Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/8

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

ATL 4 – NYY 5

Atlanta Braves
Victor Mederos	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	23% CSW
Danny Young	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	3 K	3 Whiffs	36% CSW

Victor Mederos has some upside present, but he’s still too volatile to trust in leverage spot or fantasy leagues at that.

New York Yankees
Brent Headrick – HLD (17)	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	21% CSW
Paul Blackburn – HLD (5)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
David Bednar – SV (26)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	5 Whiffs	32% CSW

David Bednar was burned by a walk and single here, and while the command was sketchy, there’s nothing here to be overly concerned about.

ATH 7 – BOS 3

Athletics
Luis Medina	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	17% CSW
Seth Johnson	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	35% CSW
Hogan Harris – SV (10)	1.1 IP	1 ER	3 H	1 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	28% CSW

Luis Medina — Sinker up 1.5 MPH (98.7 vs. 97.2 season avg); Slider usage 50% (+35 pts vs. 15% usual). Maybe the best we’ve seen him.
Hogan Harris now holds a 1.57 WHIP on the season, but he’s up to double-digit saves, so there’s that, I guess.

Boston Red Sox
Justin Slaten	0.2 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	14% CSW
Raymond Burgos	3.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	27% CSW

Justin Slaten had been on a roll lately, but the last two outings have been more suspect, and at least in this one he just did not have great command of his cutter. This bullpens too deep to keep rolling him out in leverage situations if he’s struggling.

LAA 0 – MIA 7

Miami Marlins
Cade Gibson	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	23% CSW
Pete Fairbanks	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	3 K	5 Whiffs	56% CSW

Pete Fairbanks was lights out here, thanks in large part to that fastball, which has come around and looks like his four-seamer of old again.

TOR 7 – PHI 5

Toronto Blue Jays
Spencer Miles	0.2 IP	2 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	14% CSW
Matt Waldron	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW
Braydon Fisher	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	32% CSW
Louis Varland – W (5)	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	22% CSW
Lazaro Estrada – SV (1)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW

Braydon Fisher — Four-Seamer down 1.5 MPH (93.2 vs. 94.7 season avg)
Louis Varland — Four-Seamer up 1.2 MPH (99.8 vs. 98.6 season avg). Varland gave up a run in the 10th as the Phillies did a nice job of getting the ghost runner over to third and then home without any hits involved. Regardless, the stuff looked great as usual, and we can move past the blown save at Wrigley.

Philadelphia Phillies
Brooks Raley	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	24% CSW
Jonathan Bowlan – HLD (8)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW
José Alvarado – BS (2)	0.2 IP	2 ER	1 H	2 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	26% CSW
Orion Kerkering	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
Jhoan Duran	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	31% CSW
Chase Shugart – L (1)	2.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	26% CSW

Brooks Raley — Sinker up 1.1 MPH (91.3 vs. 90.2 season avg).
I know he’s been pitching better as of late, but I am a bit surprised at how much trust the Phillies have had in José Alvarado this season. Sure, the leadoff guy here was a lefty in Bateman…but then he was stuck facing Vlad, Kirk, and Clement with a two-run lead in the 8th inning. That’s a task peak-Alvarado could handle, but not this version.
Orion Kerkering — Four-Seamer down 2.3 MPH (95.1 vs. 97.4 season avg). Oh, well, maybe that’s why the Phillies had no one else to trust here. Bowlan should be the 8th inning man until further notice.
Jhoan Duran — Splitter usage 81% (+36 pts vs. 45% usual)

NYM 0 – PIT 9

New York Mets
Xzavion Curry	3.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	4 BB	4 K	8 Whiffs	22% CSW
Luis Torrens	2.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	7% CSW

All things considered, not bad for Luis Torrens, who averaged 42 MPH here.

Pittsburgh Pirates
Lake Bachar	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	4 K	9 Whiffs	39% CSW
Kirby Yates	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	8% CSW

Lake Bachar — Slider usage 61% (+38 pts vs. 22% usual). Heavy slider usage here from Bachar, and why not? It is his best pitch after all. Great stuff overall from him.

CIN 2 – WSN 8

Cincinnati Reds
Sam Moll	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	17% CSW
Ron Marinaccio	2.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	16% CSW

Sam Moll — Sinker up 2.5 MPH (93.9 vs. 91.4 season avg). Cool, but I’m not sure it matters much.

Washington Nationals
Max Kranick – BS (1)	0.2 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	22% CSW
Yovanny Cruz	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Clayton Beeter – W (5)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	35% CSW
Tom Cosgrove	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	38% CSW

Clearly, the official scorer in this one has Clayton Beeter on his fantasy team cause I’m not quite sure why he got the win here, as the Nationals were up by four runs by the seventh inning. Beeter looked fine in this one, but it isn’t exactly ideal to see him start the eighth inning with a four-run lead.

