Elvis Peguero had FOUR SV+HLD’s this past week to lead all relievers. The sinker/slider specialist has been a great find for the Brewers this season and has worked himself into a set-up role lately with 7 SV+HLD’s over the past three weeks. Despite just a 21% K rate, there may be more strikeout potential in there as he does have 31.4% Whiff rate. Even if he doesn’t improve on that K rate, he’s still going to help with holds and his high GB rate should help keep that ERA down.
Notes
- After excelling in the closer role with Pete Fairbanks sideline, Jason Adam has been a little disappointing lately, especially over his last 22 IP where he has a 3.68 ERA (4.20 xFIP), 1.23 WHIP, and 19.6% K-BB rate. Again, not terrible, but just not what we were expecting from Adam after last year’s breakout. He also only has two holds and zero saves since Fairbanks came back two weeks ago. He still remains the team’s best setup option, but he’s just not as appealing as others in the first few tiers.
- Daniel Hudson should be making his return to the Dodgers bullpen today, and it’ll be very interesting to see how things start to shake out here as Evan Phillips has been pitching great as of late and still should be considered the favorite for saves moving forward (for now). I have a pretty aggressive rank for Hudson despite his age and not pitching for a year, but he was so dominant for the Dodgers before his ACL injury last year that I wouldn’t want to miss out if he can recapture that magic.
- The Padres lost their second-best reliever this week as Steven Wilson landed on the IL, so that leaves Nick Martinez to fulfill the setup duties in front of Josh Hader. The problem is, Martinez has been pretty awful lately, with a 6.19 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, and just a 14.3% K rate over his last 19 innings. If this Padres team is going to turn things around, they will need the bullpen to figure things out, and that likely starts with Martinez getting the ball to Hader.
- Joe Jiménez has been great over his last ten innings (1 ER, 0.90 WHIP) and I really want to see him factor into more hold chances but this bullpen just might be too deep at the moment to allow for that. Even Kirby Yates is pitching lights again, as he has a 1.72 ERA (2.23 SIERA), 0.89 WHIP, and 38.3% K rate over his last 15.2 innings pitched. This bullpen is a big reason why the Braves have the best record in the NL right now.
And if you want more daily reliever updates, please check out our Reliever Ranks series.
Injured List
| PITCHER | TIER | INJURY (SURGERY DATE). NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Liam Hendriks | 3/4 | Elbow. Said to be similar to last year’s injury and confirmed no structural damage. Could be back after the All-Star break. |
| Ryan Helsley | 3/4 | Forearm. There’s minimal concern for anything serious here, but he will be shut down for a week or so. |
| Seranthony Domínguez | 5/6 | Oblique. Playing catch, but still a ways away from returning. |
| Steven Wilson | 5/6 | Pec. Landed on the IL with a pectoral strain, |
| John Schreiber | 5/6 | Lat. Has resumed throwing, but is still not near a rehab assignment quite yet. |
| Brock Stewart | 5/6 | Elbow. No timetable to return |
| Robert Suarez | 6/7 | Elbow. Throwing bullpens now, and could begin a rehab assignment in a few weeks. |
| Matt Moore | 6/7 | Oblique. Playing catch right now, but has yet to progress to bullpens. |
| Colin Holderman | 6/7 | Wrist. Wrist inflammation will keep Holderman out for at least 15 days. No word on severity yet. |
| Jonathan Loáisiga | 6/7 | Elbow. Nothing new here as he won’t be back until August at the earliest. |
| Caleb Thielbar | 7/8 | Oblique. Going back to the IL with the same injury he just returned from |
| Ben Joyce | 7/8 | Elbow. No structural damage is a good thing, but still with no timetable to return. |
Kinda surprised not to see any love for AJ Minter or Jose Soriano. Both have been lights out the past month and are getting plenty of leverage spots.