Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/28

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

CIN 10 – CHC 8

Cincinnati Reds
Luis Mey	1.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	31% CSW
Brock Burke	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	20% CSW
Tejay Antone	0.0 IP	3 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	8% CSW
Sam Moll – HLD (7)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	22% CSW
Emilio Pagán – SV (18)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	14% CSW

Luis Mey — Sinker down 0.9 MPH (97.4 vs. 98.3 season avg). The two singles came against the last two hitters Mey faced. They have been deploying him as a two-inning reliever lately, but I wonder if that may be pushing it a bit.
Brock Burke — Four-Seamer down 1.7 MPH (94.5 vs. 96.2 season avg)

Chicago Cubs
Trent Thornton – L (5)	0.2 IP	5 ER	4 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	17% CSW
Aaron Civale	2.1 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	26% CSW
Daniel Palencia	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	47% CSW

Aaron Civale — Sinker up 1.4 MPH (92.8 vs. 91.4 season avg)
Daniel Palencia was a pitch away from a 1-2-3 clean inning before Friedl ambushed a fastball at the top of the zone in a 3-2 count. It was the sixth straight fastball Friedl saw in the AB, and this is where that splitter (he’s thrown one since returning) would come in handy.

LAD 2 – DET 1

Los Angeles Dodgers
Evan Phillips – W (2)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	3 K	3 Whiffs	80% CSW
Brock Stewart – HLD (7)	0.2 IP	1 H	2 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Alex Vesia – HLD (18)	0.1 IP	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
Tanner Scott – SV (20)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	46% CSW

Yep, Evan Phillips seems to have found his sweeper (and the fastball was great here as well). He’s looked great over his past five outings.

Detroit Tigers
Drew Sommers	1.1 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	3 K	2 Whiffs	26% CSW
Tyler Holton	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	26% CSW
Jacob Waguespack – L (2)	1.1 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	30% CSW
Tyler Kinley	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	0 K	4 Whiffs	22% CSW

Tyler Kinley — Four-Seamer down 1.1 MPH (93.3 vs. 94.4 season avg); Slider usage 91% (+25 pts vs. 66% usual). Not great, but also not surprising.

MIA 2 – WSN 9

Miami Marlins
Tyler Zuber	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	42% CSW

The stuff has come back down to earth for Tyler Zuber, so I’m not sure how much longer this will last, but the deep pitch mix can maybe help him out.

Washington Nationals
Max Kranick	2.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	29% CSW

KCR 3 – CLE 0

Kansas City Royals
Steven Cruz – SV (6)	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	6 Whiffs	32% CSW

Steven Cruz — Four-Seamer up 1.7 MPH (100.1 vs. 98.4 season avg). Cool that the velocity was up in the save situation (maybe the best his fastball has looked), but he loaded the bases here with two singles and a HBP before closing things out. He actually threw two good sliders here; we just need to see more of it from Cruz. Maybe the cutter can be a good enough secondary.

Cleveland Guardians
Tim Herrin	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	22% CSW
Craig Yoho	2.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	0 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	40% CSW

Craig Yoho tried busting a cutter in on Jensen here, and he pulled the hands in and launched it over the right field fence for a two-run homer. Still waiting on that second pitch to emerge for Yoho behind the changeup.

HOU 3 – NYM 1

Houston Astros
Bryan Abreu – HLD (11)	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	41% CSW
Josh Hader – SV (20)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	33% CSW

Bryan Abreu is still having fastball command issues as he threw five four-seamers here, not one near the plate, while also throwing just one of his five cutters for a strike (a middle-middle 1-0 pitch Ewing flew out on). He was able to get three of his seven sliders over the plate (two middle-middle to Baty), but this isn’t exactly a recipe for success.

New York Mets
Nate Lavender – BS (1)	0.2 IP	2 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	64% CSW
Jonathan Pintaro	1.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	19% CSW
Dedniel Núñez	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	70% CSW
Kodai Senga	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	56% CSW

Nate Lavender — Four-Seamer down 1.5 MPH (91.1 vs. 92.6 season avg). Noo,
Kodai Senga — Four-Seamer up 1.1 MPH (97.4 vs. 96.3 season avg). The extra time off seemed to have paid off.
The command is slowly coming around for Dedniel Núñez…

SDP 4 – TBR 9

San Diego Padres
David Morgan	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	38% CSW
Wandy Peralta	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	25% CSW
Griffin Canning	1.1 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	3 K	6 Whiffs	37% CSW

Griffin Canning went with a heavy off-speed approach here (21/27 pitches), which, outside of a few changeups left up in the zone, worked out nicely.

Tampa Bay Rays
Manuel Rodríguez – HLD (2)	1.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	16% CSW
Kevin Kelly – HLD (28)	0.1 IP	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	20% CSW
Steven Matz	2.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	23% CSW

Manuel Rodríguez still looks pretty meh, but he was able to get his four-seamer up to 97 MPH here and his sinker up to 98.

