What’s poppin’, Razzpimples?
Remember to bookmark that Razzball Bullpen Chart, y’all! I update it obsessively.
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Let’s do it to it.
Note: All stats and Player Rater values are accurate through Sunday’s games.
Player Rater Top 15 (5×5 Standard)
| # | Name | Team | Pos | $ | $/G | PS | PA/IP | $W | $SV | $ERA | $WHIP | $K | R% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Foley | DET | RP | 22.1 | 8.4 | 11.4 | 4 | 9.9 | 4.9 | 3.4 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 99 |
| 2 | Shelby Miller | DET | RP | 20 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 6 | 9.9 | -1.9 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.4 | 16 |
| 3 | Elvis Peguero | MIL | RP | 17.1 | 15.1 | 8.7 | 5 | 9.9 | -1.9 | 3.9 | 4.5 | -0.3 | 0 |
| 4 | Nick Sandlin | CLE | RP | 16.9 | 5.6 | 8.6 | 5 | 9.9 | -1.9 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 0 |
| 5 | Clay Holmes | NYY | RP | 13.1 | 3.5 | 6.6 | 5 | 2.8 | 11.8 | 3.9 | -3.9 | -2.4 | 100 |
| 6 | Edwin Diaz | NYM | RP | 12 | 2.9 | 6 | 5 | -4.2 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 1.8 | 100 |
| 7 | Justin Slaten | BOS | RP | 10.4 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 6 | -4.2 | 1.5 | 4.4 | 7.2 | 0.4 | 0 |
| 8 | Emmanuel Clase | CLE | RP | 10.3 | 4.6 | 5.1 | 4 | -4.2 | 11.8 | 3.2 | -0.4 | -1 | 100 |
| 9 | Daniel Hudson | LAD | RP | 9.6 | 1.5 | 4.6 | 5 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 1 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 11 |
| 10 | Tyler Holton | DET | RP | 9.2 | 7.9 | 4.4 | 4 | 2.8 | -1.9 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 0.4 | 0 |
| 11 | Jose Hernandez | PIT | RP | 9.2 | 7.9 | 4.5 | 3 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 3.7 | -2.4 | 0 |
| 12 | Pierce Johnson | ATL | RP | 9.1 | 1.2 | 4.4 | 5 | 9.9 | 1.5 | 1 | -3.9 | -0.3 | 0 |
| 13 | Josh Fleming | PIT | RP | 7.8 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 5 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.6 | -0.3 | 0 |
| 14 | Craig Kimbrel | BAL | RP | 7.7 | 6.5 | 3.6 | 3 | 2.8 | 1.5 | -0.6 | 3.2 | -0.3 | 100 |
| 15 | Carlos Estevez | LAA | RP | 7.7 | 6.4 | 3.6 | 3 | -4.2 | 8.3 | 2.4 | 3.2 | -3.1 | 100 |
Player Rater Top 15 (6×6 w/ Holds)
| # | Name | Team | Pos | $ | $/G | PS | PA/IP | $W | $SV | $ERA | $WHIP | $K | $HLD | R% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Foley | DET | RP | 22 | 13 | 12.3 | 4 | 12.8 | 5.7 | 3 | 1.6 | 1.2 | -3.3 | 99 |
| 2 | Shelby Miller | DET | RP | 17.9 | 14.3 | 9.8 | 6 | 12.8 | -4.6 | 4.2 | 5.5 | 0.6 | -1.5 | 16 |
| 3 | Clay Holmes | NYY | RP | 17 | 10 | 9.3 | 5 | 5.5 | 16 | 3.5 | -3.6 | -2 | -3.3 | 100 |
| 4 | Elvis Peguero | MIL | RP | 15.3 | 18.6 | 8.2 | 5 | 12.8 | -4.6 | 3.5 | 4.1 | -0.1 | -1.5 | 0 |
| 5 | Emmanuel Clase | CLE | RP | 13.5 | 11.6 | 7.2 | 4 | -1.9 | 16 | 2.8 | -0.4 | -0.7 | -3.3 | 100 |
| 6 | Nick Sandlin | CLE | RP | 13.2 | 7.8 | 7 | 5 | 12.8 | -4.6 | 3.3 | 2.2 | 1.8 | -3.3 | 0 |
| 7 | Daniel Hudson | LAD | RP | 11.2 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 5 | 5.5 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 11 |
| 8 | Edwin Diaz | NYM | RP | 11 | 6.5 | 5.6 | 5 | -1.9 | 5.7 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 1.8 | -3.3 | 100 |
| 9 | Justin Slaten | BOS | RP | 9.3 | 7.9 | 4.6 | 6 | -1.9 | 0.5 | 4 | 6.6 | 0.6 | -1.5 | 0 |
| 10 | Carlos Estevez | LAA | RP | 9 | 13.4 | 4.5 | 3 | -1.9 | 10.8 | 2.1 | 3 | -2.7 | -3.3 | 100 |
| 11 | Aroldis Chapman | PIT | RP | 8.9 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 4 | -1.9 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 3.9 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 34 |
