Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/25

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

TBR 1 – DET 4

Detroit Tigers
Drew Sommers – W (1)	1.2 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	23% CSW
Jacob Waguespack – HLD (4)	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	17% CSW
Tyler Holton – HLD (14)	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Kenley Jansen – SV (17)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW

Drew Sommers — Sinker up 0.9 MPH (95.9 vs. 95.0 season avg). The lefty continues to roll. Clearly, the best reliever in this bullpen at the moment.
Kenley Jansen — Sinker up 0.8 MPH (94.7 vs. 93.9 season avg). We’ll take it, and I like that we saw 4 sliders and 2 sinkers here amongst his 16 pitches. I’ll take 63% cutter usage over 85%.

BOS 7 – MIA 3

Boston Red Sox
Tyron Guerrero	1.2 IP	2 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	19% CSW
Greg Weissert	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW
Erik Miller	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	3 K	5 Whiffs	54% CSW
Wyatt Olds – BS (1)	0.2 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	11% CSW
Alec Gamboa – W (1)	1.1 IP	0 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	15% CSW

Tyron Guerrero threw 25 sinkers here and just one splitter, which he left middle-middle and was ripped for a single. As great as the sinker is, we really need him to figure out or trust the splitter or slider.
Wyatt Olds had some bad luck here, but there’s no doubt his fastball/slider can be elite offerings (the slider he struck out Sanoja on fooled the hitter and catcher). I don’t know where he fits in, but the stuff is incredible, so I hope he sticks around.

Miami Marlins
Victor Vodnik	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	50% CSW
Tyler Zuber	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	23% CSW
Jack Ralston	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	50% CSW
Michael Petersen	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	9% CSW
Josh Ekness	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	14% CSW
Calvin Faucher	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	27% CSW
Cade Gibson – L (1)	1.0 IP	3 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW

Calvin Faucher — Cutter usage 9% (-26 pts vs. 35% usual). Faucher has dropped his cutter usage by 18% over his past 15 innings, throwing more four-seamers and sweepers instead, and the results have been fantastic with a 1.20 ERA (1.66 xFIP), 0.67 WHIP, and 40% K rate. Over the 41.1 innings prior, Faucher held a 5.01 ERA (4.45 xFIP), 1.62 WHIP, and 21% K rate.

COL 3 – WSN 1

Colorado Rockies
Mark Manfredi – W (1)	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	39% CSW
Jimmy Herget – HLD (8)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
Jaden Hill – HLD (12)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	60% CSW
Brennan Bernardino – HLD (11)	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	38% CSW
Jordan Romano – SV (13)	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	8% CSW

Jimmy Herget — Sinker down 1.1 MPH (89.6 vs. 90.7 season avg)
Jaden Hill — Sinker down 1.1 MPH (96.5 vs. 97.6 season avg)
Jordan Romano now holds a 2.30 ERA since joining the Rockies, but it comes with a 4.27 SIERA, 1.28 WHIP, and 10% K-BB rate (also an 86 Stuff+ which ranks 182 out of 185 qualified relievers since July 1st with only Zack Littell, Albert Suárez and Xzavion Curry worse). The luck will run out.

Washington Nationals
Brad Lord	2.1 IP	0 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	23% CSW
Max Kranick	1.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	29% CSW
Jake Bird	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW

Brad Lord — Four-Seamer up 1.0 MPH (95.6 vs. 94.6 season avg). What exactly is his role moving forward?
Jake Bird — Four-Seamer down 1.1 MPH (92.3 vs. 93.4 season avg). Four-seamer still seems to be doing better than the sinker, at least.

HOU 9 – NYY 7

Houston Astros
Bennett Sousa	1.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
Steven Okert	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW
Bryan Abreu – W (5)	1.0 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	20% CSW
Josh Hader – SV (19)	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	50% CSW

Steven Okert left a few too many sliders over the middle of the plate here, but at least the fastball wasn’t the issue, right? (or maybe the lack of a fastball threat IS the issue?)
Bryan Abreu — Four-Seamer down 1.0 MPH (94.6 vs. 95.6 season avg). Dude, I thought we were back? What happened here?