SEA 1 – TOR 8

Seattle Mariners
Seranthony Domínguez	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	17% CSW
Michael Rucker	2.0 IP	2 ER	3 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	22% CSW

Ugh, that may be the nail in the coffin for Michael Rucker. He should still get a look elsewhere if he were to be DFA’d.

Toronto Blue Jays
Mason Fluharty	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Paul Sewald	1.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	14% CSW
CJ Van Eyk	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	23% CSW

Mason Fluharty has not allowed a run in August, and has actually allowed just one hit over 11.2 innings. However, that comes with a gross 7/6 K/BB ratio, and somehow only three holds.

COL 4 – ATL 6

Colorado Rockies
Mark Manfredi	2.0 IP	3 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Juan Mejia	1.0 IP	1 H	0 K	0 Whiffs	18% CSW
Brennan Bernardino	1.0 IP	0 H	1 K	3 Whiffs	43% CSW

Brennan Bernardino — Sinker up 1.0 MPH (91.2 vs. 90.2 season avg); Sinker usage 14% (-27 pts vs. 41% usual). He definitely could have helped out some contenders in need of bullpen help.

Atlanta Braves
Dylan Dodd – HLD (13)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	27% CSW
Ray Kerr – HLD (1)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW
Victor Mederos – HLD (1)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	11% CSW
Raisel Iglesias – SV (29)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	31% CSW

Victor Mederos — Four-Seamer up 1.1 MPH (98.3 vs. 97.2 season avg). Mederos had an expanded role here, with Lee and Fuentes getting the night off, and battled through a walk and a single to hold the Rockies without a run.
Raisel Iglesias — Four-Seamer down 0.8 MPH (93.6 vs. 94.4 season avg). Iglesias was bailed out by some great defense here, specifically on the right side of the infield, but the stuff is still on the decline.

BOS 0 – NYY 1

Boston Red Sox
Greg Weissert	0.2 IP	1 K	3 Whiffs	60% CSW
Tyron Guerrero	1.0 IP	1 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Wyatt Olds	1.0 IP	2 K	2 Whiffs	45% CSW

Greg Weissert — Four-Seamer up 1.1 MPH (95.1 vs. 94.0 season avg). Got a big strikeout against Jazz here, elevating a fastball at 96 MPH.
Tyron Guerrero — Sinker up 2.0 MPH (102.2 vs. 100.2 season avg). Ok if you are going to sit 102.2 MPH, I’m not as worried about having a second pitch. But imagine if he did have a second pitch?
Wyatt Olds man. No cutter here, mixed in two changeups, with two strikeouts/whiffs on the slider. Dominant stuff.

New York Yankees
Brent Headrick – HLD (22)	0.2 IP	1 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	29% CSW
Paul Blackburn – HLD (9)	1.2 IP	2 H	0 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	32% CSW
David Bednar – SV (31)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	25% CSW

David Bednar — Four-Seamer up 1.0 MPH (97.1 vs. 96.1 season avg); Four-Seamer usage 67% (+26 pts vs. 41% usual). Little extra juice for this late-season divisional rivalry game. Didn’t lead to any Ks, but the stuff looked great, and he got three easy infield popouts.

TEX 1 – MIL 6

Texas Rangers
Tyler Alexander	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	14% CSW
Chase Silseth	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	32% CSW
Adam Macko	1.1 IP	2 ER	3 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	16% CSW

Blegh.

Milwaukee Brewers
Aaron Ashby – HLD (13)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW
DL Hall	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	3 K	3 Whiffs	46% CSW

DL Hall — Sinker up 1.9 MPH (97.1 vs. 95.2 season avg). The stuff is nasty right now from DL Hall, and even with Romero coming back and Ashby already in the bullpen, is Hall making the case as the best lefty in this bullpen? He now has a 0.79 ERA, 0.26 WHIP, and 46% K rate over his past 11.1 innings.

CHW 7 – MIN 4

Chicago White Sox
Hagen Smith	1.1 IP	1 H	1 BB	2 K	8 Whiffs	36% CSW
Grant Taylor – W (7)	2.2 IP	1 H	0 BB	3 K	3 Whiffs	37% CSW
Bryan Hudson – SV (6)	1.0 IP	2 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW

Another early outing for Grant Taylor, but at least he stuck around for a win. He now has 3 wins and 3 saves over the past month, which ranks him as the 36th overall player in standard Yahoo formats.

Minnesota Twins
Taylor Rogers	1.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	13% CSW
Travis Adams	2.1 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	31% CSW
Kody Funderburk	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	28% CSW

Kody Funderburk — Sinker up 0.9 MPH (93.9 vs. 93.0 season avg). That’s fine, but the sweeper is all that matters for Funderburk.