CHC 3 – KCR 6

Kansas City Royals
John Schreiber – HLD (10)	1.0 IP	0 H	2 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	22% CSW
Steven Cruz – HLD (4)	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	25% CSW
Nate Pearson – SV (2)	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	37% CSW

Steven Cruz — Four-Seamer up 1.1 MPH (99.5 vs. 98.4 season avg); Cutter usage 60% (+35 pts vs. 25% usual); Four-Seamer usage 25% (-34 pts vs. 59% usual). So Cruz wound up getting the eighth inning here, which is unfortunate, but the good news is that it was against the Cubs 3-4-5 hitters, so it at least shows Cruz is the highest-leverage option here. Other than the usage concern, I also don’t love how much he went with that cutter here.
Nate Pearson — Slider usage 10% (-26 pts vs. 36% usual). Ohhh? Pearson still has something left in the tank, but I’m not sure he’s a reasonable long-term (like 2027 season) closer option. Higher than 0% chance it happens, but we need to see some sort of consistency from him first.

MIN 3 – MIL 4

Minnesota Twins
Travis Adams	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	3 K	5 Whiffs	47% CSW
Kody Funderburk	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	3 K	3 Whiffs	43% CSW
Jeff Hoffman – L (8)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 K	2 Whiffs	27% CSW

Travis Adams — Slider usage 47% (+27 pts vs. 19% usual); Four-Seamer usage 0% (-27 pts vs. 27% usual)
Kody Funderburk — Sinker up 1.7 MPH (94.6 vs. 92.9 season avg)
Jeff Hoffman — Four-Seamer down 0.9 MPH (95.6 vs. 96.5 season avg). Bloop single, followed by a stolen base, then another weak single, and Hoffman gets another loss here. Just more tough luck, but that doesn’t make it any better for fantasy managers. It looks like somehow Hoffman is stuck in the same situation here that he was in in Toronto (although Yoendrys is nowhere near the same talent as Varland).

Milwaukee Brewers
Chad Patrick	1.1 IP	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	19% CSW
Abner Uribe	1.0 IP	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	23% CSW
Aaron Ashby – W (13)	1.0 IP	0 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	62% CSW
Trevor Megill – SV (21)	1.0 IP	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW

Aaron Ashby — Sinker up 1.0 MPH (98.6 vs. 97.6 season avg). Do the 13 wins make up for the terrible ratios? Guess it depends on your league format.
Trevor Megill — Four-Seamer up 0.8 MPH (98.7 vs. 97.9 season avg). He only needed four pitches here, but what’s up with zero strikeouts again? In fact, the K’s have been in short supply for a while now (just three over his previous 6.1 innings). The strikeout drought shouldn’t be for long; the stuff is still elite.

HOU 2 – SDP 3

Houston Astros
Enyel De Los Santos	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	28% CSW
Bryan King	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	12% CSW

Enyel De Los Santos has been a bit rocky the past month or so, but he’s still throwing the ball well. Just one hold post-All-Star break, though.

San Diego Padres
Jeremiah Estrada – HLD (10)	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	20% CSW
Adrian Morejon – HLD (18)	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	30% CSW
Mason Miller – SV (29)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	23% CSW

I still don’t know how to feel about Jeremiah Estrada. Obviously the command is an issue, but is the diminished velocity going to be a big deal or can he work with it?

Mason Miller did not have his best command in this one, starting things off with a HBP, followed by a passed ball and then a Diaz single, which led to the run. Miller allows a run per month on average, so this should be it for August.

DET 8 – SFG 0

Detroit Tigers
Tyler Holton – HLD (10)	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	31% CSW
Ty Madden	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	19% CSW

Tyler Holton did his thing here, mixing and matching five different pitches to keep the Giants lineup off balance. Nothing too exciting, though.

San Francisco Giants
Keaton Winn	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	43% CSW
Trent Harris	0.1 IP	3 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	36% CSW
Reiver Sanmartin	0.2 IP	3 ER	4 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
Carson Seymour	2.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	3 BB	0 K	4 Whiffs	13% CSW

Keaton Winn — Four-Seamer up 0.8 MPH (97.0 vs. 96.2 season avg). Well, this is kind of a big deal. Winn had been sitting 94-95 MPH the past month, so if he can get back to 97 consistently, Smith may actually get some competition in the ninth here.

COL 8 – STL 6

Colorado Rockies
Juan Mejia	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	8% CSW
Jimmy Herget	0.2 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	33% CSW
Parker Mushinski – W (1)	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	35% CSW
Brennan Bernardino – HLD (8)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	36% CSW
Jordan Romano – SV (10)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	41% CSW

Juan Mejia — Four-Seamer down 0.9 MPH (96.3 vs. 97.2 season avg); Four-Seamer usage 85% (+35 pts vs. 49% usual)
Jimmy Herget — Sinker down 0.9 MPH (89.8 vs. 90.7 season avg)
Jordan Romano — Four-Seamer down 1.3 MPH (92.7 vs. 94.0 season avg). I mean, the stuff is grading out terribly outside of Coors. Ticking time bomb.

