The early part of this shortened season has seen a tight restriction placed on the pitch counts of starting pitchers. For fantasy, this gives us a chance to bolster our pitching staff with relievers who can help with ratios and possibly even give us some cheap wins and saves. Here is this week’s Bullpen Bulletin.
Doctor, Doctor
Pirates Bullpen
Nick Burdi went on the 45-Day DL with an undisclosed elbow injury and Keone Kela continues to work his way back from COVID-19. The Pirates bullpen is a mess as it allowed a combined 16 runs on 15 hits and five walks in 7 innings against Detroit on Friday. Even when Kela eventually makes his way back, I don’t believe he is worth a roster spot. As for Burdi, his promising start to the season gets cut short by injuries once again.It is unclear as to what the issue is at this time but for a guy coming off of thoracic outlet syndrome surgery and Tommy John, this clearly isn’t a good sign. It’s an unfortunate situation as he was flashing some of the best stuff of any pitcher in the organization. His fastball velocity was up over 98 and he had recorded the first save of his career so here is hoping he can bounce back in 2021.
Jose Leclerc - Texas
Leclerc landed on the 45-Day DL with a Grade 2 strain of the teres major in his right shoulder - Ironically, it is the same injury Corey Kluber suffered a few days prior. The Rangers initially turned to Nick Goody to close but have since used Rafael Montero who looks like he has the job for now. He might be the safest add but the intriguing one is Johnathan Hernandez. He checked in at #22 on our Rangers' Top-30 list back in the spring and he might have the best stuff of anyone in their bullpen. He lacks experience at the big-league level but with a sinking fastball that touches 98 and an above-average slider and changeup to pair with it, Hernandez makes for an intriguing stash in deeper leagues.
My Guys
Josh Staumont - Kansas City
Staumont didn’t land in our Royals top-30 this year but he might have the best stuff of anyone on Kansas City’s staff. Is that bold? I’m not so sure it is. Armed with a heavy four seamer that tops out at 101, he also has a rainbow curveball that sits in the low 80’s. Although he will rely strictly on two pitches to get by and he has battled control issues, Staumont already has 11 strikeouts in just 5.1 innings this year and is sporting a .103 xBA. How mowed through the heart of the Cubs order on 13 pitches Monday night, with a Kyle Schwarber foul ball being the only hitter to make contact. He will make his top-100 debut in the reliever ranks this week. Here he is making Javier Baez look silly:
Randy Dobnak - Minnesota
SPARP alert! The knock on Dobnak is that he doesn’t get enough strikeouts but he has been nothing short of spectacular so far. He won’t wow you with velocity but Dobnak uses an effective four-pitch mix that helps him limit hard contact and he has a 68.2% ground ball rate. He is a ratios monster (0.87 WHIP and 0.60 ERA) who pitches for a team that will give him plenty of run support. I know we don’t want to chase wins but if you can deal with the low strikeout upside, Dobnak brings a lot to the table. He is on the verge of being 90% owned so now is the time to scoop him up.
Hold Me Closer
Kirby Yates - San Diego
Drew Pomeranz got the Padres first save of the season, which, at the time, didn’t seem too newsworthy. Then Yates looked awful in back-to-back 28-pitch fiascos against the Diamondbacks and Rockies. He has since bounced back with two saves (although he did give up a home run against the Dodgers) and relatively clean outings. The good news is that his velocity looks fine and there is nothing to suggest an injury is affecting him. This might be a scenario where Yates is working himself into form but, in a shortened season, it’s a situation worth monitoring for one of the game's elite closers.
Hansel Robles - Los Angeles Angels
Robles lost his job as closer with the Angels after giving up nine runs in four innings and blowing a save against the Astros. The Angels bullpen has struggled early on and they are currently going with a closer by committee. Ty Buttrey has been called on to close to games out since Robles was demoted but he has had some rocky outings and he doesn’t have the the stuff to put away hitters. Right now this is a situation to avoid although Robles will be given some low leverage opportunities to try and work himself back into form.
Diamonds In The Rough
Jalen Beeks - Tampa Bay (7% Owned)
Beeks got roughed up last night but he had been lights out prior to that. He already has 18 strikeouts and owns a 46% strikeout rate . Beeks is using his changeup almost 47% of the time, but it has been particularly effective against right-handed hitters which is what allows Beeks to be so effective in any situation. If you are looking for a reliever who can give you innings and strikeouts, Beeks fits the bill.
Tyler Duffey - Minnesota (4% Owned)
After moving to bullpen in 2017, Duffey has quietly been one of the best relievers in baseball over the past two seasons. Duffey has a whopping 63% strikeout rate, facing 16 hitters and striking out 10 of them. If you think that is flukey because of sample size, he struck out 34.4% of hitters he faced last year which was top-20 among all relievers. Move past the fact he won’t get any save chances because Duffey is a ratio stabilizer (0.20 WHIP) who has yet to give up a run. He isn’t a must add, but you could do worse.
Jordan Romano - Toronto (3% Owned)
I have been keeping an eye on Jordan Romano. It doesn’t appear the Blue Jays are ready to let him close games yet but he is a deep dynasty and speculative saves target. The big righty has yet to give up a hit or run in six innings to go along with 8 strikeouts. He’s throwing with increased velocity this year as his fastball is averaging 96.4 MPH, up from 94.6 MPH in 2019. His xWOBA is a paltry .205 and he has a 70% groundball rate thanks to a slider that can be a dominant put away pitch:
I freshened up my top-100 relievers with Brandon Woodruff sitting at the top spot. You will see I have included SPARP’s for the sake of points leagues but I will be tweaking this list weekly. Right now it is hard to get much information on most team’s minor leaguers so I have left off anyone that hasn’t debuted yet.
Note: You’ll see some obvious starters here, but that just means in leagues with SP and RP spots, they’re that much more valuable because they entered the year with that eligiblity.