Relievers to Stream for Wins and Saves – 9/26

The final week is upon us. Be sure to get your saves—you never know which category is going to be the one you win (or lose) by one to decide a matchup. Save situations are a bit of a mess at this point, but they really have been all year. Find out who could get you a save or a win out of the pen for today and check back tomorrow to begin padding those stats in a new week.

Notes

• We have a pair of double headers today with the Mets, Nationals, Mariners, and A’s each playing two 7-inning games. All other teams are scheduled to play one game.
• Let’s get started with reliever win opportunities in the Mariners-Athletics double-header. Paul Blackburn is making his major league debut in the nightcap today. There are a couple ways this could go, but with the A’s still holding off the Twins for the second seed in the AL and potential home field advantage in the second round of the playoffs, I don’t think this is a situation where they’re just asking a young kid to get as many innings as possible to save their bullpen like the Braves are likely to do with Tucker Davidson. Lou Trivino or Jake Diekman could sneak in for a sneaky win coming in for the 5th inning to lock down a clinching win for Oakland.

• The Astros are reportedly not starting Lance McCullers today to save him for the playoffs. In his stead, Chase De Jong is likely to take the tasty start against the Rangers struggling offense. De Jong isn’t super interesting as a streamer despite the matchup, so there’s a chance that a reliever gets to come in and take the win. Luis Garcia would be the most interesting arm to me out of the bullpen, but he did throw on Thursday, so it’s not guaranteed he’d be able to go multiple innings. The only other long option would be Brandon Bielak whose last name sounds like the sound I make when considering adding him into my fantasy lineup. If you have an open spot and are very ratio conscious, but still want a chance at a win, I’d roll with Garcia here and see what happens.
• Carlos Hernández is getting another start for Kansas City, this time against the Tigers.  He has yet to make it out of the fourth this year, so there’s a solid chance that a reliever gets some high-value innings against a tasty matchup in the Tigers. We saw Scott Barlow and Jesse Hahn out of the pen last night, so Josh Staumont could go multiple innings like he did in Hernández’s last start. However, a more under-the-radar pick who is more likely to go earlier in the game is Tyler Zuber, who has been  pitching quite well in September despite some rough numbers on the season.

• John Curtiss is slated to do one of the most Rays things ever and start the following game after having gotten the save the previous night. If the Rays use a bulk strategy here, I’d expect Aaron Slegers to see somewhere between two and four innings. Slegers has done quite well in this role so far this year, so he could make for an interesting sneaky stream.
• Moving on to closer news and notes, the Brewers trotted out Devin Williams for two and Josh Hader for one in their newfound, oh-so-deadly 7-8-9 combo in the late innings. It’s all hands on deck for the Brewers today as they attempt to avoid elimination, so expect to see Williams and Hader back out there if the Brewers need six to nine outs to shut down the game.

• In Miami, both Brandon Kintzler and Brad Boxberger have pitched on two straight nights. With the Marlins clinching, I’d expect them to give the pair the night off even though there’s still a little bit of seeding to fight for. Nick Vincent would be my pick to step into the temporary closer’s role.
• In the opposite side of the Marlins-Yankees matchup, both Aroldis Chapman and Zack Britton worked last night and with the Yankees pretty much locked into their seed, I wouldn’t expect them to push these two very hard. However, the remaining Yankees bullpen arms are far from intriguing, so it may be worth it to just keep your stud Chapman in and see if the Yankees push him a bit.

• Mark Melancon and Ryan Brasier traded blown saves in the Red Sox-Braves extra inning affair. It’s certainly possible the Braves opt to rest Melancon to prepare for their playoff run, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if he has one more appearance in him since he hasn’t gotten a ton of work over the past week.
• It was Jesse Hahn who came on in the 9th for the save against the Tigers last night for the Royals.  Staumont had blown the 8th in really ugly fashion on Thursday night, so the Royals opted to give him a night off. Kansas City is playing for next year and they likely want to know what type of makeup Staumonthas, so I’d expect him to be sent right back out there if another opportunity comes tonight, especially with Hahnnow having gone two nights in a row and Scott Barlow three.

• Ryan Pressly earned his fourth blown save of the year, giving up a 2-out, 2-strike solo homer to Ronald Guzmán. Presslyhadn’t worked since Sunday, so the Astros may give him one more outing to shake the rust off before the playoffs. If not, Andre Scrubb may step in and serve as closer for the final two games for the Astros.
• The Reds are in a similar position to the Marlins having clinched using their top bullpen arm, in this case Raisel Iglesias, but still having some seeding to sort out in their final two games. Iglesias did throw 24 pitches and one would think this is why they brought in Archie Bradley, right?

• Kenley Jansen has now thrown two straight and, with the Dodgers locked into their seed, I’d expect last night to be the last appearance of the regular season for Jansen. Looking at the depth chart would tell you Blake Treinen is next in line, but he’s had a pretty rough September and the Dodgers have a few interesting players they could throw into the 9th in the final two games. Caleb Ferguson and Victor González would be the two I’d be most excited about if they were thrown into the 9th.