Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 9/4

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

DET 6 – CLE 7

Detroit Tigers
Tyler Holton	2.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW
Tyler Kinley	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW
Drew Sommers – L (4)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW

Tyler Holton — Sinker up 0.9 MPH (91.9 vs. 91.0 season avg)
Tyler Kinley — Slider usage 94% (+28 pts vs. 66% usual)
Drew Sommers — Four-Seamer usage 67% (+37 pts vs. 30% usual). Rocchio took Sommers deep here for the game winner, and that’s now three outings in a row with at least one earned run allowed. The fastball was down a little bit here, and perhaps his hitting a bit of a second half wall.

Cleveland Guardians
Slade Cecconi	2.2 IP	1 ER	3 H	2 K	4 Whiffs	37% CSW
Craig Yoho	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 K	4 Whiffs	41% CSW
Erik Sabrowski	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 K	3 Whiffs	35% CSW
Cade Smith – W (4)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 K	3 Whiffs	44% CSW

Slade Cecconi — Four-Seamer up 1.6 MPH (95.0 vs. 93.4 season avg). Still pretty mediocre.
Craig Yoho — Changeup usage 82% (+35 pts vs. 48% usual)
Erik Sabrowski — Slider usage 47% (+32 pts vs. 15% usual). Pleasantly surprised to see that slider usage and no walks from Sabrowski.

DET 3 – CLE 4

Detroit Tigers
Beau Brieske – HLD (1)	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	3 K	5 Whiffs	50% CSW
Jacob Waguespack – BS (1)	1.0 IP	2 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	19% CSW
Kenley Jansen – L (6)	1.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	6 Whiffs	35% CSW

Jacob Waguespack — Four-Seamer up 1.3 MPH (94.2 vs. 92.9 season avg). He had no command here, though.

Cleveland Guardians
Daniel Espino	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	3 K	5 Whiffs	42% CSW
Hunter Gaddis – W (3)	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	33% CSW

Hunter Gaddis — Four-Seamer up 1.7 MPH (96.9 vs. 95.2 season avg); Four-Seamer usage 4% (-25 pts vs. 30% usual). Gaddis keeps showing improved velocity lately, and he’s allowed just 1 ER since his 4-run disaster on August 1st (13.1 IP).

MIL 10 – CIN 7

Milwaukee Brewers
Chad Patrick – W (8)	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	29% CSW
Antonio Senzatela	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	27% CSW
Aaron Ashby – HLD (15)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	37% CSW
Trevor Megill – SV (26)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	40% CSW

Antonio Senzatela — Sinker usage 53% (+37 pts vs. 16% usual); Four-Seamer usage 0% (-35 pts vs. 35% usual). Things have not looked great since he joined the Brewers (4.61 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 13% K), but he does have six holds.
I didn’t want to jinx anything, but since it was brought up in our Discord yesterday, Trevor Megill is the only qualified reliever to not allow a home run this season. While that may seem fluky, he’s done a great job at suppressing home runs in general since joining the Brewers in 2023, allowing just 9 total over 182.1 innings. To put that in perspective, Paul Sewald has allowed 12 home runs over 45 innings this season. Jeff Hoffman allowed 15 HR last season (Bryan Baker and Dylan Lee allowed 13 each, Tanner Scott gave up 11).

Cincinnati Reds
Sam Moll	1.0 IP	2 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	24% CSW
Luis Mey	1.0 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	33% CSW
Pierce Johnson	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Tejay Antone	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	44% CSW
Julian Garcia	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW

Luis Mey — Sinker down 1.1 MPH (97.2 vs. 98.3 season avg). Nice to see the command holding steady, but I’m not sure the stuff can deteriorate any further.
Pierce Johnson — Four-Seamer up 1.2 MPH (96.8 vs. 95.6 season avg)
Tejay Antone — Sinker up 0.9 MPH (94.7 vs. 93.8 season avg)
Julian Garcia — Four-Seamer up 0.9 MPH (93.2 vs. 92.3 season avg); Sweeper usage 19% (-36 pts vs. 55% usual); Four-Seamer usage 62% (+33 pts vs. 29% usual)

ATL 5 – PHI 2

Atlanta Braves
Didier Fuentes – HLD (16)	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW
Raisel Iglesias – SV (30)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	50% CSW

Raisel Iglesias — Four-Seamer up 0.9 MPH (95.2 vs. 94.3 season avg). Ayyy OK! Maybe there’s some life left here after all. His average fastball velocity post-All-Star break heading into this game was sub-94 MPH, so this is huge. This is the best he’s looked in a long time, but is it sustainable, or was this just a case of having four days off and facing a division rival?