New York Yankees
Fernando Cruz – BS (6)	1.0 IP	2 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	25% CSW
Yerry De los Santos	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	18% CSW
Brent Headrick – L (3)	0.2 IP	3 ER	4 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	33% CSW
Bradley Hanner	1.1 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	24% CSW

The regression monster catches up to us all at some point, and it got Brent Headrick here as he gave up a home run, triple, and two singles in this one (not one was an egregiously terrible pitch either). Chalk it up to a bad day/ratios seeking their level.

KCR 5 – TOR 3

Kansas City Royals
John Schreiber – HLD (14)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	38% CSW
Connor Thomas – HLD (2)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	20% CSW
Nate Pearson – HLD (4)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	16% CSW
Steven Cruz	1.0 IP	2 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	17% CSW

John Schreiber — Sinker down 0.8 MPH (92.4 vs. 93.2 season avg)
Steven Cruz — Four-Seamer up 1.0 MPH (99.4 vs. 98.4 season avg). Luckily for Cruz, this game ended with Lukes getting thrown out at second, trying to stretch a single into a double (not giving Vlad a chance to hit here is a crime). Nate Pearson wasn’t much better, and this closer situation is best avoided.

Toronto Blue Jays
Braydon Fisher	0.1 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	17% CSW
Mason Fluharty	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	11% CSW
Paul Sewald	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	36% CSW
Brendon Little	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	3 K	8 Whiffs	48% CSW
Tyler Rogers	1.0 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	28% CSW

Braydon Fisher — Four-Seamer down 1.2 MPH (93.4 vs. 94.6 season avg); Curveball usage 58% (+30 pts vs. 28% usual); Slider usage 25% (-25 pts vs. 50% usual)
Brendon Little — Four-Seamer usage 48% (+37 pts vs. 11% usual); Sinker usage 0% (-28 pts vs. 28% usual). Sure, as long as the four-seamer can find the zone more often than the sinker.

MIL 2 – NYM 3

Milwaukee Brewers
Chad Patrick	0.2 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	22% CSW
Antonio Senzatela	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	20% CSW
Aaron Ashby	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	9% CSW
Trevor Megill – L (3)	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	37% CSW

Antonio Senzatela — Sinker usage 55% (+39 pts vs. 16% usual). Sure.
The Brewers probably got greedy trying to get two innings from Trevor Megill here, which he has done just once since 2023 (last June), but even in the tenth, the Mets won on a walk-off error by Hamilton.

New York Mets
Nate Lavender – HLD (6)	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	35% CSW
Austin Warren – BS (2)	0.1 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	20% CSW
Jefry Yan	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	31% CSW
Jonathan Pintaro – W (2)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	32% CSW

Austin Warren — Sinker usage 53% (+28 pts vs. 25% usual). The Mets wanted to give Senga another day of rest, so we got Warren in the ninth for the save chance, and it did not go so well. Senga should be back to closing today.

LAD 3 – ATL 4

Los Angeles Dodgers
Alex Vesia	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Jack Dreyer	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	19% CSW
Evan Phillips	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
Tanner Scott – L (4)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	10% CSW

Alex Vesia — Four-Seamer up 1.1 MPH (93.2 vs. 92.1 season avg); Slider usage 0% (-31 pts vs. 31% usual); Changeup usage 42% (+27 pts vs. 15% usual)
Tanner Scott gave up a double to Olson on a 1-1 fastball that was too middle-middle before Albies scored him on a bloop single to center. One mistake cost him, but we also saw him in the 8th inning here to face the middle of the Braves lineup, and I wonder between Stewart and Henriquez, who would have gotten the ninth.

Atlanta Braves
Dylan Lee	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Victor Mederos	0.2 IP	0 H	2 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Dylan Dodd – W (4)	0.1 IP	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	50% CSW
Raisel Iglesias – SV (28)	1.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW

Dylan Lee — Four-Seamer down 2.1 MPH (91.2 vs. 93.3 season avg). Lee’s fastball fluctuates, but usually not this much. Down over 2 MPH while facing Ohtani, Freeman, Betts, and Muncy in a tie game? I’m a little concerned.
Raisel Iglesias gave up a leadoff triple off the top of the wall to Ohtani here before striking out Freeman, getting Betts to ground out softly to short, and Edman to fly out. He really leaned on the changeup here, throwing it 50% of the time after the Ohtani triple, and that pitch is really the only thing keeping him going at this point.

