Welcome back to the newest edition of our Reliever Ranks series! This will bring you up-to-date bullpen depth charts every morning for the day’s games and makes for an excellent tool for those looking to stream saves or wins. This series runs seven days a week, so check in every morning to get your daily bullpen fix!
Notes
Transaction and Schedule Notes
- All 30 teams take the field today, but they’re only doing it once.
- The upcoming Monday (6/20) is a massive travel day, with only nine teams playing (in order of start time): MIA, NYM, CHC, PIT, DET, BOS, NYY, TB, SF, ATL, TOR, CWS, STL, MIL, KC, LAA, ARZ, SD.
- Andrew Heany and Alex Cobb will both be activated from the IL.
Yesterday’s Performances
CHC 6 – ATL 3
- Atlanta starter Kyle Wright gave up runs in each of the first three innings, and while his teammates tried to claw back into the game, Colin McHugh gave up his first home run since Opening Day to Rafael Ortega to put them down by four. Jesús Cruz, who pitches almost exclusively in low leverage situations, threw a clean ninth.
- With closer David Robertson and setup man Mychal Givens were unlikely to be used after back-to-back appearances, the Cubs got to give out two holds yesterday to lesser-known arms: one to former closer Roman Wick, and one to middle reliever Scott Effross. Former Atlantan Chris Martin took the ball in the ninth, giving up one earned run and preserving the win, though he didn’t earn a decision for his efforts. The Cubs are one of few teams playing Monday and should be able to turn back to their preferred late-inning combo of Givens and Robertson.
NYY 4 – TOR 0
- Michael King came on to toss two innings of relief, picking up his tenth hold while giving up just one hit and one walk and striking out three. Current closer Clay Holmes also got some work, tossing 1.1 clean innings and lowering his ERA to a mind-blowing 0.28 despite not having a chance at a decision. It’s an embarrassment of riches.
- The combination of David Phelps, Tim Mayza, and Trent Thornton for Toronto did admirable work over 3.3 shutout innings, but it was too little and too late.
SF 7 – PIT 5
- Every pitcher for San Francisco picked up a decision today. Four holds were distributed to John Brebboa, Tyler Rogers, Dominic Leone, and Jake McGee, while Camilo Doval converted his third save in five days, once again needing just 11 pitches to close it out. Leone was the only one to allow any damage (1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K) due to a home run by big ol’ pinch-hitting southpaw Daniel Vogelbach, but it never really felt like the game was in danger otherwise.
- The same good news was not present in the Pirates’ pen, with all four relievers they brought in giving up at least one hit. The worst of it came off of Wil Crowe, who earned both a loss and a blown save in a very forgettable two-out outing (0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K). Crow was called upon much earlier than usual in this one, and while his season numbers and role suggest he’s still a useful piece in SV+H formats, this is David Bednar’s bullpen and he’s the only one you should feel good about.
TB 7 – BAL 6
- Six Rays relievers came on in this one, but the big news was Colin Poche stepping in for his fourth save of the season on 14 pitches. He looks like the best option in this bullpen right now, if you feel you need to have one, throwing that high-spin rising fastball at the top of the zone and getting plenty of hitters to chase at it and swing right under it. FOr what it’s worth, Ryan Thompson blew his second save in three days and is likely out of the late innings for a while.
- Closer Jorge López wasn’t available after throwing three of the last four nights, which left Dillon Tate in a position to take the loss in the ninth inning of a tie game. Tate is a fine real-world reliever who pitches to contact using that sinker, but there isn’t enough fantasy juice here to consider him outside of very deep holds leagues.
KC 2 – OAK 0
- The Athletics had no answer for Royals pitching on Saturday, tallying a total of two hits on the combination of Brad Keller, Jose Cuas, and closer Scott Barlow (1.1 IP, 1 K), who earned his eighth save of the season. This was the first hold of the season for Cuas, if you’re curious.
- Nothing much in terms of meaningful action from the A’s relievers, apart from a slightly sloppy outing from A.J. Puk (0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 K) and a cameo appearance by Dany Jiménez, how allowed a hit and picked up a strikeout for his third consecutive clean outing.
LAA 4 – SEA 2
LAA 3 – SEA 0
- Tons of bullpen action across the two games, with five of the six primary relievers for the Angels getting a decision. Closer Raisel Iglesias grabbed a win, and middle relievers Archie Bradley and José Quijada getting saves. Technically, Bradley blew the save in Game 1, albeit in the seventh inning due to allowing Aaron Loup’s runner to score, but redeemed himself in Game 2. Speaking of Loup, he picked up the only hold of the day for the Angels, while long reliever Jimmy Herget grabbed the win with 3.2 innings of one-hit work. He’s been solid in long relief outings, especially in his last two (6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 K).
