Yennier Cano, Danny Coulombe, Kyle Finnegan, Jason Foley, Hunter Harvey, Ryan Helsley, and Joe Kelly all had three SV+HLD’s this past week. Cano and Coulombe have stepped up this past week with Craig Kimbrel nursing a back injury. Kelly is the wild card of the group, as his numbers don’t look great but it does seem like he is dealing with some bad luck again. I think the ceiling is probably not as high as some of his underlying metrics may actually insist, but the Dodgers still trust him and the stuff is still interesting. What happens when Blake Treinen returns remains to be seen, meaning Kelly’s (who is dealing with a groin injury) May is somewhat make or break for him.
Notes
- Jhoan Duran, Caleb Thielbar, Ryan Walker, Cade Smith, Caleb Ferguson, Ryan Thompson, and Enyel De Los Santos all join the list this week. Duran. The other six are likely to be on and off the list at certain points of the year, but guys like Walker, Smith and De Los Santos definitely have some untapped upside that could make them more intriguing. Thielbar, Ferguson and Thompson are veterans with limited upside but all have been forced into high leverage spots early on in the year so they can be valuable week to week.
- Colin Poche, Abner Uribe, Tim Herrin, Seranthony Domínguez, Anthony Bender, Tyler Holton, and Emilio Pagán fell off the list this week. Poche wound up on the IL with a back injury. Uribe was sent down to AAA as he now has a 6.91 ERA and 1.88 WHIP and also was suspended six games recently for his role in a rather dumb fight with Jose Siri. Herrin and Pagan have fine surface level numbers but they are both down in velo this year and the xStats dont love where this is going (although I wouldn’t totally sleep on Pagan and his iVB). Dominguez and Bender have struggled mightily and likely won’t see any high-leverage usage until they figure things out. Holton is just low upside with a 5.40 ERA.
- Kyle Finnegan, Jason Foley, Hunter Harvey, Ryan Helsley, Andrew Kittredge, David Robertson, JoJo Romero, Clay Holmes, and Robert Suarez lead the league in SV+HLD’s for the season with 10 apiece now. We have five closers and four non-closers here, with three of the four non-closers being on this list with their team’s respective closer (Nationals and Cardinals). Robertson is the one outlier in that sense, as the veteran continues to be a trustworthy reliever even at age 39. It’s crazy seeing him still able to miss bats at such a high rate (35.3% CSW) at this point in his career.
- Helsley has been arguably the best reliever and closer in baseball this season so seeing him tied for the league lead in saves is no surprise. Finnegan, on the other hand, perhaps has been the most surprising reliever this season. The stuff is basically the same as it has always been, but Finnegan has done a better job locating his 97 MPH fastball upstairs (5.53 PLV on the pitch) although the splitter command has been a bit messy. The sweeper shows promise; he still doesn’t trust it, but that pitch could potentially push him over the hump. We’ve seen really good stretches from Finnegan before (June-August of 2023) but also periods of being terrible (March-May of 2023, and September/October).
And if you want more daily reliever updates, please check out our Reliever Ranks series.
Injured List
| PITCHER | TIER | INJURY. NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Devin Williams | 1 | Back. On the 60-day IL now. Likely out until after the All-Star break, and maybe longer. |
| Pete Fairbanks | 2-3 | Nerve. Still no timetable but tests came back clean so he could be out just the minimum. |
| Paul Sewald | 3-4 | Oblique. Rehab on pause, setback shouldn’t keep him out much longer it sounds |
| Matt Brash | 4-5 | Elbow. Shut down after feeling soreness. Season could be in question now. |
| Julian Merryweather | 4-5 | Rib. Could be a rather lengthy injury with the rib stress fracture. No timetable. Added to 60-day IL. |
| Gregory Santos | 6-7 | Lat. Close to mound work, could return in May. Added to 60-day IL |
| Tommy Kahnle | 6-7 | Shoulder. Facing live hitters and a rehab assignment should come shortly |
| Keynan Middleton | 7-8 | Forearm. Nearing mound work, with a rehab assignment to follow |
| Brusdar Graterol | 7-8 | Shoulder. Added to the 60-day IL, and had another setback. He’s shut down for now. |
| Brooks Raley | 7-8 | Elbow. More concern than originally thought, could be facing season ending surgery. |
| Justin Topa | 8-9 | Knee. Started his rehab assignment and could return next week. |
| Ryan Borucki | 8-9 | Tricep. Had a setback but as he deals with carpal tunnel. Shut down for weeks. |
| Blake Treinen | 8-9 | Lung. Starting his rehab assignment soon. 1-2 weeks away. |
| Chad Green | 8-9 | Shoulder. Teres major strain will keep him out a while. |
| Colin Poche | 8-9 | Back. Expected back by mid-May after receiving injection. |
Erceg could easily be in T4. He is filthy.
Megill has to be moving up, not down. He’s gotten the last 2x save opportunities for the Brewers, they play a ton of close games, and he’s really dealing.