey	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	39% CSW
Tyler Holton	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	20% CSW

Tanner Rainey’s command is still suspect, and the fastball dipped a little here…but this is still the best fastball we’ve seen from him in quite some time.

BOS 4 – MIA 2

Boston Red Sox
Brayan Bello	2.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	2 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	19% CSW
Erik Miller – W (3)	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Aroldis Chapman – SV (30)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	28% CSW

The fastball looked much better for Aroldis Chapman in this one, and he was in or around the zone with his whole arsenal.

Miami Marlins
Josh Ekness – BS (2)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	25% CSW
Pete Fairbanks – L (5)	0.0 IP	1 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	20% CSW
Tyler Zuber	0.1 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Cade Gibson	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	27% CSW

Josh Ekness — Four-Seamer up 1.1 MPH (98.6 vs. 97.5 season avg). I love the aggressiveness to put Ekness in this spot, facing the middle of the Red Sox lineup with a one-run lead in the 8th. The command wasn’t great (left a sweeper middle-in to Abreu and hit Contreras with a fastball), but the stuff is electric.

Pete Fairbanks — Four-Seamer down 1.1 MPH (96.2 vs. 97.3 season avg). The big story here is that Fairbanks left after facing one batter and will likely be placed on the IL with a nerve irritation injury (similar to his previous IL stint this year). I mentioned yesterday that Calvin Faucher is probably the favorite right now to fill in for Fairbanks, but I wouldn’t rule out Ekness or Michael Petersen either (and maybe Zuber). That being said, I wouldn’t consider Faucher a must-add, as we could very likely be heading to a committee approach similar to how 2025 ended (five different relievers had 3 or more saves in the second half, with Faucher leading the way with 7).

COL 3 – WSN 13

Colorado Rockies
Juan Mejia	0.1 IP	1 ER	1 H	2 BB	0 Whiffs	15% CSW
Blake Adams	1.0 IP	5 ER	5 H	2 BB	3 Whiffs	22% CSW
Troy Johnston	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 Whiffs	29% CSW

Juan Mejia — Four-Seamer down 1.5 MPH (95.6 vs. 97.1 season avg); Sweeper usage 65% (+29 pts vs. 36% usual). Feels like there may be something wrong here physically.

Washington Nationals
Erik Tolman	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Clayton Beeter	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	38% CSW
Jake Bird	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	50% CSW

Clayton Beeter — Four-Seamer up 1.1 MPH (96.8 vs. 95.7 season avg). Command was a factor here, per usual.
Jake Bird — Sinker usage 0% (-34 pts vs. 34% usual); Four-Seamer usage 42% (+26 pts vs. 15% usual). The switch to the four-seamer over the sinker seems to be working.

TEX 11 – CHW 2

Texas Rangers
Robby Ahlstrom	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	31% CSW
Jordan Montgomery	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	6 Whiffs	39% CSW

Jordan Montgomery — Sinker up 1.5 MPH (91.5 vs. 90.0 season avg). Great stat line, but I’m not buying this. Stuff remains mediocre at best.

Chicago White Sox
Tyler Schweitzer	2.0 IP	2 ER	3 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	28% CSW
Huascar Brazobán	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	2 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	14% CSW
Trevor Richards	2.2 IP	3 ER	4 H	2 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	16% CSW
Luisangel Acuña	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW

Tyler Schweitzer — Four-Seamer down 1.2 MPH (92.9 vs. 94.1 season avg). Lots of lefty depth in this bullpen already.

CLE 4 – LAA 2

Cleveland Guardians
Colin Holderman – HLD (11)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	3 K	6 Whiffs	33% CSW
Hunter Gaddis – HLD (27)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 K	0 Whiffs	17% CSW
Cade Smith – SV (34)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	20% CSW

Colin Holderman — Sinker down 0.8 MPH (96.0 vs. 96.8 season avg). The sinker command was way off here as well and we can thank the breakers for the strike out barrage.
Hunter Gaddis keeps racking up holds but he’s allowing baserunners basically every outing (5.28 xFIP, 1.36 WHIP, 8% K-BB, 94 Stuff+ rate since All-Star break).

Los Angeles Angels
Blake Weiman	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 K	2 Whiffs	25% CSW
Luke Murphy	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW
Sammy Peralta	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 K	2 Whiffs	23% CSW

Meh.

CHC 7 – ARI 0

Chicago Cubs
Ryan Zeferjahn	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	20% CSW
Caleb Thielbar	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	14% CSW

Ryan Zeferjahn — Sinker up 1.1 MPH (97.2 vs. 96.1 season avg); Sinker usage 40% (+26 pts vs. 14% usual). No whiffs but the stuff was good here and the command better than what we’ve come to expect from Zeferjahn. If this is the new floor for Zeferjahn, we’ll gladly take that and I feel like better days are ahead.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Taylor Clarke	0.1 IP	2 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 Whiffs	12% CSW
Drey Jameson	2.0 IP	2 ER	3 H	1 BB	3 Whiffs	22% CSW
Juan Burgos	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 Whiffs	17% CSW

Drey Jameson — Four-Seamer up 1.3 MPH (98.1 vs. 96.8 season avg). Welcome back and glad to see the velocity return but it doesn’t mean much. His whole arsenal is very hittable.
Juan Burgos — Sinker up 0.9 MPH (97.3 vs. 96.4 season avg). Sinker/cutter/sweeper approach may be passable.

