Reliever Ranks – 8/25

Welcome back to the latest 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

 

• Only 28 teams played on Wednesday with the Mets and Yankees taking the day off.
• Nine games will occur today, meaning 12 teams will have a day to rest. Those teams are KCR, DET, TEX, ATL, MIA, WSN, MIL, PIT, LAD, SDP, SFG, and ARI.

 

• The Chicago Cubs placed Steven Brault on the 15-day IL with a left shoulder strain. With the next bulk reliever in line, Anderson Espinoza, being demoted to the minors, the newly recalled Kervin Castro will be the go-to multi-inning man.
• Josh Staumont was placed on the 15-day IL by the Kansas City Royals with right biceps tendinitis. Dylan Coleman will become the top setup option and Collin Snider will join the chart as a holds option.

 

• Justin Dunn will take the mound for the Reds today. The righty has lasted five frames in just two of his starts this season (minors included) so there’s a good chance for a vulture win in the Cincinnati bullpen.
• The Yankees have yet to announce a starter for their matchup in Oakland, meaning there’s the possibility of a bullpen game. If so, a victory could be clutched by a middle reliever.

 

 

ATL 14 – PIT 2

• This game might as well have been called after the top of the eighth when the Braves pushed their lead to 14, but the next 1.5 frames were still covered to make the game official. Two pitchers that have missed a lot of time this season got some work. Tyler Matzek tossed a scoreless eighth before Kirby Yates gave up a homer and a sac fly in the ninth. The Braves will have the opportunity to rest with the day off today.
• Damage was centralized to only a few pitchers on the Pittsburgh pitching staff. Seven arms appeared but only three of them yielded any runs. The starter gave up seven, but Manny Bañuelos, Duane Underwood Jr., and Eric Stout held the opposition hitless across the following 3.1 frames. Colin Holderman began the eighth by allowing five straight baserunners, each of which came around to score, with the majority of the damage coming from a grand slam off the bat of Matt Olson as the first batter Cam Vieaux squared off against. Vieaux permitted one more run before completing the frame. With the day off today, the team had no problem using interim closer Wil Crowe to finish the ninth, doing so without seeing any more damage.

 

SFG 1 – DET 6

• A six-run fifth against their starter ruined San Francisco’s night. The silver lining was that their three relief arms were unscored upon. Thomas Szapucki completed the starter’s fifth and pitched a scoreless sixth before Alex Young was unscored upon in the seventh, during which he recorded all three of his outs via the strikeout. Zack Littell was completely untouched in a perfect eighth. An off day today will afford the Giants’ bullpen the opportunity to rest up for their weekend series in Minnesota.
• After six shutout innings from the starter, Will Vest was unable to keep it up. He allowed a run on three hits as the only Detroit arm to surrender a run. Alex Lange and Gregory Soto were flawless across the final two frames. Soto was used with the benefit of knowing that the team doesn’t have a game today.

 

TEX 16 – COL 4

• The only Texas reliever that didn’t enjoy the altitude was Dennis Santana, who permitted four runs on five hits, needing help from Josh Sborz to finish out the seventh. They were followed by a perfect frame apiece by José Leclerc and Matt Moore. The latter now boasts a 2.02 ERA (58 IP), a mark that trails only Justin Verlander among pitchers with at least 55 innings pitched. These four arms will be given a day of relaxation along with the rest of the team today.
• It was a rough day for every Rockies pitcher except for Austin Gomber. The lefty covered 4.2 innings, allowing only two baserunners while inducing eight whiffs and recording a 27% CSW across 55 pitches. His teammates, Robert Stephenson and Jhoulys Chacín, combined to allow seven runs across the following three frames.

 

MIA 2 – OAK 3

• The nemesis of the Miami arm barn on Wednesday was the zombie runner. Both Steven Okert and Dylan Floro held the opposition at bay during regulation, but Richard Bleier was unable to hold the Manfred Man at second and was ultimately saddled with his second loss. The Marlins will not play on Thursday.
• It was nearly the opposite for the A’s. Their first two arms, Zach Jackson and Dany Jiménez each allowed a run after the starter exited, but A.J. Puk was able to hold the score in extras to earn the win. It was Puk’s third win, as Jackson earned his MLB-leading 26th hold and Jiménez was tagged with his third blown save. Jiménez tossed just eight pitches and should be good to go for a redemption tour today.

