Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 9/8

Cleveland Guardians
Tim Herrin – W (3)	1.1 IP	0 BB	2 K	6 Whiffs	59% CSW
Craig Yoho – HLD (2)	1.1 IP	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	47% CSW
Hunter Gaddis	1.0 IP	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	29% CSW
Cade Smith	1.0 IP	1 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	32% CSW

Craig Yoho — Four-Seamer up 1.2 MPH (95.4 vs. 94.2 season avg). Fastball looked good here, actually, and this could work with his changeup.
Hunter Gaddis — Slider usage 76% (+27 pts vs. 49% usual). Fastball velocity was down from recent games, but that’s why we saw more sliders.

Baltimore Orioles
Grant Wolfram	1.1 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	30% CSW
Luis De León	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	31% CSW
Alex Hoppe	0.2 IP	2 H	2 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	24% CSW
Anthony Nunez	1.1 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	46% CSW
Cam Sanders	1.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	21% CSW

Alex Hoppe — Four-Seamer up 0.9 MPH (99.2 vs. 98.3 season avg)
Cam Sanders — Four-Seamer down 1.5 MPH (94.4 vs. 95.9 season avg). Ughh, hopefully this is just a short-term thing.

Minnesota Twins
A.J. Minter – HLD (8)	1.1 IP	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	30% CSW
Andrew Morris – HLD (21)	0.2 IP	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW
Jeff Hoffman – HLD (18)	1.0 IP	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	28% CSW
Yoendrys Gómez – SV (22)	1.0 IP	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	31% CSW

Andrew Morris — Four-Seamer up 0.9 MPH (98.2 vs. 97.3 season avg). Twins are still rolling him out there despite recent performance (5.75 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 3% K-BB since the All-Star break).

Detroit Tigers
Beau Brieske	1.2 IP	0 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	15% CSW
Brant Hurter	1.1 IP	0 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	42% CSW
Yilber Díaz	0.2 IP	1 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	38% CSW

Brant Hurter — Sinker down 1.5 MPH (90.6 vs. 92.1 season avg). Meh.
Yilber Díaz — Four-Seamer up 1.4 MPH (98.4 vs. 97.0 season avg). There could eventually be something here. Very inconsistent right now, though.

Houston Astros
AJ Blubaugh – HLD (10)	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 K	2 Whiffs	22% CSW
Bennett Sousa – HLD (9)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 K	3 Whiffs	60% CSW
Bryan Abreu – HLD (14)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 K	3 Whiffs	40% CSW
Josh Hader – SV (24)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 K	0 Whiffs	24% CSW

Bryan Abreu — Four-Seamer up 1.0 MPH (96.6 vs. 95.6 season avg). The fastball and slider are essentially back to normal…but he’s still mixing in that cutter as well, which is interesting.
Josh Hader — Sinker up 0.8 MPH (95.8 vs. 95.0 season avg); Sinker usage 88% (+26 pts vs. 62% usual); Slider usage 12% (-26 pts vs. 38% usual). Hader survived a single and double off the wall here (one of the two sliders he threw) at the start of the inning.

Philadelphia Phillies
Tim Mayza	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	27% CSW
Brooks Raley	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	32% CSW
Chase Shugart	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	36% CSW
José Alvarado	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	24% CSW

José Alvarado will never be known as a command guy, and it wasn’t great here, but this was the best his sinker/cutter has looked in a while so perhaps he’s starting to trend in the right direction.

New York Mets
Jonathan Pintaro – HLD (2)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	22% CSW
Nate Lavender – HLD (9)	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	2 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW
Dedniel Núñez – HLD (3)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 K	4 Whiffs	50% CSW
Kodai Senga – SV (7)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	2 K	5 Whiffs	32% CSW

Nate Lavender — Four-Seamer up 0.9 MPH (93.3 vs. 92.4 season avg). Left a slider and changeup up here for the two hits, but the fastball was great.
Dedniel Núñez — Four-Seamer up 1.1 MPH (97.5 vs. 96.4 season avg); Slider usage 83% (+41 pts vs. 42% usual); Four-Seamer usage 17% (-39 pts vs. 56% usual). He looks really really good right now, just need to tighten up that fastball command.
Kodai Senga — Forkball usage 63% (+39 pts vs. 25% usual). Crazy he was able to do this without walking anyone (only 6/19 pitches were in the zone for him here).

Miami Marlins
Tyler Zuber	0.2 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	30% CSW
Dax Fulton	3.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	4 K	7 Whiffs	31% CSW
Jack Ralston	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	57% CSW

Can we get Dax Fulton a start or two before the end of the season? He’s got five legit pitches here.

Los Angeles Angels
José Fermin	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	31% CSW
Tayler Saucedo – HLD (6)	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	21% CSW
Ryan Watson – HLD (5)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	50% CSW
Samy Natera Jr.	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	10% CSW

José Fermin — Sinker up 1.1 MPH (97.5 vs. 96.4 season avg)
Samy Natera Jr. closed things out here, and the stuff looks back to normal…I still want to see more slider but the fastball’s elite, so I get it.

