As April reaches its end, several of MLB’s filthiest relief pitchers didn’t register as a blip on anyone’s fantasy radar last month.
Aside from one popular preseason sleeper, only the hardcore baseball followers and fantasy fiends knew much—if anything—about the following middle relievers. They were hardly spectacular in past showcases, but out-of-nowhere bullpen breakouts are nothing new. These five players all deserve a look in holds leagues.
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Wandy Peralta relinquished seven walks, seven runs and a .355/.487/.548 opposing slash line in 7.1 innings last September. His April returns are far more encouraging.
The Cincinnati Reds rookie has yielded one run over 9.1 frames, collecting 14 strikeouts to two walks. A perfect strand rate and .063 BABIP obviously won’t last, but other premature peripherals point to stud potential. As of Wednesday, he led all relievers in swinging-strike (27.0) and contact (46.6) percentage. Only three relievers have a ground-ball rate higher than his 70.6.
After focusing on his fastball and changeup last year, Peralta is leaning far more on his slider. According to Brooks Baseball, the third offering has induced whiffs 15 of 40 times.
“I know it’s 75 to 85 percent better than last year,” Peralta said of his slider, through interpreter Julio Morillo during the season’s opening week, per Cincinnati Enquirer’s Zach Buchanan. “It’s going to be so good for me.”
His prediction has so far been accurate, but a long road awaits. As well as proving himself to possible fantasy investors, he must also earn Reds manager Tom Price’s trust. Peralta only has one hold in 10 stellar appearances, so add him in deeper leagues while carefully monitoring his progress in shallower mixed leagues.
An uncertainty to make the Los Angeles Angels’ Opening Day roster, Blake Parker has quickly emerged as one of Mike Scioscia’s most trustworthy bullpen options,
The 31-year-old righty has made a team-high 11 appearances, over which he has accumulated 17 strikeouts. Sidelined Angels closer Cam Bedrosian is one of three relievers (Chris Devenski and Jose Leclerc, who was highlighted last week) with a higher WAR from the pen than Parker’s 0.5. For fantasy purposes, his 0.52 FIP and two holds should draw attention.
Bud Norris—who nearly frequented last week’s column as an intriguing converted starter—catapulted to the closer’s gig while Bedrosian recovers from a groin strain. On the bright side, this gives holds-league managers more time to scoop up Parker. After spending years struggling to carve out a regular role in the Chicago Cubs’ bullpen, he has landed on a squad severely lacking quality bullpen arms. Don’t expect top-shelf dominance all season, but Parker should keep notching late-inning appearances with an outside chance of elevating into the ninth.
As a big name with a closing pedigree, Trevor Rosenthal is likely long gone in all holds league. He should be given the 11 strikeouts and zero walks, which is even more exciting given last year’s 6.47 BB/9. Yet he doesn’t lead the St. Louis Cardinals in holds.
That honor belongs to Matt Bowman, who has already accrued six in 13 outings. After notching a 3.46 ERA during last year’s rookie campaign, he has allowed two runs in 10.2 innings with 10 strikeouts and two walks.
In pure terms of chasing holds, he’s valuable the way a low-tier closer is owned because “saves are saves.” Despite their 9-11 start, the Cardinals are a playoff contender currently committed to using him in advantageous spots. Just don’t expect his 1.69 ERA and high strikeout tallies to last.
He has succeeded with a hefty 64.3 ground-ball rate, yet a 35.7 hard-hit percentage still foreshadows possible trouble ahead. If he doesn’t improve his unpleasant 6.9 swinging-strike percentage, his K/9 rate will plummet closer to last year’s 6.92.
Invest skeptically if interested in a hot hand who can compile holds. Bowman, however, isn’t an elite talent who managers should expect to roster for the entire year.
It appears this column cursed Zach Putnam, who lost his scoreless streak and landed on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation since last week’s mention. This seems like a good time to once again remind readers of the volatility associated with relievers.
Let’s hope things go better for Chicago White Sox teammate Tommy Kahnle, who has 17 strikeouts and one walk in seven innings with an extraordinary minus-0.92 FIP. Without recording more than three outs in a single outing, he has registered at least two strikeouts all but twice. That includes Wednesday’s outing, in which he fanned Salvador Perez to record his first hold of the season.
Despite a .545 BABIP which will surely depreciate, he has yielded just one run. His holds column should also expand with Putnam sidelined. Last Sunday, Kahnle proceeded Nate Jones to work the eighth inning of a then 5-2 game before closer David Robertson handled the final frame.
He’s missing bats, and the White Sox have noticed. Fantasy managers should as well.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have spent years searching for a suitable setup man for star closer Kenley Jansen. Expected to fill the need this season, Grant Dayton instead took a detour to the disabled list with a left intercostal strain. Fantasy owners who didn’t have a vacant DL spot likely jettisoned the trendy breakout pick for the latest hot hand.
According to Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expects to activate Dayton for this weekend’s series against the Philadelphia Phillies. The 29-year-old righty—who struck out the side in a Single-A rehab appearance on Tuesday—is eligible to return on Friday.
Despite tossing 6.1 scoreless frames before going down, Dayton hardly impressed with four strikeouts and three walks. But let’s not forget last year, when he notched 39 strikeouts and six walks in 26.1 innings. A 15.0 swinging-strike rate had drafters envisioning a front-line late-inning reliever, and it’s far too early to erase those hopes.
Those in shallower leagues may prefer waiting an outing or two before determining if Dayton still warrants a roster spot. Others may not receive that luxury, as it won’t take long for the hype to resurface if he succeeds.
Note: All advanced statistics are courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.
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Andrew Gould is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive and follow him @andrewgould4.