 

CLE 7 – SDP 0

• In the only shutout of the day, the Cleveland bullpen contributed two scoreless frames. One came from veteran righty Bryan Shaw while the other was produced by Enyel De Los Santos. The latter is having the best season of his career at age 26, sporting a 2.83 ERA (41.1 IP), a 1.11 WHIP, and a 26.2% strikeout rate.
• There isn’t much an arm barn can do when their starter gives up six runs and the offense doesn’t score. Steven Wilson did his best to keep the team in it, covering 2.2 scoreless innings, and securing all eight of his outs in the field. He was succeeded by José Castillo, who coughed up the only run by a reliever. Josh Hader received a maintenance inning as he recovers from a disastrous stretch. It was a mixed bag, as the lefty allowed two hits but recorded all three of his outs by way of the punchout. The final frame went to Nabil Crismatt who extended his scoreless innings streak to six. Thursday will be a day for the team to rest up before its weekend series in Kansas City.

 

WSN 3 – SEA 1

• The Nationals’ bats bailed out the bullpen after a late-inning blowup. Prior to the excitement, Hunter Harvey finished the starter’s fifth with some heat. He fired off the second, third, fourth, and fifth fastest pitches of the day, topping out at 100.4 mph with his four-seamer. Víctor Arano kept the Mariners scoreless, securing four outs and his seventh hold. Carl Edwards Jr. completed Arano’s seventh before coming out for the eighth, during which he served up a dinger to Julio Rodríguez to allow the Mariners to tie the game, netting him his second blown save. Kyle Finnegan was able to finish off the inning and was awarded his fifth win when the offense took the lead in the ninth. He then continued his success, ending the game with a scoreless ninth. The Nationals will have Thursday off, meaning the back end of the bullpen will be fully rested for their weekend matchup against the Reds.
• A flawless frame from Diego Castillo in the eighth wasn’t enough to kill the confidence of the Nats’ bats. In a newly tied game in the ninth, Paul Sewald gave up a two-run shot to Ildemaro Vargas to lose his fourth game. The righty has now thrown 19 pitches in each of the last two games, meaning he more than likely cedes the ninth inning to one of Erik Swanson, Andrés Muñoz, or Castillo today.

 

CIN 5 – PHI 7

• As expected, the Cincinnati side of the ballgame was ripe for a vulture win. Unfortunately, the team never maintained a lead. Either way, the bullpen succeeded in holding the Phillies at bay long enough to make the game close. Art Warren and Joel Kuhnel started it off by combining for 2.2 scoreless innings. Reiver Sanmartin followed with 1.2 of his own where he allowed the only run scored against the bullpen. Ross Detwiler ended the day with a scoreless eighth.
• It was decision central in Philly, as all four relievers earned a mention. Nick Nelson recorded two outs and his second hold, sharing the seventh with Andrew Bellatti who was credited with his sixth hold. The eighth went to Connor Brogdon who gave up another run but still notched his fifth hold. With the lead reduced to two, David Robertson was turned to in the ninth. The veteran right-hander put up a hitless inning to earn his 18th save. His 2.16 ERA (50 IP) is his lowest since 2017 (1.84, 68.1 IP) while his 18 saves are his most since 2016 (37). He tossed 19 pitches and should be available today if necessary.

 

CHW 5 – BAL 3

• Capitalizing on a tight score, Kendall Graveman was rewarded with his 21st hold after completing the starter’s seventh and tossing a hitless eighth. Even with a four-run lead, Liam Hendriks was brought out for the ninth. After a strikeout and a single, Hendriks surrendered a two-run moonshot to Austin Hays to pull the O’s within two. He settled down from there and was able to put an end to the game. Even though he threw a generous 22 pitches, he won’t be held out of a save situation today.
• Sharing the seventh, both Bryan Baker and Keegan Akin permitted runs. The former gave up one while the latter allowed two. Louis Head followed with a scoreless eighth before splitting the ninth with Nick Vespi.

 

LAA 3 – TBR 4

• Extra-inning baseball wasn’t kind to the Angels. The arm barn did its job until the eighth when Ryan Tepera blew his fifth save. Before that, Jimmy Herget and Aaron Loup kept the Rays quiet across the sixth and seventh. José Quijada recovered the team’s confidence with a perfect ninth to send the game to extras. There, Jaime Barria took over, allowing the zombie runner to score in both of the frames he appeared in. He ultimately allowed a third unearned run to cross in the 11th and was tagged with his third loss and second blown save. Tepera tossed 17 pitches on the day and Quijada has now appeared on consecutive days, so the former probably has a leg up on a save chance today.
• Going all out with the relief corps, the Rays turned to six different arms to get the job done. Ryan Thompson and Colin Poche combined for a scoreless seventh before Jason Adam surrendered a home run to Mike Trout in the eighth. Pete Fairbanks followed with a perfect ninth to incite extra-inning baseball. Jalen Beeks was unable to hold the zombie runner in the 10th, despite permitting no baserunners of his own. JT Chargois also allowed the zombie runner to score but was credited with his first win when David Peralta walked it off. Adam fired 10 bullets and should be available today, but you never know who’s going to get the next save in Tampa.

