I think we have featured almost every Rays reliever at this point in the season, but it wouldn’t be fair to leave their All-Star Andrew Kittredge out. Kittredge sits in the top 25 amongst relievers in multiple categories this season, including ERA, WHIP, xFIP, SIERA, CSW, GB%, and WAR. He also leads all relievers in O-Swing%, with his 45% rate being a full 3.6% higher than the second-highest pitcher. While eight Rays pitchers have saves since the start of August, Kittredge is the only one with more than one with five saves. For the year, Kittredge only has seven saves and six holds which is why he hasn’t been higher on this list all year, despite his ratios and K rate.
Notes
- It hasn’t been the smoothest past two weeks for Paul Sewald, as he has an ERA of 7.94 and WHIP of 1.59 over his last 5.2 innings while failing to record any saves (one hold). It may just be a simple late-season rough patch, but the gap between him and Drew Steckenrider has certainly tightened.
- Mychal Givens started the month on a sour note, allowing three earned while only getting one out back on the third of the month. Since then, he’s allowed just one earned run over 5.2 innings while also picking up four saves. The Reds have a tough matchup this weekend with the Dodgers, but next week they play seven games at home against the Pirates and Nationals.
- A pair of NL East closers have some good matchups over the next seven days starting with Dylan Floro who gets the Pirates and Nationals over his next six games. Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan gets the Rockies (at home) and then the Marlins. Floro seems like the safer bet at this time after Finnegan’s previous outing (four ER allowed) but I think both are good bets for this weekend.
- Dylan Floro and T.J. McFarland were the only two relievers to pick up three SV+HLD’s this past week. I mentioned Floro above, but McFarland also deserves some love after the veteran lefty has five saves over the past two weeks, which is tied for the league lead. McFarland won’t miss any bats, but as long as he isn’t ruining your ratios, he’s worth rostering to help with holds.
| PITCHER | TIER | INJURY (EST. RETURN) |
|---|---|---|
| Jake McGee | 2/3 | Oblique (next two weeks) |
| David Bednar | 3/4 | Oblique (next two weeks) |
| Jonathan Loáisiga | 4/5 | Rotator Cuff (late September) |
| Ryan Tepera | 4/5 | Finger (next two weeks) |
| Matt Wisler | 4/5 | Finger (next two weeks) |
| Tanner Scott | 5/6 | Knee (possibly in two weeks?) |
| Art Warren | 5/6 | Oblique (next two weeks) |
| Nick Sandlin | 5/6 | Shoulder (September) |
Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)
