Two veterans in Ryne Stanek and Paul Sewald, who signed for just $11.5 million combined this offseaon, have already proven they still have something left in the tank and should be on your radar in holds leagues. At 33 years old, Stanek is still able to average 98 MPH on his fastball, but one thing that has changed this year is his pitch usage, throwing his slider 34.3% of the time (up 17.7%) and his splitter just 6.5% (down 14.9%). This is likely a result of Stanek facing fewer left handed hitters to begin the season, but that may also be by design as Stanek generally has more success against right handed hitters.
Sewald is still barely able to hit 90 MPH but his fastball still grades out as one of the best in baseball do to his consistent location at the top of the zone with 1.8″ HAVAA. This leads to Sewald getting tons of whiffs with his sweeper, and so fa,r the results in Cleveland have been fantastic (33.4% K-BB, 39.2% CSW, 5.49 PLV). Even with Emmanuel Clase’s early struggles, Sewald shouldn’t see too many save chances, but he can be a steady source for holds as the season moves forward.
Notes
-
Finally, we see Kirby Yates get some hold chances, picking up three in his past three outings, the first he’s had since the Tokyo series. It’s only 9.1 innings, but Yates has been dominant so far, with a 48.6% strikeout and 25% swinging-strike rates while allowing just two earned runs. As long as he can latch on to this new role, he should be a top 10-15 holds option, but the Dodgers have so many options right now (with some on their way back as well), so the holds may not be that consistent.
- A.J. Minter looks like the Minter of old, giving the Mets a much-needed left-handed presence in their bullpen as Minter holds a 39.3% K-BB rate, 37.7% CSW rate, and 5.30 PLV so far. Minter has upped his cutter usage with the Mets, but the four-seam looks really good as well, and he shouldn’t have any issues against right-handed batters.
- I love Louis Varland as a reliever and think it’s just a matter of time before he winds up seeing consistent hold chances. The four-seamer plays way up out of the bullpen, sitting at 98.2 MPH, and has flipped the usage between his knuckle curve and slider, throwing the curve (which creates more whiffs) more. If Griffin Jax can figure things out (he should), the Twins could have one of the more electric 7th-8th-9th inning trios in all of baseball.
- Abner Uribe looks great in his return to the Brewers bullpen, showing off the upside that we were all tantalized by two years ago. His high velo sinker/slider combo is similar to Brusdar Graterol’s, but unlike Graterol, Uribe is able to generate a ton of whiffs with his slider (70.6% right now!) and currently holds a 30.3% strikeout and 38.1% CSW rates. When he’s not missing bats, he’s getting groundballs (85%!), but the command/control still remains less than ideal (albeit improved).
-
Julian Merryweather has become the Cubs’ secondary setup option almost by default, as Merryweather has looked OK, but not the dominant reliever we’ve seen glimpses of in the past. The fastball velocity is still down two MPH from 2023, and I’m not sure he can survive in a high-leverage role without it, but perhaps he gets it back as the season goes on?
