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, you’ll see a current look at the Top 15 RP (in both 5×5 standard leagues and 6×6 saves/holds leagues) via our Player Rater. Subscribers also get access to the incredibly handy Relievonator Game Log, which tracks every single relief appearance from the last 14 days, including what inning they were called upon and how many batters/pitches they faced/threw.
Alrighty, let’s do it to it. (Note: Monday’s games do not factor in)
Player Rater Top 15 (5×5 Standard)
| # | Name | Team | Pos | $ | $/G | PS | PA/IP | $W | $SV | $ERA | $WHIP | $K | R% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felix Bautista | BAL | RP | 29.3 | 9.4 | 8.1 | 31 | 2.9 | 15.2 | 3.6 | 0 | 6.6 | 100 |
| 2 | Alexis Diaz | CIN | RP | 21 | 7.2 | 5.9 | 26 | -0.1 | 12.9 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 3 | 100 |
| 3 | Jordan Romano | TOR | RP | 18.9 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 27 | 2.9 | 16.3 | -0.1 | -0.7 | -0.5 | 100 |
| 4 | Camilo Doval | SF | RP | 16 | 3.3 | 4.6 | 28 | -3.2 | 14 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 100 |
| 5 | Devin Williams | MIL | RP | 15.2 | 10 | 4.4 | 22 | 2.9 | 7.1 | 3.3 | 2 | -1.2 | 100 |
| 6 | David Bednar | PIT | RP | 15.1 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 25 | -0.1 | 11.7 | 1.5 | 2 | -1 | 100 |
| 7 | Carlos Estevez | LAA | RP | 14.5 | 2.3 | 4.2 | 28 | -3.2 | 15.2 | 2.3 | -1 | 0.2 | 100 |
| 8 | Emmanuel Clase | CLE | RP | 14 | -1.2 | 4 | 32 | -3.2 | 18.6 | -0.2 | -0.9 | -1.4 | 100 |
| 9 | Paul Sewald | SEA | RP | 11.6 | 1.3 | 3.4 | 26 | -0.1 | 9.4 | -0.3 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 100 |
| 10 | Josh Hader | SD | RP | 11.1 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 25 | -6.2 | 12.9 | 2.2 | 1.6 | -0.3 | 100 |
| 11 | David Robertson | NYM | RP | 10.4 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 28 | -0.1 | 7.1 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 100 |
| 12 | Clay Holmes | NYY | RP | 9 | -2.2 | 2.7 | 28 | 6 | 4.8 | 0.2 | -2.8 | -0.3 | 100 |
| 13 | Jhoan Duran | MIN | RP | 8 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 25 | -0.1 | 4.8 | 2.1 | 0.5 | -0.3 | 100 |
| 14 | Alex Lange | DET | RP | 7.8 | -1.1 | 2.4 | 26 | 2.9 | 7.1 | -1.6 | -2 | 0.4 | 100 |
| 15 | Craig Kimbrel | PHI | RP | 7.4 | -1.4 | 2.3 | 25 | 6 | 6 | -4.7 | -1.8 | 0.9 | 99 |
Player Rater Top 15 (6×6 w/ Holds)
| # | Name | Team | Pos | $ | $/G | PS | PA/IP | $W | $SV | $ERA | $WHIP | $K | $HLD | R% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felix Bautista | BAL | RP | 24.6 | 16.4 | 7.7 | 31 | 3.4 | 15.7 | 2.9 | 0.4 | 5.6 | -4.5 | 100 |
| 2 | Jordan Romano | TOR | RP | 18.5 | 14.2 | 5.3 | 27 | 3.4 | 17.1 | 0.3 | -0.1 | 0.6 | -3.9 | 100 |
| 3 | Alexis Diaz | CIN | RP | 18.2 | 14.9 | 5.2 | 26 | 1.3 | 13 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 3 | -3.9 | 100 |
| 4 | Emmanuel Clase | CLE | RP | 15.5 | 9.1 | 4.2 | 32 | -0.8 | 19.8 | 0.3 | -0.1 | 0 | -4.5 | 100 |
| 5 | Carlos Estevez | LAA | RP | 15.4 | 12 | 4.1 | 28 | -0.8 | 15.7 | 2 | -0.2 | 1.1 | -3.3 | 100 |
| 6 | Camilo Doval | SF | RP | 14.7 | 12 | 3.9 | 28 | -0.8 | 14.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.9 | -4.5 | 100 |
| 7 | David Bednar | PIT | RP | 13 | 12.5 | 3.2 | 25 | 1.3 | 11.6 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 0.3 | -4.5 | 100 |
| 8 | David Robertson | NYM | RP | 11.1 | 10.6 | 2.5 | 28 | 1.3 | 6.2 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 1.2 | -0.9 | 100 |
| 9 | Devin Williams | MIL | RP | 10.8 | 15.9 | 2.4 | 22 | 3.4 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 0.1 | -4.5 | 100 |
| 10 | Josh Hader | SD | RP | 10.7 | 10.9 | 2.3 | 25 | -3 | 13 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.8 | -4.5 | 100 |
| 11 | Yennier Cano | BAL | RP | 10.4 | 6.5 | 2.2 | 34 | -0.8 | -2.1 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 0.6 | 4 | 77 |
| 12 | Paul Sewald | SEA | RP | 9.4 | 9.2 | 1.8 | 26 | 1.3 | 8.9 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 1.2 | -4.5 | 100 |
| 13 | Will Smith | TEX | RP | 7.3 | 10 | 1 | 23 | -0.8 | 7.5 | 0.1 | 2 | -0.4 | -2.1 | 100 |
| 14 | Clay Holmes | NYY | RP | 7.2 | 5.4 | 1 | 28 | 5.6 | 3.4 | 0.6 | -1.5 | 0.8 | -2.7 | 100 |
| 15 | Jason Adam | TB | RP | 7 | 4.7 | 0.9 | 28 | 1.3 | 4.8 | 0.1 | -0.5 | 1.2 | -0.9 | 100 |
Saves Savants
Steady As They Go:
- Jordan Romano tied with the guy below for the weekly lead with 3 SV. He allowed no runs, one hit, one walk, and struck out three. Shocking no one to see him climb the Player Rater.
