What’s poppin’, Razzpimples?
Back from vacation (sadly), and my column got pushed back til Thursday this week, so here we go! SAGNOF Bullpen Report time!
Don’t forget to keep that there Razzball Bullpen Chart bookmarked. It’s been totally revamped into this awesome, dynamically-updated masterpiece! The calendar view of usage patterns is just pure gold.
Subscribers: Check out the Autopen for today/tomorrow projections (vulture SVHD, anyone?), which also has the same look at the Last 7 Days usage patterns. Another great tool is relief game logs from the last 14 days! Filter/sort/export to your needs.
Note: All stats and Player Rater values below are accurate through Sunday’s games.
2026 SVHD Leaders
Player Rater Top RP (5×5 Standard)
Player Rater Top RP (6×6 w/ Holds)
Weekly Notes:
Jacob Latz (4 SV, 5:1 K:BB): Latz continues his league-winning-esque season after a baller week where he converted four saves, bringing his season total to 18. Also has a couple holds, so he’s cracked the 20 SVHD milestone before the All-Star break. Insane stuff. And you see those metrics below; it looks like this 30-year-old, first-time closer is for real. The FIP is almost a full point higher than his ERA, but it’s still in great territory. The WHIP is elite. The K-BB% is robust. He’s only issued nine walks and given up three long balls all year.
Josh Hader (3 SV, 7:4 K:BB): Hader has looked every bit as good as the player I hoped I was utilizing a precious IL slot for.
Jhoan Duran (3 SV, 4:1 K:BB): I think everyone who paid up for Duran is happy with what they’ve gotten so far.
Yoendrys Gomez (2 SV, 0:0 K:BB): Gomez has gone from must-own in SVHD leagues with SP slots to just flat out must-own everywhere.
Tyler Alexander (2 SV, 3:0 K:BB): Kinda random back-to-back saves this week, but Latz owners needn’t worry. Alexander is okay in deep formats where you can plug him in as a starter. Otherwise, I see no real reason to recommend him.
Riley O’Brien (2 SV, 1:0 K:BB): Was genuinely concerned there for a bit, but for now O’Brien is looking more like the dominant closer he was for the early weeks of the season.
Jimmy Herget (2 SV, 1 L, 2:1 K:BB): Shoutout to Herget for pitching well this week. When I first took over as the bullpen writer here, Herget was a sexy sleeper pick for the Angels. Never panned out. I don’t think Colorado is the place he’s gonna finally figure it out, but he does have the last two Rockies saves FWIW.
Cade Smith (2 SV, 1 BSV, 3:1 K:BB): Busted up the ratios a bit this week. Still madly in love with Cade Smith. 26 saves already!!
Bryan Baker (2 SV, 2:0 K:BB): Like Latz, this dude is having a league-winning season. The perfect example of how fading closers can make you look like a genius.
Aroldis Chapman (2 SV, 1 BSV, 3:3 K:BB): Kinda feels weird that Chapman has only pitched 24.2 IP this year. Can’t be too upset with 16 SV though.
Tyron Guerrero (3 HLD, 3:0 K:BB): This dude has one of those randomized video game sounding names. I’ve never seen “Tyron” anywhere else in my life. Has 4 HLD over the last two weeks, but with Whitlock and Slaten around, there’s really only so much that can go around in the Boston pen.
Michael Petersen (3 HLD, 5:0 K:BB): It’s time. I declare that Petersen should be owned everywhere holds count. His last two weeks: 4 HLD (tied for 1st), 10:0 K:BB, 3.86 ERA, 0.86 WHIP.
Kevin Kelly (3 HLD, 2:0 K:BB): Also tied for 1st with 4 HLD over the last two weeks. Having a stellar season: 21 SVHD, 3.61 FIP, 0.92 WHIP.
Bryan King (3 SV, 2:0 K:BB): Move over, Bryan Abreu. King is king for Astros holds now.
Jakob Junis (2 HLD, 4:0 K:BB): Lots of holds but bad ratios lately. Could do better, could do worse.
Hunter Gaddis (2 HLD, 3:0 K:BB): Cleveland always gonna give hold opps. Looking like Gaddis is worthwhile even with Sabrowski back.
P.J. Poulin (1 SV, 2 HLD, 2:1 K:BB): Yeah the 3 SVHD this week are nice, but his season numbers are so meh. Zilch K upside. Bad BB%. Wouldn’t bother unless you’re really hurtin.
Garrett Whitlock (1 SV, 2 HLD, 3:0 K:BB): His 12 HLD are a tad disappointing, but overall it’s been a good 2026 so far.
Erik Sabrowski (2 HLD, 3:1 K:BB): I’m really hoping he’s just shaking off some rust and not still nursing some injury or something. Definitely not the lights out setup man he was before the IL stint. Giving the benefit of the doubt for now. Despite being sidelined, he still leads the league with 19 HLD (tied with STL’s Romero).
Alex Vesia (2 HLD, 5:0 K:BB): Nice to see no walks this week. Already has 16 in 27.2 IP.
Tanner Scott (1 SV, 1 HLD, 4:0 K:BB): Scott is frustrating to own in SV-only because the opps are so few and far between. Pound for pound, though, he’s one of the best in the game again. Has a 42:3 K:BB and 0.70 WHIP on the year, with 11 SV and 6 HLD.
Jason Adam (1 SV, 1 HLD, 2:0 K:BB): Adam just keeps doing Adam things.
Notable bummers for the week:
Will Vest (1 BSV, 1 L, 18.00 ERA, 4.00 WHIP): Worthless is just about any format these days. I want Vest absolutely nowhere.
Gregory Soto (1 HLD, 1 BSV, 1 L, 16.67 ERA, 2.22 WHIP): Don’t want to induce panic, but Soto is starting to look like the Soto we’ve seen too much of in years past. Maybe the warmer weather and bats waking up across the league mean it’s time to consider selling while the window’s still at least cracked open.
Fernando Cruz (1 HLD, 1 BSV, 1 L, 11.25 ERA, 2.50 WHIP): Bad ratios this week sadly. The ERA overall is good, but the WHIP will always be middling from a guy with his kind of control.
Elvis Alvarado (1 BSV, 1 L, 5.29 ERA, 0.59 WHIP): Welp, last time I wrote to y’all, I was tooting this fella’s horn. He’s…not it anymore. He did have three straight good outings after a BSV+L back on June 24, but those were in low leverage.
Caleb Kilian (1 SV, 1 BSV, 1 L, 26.47 ERA, 4.12 WHIP): The Giants pen is a mess. Any time someone puts something together, they start to skid.
Brooks Raley (1 HLD, 2 L, 6.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP): Still think he’s solid fantasy value right now.
Kenley Jansen (1 L, 15.65 ERA, 2.17 WHIP): I’m not sure how much this future HOFer has left in the tank. Tigers mighta made a mistake.
That’s all for this week! Thanks for reading. Leave me a comment below so I feel all warm and fuzzy.
Odds are quite good I was drinking either black coffee, dark beer, or some form of bourbon while writing what you just read. In the daylight hours, I’m a high school English teacher. I have completely left X/Twitter, so you can find me on Bluesky: @jkj0787.bsky.social, where I serve up daily bullpen recaps to my loyal tens of followers.
If Soto gets flushed who is next man in IHO!
That made no sense what I wrote…next man up in Pitt?
JkJ does grant taylor have the closer gig locked up?
Negative
If Helsley gets put on the shelf who do you prefer to pickup as a speculative add?
Still gotta be Rico imo