PIT 1 – STL 4

Pittsburgh Pirates
Evan Sisk	1.1 IP	0 H	1 K	3 Whiffs	36% CSW
Gregory Soto	1.0 IP	0 H	0 K	0 Whiffs	17% CSW
Yohan Ramírez	1.0 IP	1 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW

Yohan Ramírez — Sweeper usage 67% (+28 pts vs. 39% usual). It’s not even his best pitch, but maybe it’s the pitch he can actually command the best?

St. Louis Cardinals
Ryan Fernandez – HLD (2)	2.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	23% CSW
Caleb Ferguson – HLD (5)	0.1 IP	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
Ryne Stanek – SV (2)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	50% CSW

Caleb Ferguson — Four-Seamer down 0.9 MPH (91.3 vs. 92.2 season avg). He was DFA’d today.
The stuff has been falling apart since Ryne Stanek’s last save, and the command was just as bad here…but he was still able to produce this line and get a save.

PHI 5 – LAA 3

Philadelphia Phillies
José Alvarado	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	16% CSW
Alex McFarlane – W (4)	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW
Jonathan Bowlan – SV (2)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	36% CSW

Jonathan Bowlan got himself another save here as Jhoan Duran was dealing with a stomach bug and was unavailable. The fastball dominated here, as usual.

Los Angeles Angels
José Fermin – HLD (7)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	27% CSW
Ryan Watson – HLD (4)	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	41% CSW
Tayler Saucedo – HLD (5)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Ben Joyce – L (2)	0.2 IP	3 ER	0 H	2 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	15% CSW
Sammy Peralta – BS (1)	0.1 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW

José Fermin — Sinker up 1.9 MPH (98.3 vs. 96.4 season avg).
Ben Joyce — Four-Seamer down 0.9 MPH (100.2 vs. 101.1 season avg). So, yeah…this was pretty brutal. Joyce got Arraez to ground out on his second pitch of the game, and then the wheels fell off. Joyce then proceeded to hit Bohm and walk Crawford before Meckler made a crazy home run robbery on a Stott fly ball (on a fastball at just 98 MPH). Joyce then walked Realmuto, which led to Peralta entering and making things worse with a grand slam to Sosa. I’m a bit concerned, and I ~~may have~~ definitely got carried away ranking him as high as I did after one really strong outing, but I’ll give him another chance, hoping this was just a one-off and the command will come back to him next time out. Samy Natera Jr. should be back next week, so Joyce may not be closing much longer anyway.

BAL 4 – ATH 3

Baltimore Orioles
Rico Garcia – BS (6)	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	27% CSW
Yennier Cano	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Andrew Kittredge – W (3)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 K	3 Whiffs	36% CSW
Alex Hoppe – SV (1)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 K	3 Whiffs	36% CSW

Rico Garcia — Curveball usage 54% (+35 pts vs. 19% usual). Back in the 8th inning with Kittredge in the ninth again, so fun. We may not get any clarity here for a while as Félix Bautista looks to be a ways away from returning, let alone potentially closing, and Ryan Helsley just threw his first bullpen in months. Garcia gave up two bloop singles on changeups and had no fastball command here (only threw two of them) while Kittredge was able to carve up the bottom of the A’s lineup in the ninth.

Athletics
Scott Blewett	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	5 Whiffs	23% CSW
Luis Medina	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	22% CSW
Hogan Harris	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	31% CSW
Brady Basso – L (1)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW

Luis Medina — Four-Seamer up 0.8 MPH (98.5 vs. 97.7 season avg). Medina probably deserves more love; I just worry about his home park and lack of quality secondaries.
Hogan Harris back in the ninth inning, what do ya know? Alvarado was probably off here anyway, but still, I’d bet this still looks like a committee the rest of the way.

ARI 10 – SFG 6

Arizona Diamondbacks
Gerardo Carrillo – W (3)	1.0 IP	0 H	2 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	23% CSW
Jonathan Loáisiga	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW
Brandyn Garcia	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	2 K	6 Whiffs	33% CSW
Dennis Santana	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	21% CSW
Juan Morillo	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW

Jonathan Loáisiga — Sinker usage 70% (+36 pts vs. 34% usual)
Dennis Santana — Four-Seamer down 1.2 MPH (92.9 vs. 94.1 season avg); Slider usage 71% (+36 pts vs. 35% usual)
Juan Morillo — Four-Seamer down 1.0 MPH (97.7 vs. 98.7 season avg). A little concerning, maybe, but dealing with a four-run lead, he probably felt he could take his foot off the pedal a bit. Interesting that he got the ninth here in what could be considered closer usage.

San Francisco Giants
Spencer Bivens	2.0 IP	4 ER	5 H	1 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	30% CSW
Reiver Sanmartin	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Braxton Roxby	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	35% CSW

Braxton Roxby is a new name, and the stuff is kind of interesting (especially compared to the rest of this Giants bullpen). Will the stuff show up consistently, or was this just A Night at the Roxby?

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: 8/28

Rick Graham

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/28

Subscribe to the Pitcher List Newsletter

Your daily update on everything Pitcher List

Rick Graham