- As you may imagine on a double-loss day, the Mariners’ pen had plenty of action and few decisions. Andrés Muñoz, Erik Swanson, and Paul Sewald combined for 3.2 brilliant innings where they allowed no hits or walks while striking out seven, but unfortunately, Diego Castillo ended the party by giving a home run to some dude named Mike Trout. Castillo had nine consecutive scoreless outings coming into this game, so he’ll get the benefit of the doubt here. The second game’s bullpen usage was far less interesting and not terribly relevant for fantasy purposes.
DET 14 – TEX 7
- The Tigers, who had been by far the worst offense of the week heading into Saturday, apparently rallied around the call-up of Riley Greene and exploded for 14 runs. Other than late-inning non-closer Andrew Chafin (1 IP, 3 K) rebounding from a rough outing earlier in the week, the bullpen was pretty quiet.
- While the Rangers didn’t risk any of their high-leverage arms in the blowout, they did give Jose Leclerc an inning of work. Leclerc was once a promising closer who throws a wide range of fastballs to keep hitters off-balance, though he wasn’t able to do that successfully in this one as he gave up three runs.
CWS 7 – HOU 0
- The White Sox only needed one reliever to close it out, relying on Reynaldo Lopez (2 IP, 1 H, 3 K) to get the job done on his own.
- Houston’s loss was earned by Justin Verlander, though the pen did its best to give their team a chance. Brandon Bielak (3 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K) was strong in long relief and Hector Neris had a clean outing, but relievers can’t earn positive decisions when their team is shut out.
NYM 3 – MIA 2
- The Mets struck out 15 Marlins on Saturday, with Drew Smith (1.1 IP, 3 K) and closer Edwin Diaz (1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 K) combining for six of the 15 while each earned a decision (hold for Smith, bumpy save for Diaz.
- The Marlin bullpen did their best to keep their team in this close game until the very end, with Dylan Floro, Jimmy Yacobonis (who throws really wicked-looking stuff), Richard Blier, and Louis Head covering four innings to allow just a hit and a walk while striking out four.
MIL 7 – CIN 3
- The Brewers got ahead early in this one and the bullpen got their job done, with three middle relievers (Miguel Sanchez, Trevor Kelley, and Hoby Milner) combining for 3.1 shutout innings allowing just a single hit, a single walk, and striking out four.
- The Reds were equally uninteresting in their pen usage, avoiding their high-leverage arms and instead turning to four of their middle relievers to throw one inning each.
PHI 2 – WSH 1
- After eight excellent innings from Aaron Nola, the Phillies first turned to southpaw Brad Hand to close it out. He walked Juan Soto and ultimately allowed him to score from second base on a single by Lane Thomas. Seranthony Dominguez came on in the tenth and converted the save on a fly ball and two line drives. Dominguez is the arm with more fantasy upside, but I still think this is a committee, as they definitely wanted Hand to face the heart of this order.
- The Nationals used most of their best relief weapons the day prior, leaving Erasmo Ramirez, Reed Garrett, and Andres Machado to try and vulture a win or save. Predictably, they did not.
LAD 7 – CLE 1
- The Guardians were down 5-1 through three innings, so they relied mostly on the back of their bullpen to get through this one. Of note, hitter-turned-pitcher Anthony Gose has now struck out nine of the 18 batters he’s faced in June while picking up two wins. He’s not relevant in most formats in his current role, but it’s been a long and interesting journey for the one-time 20-base stealer.
- The Dodgers stymied the Guardians thoroughly after allowing them to score in the first and didn’t even need any of their usual late or middle relievers, instead relying on David Price, Phil Bickford, and Reyes Moronta to finish it off (3.0 IP, 3 K).
COL 5 – SD 4
- Neither Daniel Bard nor Alex Colome had been in a game since Tuesday, so the late-inning rally by the Rockies gave both an opportunity to come in and help their team. Colome (1 IP, 1 K) snagged the win while the ageless Daniel Bard secured the save (1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K) after allowing a few baserunners on to make it interesting.
- After 2 solid innings of work from Steven Wilson and Nabil Crismatt, setup man Luis Garcia couldn’t hold on in Coors, giving up a home run to Ryan McMahon on a 1-2 count in the bottom of the eighth and blowing the save.
MIN 11 – ARI 1
- Yet another blowout, albeit a predictable one. The Twins had nine runs by the start of the fifth inning and Dylan Bundy cruised through eight innings, so Jharel Cotton (1 IP, 1 K) was the only reliever necessary.
- The D-backs were never really in this game, so it’s best not to really look at how they got through it. It was a long day at the park and you could get the feeling they just wanted to get home.
Bullpen Depth Charts
Also, if you’re looking for a detailed list or ranking of RPs, check out Rick Graham’s weekly pieces:
The Hold Up 6/9: Ranking the Top 100 Relievers for Holds
Closing Time 6/14: Ranking the Top 40 Closers
Top 100 Relievers for Save+Hold Leagues: 6/17
Photos by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)