- Carlos Estevez is shocking me somewhat, however. I had him trending down last week cuz I saw some worrying signs. Estevez got back on track, converting all three chances this week and allowing just one run while striking out four in 3 IP.
- Kenley Jansen earned 1 W and 2 SV this week across three scoreless. Had some pretty good whiff stuff going (17.5 SwStr%) and didn’t walk anyone. Gotta like that.
- Josh Hader collected 2 SV in two opportunities but didn’t make it easy on himself. Four baserunners in 3 IP, though luckily no runs to show for it.
- Raisel Iglesias was his old dazzling self: 3 IP, 1 W, 2 SV, 5 K, and zeroes everywhere else. I’m gonna cheat and point out that I know he shit the bed yesterday even though the note in the intro paragraph above says Monday’s games don’t factor in. Just don’t want you to worry your little self about it.
- Felix Bautista struck out seven in just 3 IP. Allowed one hit and no runs/walks. Unbelievable season from this man and there are no signs of this stopping any time soon. Obviously the control was there with no walks, but the whiff stuff was extra gross (21.4 SwStr%), as was his overall strike-throwing (50 CSW%). I’ve started calling him Felixxx Bautista cuz he’s NSFW.
- Camilo Doval had 2 SV in two tries, striking out a pair in two hitless/walkless/scoreless. Borderline Top 5 RP.
- Alexis Diaz also looked pretty fab this week: 4 IP, 1 W, 2 SV, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. The Reds are an incredibly fun baseball team all of a sudden, and then you’ve got this little slice of electricity to close things out. I got half a mind to start rooting for the other red team in the NL Central.
On The Rise:
- Clay Holmes has worked his way back into fantasy relevance this week, racking up 2 SV and striking out two in three scoreless. The metrics were not very sexy, won’t lie to you. I still think he’s worth a look, and it’s more than a little likely your league has forgotten about him already.
- Sammy Long is someone I didn’t think I’d ever once write about. Ever. Yet here we are. Long had 2 SV this week, and if you’ve never heard of this guy it’s cuz he pitches for the Athletics. One of those saves was a mop-up job cuz May couldn’t close the door, though I suppose there’s a league format out there where a guy like Sammy Long might be useful.
- Trevor May had 2 SV himself, even with his botched job that led to one of Long’s saves. I am straight shooketh to my core that the A’s even managed to allow for 4 SV in a week’s time.
- A.J. Puk returned from the IL and earned a save. Struck out five in 3 IP, posting 32.6 SwStr% and 45.7 CSW% along the way. That’s some nasty stuff, y’all. Think that arm ain’t dead anymore.
- Scott McGough earned 1 SV (and 1 HLD) this week, striking out three in 2.2 scoreless. It could be a kind of one-off thing to allow Castro to get things in order, but don’t forget the DBacks opened the year with McGough as their primary closer. Monitor closely!
- Kendall Graveman was kinda doo doo this week, but with Hendriks back on the IL, it’s probably Graveman’s job to lose.
- Giovanny Gallegos also benefits from injury: Helsley hit the IL yesterday with forearm issues. Gallegos was good this week, earning 2 SVHD while striking out two in 2.1 hitless/walkless/scoreless.
Trending Down:
- Jason Adam remains one of the better relievers in the game but is trending down again (in terms of saves) because ol’ Pete Fairbanks is rehabbing and should be back rather soon.