PIT 3 – SDP 2

Pittsburgh Pirates
Gregory Soto – HLD (9)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	36% CSW
Luke Weaver – BS (3)	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	2 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	24% CSW
Mason Montgomery	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Camilo Doval	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Kirby Yates – W (2)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	16% CSW
Yohan Ramírez – SV (2)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	3 K	6 Whiffs	41% CSW

Another rough Luke Weaver outing, and the fastball was exactly on that 95.5 MPH dividing line, but it was the changeup and cutter responsible for the two hits.
Yohan Ramírez — Sweeper usage 71% (+32 pts vs. 39% usual). Leave it to Ramírez to look terrible his past three times out and then turn into prime Mo Rivera here for the save. Well not really as he only threw 2 of his 17 pitches in the zone here.

San Diego Padres
Bradgley Rodriguez	0.2 IP	1 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	33% CSW
Yuki Matsui	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	38% CSW
Kyle Hart	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW
Mason Miller	1.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	27% CSW
Adrian Morejon	2.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	40% CSW
Jeremiah Estrada – L (3)	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	31% CSW

Adrian Morejon — Sinker down 1.3 MPH (98.2 vs. 99.5 season avg). Not a concern as long as the velocity returns in his next appearance up a run or two in the eighth inning. Even still, the stuff was amazing (as was the command).

MIN 9 – ATH 6

Minnesota Twins
Tommy Nance	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 Whiffs	19% CSW
Yoendrys Gómez	0.2 IP	4 ER	4 H	1 BB	2 Whiffs	15% CSW
Andrew Morris – SV (4)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 Whiffs	0% CSW

Tommy Nance — Sinker down 0.9 MPH (93.7 vs. 94.6 season avg). Not great.
Yoendrys Gómez was doing his best Riley O’Brien impression here, and I’m not entirely sure why he was pitching in this game to begin with (I guess he had four days off leading up to this). The stuff was not sharp but he actually got two quick outs on just three pitches before allowing a single, walk, and three straight doubles.

Athletics
Hayden Juenger	0.2 IP	3 ER	3 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	16% CSW
Kade Morris	2.2 IP	2 ER	5 H	0 BB	2 K	7 Whiffs	22% CSW
Drew Rom	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	10% CSW

Blegh.

PHI 2 – SEA 9

Philadelphia Phillies
Alex McFarlane	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	50% CSW
José Alvarado	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	45% CSW
Chase Shugart	2.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	4 K	3 Whiffs	34% CSW

There are maybe a dozen (maybe) relievers who have better pure stuff than Alex McFarlane. Just not sure the fastball command is good/consistent enough right now.

José Alvarado — Sinker down 0.9 MPH (97.1 vs. 98.0 season avg). But we’ll take the command (and stat line).

Seattle Mariners
Seranthony Domínguez	2.0 IP	2 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Gabe Speier	1.0 IP	0 K	0 Whiffs	17% CSW
Carlos Vargas	1.0 IP	1 K	1 Whiffs	38% CSW

Seranthony Domínguez keeps using his splitter more and thats been a good thing. He’s thrown it 27.1% of the time over his past three outings, which have resulted in four innings pitched with six strikeouts and no baserunners.

CIN 0 – SFG 5

Cincinnati Reds
Sam Moll	1.1 IP	0 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	38% CSW
Julian Garcia	2.0 IP	0 H	1 K	2 Whiffs	30% CSW
Emilio Pagán	1.0 IP	1 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	27% CSW

Emilio Pagán — Four-Seamer down 2.5 MPH (92.3 vs. 94.8 season avg); Four-Seamer usage 36% (-25 pts vs. 62% usual). Thats now back to back games with Pagán’s velocity way down, and I’d imagine an IL stint is incoming with the Reds playing for nothing at this point. Tony Santillan would likely finish the season as the Reds closer if that were the case.

San Francisco Giants
Jason Foley – W (1)	1.1 IP	0 H	0 BB	3 K	3 Whiffs	47% CSW
Reiver Sanmartin	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW
Ryan Walker	2.0 IP	2 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW
Carson Seymour	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	17% CSW
Dylan Smith	1.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	20% CSW

Ryan Walker — Sinker usage 42% (-26 pts vs. 68% usual). Hey look who’s back? We saw a near 50/50 sinker/slider mix (good) and also 5 four-seamers (no thank you)? The four-seamers worked here, possibly cathcing hitters off guard, but that is not a pitch he should be relying on. 50% sliders though (like in 2023-24), that could catch my attention.

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

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/24

Rick Graham

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/24

Subscribe to the Pitcher List Newsletter

Your daily update on everything Pitcher List

Rick Graham