What’s poppin, Razzpimples? Bullpen update time!
Don’t forget, the Razzball Bullpen Chart is manned by yours truly and updated like every single second (not really, but I stay on top of thangs for the most part). And directly below are your Top 10 most valuable RP over the last week, courtesy of our super cool and filterable Last 7 Days pitching stats page you should be using all the time, as well as a current look at the Top 15 RP via our Player Rater.
Here’s what stood out to me this week: (Note: Monday’s games do not factor in):
Player Rater Top 15
| # | Name | Team | Pos | $ | $/G | PS | PA/IP | $R | $HR | $RBI | $SB | $AVG | $W | $SV | $ERA | $WHIP | $K | R% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edwin Diaz | NYM | RP | 18.7 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 39 | -2 | 12.1 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 4.4 | 100 | |||||
| 2 | Ryan Helsley | STL | RP | 18.5 | 11.3 | 5.5 | 40 | 3.8 | 3 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 1.8 | 100 | |||||
| 3 | Jorge Lopez | BAL | RP | 17.5 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 45 | 1.8 | 9.8 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 100 | |||||
| 4 | Clay Holmes | NYY | RP | 17.2 | 4 | 5.1 | 43 | 1.8 | 9.1 | 3.2 | 2.3 | -0.2 | 100 | |||||
| 5 | Emmanuel Clase | CLE | RP | 15.3 | 3.2 | 4.6 | 39 | -2 | 11.3 | 2.6 | 3.5 | -1.1 | 100 | |||||
| 6 | Kenley Jansen | ATL | RP | 14.8 | 5.6 | 4.4 | 37 | 1.8 | 12.9 | -2.1 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 100 | |||||
| 7 | Scott Barlow | KC | RP | 13.1 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 46 | 1.8 | 8.3 | 1.7 | 0.8 | -0.6 | 100 | |||||
| 8 | Daniel Bard | COL | RP | 12.9 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 37 | -0.1 | 11.3 | 1.2 | 0.3 | -0.8 | 100 | |||||
| 9 | Jordan Romano | TOR | RP | 10.7 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 35 | -0.1 | 12.1 | 0 | -1.1 | -1.2 | 100 | |||||
| 10 | David Bednar | PIT | RP | 10.7 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 46 | -0.1 | 9.1 | -0.6 | -0.7 | 2 | 100 | |||||
| 11 | Ryan Pressly | HOU | RP | 10.3 | 6.5 | 3.1 | 29 | -0.1 | 11.3 | -0.5 | 1.1 | -2.5 | 100 | |||||
| 12 | David Robertson | CHC | RP | 10.1 | 3 | 3.1 | 39 | -0.1 | 6.8 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 100 | |||||
| 13 | Taylor Rogers | SD | RP | 9.8 | 0.4 | 3 | 40 | -5.9 | 17.4 | -2.5 | 0.4 | -0.5 | 100 | |||||
| 14 | Paul Sewald | SEA | RP | 9.2 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 37 | -0.1 | 5.3 | 0.3 | 3.6 | -0.8 | 100 | |||||
| 15 | Josh Hader | MIL | RP | 9 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 32 | -5.9 | 17.4 | -3.4 | -1.3 | 1.2 | 100 |
Top 10 Last 7 Days
| # | Name | Team | ESPN | YAHOO | $ | $/G | G | GS | QS | W | L | SV | HLD | IP | H | ER | K | BB | ERA | FIP | WHIP | BABIP | R% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brent Suter | MIL | RP | RP | 28.4 | 19.4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2.03 | 0.33 | 0.111 | 0 |
| 2 | Tim Mayza | TOR | RP | RP | 26 | 17.6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.32 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | David Robertson | CHC | RP | RP | 21.7 | 6.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.7 | 1 | 0.25 | 100 |
| 4 | Lucas Luetge | NYY | RP | RP | 18.5 | 11.9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.03 | 0.3 | 0.167 | 5 |
| 5 | Jordan Romano | TOR | RP | RP | 15.9 | 9.9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.45 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| 6 | Joe Kelly | CHW | RP | RP | 15.2 | 2.8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0.7 | 0.67 | 0.167 | 0 |
| 7 | Domingo Acevedo | OAK | RP | RP | 15.1 | 2.7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.7 | 1.23 | 0.91 | 0.3 | 2 |
| 8 | Steve Cishek | WSH | RP | RP | 13.9 | 2.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2.36 | 0.67 | 0.286 | 0 |
| 9 | Zach Jackson | OAK | RP | RP | 12.7 | 1.6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2.7 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.72 | 0.37 | 0.2 | 9 |
| 10 | Kyle Finnegan | WSH | RP | RP | 10.7 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.28 | 0 | 0 | 77 |
Saves Daddies
Headline boy David Robertson gets the honor of leading off this week’s SAGNOF bullpen report. You can see above that he churned out the #3 most valuable week from an RP in fantasy according to our Player Rater, picking up 1 W and 2 SV in three scoreless. All this does is strengthen his already fairly monumental trade stock. You can skip to the bottom for the most important bit of injury news, but I’ll go ahead and mention it here: the Yankees lost Michael King for the rest of the season because of an elbow fracture. They’ll be shopping, and all you gotta do is toss D-Rob’s name into that there Google to see a lot of folks think he should become a Yankee again. It’s a very good fit, but it would tank his SV-only fantasy stock. He’s worked up the board to become the #12 RP on the 2022 Player Rater, which is pretty dang surprising given 1). no one drafted him, and 2). he has been closing games for the Chicago Cubs. Just goes to show that closers on bad teams can be well worth your time. I mean…look at the names on the Top 15 leaderboard up there. Barlow? Lopez? Bednar? Bard? Bad teams, good fantasy results nonetheless. Nay, great!
