What’s poppin’, Razzpimples?
Bullpen recap time!
Don’t forget to keep that Razzball Bullpen Chart bookmarked. It’s been updated with the latest, and I’m usually quick to get it touched up once any type of news drops. And if you’re not a subscriber, I do highly, highly, highly recommend it. The tools are — how do you say? — bussin’. If’n you’re of the mind to consider it, you can find all the info here. I’m partial to the Relievonator Game Log Tool. Truly a godsend for my nerdy backside.
Welp. Let’s do it to it, pardner.
Note: All stats and Player Rater values are accurate through Monday’s games.
Player Rater Top 20 (5×5 Standard)
Player Rater Top 20 (6×6 w/ Holds)
2025 Leaders
Weekly Leaders
Weekly Losers
Weekly Notes:
Arizona Diamondbacks:
Wellllllll Justin Martinez is injured again. MRI needed for elbow. I’m expecting bad news, pardners. Shelby Miller seems like the only bull worth wranglin’ for these guys anymore. Ryan Thompson if you’re real desperate in a deeper format.
Athletics of Sacramento?:
Grant Holman and T.J. McFarland each had 2 HLD. Do with that info as you will; won’t catch me rostering either one. Mason Miller 1 SV and 3 K.
Atlanta Braves:
Raisel Iglesias hasn’t been fully demoted, but he’s been labeled as, in more less words, “not the only guy who’s gonna get saves for now.” Woof. Another week of only negative decisions from Braves RP: Pierce Johnson 2 L, 1 BS; Iglesias 1 L, 1 BS. Daysbel Hernandez also landed on the IL. Ummmm I do still like Dylan Lee a lot at least.
Baltimore Orioles:
Felix Bautista 2 SV, 4 K. Startin’ to look his old self. Andrew Kittredge making noise as a holds source, which ain’t surprising after his 2024 resurrection season with St. Louis. Boy howdy we could use that guy back. Anywho, he’s looking healthy and effective. And with the way Gregory Soto is gobbling holds, you can safely drop Yennier Cano.
Boston Red Sox:
Aroldis Chapman 2 SV, 5 K. Totally dominant this week in terms of metrics. Probably means he’s in for a stinker of a week sooner or later. Greg Weissert 2 HLD, 4 K. Garrett Whitlock 1 HLD, 3 K, and pretty nice metrics.
Chicago Cubs:
Daniel Palencia blew his only save chance. Lame. Only hold went to Caleb Thielbar.
Chicago White Sox:
Cam Booser 2 HLD, 3 K. Whoever Dan Altavilla is got the only SV.
Cincinnati Reds:
I’m stupidly always excited when someone gets the trifecta: 1 W, 1 SV, 1 HLD. Tony Santillan did, striking out 3. Emilio Pagan had 2 SV and 5 K. Nasty stuff was on display.
Cleveland Guardians:
Emmanuel Clase 1 SV, 4 K. Tim Herrin had the only hold. Cade Smith earned a win and struck out 3.
Colorado Rockies:
Tyler Kinley and Seth Halvorsen each had 1 SV. Zachary Agnos picked up a loss. Jake Bird 2 HLD, 3 K. Still being one of the most quiet badass relievers of 2025.
Detroit Tigers:
Will Vest 1 W, 1 SV, 4 K. Tommy Kahnle 1 SV. Annoyingly not Vest every time, but it’s him most of the time. I’m out on every other Tigers RP.
Houston Astros:
Josh Hader 1 W, 2 SV, 6 K. That son of a gun is in peak form. Bryan Abreu 2 HLD, 4 K. Bryan King 1 HLD, 3 K. He only has 3 HLD over the last month…his days in the spotlight seem to be fadin’ fast. If you’ve been holding, I’d look for a more reliable upgrade.
Kansas City Royals:
Carlos Estevez 3 SV, 4 K. John Schreiber 3 HLD…if you want a Royals holds guy, he’s the one until the sexier options get healthy.
Los Angeles Angels:
Kenley Jansen 2 SV, 2 K. Ryan Zeferjahn 3 HLD, 0 K. Guy is lauded for his strikeout stuff but pitched better without one…dude has been so up and down lately, but the holds are coming at a steady pace. Reid Detmers is worth at least thinking about: 1 SV, 2 HLD, 6 K this week, along with 20.4 SwStr% and 42.9 CSW%. Another week like this and I might have to recommend the ding dang feller.
Los Angeles Dodgers:
Tanner Scott 1 W, 2 SV, 5 K. How do you like 35.7 K-BB% (all K%, btw), 21.3 SwStr%, and 34.4 CSW%? I like ’em a lot. Been hollerin’ that y’all need to hold him, so I hope you have. Kirby Yates 1 HLD, 2 K. Michael Kopech allowed a baserunner in his first inning of 2025, also collecting a strikeout. Figure Scott and Yates take charge, with Kopech and Alex Vesia remaining decent options in deeper formats ROS.
Miami Marlins:
No SVHD from Miami this week. Calvin Faucher and Ronny Henriquez are the best bets for high leverage, with the latter’s quality overshadowing the former’s.
Milwaukee Brewers:
Trevor Megill earned a win and also a blown save, striking out zero. Ugly, ugly week all around (except for that 100.3 FBv).