Boston Red Sox
Greg Weissert	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	19% CSW
Raymond Burgos	2.0 IP	2 ER	4 H	0 BB	2 K	6 Whiffs	36% CSW

Greg Weissert — Four-Seamer up 1.0 MPH (95.1 vs. 94.1 season avg). Still pretty blegh.

Colorado Rockies
Mark Manfredi	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	0 Whiffs	31% CSW
Jaden Hill	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW
Brennan Bernardino	0.0 IP	3 ER	3 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	23% CSW
Blas Castaño	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	25% CSW

Maybe I’m missing something with Mark Manfredi, but he still seems pretty average, which I suppose could keep him in this bullpen for a while. He’s just not someone I’m too excited about. The fastball command gives him a chance though.

New York Yankees
Brent Headrick – HLD (26)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	62% CSW
Tim Hill	0.2 IP	2 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	28% CSW
David Bednar – SV (32)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	100% CSW

Brent Headrick — Four-Seamer down 1.0 MPH (93.2 vs. 94.2 season avg); Four-Seamer usage 23% (-26 pts vs. 49% usual). The velocity has been down for a minute, and it doesn’t seem to matter much.

Tampa Bay Rays
Kevin Kelly	1.0 IP	1 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Cole Sulser	1.0 IP	0 K	1 Whiffs	12% CSW
Bryan Baker	1.0 IP	0 K	0 Whiffs	22% CSW

Bryan Baker — Four-Seamer down 1.9 MPH (94.6 vs. 96.5 season avg). So is he still dealing with an “illness”? How concerned are we supposed to be with this? This is not Bryan Baker’s fastball.

Atlanta Braves
Elieser Hernández	2.0 IP	2 ER	3 H	1 BB	4 K	9 Whiffs	37% CSW

Elieser Hernández still has pretty decent stuff; he’s just missing the command part still.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Kade Strowd	1.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	7% CSW
Kevin Ginkel	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	19% CSW
Dennis Santana	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	44% CSW
Jonathan Loáisiga – HLD (10)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	8% CSW
Juan Morillo – BS (5)	1.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	29% CSW
Blake Walston – W (1)	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	3 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	29% CSW

Juan Morillo had two outs here before he left a 1-0 changeup over the middle of the plate that Rave was able to deposit in the right field bleachers for a game-tying two-run homer. He had been getting the majority of save looks the past two weeks, but this could change things with others pitching well in this bullpen right now.

Kansas City Royals
Jose Cuas	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW
Connor Thomas	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	28% CSW
Alex Lange	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	2 BB	1 K	5 Whiffs	28% CSW
Nolan Hoffman	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Steven Cruz	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	12% CSW
Anthony Gose – L (1)	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	3 Whiffs	25% CSW

Connor Thomas — Four-Seamer up 1.1 MPH (92.5 vs. 91.4 season avg)
Steven Cruz looked OK here. There are times when he looks like a real closer with real upside, but more often than not, it’s this mediocrity.

Pittsburgh Pirates
Wilber Dotel	2.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	6 Whiffs	29% CSW
Yohan Ramírez	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	27% CSW

Wilber Dotel — Four-Seamer up 1.3 MPH (99.6 vs. 98.3 season avg). Ultimately feels like a solid long reliever, not sure he’s a real high-leverage relief candidate despite the velocity.

Chicago White Sox
Tyler Schweitzer	2.2 IP	0 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	21% CSW
Tyler Davis	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	4 Whiffs	25% CSW

Tyler Davis was much more interesting the first time he was called up. Not sure what’s happened to the fastball since then.

Chicago Cubs
Trent Thornton	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Aaron Civale	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	4 K	3 Whiffs	42% CSW
Ryan Rolison	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	23% CSW
Jacob Webb – BS (7)	1.0 IP	2 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	21% CSW
Caleb Thielbar – L (3)	0.1 IP	0 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	30% CSW

Aaron Civale — Sinker up 2.7 MPH (94.2 vs. 91.5 season avg)
Jacob Webb — Four-Seamer down 0.8 MPH (93.4 vs. 94.2 season avg). Webb has really struggled ever since Palencia came off the IL (not sure if those two are related…but it kind of feels like it?), allowing a baserunner in every outing and three home runs now as Chourio took a hanging changeup deep for a game-tying two-run blast in the ninth here. He’s been overworked and could certainly use a break, but who can the Cubs turn to in the ninth? Palencia is clearly not right, Zeferjahn has been shaky (to say the least) since coming over, Thielbar’s stuff is up, but he can’t stop allowing baserunners. Dare I suggest Aaron Civale as a short-term stopgap solution?
Caleb Thielbar — Four-Seamer up 1.0 MPH (94.3 vs. 93.3 season avg)

Milwaukee Brewers
Chad Patrick	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	67% CSW
Aaron Ashby	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
Antonio Senzatela	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	9% CSW
Trevor Megill	0.1 IP	2 ER	3 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	16% CSW
DL Hall – W (3)	1.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	35% CSW

Trevor Megill has been shaky in his last two outings against the Cubs, and I’m not sure if they just have his number or if he’s tipping (or both?). He’s another reliever, especially given his history, who probably needs a break here down the stretch. Megill has already passed his career high in innings at the MLB level and is five innings away from tying his career high in a season at any level (set in 2019). In his 11-year professional career, he’s only gone over 57 innings that one time.
DL Hall — Sinker up 2.0 MPH (97.3 vs. 95.3 season avg). He needs a bigger role next season. Either as a setup guy here or back in the rotation.