Jordan Romano had a strong week since the Blue Jays figured out how to win again. Romano had 2 SV and 3 K in 2.1 perfect innings. The Jays have looked pretty awful since the latter part of June, but the past couple weeks have been a complete 180. Romano has been one of fantasy’s best all season long either way, piling up 21 SV, 40 K, and good ratios. No reason to believe he doesn’t finish just as strong.
Craig Kimbrel had 2 SV and 2 K in three scoreless. The good: no walks; the bad: allowed four hits and had an unimpressive 23.9 CSW%. Ain’t much to worry about. His job is quite safe and he’s obvs in a badass fantasy situation with the Dodgers. Start with confidence.
Taylor Rogers also had 2 SV but it was the ugliest 2-SV performance of the week: 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, and 1 K. He’s certainly gotten a little worse as 2022 has gone on, but the man is tied for the MLB lead in saves (28) and has been incredibly effective overall. As is his norm, the K% is good and the BB% is even better. He’s doing what he’s been doing for years now. Kudos to those of you who drafted him! Seriously.
Clay Holmes lost his #1 spot on the Player Rater but only fell to #4. Had an okay week fantasy-wise: 1 SV and 3 K with no runs. If the Yankees acquire someone, I find it hard to believe whoever it is will challenge Holmes for saves, but I guess it could play out that way. But Holmes has been so, so, so good…why even change anything regarding his usage, right?
Our new #1 is Edwin Diaz, who is still striking out over half the batters he’s facing (51%) through 39.1 innings of work. I saw a tweet somewhere that said he’d be the second RP to ever do that, so I’ll take their word for it. Diaz has been nearly perfect from a fantasy viewpoint. There’s nothing else to say. Saves are there, ratios are there, and the Ks are there. I said in preseason he’s Tier 1 worthy when he’s on, and so far he’s been on All. Season. Long.
As long as Dany Jimenez remains out, you could roster Lou Trivino if you want. Had 1 SV and 1 HD this week, with 5 K in 2.2 IP. Also had a 1.50 WHIP. He’s just not good, but right now he’s just good enough for fantasy purposes.
Holds Daddies
A few guys had 2 HD this week. The first two I’ll mention are Ryne Stanek and Rafael Montero since they’re both Astros. Montero also had 1 SV while filling in for Pressly. It’s clear Dusty really likes Montero, and Montero’s rewarded that trust with a super strong 2022 campaign: 3 W, 7 SV, 15 HD, 1.82 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 44 K in 39.2 IP. From a pure counting-stats perspective, that’s 25 wins/saves/holds, and the list of guys with 25+ of those is a short one.
Next up is Zach Jackson, who had 5 K, allowed just one baserunner, and didn’t allow any runs. Jackson has been the best RP in Oakland all year and is second in all of baseball with 19 HD on the year. That snuck up on me, not gonna lie. What a season he’s having, folks! Ya know, this Athletics bullpen is actually really good. Sam Moll has looked great, sporting a 1.78 ERA and 10.4 K/9 in 30.1 IP and he added two more holds this week. Then there’s former top prospect A.J. Puk, who’s also been a steady factor back there. Oh, and Domingo Acevedo picked up two dubs this week and was the #7 most valuable RP.
Caleb Smith had two holds for the D-Backs, but you really can’t be looking at this guy outside of NL-only formats. You probably don’t need me to tell you that.
And finally, Wil Crowe had 2 HD for the Bucs. Didn’t allow any runs but did allow three baserunners. Had 2 K. Should Bednar get traded (pretty unlikely), it’ll be tough to peg whether it’s Crowe or Yerry De Los Santos stepping up next.
With Brusdar Graterol out, Alex Vesia is seeing steady high-leverage work. He’s a rung below Evan Phillips on the ladder, but being in any kind of setup territory on the Dodgers makes you fantasy relevant. I thought Vesia would play a bigger role this season, so now it’s his time to shine. He earned a BS but then bounced back with a win and hold in his last two appearances.
Other Notes/Injuries
Michael King is out ROS with an elbow injury. The Yankees pen took a major hit and I’m a monkey’s uncle if they don’t make a move to plug that big ol’ gap he’s leaving behind.
Ryan Pressly missed time while on paternity leave but is back in action and is gonna finish as a fantasy stud, health permitting.
Trevor Rosenthal signed with the Giants *Undertaker-sitting-up-really-fast-in-a-casket GIF* only to be immediately placed on the IL. He won’t pitch for a while cuz, well, he hasn’t pitched for a while, let alone his injury. But when he’s finally ready to go, I’m not ruling out save chances, though I of course don’t expect him to steal the job outright from Doval.
I do some fantasy baseball as well as some fantasy hockey here at Razzball. Find me on Twitter: @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.