TEX 7 – CHW 11

Texas Rangers
Cole Winn	1.1 IP	2 ER	5 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	33% CSW
Peyton Gray	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	39% CSW
Jordan Montgomery	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW
Tyler Alexander	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	25% CSW

Meh.

Chicago White Sox
Jordan Hicks	1.0 IP	3 ER	4 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	38% CSW
Bryan Hudson – W (4)	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW
Hagen Smith	1.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	3 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	28% CSW
Grant Taylor – SV (8)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW

Jordan Hicks gave up a single, a double, and a home run in the sixth inning here, all with two strikes (and not terrible pitches). Just one of those days.
Grant Taylor — Sinker down 0.8 MPH (98.0 vs. 98.8 season avg). It was only one out (and two pitches), but cool to see the traditional closer usage.

BAL 13 – STL 1

Baltimore Orioles
Yennier Cano	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
Anthony Nunez	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	5 K	14 Whiffs	63% CSW

I don’t care that it was a meaningless two innings, 14 Whiffs over two innings (just 27 pitches) from Anthony Nunez is crazy! Don’t forget this upside.

St. Louis Cardinals
Peter Strzelecki	0.1 IP	4 ER	4 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	19% CSW
Caleb Ferguson	1.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	37% CSW
Ryan Fernandez	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	32% CSW
Pedro Pagés	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	25% CSW

Blegh.

CLE 8 – LAA 6

Cleveland Guardians
Matt Festa	1.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	16% CSW
Craig Yoho	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	40% CSW
Logan Allen	3.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	6 Whiffs	26% CSW
Colin Holderman	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	50% CSW
Erik Sabrowski – W (5)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	3 K	5 Whiffs	62% CSW
Cade Smith – SV (35)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	47% CSW

Colin Holderman — Sinker down 1.6 MPH (95.2 vs. 96.8 season avg). He may still be dealing with a bit of an injury.
Erik Sabrowski — Four-Seamer usage 38% (-28 pts vs. 67% usual). Yeah, I’m thinking he’s back.

Los Angeles Angels
José Fermin	1.1 IP	2 ER	4 H	0 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	38% CSW
Tayler Saucedo – HLD (4)	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	4 K	9 Whiffs	50% CSW
Ryan Watson – BS (1)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	40% CSW
Ben Joyce	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	29% CSW
Blake Weiman – L (1)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	15% CSW

José Fermin — Sinker down 0.8 MPH (95.5 vs. 96.3 season avg). Whoops.
Ryan Watson — Curveball usage 40% (+26 pts vs. 14% usual). The hits came off a four-seamer and cutter (although the single should have been caught and the double was a flare).
Ben Joyce — Four-Seamer down 0.8 MPH (100.5 vs. 101.3 season avg). Velocity down and command terrible…still a three-strikeout performance with just one baserunner.
Blake Weiman — Four-Seamer down 2.3 MPH (87.5 vs. 89.8 season avg). Ugh.

CHC 4 – ARI 5

Chicago Cubs
Daniel Palencia	0.2 IP	3 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	27% CSW
Jacob Webb – L (4)	1.0 IP	2 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	30% CSW

Where to begin. We’ll start with Palencia, who got the 8th inning up 4 runs, and after getting a quick out, hit Lawlar and walked Nootbar after going up 0-2 on him. He bounced back to strike out Carroll but then gave up a wacky fluke double to Moreno and a bloop single to center before Webb entered. Webb quickly got out of the jam in the 8th, but a walk to Tawa in the ninth gave Waldschmidt the chance to play hero, and he took a 2-1 hanging slider deep to left for the walk-off home run. So where do the Cubs go from here? Does Webb get the next save chance after giving up back-to-back walk-off home runs since Palencia returned, or do they turn the keys back over to Palencia, who was really just unlucky here? I love Webb still, but I think he’s better suited to a high-leverage role with Palencia in the ninth.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Dennis Santana	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	37% CSW
Justin Martinez – W (1)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	35% CSW

Dennis Santana — Four-Seamer down 1.1 MPH (93.0 vs. 94.1 season avg)
Justin Martinez — Sinker up 0.8 MPH (102.5 vs. 101.7 season avg). Yeah, that will play. The single was a chopper to the right of Martinez, probably more of an error than a hit if we are being honest.