Philadelphia Phillies
Alex McFarlane	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	38% CSW
Orion Kerkering	1.0 IP	2 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Tim Mayza	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	20% CSW

Alex McFarlane — Four-Seamer down 0.9 MPH (99.4 vs. 100.3 season avg). Still an elite fastball. He needs to overtake Kerkering as the second right-handed setup man in this bullpen (and I could see him move in front of Bowlan at some point too).

LAA 0 – PIT 1

Los Angeles Angels
José Fermin	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	50% CSW
Samy Natera Jr.	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	6 Whiffs	46% CSW

This was better from Samy Natera Jr. than his last time out, I suppose, but I could do without the walk and HBP. Especially if he isn’t going to use the slider more.

Pittsburgh Pirates
Wilber Dotel – HLD (3)	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	35% CSW
Mason Montgomery – SV (9)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	29% CSW

Wilber Dotel — Four-Seamer up 0.9 MPH (99.1 vs. 98.2 season avg)
Mason Montgomery — Sinker usage 52% (+39 pts vs. 13% usual); Four-Seamer usage 24% (-30 pts vs. 54% usual). Yeah, we know, he’s a sinker guy now. All the outs came on breakers in this one, though, and the sinker allowed the hit.

BOS 1 – BAL 0

Boston Red Sox
Garrett Whitlock – HLD (24)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	30% CSW
Aroldis Chapman – SV (32)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	18% CSW

Aroldis Chapman — Four-Seamer up 1.4 MPH (98.3 vs. 96.9 season avg). Chapman’s peaking at the right time

Baltimore Orioles
Alex Hoppe	0.2 IP	0 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	27% CSW
Josh Walker	1.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	3 K	5 Whiffs	45% CSW
Cam Sanders	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	36% CSW

Alex Hoppe — Four-Seamer up 1.6 MPH (99.8 vs. 98.2 season avg). Hoppe throwing 100 MPH against his original team is one thing; can he sustain it (and throw strikes while doing so)?
Josh Walker — Sinker up 1.7 MPH (94.1 vs. 92.4 season avg). Still don’t love the fastball, but it’s probably good enough with his slider.

SFG 6 – NYM 10

New York Mets
Jefry Yan	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	40% CSW
Austin Warren	1.0 IP	3 ER	3 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	28% CSW
Robert Stock – HLD (1)	0.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	25% CSW
Kodai Senga	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	20% CSW

Robert Stock — Sinker down 1.6 MPH (92.3 vs. 93.9 season avg). He threw four pitches in relief here, so there’s nothing to really judge here.

CHC 6 – MIA 1

Chicago Cubs
Aaron Civale – SV (2)	3.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 BB	3 K	2 Whiffs	24% CSW

Aaron Civale — Sinker up 1.3 MPH (92.7 vs. 91.4 season avg). Working out well as a middle/long reliever in Chicago.

Miami Marlins
Jack Ralston	0.1 IP	3 ER	0 H	3 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	6% CSW
Josh Ekness	0.2 IP	0 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	24% CSW
Bradley Blalock	3.0 IP	2 ER	4 H	1 BB	3 K	7 Whiffs	24% CSW

Jack Ralston — Four-Seamer up 1.0 MPH (93.4 vs. 92.4 season avg). The command was terrible, obviously, but also, the funk factor is bound to wear off eventually as well.

MIN 1 – CHW 4

Minnesota Twins
Taylor Rogers	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	26% CSW
Garrett Acton	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	33% CSW

I like Garrett Acton’s fastball, and the slider was working here, but I still don’t feel great about it.