 

TOR 3 – BOS 2

• The Toronto bullpen was lights out and it paid off. Five relievers combined to hold the opposition scoreless, ultimately resulting in an extra-inning victory. Yimi García started it off with a scoreless seventh, preceding a combined frame pitched by Tim Mayza and Anthony Bass. The win, his 10th, was awarded to Adam Cimber for his scoreless ninth. He now has three more wins than any other reliever. With a one-run lead and the Manfred Man on second, Jordan Romano pitched a hitless frame to secure his 27th save. He needed 15 pitches to do so and will be available again today.
• The Red Sox matched their intra-division rivals but were bitten by a zombie. A scoreless sixth was pitched by Matt Barnes, setting up two scoreless frames from Garrett Whitlock. The right-hander has improved his ERA to 1.45 in 31.1 innings as a reliever as opposed to his 4.15 ERA (39 IP) in nine appearances as a starter. John Schreiber continued his breakout campaign, putting up a flawless ninth to send the game to extras where Ryan Brasier allowed the zombie runner to score, resulting in his third loss. Whitlock used 24 pitches while Schreiber threw 13, so both will still be available for late-inning work today.

 

STL 1 – CHC 7

• Just one arm appeared for the Cardinals, as Génesis Cabrera allowed two runs while getting four outs. His 3.71 ERA (43.2 IP) is serviceable and nearly identical to last year’s 3.73 mark (70 IP), but his strikeout rate has dropped precipitously from 26% to 17.4.% in 2022.
• The North Side bullpen was up for the task of covering the final 4.2 frames not finished by the starter. Rowan Wick completed the starter’s fifth and pitched a scoreless sixth to vulture his fourth win. Mark Leiter Jr. and Brandon Hughes were next, tossing a perfect inning apiece. The recently recalled Kervin Castro put an end to the festivities with a scoreless ninth. Hughes has thrown 22 pitches across the past two days combined and could give ninth innings duties to whomever David Ross deems acceptable today.

 

ARI 3 – KCR 5

• Outside of a forgettable seventh inning, the Diamondbacks held the Royals scoreless. In that seventh frame, however, Noé Ramirez permitted two runs and was tagged with his fourth loss and fourth blown save. All-Star Joe Mantiply couldn’t stop the bleeding either, surrendering three more runs without recording an out. Kevin Ginkel was able to put an end to the inning but not before the lead was blown. Luis Frias tossed a flawless frame to cap off Arizona’s arm barn action. The team will look to their day off today to forget about this defeat.
• While their outings were very different, both Carlos Hernández and Scott Barlow contributed to the Kansas City victory. The former put up a flawless frame while the latter surrendered two runs, with one coming on a Christian Walker dinger. With a four-run lead, Barlow was called upon because the team has a day off today, allowing him an ample amount of time to recover.

 

MIN 3 – HOU 5

• The Twins might’ve asked for a redo if they had the benefit of hindsight. Midseason acquisition Michael Fulmer surrendered three runs in the sixth, marking the difference in the ballgame. I think if the Twins could tell the future, they would have turned to Devin Smeltzer for all three innings. Instead, he only pitched two hitless frames. Closer Jorge López could use a maintenance outing, having not pitched since Saturday.
• With Bryan Abreu tossing a perfect eighth, the Astros had no decisions to hand out. Rafael Montero attempted to create a save opportunity, giving up two runs (one earned) in the ninth, but the Astros stuck with him through the end of the game.

 

MIL 6 – LAD 12

• I don’t think the Milwaukee pitching staff will be putting this game on their resume. Not only did the starter surrender five runs, but Hoby Milner allowed four of his own while Jason Alexander gave up three more. Milner only recorded two outs while Alexander spread his runs across 10 outs. Those outings were sandwiched by two unblemished appearances, during which Peter Strzelecki recorded two outs in the third and infielder Pablo Reyes tossed a flawless eighth, bottoming out at 36.7 mph. The team has a scheduled day off today.
• With the huge lead, the Dodgers decided to give their high-leverage arms some extra rest with an off day on the horizon. Caleb Ferguson allowed two runs, sharing the seventh with Brusdar Graterol. The young righty stayed on to complete the eighth and topped the velocity leaderboard with a 100.6 mph sinker. Infielder Hanser Alberto took the mound in the ninth to completely give the bullpen the night off. He served up a two-run shot to Hunter Renfroe before putting an end to the high-scoring affair.

 

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: Ranking the Top 100 Relievers for Holds Every Thursday

Closing Time: Ranking the Top 30 Closers

Top 100 Relievers for Save+Hold Leagues

 

Photos by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)