| 12 | David Robertson | TEX | RP | 8.6 | 3 | 4.2 | 6 | 5.5 | -4.6 | 4 | -1.1 | -0.1 | 3.9 | 72 |
| 13 | Evan Phillips | LAD | RP | 8.3 | 4.9 | 4.1 | 5 | -1.9 | 10.8 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | -3.3 | 100 |
| 14 | Ryan Helsley | STL | RP | 8.3 | 4.8 | 4 | 5 | 5.5 | 10.8 | -2 | -3.6 | -0.1 | -3.3 | 100 |
| 15 | Pierce Johnson | ATL | RP | 8.1 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 5 | 12.8 | 0.5 | 0.8 | -3.6 | -0.1 | -3.3 | 0 |
Everyone with 2+ SV over the L7
Everyone with 2+ HLD over the L7
Welcome to another week of bullpen coverage, officially the second-worst gig at Razzball. Tops for worst is Keelin’s Ambulance Chasers column, which I used to write and don’t miss at all. Though really, it feels like 33% of this gig is injury-related. Anyhoo. I’ve got a couple new images in this week’s post! How cool is my heatmapped spreadsheet, eh? EH?? (It’s very simple lol). Nice quick lil snapshots of your SV and HLD leaders over the last week, with some metrics for dessert. And of course our 6×6 and 5×5 RP Player Rater rankings thus far. Now, to the notes:
Ryan Helsley and Emmanuel Clase take home the weekly saves leader honors. Both are entrenched in their roles and should be about as good as you can get ROS.
Four-way tie for the holds leaders: Matt Moore, Brooks Raley, David Robertson, and Scott Barlow. Big fan of all four right now as big-time holds sources. Moore will most likely take a step back once Robert Stephenson returns, and he’s not too terribly far away. Sounds like he’ll be ready for rehab pretty soon, and then it’s just a matter of ramping up without setbacks. Easy!
The biggest [potential] shake-up this week is James McArthur [maybe] moving into a more primary-ish 9th-inning role. You’ll notice he had 2 SV this week (as well as 1 HLD). What you can’t see here (because I’ve hidden the columns for brevity’s sake) is that he’s been quite prone to baserunners, allowing 3 ER, 6 H, and 1 BB in just 3.1 IP. The BABIP is really high, for what it’s worth. I haven’t watched any of his outings, so I dunno what those hits actually looked like. Will Smith is certifiably terrible at any rate, so I expect McArthur may just be the favored option here. Maybe. Don’t quote me on it. I’ve been so wrong many times already this year (but I blame Eclipse Year weirdness…?). Also, I still think John Screiber is underrated for holds. I do not think he’s elite or even great or even necessarily must-own, I just think he’s good and not enough people mention him.
My boy Kyle Finnegan. Dude has been just solid. It’s his MO. He won’t be great, he sometimes won’t even be good, but dadnabbit he’ll be a solid fantasy baseball closer for you. Had 2 SV without a hit or run, striking out three and walking one. I know his ’24 ERA and WHIP don’t look great, but those’ll normalize. A repeat of 2023 is quite attainable.
Carlos Estevez is off to a solid start in 2024 as well. Up to 3 SV in three scoreless after collecting two more saves this week. Could potentially poo poo his pantaloons and get ousted by Stephenson, a popular prediction across the fantasyphere this year, but who really knows. Estevez is a pure closer and that has fantasy merit in whatever format your heart desires.
Kenley Jansen nabbed 2 SV as well, and despite walking four, he was able to keep runs off the board. I’m definitely not as…comfortable owning Jansen as I once was. Don’t think anybody is. I don’t have any shares this year, if that tells you anything. But be that as it may, he’s doing fine, and as a future Hall of Famer, his job is safe.