- Ryan Helsley, as noted above, is now on the IL. Stay tuned for more details on severity, but there ain’t much room for optimism with forearm issues. Sucks, cuz Helsley looked more like his ’22 self this week: 1 SV, 4 K, zeroes everywhere else (25 SwStr% and 45.8 CSW%).
- Craig Kimbrel takes a hit with the return of Jose Alvarado. I expect he’ll still get some save chances, but I guess you just never really know, do ya?
- Liam Hendriks returned to the IL with an elbow injury. Oof. Super sucks.
- Justin Lawrence‘s hold on the closing gig in Colorado may be short-lived. Was not good this week: 4 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K. Did pick up a win but also blew a save chance and earned a loss. Three of his last four outings have been…not great, Bob.
- Michael King has started to pitch pretty poorly while Clay Holmes has started to pitch rather well. So, that means King has to be trending down, I suppose. King’s line this week was blah: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 K. The only counting stats were 1 L and 2 BS.
Holds Heroes
Steady As They Go:
- Erik Swanson struck out five and didn’t allow any hits/walks/runs in three innings. Earned 2 HLD. Dude is good.
- Andres Munoz hasn’t skipped a beat at all after missing pretty much the entire season thus far. Dude posted a -1.01 FIP thanks to 5 K in just 2.1 IP. No hits/runs/walks. Metrics were juicy: 29 SwStr% and 51.6 CSW%.
- Evan Phillips was yucky this week (18.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP), but he’s gonna have to suck a whole lot more for me to stop believing in him. You shouldn’t jump ship, either!
- A.J. Minter looked kinda broken not that long ago, yet it seems he has gotten straightened back out. Actually had more SV (2) than HLD (1) this week. He allowed a solo HR and had pretty grody metrics, but the Braves are still giving this guy late inning work and he’s still racking up the SVHD.
- Bryan Abreu only got 1 HLD this week but struck out six in just 3.1 scoreless. Didn’t walk anyone, either. I still hardcore believe in this dude and think you’ll be handsomely rewarded for keeping the faith.
- Trevor Stephan looks to be the #1 setup man for Cleveland now. Karinchak got optioned to the minors despite having a nice string of outings lately. I don’t even know about that one, but it’s to Stephan’s benefit, that’s for sure. Just 1 HLD for him this week, with 2 K and 0 BB in three scoreless.
On The Rise:
- Chris Devenski had 3 HLD this week. Once upon a time, Devenski was a speculative saves type for Arizona. His career derailed, but now he’s back and kicking ass. He is excelling at keeping runs off the board and throwing strikes. His last 14 IP look like this: 3 W, 6 HLD, 1.29 ERA, 0.43 WHIP, 15 K, 17.4 SwStr%, and 33.8 CSW%. No walks in that time. I have a hard time thinking he can maintain this pace, but that’s a full month of dominance.
- Jose Soriano has come out of absolutely nowhere, matching Devenski’s 3 HLD on the week. He struck out five in four scoreless, allowing just 1 H and 1 BB.
- Colin Poche also had 3 HLD, striking out three in four innings of one-run ball. I dunno why, but it feels to me like Poche will fire off like 15 HLD in a two-week stretch and then go quiet. Maybe ride the wave?
- Jesse Chavez is like the Rich Hill of relievers. Just gets better the older he gets. Chavez had 2 HLD this week to give him 12 on the year (plus 1 SV). He pitched four scoreless and struck out five. The Braves kind of have a lot of mouths to feed in that pen, but they still have four players with 9+ SVHD. When you win a lot, you can feed all those mouths.
- Josh Sborz pwnd this week: 3.1 IP, 2 HLD, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, and 7 K. Nastyyy 33.3 SwStr% and 56.3 CSW%. Definitely looking like he’s the #1 setup option for Smith.
- Eli Morgan inherently gets a boost with the departure of Karinchak.
- Jordan Hicks also inherently gets a boost with the Helsley injury. Hicks had a stretch of sheer dominance lately but has since cooled off a little. We’ll see what becomes of him in the coming days/weeks.
Trending Down:
- Yennier Cano still is getting holds but also still is not dominating like he was. Ended up with 1.67 WHIP this week and only had 2.2 SwStr%. Got saddled with a BS as well. My recommendation is to sell while you still can. He went from allowing just 4 H in his first 21.2 IP to 16 H in his last 12.1. Not to mention the walks have started and the strikeouts have basically stopped.
- Peter Strzelecki allowed 4 H and 6 ER in just 3 IP. Also walked two, but he did strike out seven at least. Guy is so up and down lately. Does have 14 HLD on the year, though that ERA is now north of 5.00.
- Jacob Webb hasn’t been bad but he’s not getting holds opps like Devenski and Soriano have been, so I gotta knock him down a peg or two.
- James Karinchak straight up got sent away lol.
- Ben Joyce hit the IL with a hand issue. Ah, what could have been.
I specialize in bullpens and I used to do some fantasy hockey as well 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 of day.