Chicago White Sox
Hagen Smith	2.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	3 K	5 Whiffs	46% CSW
Bryan Hudson	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	27% CSW
Grant Taylor	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	22% CSW

Bryan Hudson — Four-Seamer down 2.0 MPH (90.0 vs. 92.0 season avg). Velocity isn’t a big part of his game, but this is still not what you want to see.

TBR 7 – TEX 6

Tampa Bay Rays
Garrett Cleavinger	0.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 Whiffs	15% CSW
Cam Booser – HLD (10)	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
Kevin Kelly – HLD (29)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Bryan Baker	0.0 IP	1 ER	0 H	2 BB	0 Whiffs	20% CSW
Tyler Wells – SV (6)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 Whiffs	14% CSW

Cam Booser — Four-Seamer down 0.9 MPH (94.8 vs. 95.7 season avg)
Bryan Baker — Four-Seamer down 4.1 MPH (92.5 vs. 96.6 season avg). Well, that’s a glaring number, huh. Baker was pulled after two batters here, but fortunately, it sounds like he was just dealing with an illness.

Texas Rangers
Trevor Williams	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	32% CSW
Robby Ahlstrom	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	12% CSW
Tyler Alexander	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	31% CSW
Chase Silseth	0.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	22% CSW
Adam Macko	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	27% CSW

Robby Ahlstrom — Four-Seamer down 0.9 MPH (93.5 vs. 94.4 season avg)
Tyler Alexander — Sweeper usage 50% (+33 pts vs. 17% usual). If it means throwing the sniker less often, I’m for it.

ARI 1 – HOU 3

Arizona Diamondbacks
Justin Martinez	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	45% CSW
Derek Law	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	21% CSW

Justin Martinez fastballs looked great as usual, sitting between 102 and 103 MPH, and he mixed in 2-3 good splitters here as well. What’s it going to take to get him high leverage usage?
Derek Law — Four-Seamer down 3.1 MPH (91.1 vs. 94.2 season avg). They don’t have a better arm in the system?

Houston Astros
Enyel De Los Santos – HLD (10)	0.1 IP	1 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	22% CSW
Bennett Sousa – HLD (8)	1.1 IP	1 H	2 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	39% CSW
Bryan Abreu – HLD (13)	1.1 IP	0 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	29% CSW
Josh Hader – SV (23)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	3 K	5 Whiffs	38% CSW

Bennett Sousa — Four-Seamer down 1.8 MPH (92.2 vs. 94.0 season avg). And with Okert out, they are going to need to lean on him more than ever.
Josh Hader — Sinker up 1.0 MPH (96.0 vs. 95.0 season avg). Whoa, that’s the best velocity we’ve seen from Hader this season. If he starts sitting 96 MPH every time out, we’ll be seeing more lines like this from him.

TOR 9 – KCR 2

Toronto Blue Jays
Joe Mantiply – W (2)	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW
Braydon Fisher	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	14% CSW
Brendon Little	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	23% CSW
Michael Lorenzen – SV (1)	3.0 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	27% CSW

Braydon Fisher — Four-Seamer down 1.6 MPH (92.9 vs. 94.5 season avg)
Michael Lorenzen — Four-Seamer up 1.8 MPH (95.8 vs. 94.0 season avg). Gotta love the nine-out save.

Kansas City Royals
Nolan Hoffman	2.0 IP	3 ER	3 H	1 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	26% CSW
Easton McGee	2.0 IP	1 ER	3 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	12% CSW

STL 7 – COL 6

St. Louis Cardinals
Hancel Rincon – HLD (1)	0.1 IP	3 ER	3 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	15% CSW
Justin Bruihl – BS (2)	1.0 IP	2 ER	3 H	0 K	3 Whiffs	21% CSW
Cade Winquest – W (1)	1.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW
Riley O’Brien – SV (36)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 K	4 Whiffs	50% CSW

Riley O’Brien — Sweeper usage 67% (+36 pts vs. 30% usual); Sinker usage 25% (-36 pts vs. 61% usual). This may be the way to go for O’Brien, with his sinker velocity diminishing. That said, he only threw five pitches over the plate here, three of which were the three sinkers he threw in this outing.