Washington Nationals
Zak Kent	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	29% CSW
Yovanny Cruz – HLD (2)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	23% CSW
Clayton Beeter – HLD (9)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	36% CSW
Jared Simpson	0.0 IP	3 ER	0 H	3 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	28% CSW
Erik Tolman – L (1)	1.0 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	9% CSW

Zak Kent — Four-Seamer up 1.3 MPH (94.1 vs. 92.8 season avg)
Erik Tolman — Four-Seamer up 0.8 MPH (98.2 vs. 97.4 season avg). Tolman got Singled Out here on two ground ball singles and a broken bat bloop, but the fastball looked great, and the usage is encouraging.

San Diego Padres
Randy Vásquez	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	2 K	4 Whiffs	53% CSW
Yuki Matsui	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	27% CSW
David Morgan – W (3)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
Adrian Morejon – SV (3)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 K	3 Whiffs	71% CSW

Yuki Matsui — Four-Seamer down 0.8 MPH (91.1 vs. 91.9 season avg); Slider usage 73% (+43 pts vs. 30% usual); Four-Seamer usage 9% (-28 pts vs. 37% usual).

Texas Rangers
Robert Garcia	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	38% CSW
Adam Macko	2.0 IP	1 ER	4 H	0 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	22% CSW

Welcome back Robert Garcia. It’s good to see him again, but the stuff is not where it once was, unfortunately.

Seattle Mariners
José A. Ferrer	0.2 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	20% CSW
Eduard Bazardo	0.1 IP	4 ER	3 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	32% CSW
Carlos Vargas	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW
Cooper Criswell	1.0 IP	1 ER	3 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	42% CSW
Michael Rucker	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	43% CSW
Hoby Milner	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	50% CSW

Eduard Bazardo — Sinker up 1.1 MPH (96.8 vs. 95.7 season avg). And what does it matter?
Hoby Milner — Changeup usage 43% (+26 pts vs. 17% usual). Why not throw the changeup even more?

Toronto Blue Jays
Spencer Miles – SV (2)	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	3 K	3 Whiffs	27% CSW

Spencer Miles — Sinker up 0.8 MPH (97.1 vs. 96.3 season avg); Sinker usage 68% (+25 pts vs. 43% usual). I kind of like Miles as a sinker/slider reliever, and this stat line is great and all…but just one slider?

Athletics
Chris Roycroft	2.0 IP	0 ER	3 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	23% CSW
Geoff Hartlieb	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	27% CSW

St. Louis Cardinals
Gordon Graceffo	2.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	22% CSW

Gordon Graceffo went slider-heavy here as he should be; it’s far and away his best offering.

San Francisco Giants
Reiver Sanmartin – HLD (4)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	31% CSW
Carson Seymour – HLD (7)	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	23% CSW
Joel Kuhnel – SV (7)	1.1 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	29% CSW

Carson Seymour — Sinker up 1.5 MPH (97.9 vs. 96.4 season avg); Sinker usage 55% (+26 pts vs. 28% usual)
Joel Kuhnel — Sinker up 1.4 MPH (96.5 vs. 95.1 season avg). Welcome back to the closer role Joel. I don’t know if he’ll be closing out games again for the Giants, but it’s interesting that they went to him here with Smith out (also looks like the Giants will not use Trent Harris on back-to-back days as well).

Cincinnati Reds
Julian Garcia	1.1 IP	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	19% CSW
Luis Mey	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	36% CSW
Graham Ashcraft	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	14% CSW

Luis Mey — Sinker usage 86% (+25 pts vs. 60% usual)
The velocity is still way down for Graham Ashcraft, but he threw more sliders here, which worked, I suppose.

Los Angeles Dodgers
Edgardo Henriquez – HLD (10)	0.2 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	40% CSW
Tanner Scott – SV (22)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	35% CSW

Edgardo Henriquez — Four-Seamer up 1.7 MPH (102.4 vs. 100.7 season avg); Four-Seamer usage 70% (+37 pts vs. 33% usual); Sinker usage 0% (-25 pts vs. 25% usual). Electric.

If you’re looking for potential relievers to stream today, check out RP Streamers

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 9/8

Rick Graham

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 9/8

Subscribe to the Pitcher List Newsletter

Your daily update on everything Pitcher List

Rick Graham