PIT 1 – SDP 0

Pittsburgh Pirates
Camilo Doval	1.0 IP	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	41% CSW
Gregory Soto – W (6)	1.0 IP	0 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	45% CSW
Mason Montgomery – SV (6)	1.0 IP	1 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW

Camilo Doval — Sinker down 1.7 MPH (96.6 vs. 98.3 season avg)
Mason Montgomery — Sinker up 0.9 MPH (99.9 vs. 99.0 season avg); Sinker usage 50% (+37 pts vs. 13% usual); Four-Seamer usage 25% (-28 pts vs. 54% usual). On his way to potentially being a Top 10 reliever off the board next season.

San Diego Padres
Adrian Morejon	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Mason Miller – L (2)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	21% CSW

Adrian Morejon — Sinker down 0.9 MPH (98.6 vs. 99.5 season avg). Hmm, the sinker is still down a tick. It still grades out well, so as long as Morejon’s healthy, I’m not too concerned.
Mason Miller — Slider usage 21% (-30 pts vs. 51% usual). Miller decided to throw just his 22nd changeup of the entire season to Cruz in an 0-1 count here, and well, maybe we overthought that one just a bit. It wasn’t even a terrible pitch, but Cruz was still able to get the barrel on it for the home run (Miller’s first allowed all year).

MIN 2 – ATH 4

Minnesota Twins
A.J. Minter	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	30% CSW

A.J. Minter — Four-Seamer up 1.0 MPH (94.3 vs. 93.3 season avg). Love to see it. I think the Twins may consider Minter the next man up here if Gomez remains shaky.

Athletics
Hogan Harris – HLD (12)	0.2 IP	1 H	1 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	20% CSW
Luis Medina – HLD (9)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	45% CSW
Elvis Alvarado – SV (4)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	43% CSW

So maybe we are back to Elvis Alvarado as closer 1A for the Athletics? We didn’t see any sliders in this one, but he did throw two splitters, one of which was hit 391 to the wall in center for the final out of the game.

PHI 1 – SEA 4

Philadelphia Phillies
Orion Kerkering	0.2 IP	2 ER	1 H	1 BB	25% CSW
Brooks Raley	0.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	25% CSW
Jonathan Bowlan	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	15% CSW

Zero whiffs from these three is kind of wild to imagine, but Kerkering and Bowlan had trouble locating here.

Seattle Mariners
José A. Ferrer – HLD (13)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	50% CSW
Andrés Muñoz – SV (24)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	32% CSW

Andrés Muñoz — Slider usage 8% (-38 pts vs. 46% usual); Four-Seamer usage 76% (+35 pts vs. 41% usual). Yes, keep dominating with that fastb- wait, does that say two walks? And you went 20/25 fastball? The command actually wasn’t as bad as the walks suggest, so I’m not too worried.

CIN 1 – SFG 3

Cincinnati Reds
Sam Moll	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	21% CSW
Tejay Antone	1.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	47% CSW

Tejay Antone — Sweeper usage 87% (+33 pts vs. 54% usual). That’s really all he’s got.

San Francisco Giants
Sam Hentges – HLD (10)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	10% CSW
Trent Harris – HLD (1)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW
Carson Seymour – SV (1)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	28% CSW

Carson Seymour — Sinker up 1.0 MPH (97.0 vs. 96.0 season avg). I guess the Giants wanted to give Smith another day off here after pitching Monday, so Seymour got the save chance in his stead. Seymour has an interesting arsenal, but the command is a work in progress. At least he gives them a second reliever in this bullpen with above-average stuff.

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: 8/25

Rick Graham

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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/25

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