Colorado Rockies
Mark Manfredi	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	26% CSW
Jimmy Herget – HLD (10)	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	12% CSW
Brennan Bernardino – HLD (12)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	20% CSW
Jordan Romano – L (3)	1.0 IP	2 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	21% CSW

Mark Manfredi — Four-Seamer up 0.8 MPH (95.0 vs. 94.2 season avg). Still not very interesting.
Brennan Bernardino — Sinker down 1.3 MPH (88.9 vs. 90.2 season avg). Ugh.
Jordan Romano — Four-Seamer down 1.2 MPH (92.8 vs. 94.0 season avg). It’s honestly a minor miracle it took this long between blown saves. The only qualified reliever with worse Stuff+ marks since the start of July is Zack Littell, with Romano tied with Xzavion Curry and Erick Fedde as the 179th-ranked relievers out of 180.

NYY 2 – SDP 3

New York Yankees
Will Warren	2.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	21% CSW
David Bednar	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	14% CSW
Paul Blackburn – L (3)	0.1 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	43% CSW

Will Warren — Four-Seamer up 1.5 MPH (95.1 vs. 93.6 season avg). Will Warren is a reliever now. I dig it. Despite the lack of strikeouts here, the mix is promising for a relief role, especially if the velocity is over 95 MPH.

San Diego Padres
Yuki Matsui	1.0 IP	1 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Bradgley Rodriguez	1.0 IP	0 H	1 K	2 Whiffs	44% CSW
Adrian Morejon	1.0 IP	0 H	3 K	3 Whiffs	43% CSW
Mason Miller – W (5)	2.0 IP	1 H	4 K	10 Whiffs	55% CSW

Obviously, the last three to throw here are elite/near-elite…but Yuki Matsui may not be far behind Bradgley. Just want to see the command/walk rate improve.

WSN 3 – LAD 5

Washington Nationals
Luis Perales	2.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW
Jack Sinclair	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	19% CSW

Jack Sinclair throws from a low slot and has a decent sinker/sweeper mix, somewhat reminiscent of Ryan Walker but with more velocity and a lesser sweeper/slider.

Los Angeles Dodgers
Edgardo Henriquez	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 K	1 Whiffs	40% CSW
Kyle Hurt	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 K	2 Whiffs	30% CSW
Tanner Scott	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 K	2 Whiffs	50% CSW
Seth Halvorsen	0.0 IP	3 ER	3 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	14% CSW
Jack Dreyer – SV (2)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 K	2 Whiffs	27% CSW

Edgardo Henriquez — Four-Seamer up 2.8 MPH (103.4 vs. 100.6 season avg). This is not really fair.
Kyle Hurt — Four-Seamer up 1.0 MPH (97.6 vs. 96.6 season avg). Cool, but not sure it’s enough to get him on the postseason roster.
Tanner Scott — Four-Seamer up 1.2 MPH (98.0 vs. 96.8 season avg). I love it, but I don’t love the usage (and it’s going to continue).

ATH 7 – SEA 6

Athletics
Brady Basso – W (1)	3.0 IP	0 ER	3 H	1 BB	0 K	4 Whiffs	32% CSW
Geoff Hartlieb – HLD (2)	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	38% CSW
Elvis Alvarado – HLD (9)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	17% CSW
Hogan Harris – SV (15)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	44% CSW

Brady Basso — Four-Seamer down 0.9 MPH (92.0 vs. 92.9 season avg)
Geoff Hartlieb — Four-Seamer up 1.2 MPH (96.4 vs. 95.2 season avg)
And just like that, we are back to Hogan Harris in the ninth and Elvis Alvarado in a setup role. I’m sure it will change again next week, don’t worry (or just stop chasing this bullpen). I love the upside for both of them; the consistency is just maddening.

Seattle Mariners
Seranthony Domínguez	1.1 IP	1 H	0 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	31% CSW
José A. Ferrer	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	25% CSW
Cooper Criswell	1.0 IP	2 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	19% CSW
Andrés Muñoz	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	22% CSW

Seranthony Domínguez — Four-Seamer up 0.8 MPH (98.0 vs. 97.2 season avg). That’s now zero strikeouts over the past five games for Seranthony (19 batters faced).
Cooper Criswell — Sinker down 1.1 MPH (89.9 vs. 91.0 season avg)

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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 9/4

Rick Graham

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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 9/4

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