Edwin Diaz has been a breath of fresh air in an otherwise wackadoo start to the season for the vast majority of bullpen arms. Diaz has picked up right where he left off in 2022, and he should be one of the very very best ROS. I ranked him #2 in preseason only because I thought there might be a shred of rust to shake off. Looks like Hader’s the rusty one.
Let’s pivot to the holds side of things. Austin Adams is making some noise for Oakland. He’s done this before, making noise for the Padres and Diamondbacks in recent years. He always seems to fade away, but I gotta shout him out at least. Dude tossed 2.1 perfect innings and K’d 5. That’s gnarly stuff. The mass fantasy sex appeal isn’t there since he’s in Oakland, though deeper and/or AL-only holds formats should take notice. Not much to write home about for the others in that pen. There’s yet to be a save recorded, and Mason Miller, while flashing great K stuff, has been less than ideal, allowing at least one hit and one walk in each of his three outings (with two of those outings having 2+ H allowed).
Hunter Gaddis is another dude I’m starting to pay attention to. Somehow, the Guardians always manage to deliver up SVHD chances on a silver platter, and now this Gaddis feller is reaping the benefits. We know Clase and Barlow will dine well, but there’s still plenty of food left over for third-string arm. He’s yet to issue a walk or allow a run this season, striking out seven in 4.1 IP and added two more holds to his totals this week. Fellow Guardian Tyler Beede also had 2 HLD. He walked a couple but didn’t allow a hit or run.
Lots of other guys had 2 HLD, as you can see in the pic above. Either household names or fringe guys you needn’t worry much about. I’ve given him some love already this year, but don’t forget about Gabe Speier in Seattle as long as Brash is out. Speaking of Brash, not a ton to update y’all on but I expect a rehab stint is close-ish at hand. Also wanna shout out JoJo Romero, who’s proved to be much more useful than I expected. On the year, he’s up to 3 HLD with a 1.80 ERA and 10.8 K/9. I don’t super love him, but the Cardinals are the kind of team to keep games close and thus afford lots of SVHD opps, much like The Land.
Wanna talk about who sucked? First and foremost, Josh Hader. His start to his Astros career has been…underwhelming. He did earn his first Houston save this week, but he also suuuucked: 2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K. That’s right, zero strikeouts. Woof. He’s paid so much money that he’ll have to be historically and comically bad to lose his job, but my #1 ranking and everyone’s premium paid price don’t look great at the moment. Abner Uribe was the highlight last week and he was mostly a dud this week: 9.00 ERA and 2.50 WHIP, despite “earning” a win and a save. Teammate Joel Payamps wasn’t any better: 1.1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER. These two still figure to be good SVHD types for the next while. Andrew Nardi has probably pitched himself out of high-leverage for now — I’m not a huge fan of Anthony Bender, but if you’re desperate for a replacement and have no better options, he’s the likeliest guy to step up. Yennier Cano allowed six baserunners in 4 IP, but to his credit he allowed only 1 ER. Michael Kopech has been pretty disastrous thus far. There are flashes of excellence, but he’s just so damn wild. And finally, Scott McGough was looking good in ’24 until his last two outings each resulted in a loss.
Alrighty, let’s finish this off with some quick injury updates.
Who hit the 15-day IL this week: Josh Sborz, Julian Merryweather, John Brebbia, and Ryan Borucki. Kirby Yates, Mark Leiter Jr., Steven Wilson/Jordan Leasure, and Hunter Stratton see holds bumps as a result, respectively.
Who hit the 60-day IL this week: Jonathan Loaisiga and Brusdar Graterol. This just means you definitely want some Ian Hamilton and Daniel Hudson.
Jordan Romano and Erik Swanson are getting much closer. Swanson started rehab in Single-A Dunedin on Sunday, firing off a clean inning and striking out two. Romano likely rehabs soon.
No update on Trevor Megill after he landed on the 7-day concussion IL back on April 3. Apparently fainted while shopping due to food poisoning symptoms and crashed his head on the ground. Hoby Milner should see a spike in later-inning work. Hoping for the best, Trevor!
That’s all for this week! Thanks for reading. Leave me a comment below so I feel all warm and fuzzy.