St. Louis Cardinals
Luis Gastelum	2.0 IP	2 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	6 Whiffs	27% CSW
Peter Strzelecki	2.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	4 Whiffs	20% CSW

BAL 1 – TEX 5

Baltimore Orioles
Rico Garcia	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	67% CSW
Grant Wolfram	1.0 IP	3 ER	1 H	2 BB	3 K	6 Whiffs	34% CSW

Rico Garcia has had better fastball velocity lately, but it has come at the expense of lower iVB (rather significantly too). The horizontal break is even down, so I’m not sure the trade-off is worth it.

Texas Rangers
Peyton Gray – HLD (8)	1.2 IP	2 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	28% CSW
Chase Silseth – HLD (10)	1.1 IP	1 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	28% CSW
Cal Quantrill	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW

Chase Silseth — Splitter usage 0% (-31 pts vs. 31% usual). Silseth has not been throwing his splitter with the Rangers, and I appreciate the decreased usage, but 0% may be a bit of an overreaction.

CLE 3 – CHW 6

Cleveland Guardians
Colin Holderman – L (3)	0.0 IP	3 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 Whiffs	38% CSW
Erik Sabrowski	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 Whiffs	50% CSW
Tim Herrin	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 Whiffs	19% CSW
Matt Festa	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 Whiffs	33% CSW

Uncharacteristically poor command from Colin Holderman here, who hit two batters before allowing a double and single.

Chicago White Sox
Jordan Hicks – HLD (7)	0.1 IP	1 ER	3 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	38% CSW
Sean Newcomb – HLD (9)	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 K	0 Whiffs	25% CSW
Bryan Hudson – HLD (7)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 K	0 Whiffs	23% CSW
Grant Taylor – SV (6)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 K	0 Whiffs	24% CSW

Jordan Hicks — Sinker up 1.5 MPH (100.5 vs. 99.0 season avg); Sweeper usage 8% (-27 pts vs. 35% usual). Hicks hung a sweeper to Genao here…followed by singles and doubles to Kwan and Adell before getting pulled. He’s been getting hit around lately, but the stuff still looks great, so let’s see how things go this week.
Bryan Hudson — Four-Seamer up 0.8 MPH (92.9 vs. 92.1 season avg).

LAD 2 – ARI 1

Los Angeles Dodgers
Evan Phillips	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Alex Vesia	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	16% CSW
Kyle Hurt – HLD (9)	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	13% CSW
Tanner Scott – HLD (9)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	25% CSW
Edwin Díaz – W (2)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	29% CSW
Jack Dreyer – SV (1)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	27% CSW

Alex Vesia — Four-Seamer up 1.5 MPH (93.5 vs. 92.0 season avg). Command is still not ideal.
Edwin Díaz — Four-Seamer up 1.0 MPH (97.1 vs. 96.1 season avg). Díaz gave up back-to-back triples to the first two batters he faced here on fastballs more or less middle-middle. Somehow the Diamondbacks couldn’t get Carroll home from third with no outs, and to Díaz’s credit, he bore down and finished the inning off, blowing a 99 MPH fastball by Vargas. I think he’ll be fine, but man, do we need to see a clean outing from him soon.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Jonathan Loáisiga	1.0 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	20% CSW
Gerardo Carrillo – L (1)	1.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	21% CSW
Brandyn Garcia	0.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	40% CSW

Jonathan Loáisiga — Four-Seamer up 0.9 MPH (98.3 vs. 97.4 season avg). Loáisiga hung a changeup here to Tucker for a home run, the only real damage against him.
Brandyn Garcia — Sinker up 0.9 MPH (98.2 vs. 97.3 season avg). Garcia entered in the 10th to get Ohtani, and he did his job; the first baseman just wasn’t able to make a play for him.

TBR 3 – SEA 2

Tampa Bay Rays
Casey Legumina	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW
Cam Booser	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	23% CSW
Tyler Wells	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	23% CSW
Steven Matz – W (5)	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	50% CSW
Garrett Cleavinger – HLD (22)	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	54% CSW
Kevin Kelly – HLD (24)	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	18% CSW
Bryan Baker – SV (34)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	11% CSW

Bryan Baker — Four-Seamer down 0.9 MPH (95.8 vs. 96.7 season avg). I guess who cares at this point, right? Just keep riding the Baker Train until the wheels fall off.

Seattle Mariners
Michael Rucker – L (3)	1.0 IP	2 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	24% CSW
Seranthony Domínguez	0.2 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	21% CSW
Josh Simpson	1.1 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	31% CSW
Andrés Muñoz	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	75% CSW

Andrés Muñoz was filthy here, and threw one of the best changeups of his season here to strike out Walls. If he ever gets command of that pitch, it won’t be fair.

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: 8/8

Rick Graham

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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/8

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