Minnesota Twins:
Jhoan Duran 1 SV, 4 K. Griffin Jax 2 HLD, 1 BS, 1 L, 4 K. I know, I know, he up and lost one again. Still don’t care. The dude’s stuff is bananas good: 30 SwStr% this week! Thirty! Hold him with every ounce of confidence you can muster. Cole Sands and Louis Varland each had 2 HLD.
New York Mets:
Edwin Diaz 1 SV, 1 K. Wasn’t need much but did well when asked. Reed Garrett 1 HLD, 1 BS, 1 L, 3 K. Jose Castillo 1 HLD, 3 K. He’s one to keep close tabs on. Over themanny rodri last two weeks, he’s earned 3 HLD without allowing an earned run, striking out 5.
New York Yankees:
Devin Williams 2 SV, 2 K. They weren’t clean, but at least he converted both chances. Looks like the guy while Weaver is on the mend. Mark Leiter Jr. led the Yanks with 2 HLD. Fernando Cruz 1 HLD, 7 K, and just a hair under 28% swinging strike rate. Not the worst trio in the world.
Philadelphia Phillies:
Jordan Romano blew up again: 2 L, 7.71 ERA, 2.14 WHIP. Least there’s a scrap of silver lining: his FIP was only 1.36. Matt Strahm earned a blown save, striking out 3. Orion Kerkering pitched well but earned no decisions, striking out 5.
Pittsburgh Pirates:
David Bednar 1 W, 2 SV, 6 K. Looked vintage this week, posting a negative FIP and SIERA. That means your shiz was real nasty. Dennis Santana 1 HLD, 1 K.
San Diego Padres:
Robert Suarez 2 SV. Leads the league with 21 of those babies. Jeremiah Estrada 1 SV, 1 HLD, 1 BS. Jason Adam 1 HLD, 1 BS, 1 L. I am very, very high on all three. Speaking of not the worst trio in the world? This might be the best.
Seattle Mariners:
Andres Munoz 1 SV, 3 K. Bounced back from a not-so-great Week 10. Matt Brash 1 HLD, 2 K. More like Matt Badash amirite?
San Francisco Giants:
Camilo Doval 2 SV, 1 BS, 8 K. Whew doggy you gotta love 8 K from a reliever on a given week. Ryan Walker and Tyler Rogers each had 2 HLD. Rogers also scored a win, while Walker looked very bad…again. Of note, Randy Rodriguez is finally starting to get high-leverage looks, tallying 1 SV and 2 HLD this week, striking out 5. I’ve definitely noticed that he’s been one of the very best throwers of baseballs in 2025, I just don’t give him a ton of love because he hasn’t been collecting any SVHD hardly at all. It’s so wildly clear to me (and many others) that Walker and Rodriguez need a permanent role reversal.
St. Louis Cardinals:
This hurts me, y’all. I gotta talk about how crappy Ryan Helsley has been. So much so that he headlines, cuz he’s got me Cryin’ Helsley instead. My lord and savior blew three saves in a row this week. Weirdly, the metrics looked really good, and velocity ticked back up. It just came to light that he’s been dealing with a toe injury since Spring that meant he had to wear an insert in his cleat. This threw off his delivery, which messed with his velo and command. Apparently, allegedly, supposedly, most likely, he’s over that and feeling great again. Real good time to buy low on Mr. Helsley.
Tampa Bay Rays:
Pete Fairbanks 2 SV, 1 BS, 2 K. Edwin Uceta badass week alert!! Earned a win and 3 HLD, striking out 7 and pumping out some delcious 2024-Uceta-esque metrics. Scoop him while the gettin’s good, y’all. Worst case is you just drop him again for more wire fodder, but best case you potentially get one of the better RP fantasy can offer in the second half. Manuel Rodriguez also had 3 HLD, striking out 4. Mason Montgomery had 3 2 HLD and struck out 6. Consistency is the only thing keeping him from otherworldly eliteness.
Texas Rangers:
Robert Garcia 1 SV, 1 BS, 1 L. Yuck, this guy is sucky. Shawn Armstrong and Hoby Milner had 2 HLD each. Armstrong with a negative FIP and SIERA, too. Chris Martin is back and seems to be getting some careful treatment for now, only appearing once in low leverage.
Toronto Blue Jays:
Jeff Hoffman 1 W, 3 SV, 5 K. Metrics were great. Brendon Little 2 HLD, 7 K. Noice!
Washington Nationals:
Kyle Finnegan 2 SV, 2 K. Bradley Lord had 2 HLD…who tf is Bradley Lord?
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 ELL teacher (formerly a regular 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.
Detmers. I keep looking at him with his sp eligibility. Why do I have a feeling that once I add him, his evil twin will emerge and will punish me severely? I probably should be punished for not learning my lesson. The fact that I am even thinking about it is bad.
Worth an add for now but Washington seems to want him back in the rotation eventually.
S/ H as separate categories
Lost Alvarado. Use 3RP and a P. SPs are horrific so I go with 4 RP.
Megill, Jax, Cade and Bednar.
Would you roster Randy Rod over any of those aforementioned? Erceg just got activated too
hmmmmmm. Cade kinda having a down month with holds totals but that could change in a hurry. He’s been great lately. Probably just hold tight.
I am fan of hoffman i got him in 3 leagues. The HR are an issue. 8 in 30 ip. 27% hr/fb ratio. I keep rolling with him. He seems like he should be doing better and i expect him to, but he keeps giving up HR.
Little also seems to be getting by lately with a higher WHIP
Indeed. I’m keeping the faith.