With Yimi García being the latest Blue Jay reliever to land on the IL, the Jays will turn to Chad Green as the interim closer while others like Nate Pearson will see more high-leverage work in late-game scenarios. Pearson has been pitching much better as of late after a very rocky start to the season and has really flourished over the past 16 innings with a 25.4% K-BB rate, 2.46 SIERA and 129 Stuff+. He also has five holds over this span, all of which coming over the past 24 days as the Jays are gaining more trust with him.
Eventually, García and Jordan Romano will return and Pearson’s role may be up in the air, but this team is 5.5 GB of a Wild Card spot at the moment and perhaps they choose to deal García, Green and perhaps even Romano at the deadline which could open the closer role up for Pearson, who certainly has the stuff for the job.
Notes
-
Jeremiah Estrada is becoming a bit of a cherry bomb with his inconsistencies but I still think there’s an easy top 20 holds option here at the end of the day given how much the good outweighs the bad. The four ER outing against the Mets brings down a lot of his numbers but the 43/7 K/BB ratio since being called up at the end of April is still elite. He just needs to command his stuff a little bit better to help eliminate the amount of hard contact (12.5% Barrel and 48% HardHit rates) he’s been allowing.
-
Mark Leiter Jr. began the year going 9.2 innings without allowing an earned run, but since allowing his first run in late April, the wheels have fallen off a bit. However despite the 9.37 ERA and 1.65 WHIP over the past 16.1 IP, the underlying metrics still suggest Leiter Jr. can turn things around rather quickly, as he has dealt with a .415 BABIP and still has a 23.1% K-BB rate and 2.69 SIERA over this span. I don’t love the stuff, but he gets enough swings and misses that if he can overcome this string of bad luck he should be a useful fantasy option, especially with how down that bullpen is at the moment.
- It’s been difficult to know how or where to rank the A’s top setup options in Austin Adams and Lucas Erceg, and while I still give Erceg the slight advantage, I do think we are getting close to the point where it may make sense to fade both outside of deeper leagues. The A’s likely won’t be a reliable source of holds but there’s always the chance Adams is traded somewhere and does get a chance to see consistent holds opportunities.
-
Colin Poche has looked good since returning from the IL and while he doesn’t have the type of upside Garrett Cleavinger does, it definitely feels like his floor is much higher and that Kevin Cash and the Rays have a certain trust in him. Poche’s stuff is limited however making him only a target if you are just interested in holds only.
-
With setup man Danny Coulombe undergoing elbow surgery and expected to be out a while, Jacob Webb should see more holds chances as he’s still a better high-leverage option than any of the lefties they currently have in the bullpen. Webb only has two holds this month, but I expect that number to grow moving forward.
- Since May 1st, John Schreiber has held a 2.6% K-BB rate and 4.77 xFIP and is not worth rostering in most leagues at this point. The Royals bullpen is clearly an issue, so Schreiber may continue in a set-up role, but it’s really hard to trust anyone here at the moment.
If you would like more daily reliever updates, please check out our Reliever Ranks series.
SP Eligible Relievers
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mason Miller | OAK | Closer in Oakland |
| 2. | Matt Strahm | PHI | One of the best middle-relief fantasy options |
| 3. | Ryan Walker | SF | Fastball/slider combo from funky slot plays up in pen |
| 4. | Hunter Gaddis | CLE | Been impressive in a bullpen role |
| 5. | Michael Kopech | CWS | Closer in Chicago for now |
| 6. | Luke Weaver | NYY | Top setup option in New York now? |
| 7. | A.J. Puk | MIA | Velo is back up in the bullpen |
| 8. | Randy Rodríguez | SF | Electric stuff, but role isn’t quite there |
| 9. | Shawn Armstrong | TB | Could thrive with a different team |
| 10. | Calvin Faucher | MIA | MIA top right-handed relief option |
Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X)