I specialize in bullpens, and I also do some fantasy hockey as well here at Razzball. Find me on Elon’s Disaster: @jkj0787. DMs are always open for questions, comments, concerns, complaints, etc. Odds are good I’m drinking black coffee, dark beer, or some form of bourbon at any given time of day.
Hi JKJ,
Thoughts on Brasier, dodgers. My eyes, when I see him play show me he looked good, except before tonight.
I’m in a ten team league. Dropped Mcgough for him.
What’s you method picking up rp?
Brasier has looked pretty good. Just not entirely sold he’s a mainstay for them yet. Definitely better than McGough.
My method is just roster as many 8th-inning types with good K upside as I can, if you call that a method lol.
Thank you, JKJ. I’ll check in again Tuesday too
Another ugly outing by Abreu. He hasn’t looked right all year including having a terrible spring. Velocity is down. Heavy usage last couple of years. Are you still holding him in s+holds format?
Drop
I’m concerned about his deployment more than just a shaky start. Willing to bet there are good options on your wire. Think I’m gonna drop him myself.
He sucks man let him go
Maybe too much mileage. But can’t look at last couple years and say he sucks lol.
Thanks Grey and JKJ.
Dusty left an indelible mark on that pitching staff. He broke EVERYONE. A 30-year old career minor league reliever is the freshest arm.
RP Question for SVHD ROS. Who are the 4 odd men out?
Alzolay – 6K -1SVHD- 3.18ERA- 5.2IP
Jansen – 6K- 3SVHD- 0.00ERA- 4IP
Estevez – 1K -3SVHD- 0.00ERA- 3IP
Finnegan – 4K -4SVHD- 5.40ERA- 5IP
Payamps – 4K- 3SVHD- 8.31ERA -4.1IP
Brasier – 8K- 3SVHD -1.50ERA- 6IP
Pressly – 7K -2SVHD -11.57ERA- 4.2IP
Gaddis – 9K- 3SVHD- 0.00ERA – 6.1IP
Kittredge – 5K- 5SVHD – 2.08ERA – 4.1IP
Ottavino – 7K- 2SVHD – 4.50ERA – 4IP
Fernando Cruz – 10K – 3SVHD – 3.38ERA -5.1IP
Kopech – 12K – 2SVHD – 2.45ERA -7.1IP
I’ve actually watched McArthur pitch and he has looked much better than his underlying numbers would indicate. Solid chance he takes the primary Closer role and runs with it in KC
The underlying numbers indicate that he’s pitched well and been unlucky! Nice to see some validation!
Cade Smith is another guy for Cle who may work his way into higher leverage situations. His stuff+ has been exceptional. Just a guy to watch and someone who I added in a 16 team league.
Hi James,
Really love the data:
Shelby Miller and Elvis P. are on the wire.
Would you pick up either of them? I am in a Yahoo Points league with emphasis on K, Holds, Saves and Wins.
My current staff is:
SP: Burnes, Skubal,Nola, Wheeler, Cole Ragans and GreyRod
Streamer: Kutter, Cristopher Sanchez, Sean Manaea, Casey Mize and Crockett
RP: Hunter Harvay
Certainly good SPs
Your thoughts are welcomed and appreciated
Ehhh not really. In a points format you just want points, obviously, and I don’t think Miller/Peguero bring more value than what you’ve got.
Thanks for prompt response! have a great day!
Fairbanks has struggled. His velocity has been down. I know it it early but should we be adding Adam in a s+holds league? Fairbanks not exactly immune to the injury bug. He was held out of soem save chances in COL this weekend after he complained about the baseballs
Adam should be owned in every SVHD league! I’m hella high on Fairbanks but yeah injury is a real risk with that dude.
Yeah this is a 10 team league and we can only start 3 relievers at one time unless they have SP eligibilty. I will try to add him if I have room. My one easy cut is already lined up so I can activate a player from the IL.
Good stuff, I look forward to this article. Cade Smith worth a spec pickup yet?
Thanks!
I don’t know that he brings too many HLD with Gaddis and Barlow and Beede and Sandlin and Herrin all around. Barlow will get majority anyway. I like Gaddis next best. Maybe Smith after that, but I would imagine a better option is available.
Just grabbed Mac for Bednar, who appears shot.
Bednar will be on the IL before the after game buffet is done.
Bednar is cooked
Could be the case. I’m not jumping ship just yet.