A mix of deadline activity and late-season tinkering yields bullpen turnover around the league.
In holds (or save-plus-holds) leagues, there’s more at stake than ninth-inning job titles. Many middle relievers changed teams by July 31, creating new opportunities for the exchanged pitchers and their replacements.
Other squads have simply found an upgrade from the farm. Two of the highlighted names have yet to notch a hold, but their performance should soon earn a larger spotlight. Keep them on the radar before they rise to standard-league relevance.
Let’s look at five middle relievers worth adding or monitoring.
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Following a brief foray as the Arizona Diamondbacks’ closer last year, Barrett spent 2017 hiding in the minors until July. A forgotten player on a resurgent squad has quickly worked his way back up the bullpen hierarchy.
In 10.1 innings since his recall, the 26-year-old righty has allowed one run and two walks while mounting 14 strikeouts. Although he has yet to record a hold, that should change if he keeps dominating.
He’s especially tough on same-handed hitters, whom he has tamed to a .252 opposing wOBA over his early career. A rise in strikeouts could stem from an added reliance on his fastball, which he is throwing at an average velocity of 96.4 mph.
Having previously served an Anthony Scaramucci-esque stint as Arizona’s closer, Barrett could dare to dream higher than earning a setup role. Yet, if being better than Fernando Rodney was all it took to usurp the ninth-inning job, Archie Bradley or Andrew Chafin would have done it months ago. Besides, the 40-year-old closer has thrown 4.1 scoreless innings since unraveling against the Los Angeles Dodgers in early July.
Look for Barrett’s middle-inning responsibilities to grow if he keeps pitching well.
Last year, a dominant debut propelled Edwin Diaz into the Seattle Mariners’ closer chair after two months. They have discovered another potent bullpen arm this year in Emilio Pagan, who has posted a 2.25 ERA in 25 innings.
The 24-year-old rookie has registered 26 strikeouts and six walks with a 14.3 swinging-strike rate. Including his 31.2 Triple-A innings-during which he produced a 2.56 ERA-the righty has relinquished one home run all year.
While working a long-relief role has shielded Pagan from notching any holds, he can make a major impact in the other categories with such plentiful work. Anyone who owns him in the deepest of leagues enjoyed a 0.68 ERA and 15 strikeouts over 13.1 July frames.
He also has the lowest ground-ball rate of any reliever with at least 20 innings accrued, so let’s not anoint him a superstar just yet. It’s still early, but Pagan possesses the lethal fastball-slider combo to flummox hitters through the final two months.
Before injuring his shoulder in June, Smith was quietly carving out a spot as one of baseball’s finest middle relievers.
He racked up a dozen strikeouts over eight scoreless outings before a three-run game sent him to the disabled list for over a month. Since returning on July 23, he has quickly picked up two holds in five outings.
Only Joaquin Benoit and Tyler Clippard have accumulated more holds in the past decade, but the 33-year-old veteran is enjoying new levels of success. Formerly a pitch-to-contact sinkerballer, he now holds an elite 34.4 strikeout percentage thanks to massive spikes in outside-swing percentage (39.9) and swinging-strike rate (12.5). These improvements show in his 2.31 FIP more than his 3.11 ERA.
The Cleveland Indians nevertheless noticed, acquiring the righty at the deadline. Moving from the last-place Toronto Blue Jays to the AL Central leaders-right before Andrew Miller landed on the disabled list-should boost his hold opportunities as Cody Allen’s primary setup man.
Anyone who discarded Smith because of his shoulder injury should look his way again. He’s certainly not on the level of Miller and Allen, but he stymies righties and has retooled himself into a strikeout artist.
Along with Smith’s departure, Toronto relievers Ryan Tepera and Danny Barnes faded in July. Dominic Leone is suddenly one of their sturdiest bridges to closer Roberto Osuna.
Tasked with facing Jose Abreu in the eighth inning Thursday, Leone picked up his third hold and dropped his ERA to 2.59. Along with allowing one run since June 21, he has submitted 52 strikeouts over 48.2 frames this season.
He looks much better than last year when he served up a 6.33 ERA and .381 opposing batting average. The righty is inducing more whiffs with a 14.0 swinging-strike rate and generating easier outs, as displayed by his 12.1 infield-fly rate. That’s a safe way to prevent the baseball gods from inflicting him with another .432 BABIP.
Leone might not amount to more than a hot hand, but he’s one the Blue Jays will ride with Smith gone and their other noteworthy options struggling. Give him a look in deeper formats, as he could blossom into their top holds option down the stretch, or at least in August.
The Miami Marlins’ bullpen is a mess. In addition to trading David Phelps and A.J. Ramos, they lost Kyle Barraclough and Nick Wittgren to injuries. Jarlin Garcia didn’t help his cause with a lackluster July, leaving Brad Ziegler as the closer for those desperate for any save they can scoop off the waiver wire.
Who’s going to pitch before him? Junichi Tazawa will likely emerge as the top holds compiler, but nobody should add a reliever with a 5.12 ERA and 6.8 K-BB percentage. Drew Steckenrider, however, is a lottery ticket worth purchasing in deep leagues.
After posting a 1.63 ERA and 11.88 K/9 in Triple-A, the 26-year-old righty has procured 16 punchouts in his first 11.1 major league innings. Brandishing a .455 BABIP despite a 51.5 ground-ball rate, he needs more help from Miami’s infield to improve a 3.18 ERA.
Formerly a starter, the 6’5″ rookie fires a mid-to-upper 90s heater and a hard slider. The Marlins’ No. 10 prospect, as rated by MLB.com, flaunts promising late-inning upside that may surface sooner than anticipated because of their depleted bullpen.
Note: All advanced stats, updated as of Wednesday night, are courtesy of FanGraphs.
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Andrew Gould is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive and follow him @andrewgould4.
