José Alvarado returned to the Phillies bullpen this past week, giving them yet another bullpen reinforcement, although one that is ineligible for the postseason. His ramp up appearances at AAA weren’t exactly anything to be thrilled about, especially considering his velocity had been down in most of those outings, but in his first MLB outing since May 16th, Alvarado pitched a clean inning while striking out Cal Raleigh. The velo was still down a little over a MPH, but he can still have success as long as the command is there.
Speaking of velocity issues on the Phillies, David Robertson continues to sit about 2 MPH down from last year, but it hasn’t made much of a difference as he still holds a 35% K rate over his first five appearances. He’s decreased his fastball (cutter) usage and his upped both his knuckle curve and slider usage. Robertson and Alvarado have quickly moved past Jordan Romano and possibly Tanner Banks in the pecking order but I’m not sure if they will see a ton of holds with Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering healthy and pitching well.
Notes
- Devin Williams has now gone 4.1 innings in a row without allowing an earned run, giving up just two hits and a walk in the process while striking out eleven. This is the Williams we are (mostly) used to, and it looks like his rough patch prior to this has passed. What his role will be moving forward remains to be seen, but if he is pitching like this he should at least be in the mix for consistent holds.
- Edwin Uceta has had a rocky year, but since the end of May he has been one of the best relievers in baseball. Over his past 35.1 innings of work, Uceta holds a 3.31 ERA (1.59 SIERA), 0.99 WHIP and 43% K rate (second best amongst RP’s over this span). He’s back to where he was last season, and it’s too early to talk about 2026 but this Rays bullpen has crazy potential for next season if they can get the best out of Uceta, Griffin Jax, Bryan Baker, Garrett Cleavinger and Mason Montgomery.
- Ryan Helsley has had a tough time transitioning to the Mets bullpen as he now holds a 7.11 ERA and 2.05 WHIP with his new team while being tagged with three loses. This may just be an adjustment period as he adjust to a new team, role and battery mate but until we see some signs of him turning things around he isn’t exactly a must roster in holds leagues.
- Tony Santillan has been pretty steady for the entire season, but he’s turned things up a notch since the start of June. Over his past 30 innings, Santillan holds a 2.40 ERA (3.32 SIERA) and 1.10 WHIP, with his strikeout rate jumping up to just under 30% (29.6%) over this span. The walks are still a bit of an issue, but he remains Terry Francona’s most trusted reliever in that Reds bullpen.
