Nearly a month into the 2018 season, fantasy managers can get lured into a fall sense of security when forming a bullpen. Enough games have occurred to identify trends, but one bad showing can still flip a success story on its head.

Those in holds leagues must especially proceed cautiously when targeting middle relievers, a volatile and replaceable sort. Any of the five players below could descend into afterthoughts by mid-May. Heck, two of them nearly pitched their way out of the column on Wednesday. One or two, however, could join Adam Ottavino and Robert Gsellman among the list of hurlers who have garnered mainstream appeal without saves. One, in particular, could easily work his way into the ninth inning this season, which is always nice, even when primarily shopping for holds and ratio assistance.

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Tony Cingrani (LAD): 3 Percent Owned
I covered Tony Cingrani last week while breaking down a trio of Dodgers relievers, but the former starter deserves his own spotlight.

In three ensuing outings, the southpaw has struck out five of nine batters faced, upping his strikeout percentage to 50 percent. He still has not forfeited a walk. Perhaps more importantly from a fantasy lens, he entered all three of those appearances in the eighth inning of close games. The 28-year-old pocketed two holds before squandering a one-run lead because of a controversial balk call on Tuesday.

Don’t get scared away by one setback. Cingrani’s 2.85 ERA may not be the stuff of legends, but he’s also rocking a 0.64 WHIP, 0.92 FIP, and 18.5 swinging-strike percentage. Updating last week’s note, he has now tallied 45 strikeouts and six walks in 28.2 innings since joining the Dodgers late last year. Dave Roberts has certainly taken notice, making Cingrani his primary lefty in a setup tandem with Pedro Baez. He has officially emerged as a must-add in holds formats. Pretty soon his scope could expand to standard mixed-league managers looking for a significant strikeout and ratio boost.

Danny Barnes (TOR): 2 Percent Owned
In highlighting Seung Hwan Oh last week, I may have overlooked a superior option from Toronto’s bullpen. Danny Barnes has accrued four holds as a common seventh-inning option ahead of Ryan Tepera, who already should be accounted for in most holds formats with a 7 percent ownership rate. At 2 percent, there’s still time to snag Barnes.

The 28-year-old has surrendered three earned runs (two on Wednesday night) in 12 innings with a 14:3 K/BB ratio. After posting a 23.3 strikeout percentage in 2017, he currently sports a 13.1 swinging-strike percentage. Sunday marked his first outing without a punchout since March 30.

He’s succeeding the old-fashion way, mowing down opponents with a rising four-seamer that had not yielded an extra-base hit until Mookie Betts took him deep on Wednesday. Any shortcomings should cause him to drop a step down the bullpen hierarchy below Oh, but Barnes merits short-term attention while handling high-leverage roles for a legitimate playoff contender.

Joe Jimenez (DET): 3 Percent Owned
After allowing 26 earned runs in 19 innings last year, Joe Jimenez had not ceded any in 2018 until spitting out three in Wednesday’s shootout against Pittsburgh. Even his 2.53 ERA marks an encouraging sign for Detroit’s new Closer of the Future, filling the pseudo-imaginary role Bruce Rondon held for years.

The underlying numbers, however, hardly depict a burgeoning star. The 23-year-old righty has registered eight strikeouts and four walks while sporting a solid 11.8 swinging-strike rate. He has served up 16 fly balls beyond the infield to just six grounders, so investors must worry about last season’s home-run woes returning to hamper his success.

Maybe I’m not the right guy to sing his praises, but the Tigers could turn the Closer of the Future talks into a self-fulfilling prophecy if Jimenez continues to suppress runs. Shane Greene looks more like a ninth-inning stopgap for a rebuilding team, so there’s a strong chance he either loses the job or gets traded by August. There are better middle relievers to chase purely for holds, but Jimenez jumps some of them-especially in dynasty leagues-as a closer stash.

Adam Cimber (SD): 2 Percent Owned
It’s going down. I’m yelling Cimber. You better move, you better add. Then again, that’s far too strong an endorsement for a 27-year-old rookie reliever with one hold on a mediocre team. And wait, I don’t even like that song.

OK, let’s start from scratch. Adam Cimber has composited a 2.65 ERA, 22 strikeouts, and three walks in 17 innings. The San Diego newcomer also boasts a 1.11 FIP and 55.3 ground-ball percentage while throwing first-pitch strikes to 46 of 64 (71.9 percent) batters faced.

His hot hand is also already cooling, as Cimber has surrendered one run in each of his last three appearances. He has also, however, notched a strikeout in all but two of his dozen outings, both of which promptly ended with one out recorded. That’s a bit unusual considering his 6.2 career K/9 in 306.1 minor league innings, so don’t expect sustained dominance from someone whose fastball hovers well below 90. Perhaps his unorthodox delivery has simply deceived batters who have yet to develop a full read on a fresh face, so save him for NL-only leagues and truly deep mixed-league hold formats.

Tyler Olson (CLE): 0 Percent Owned
We’ve got a 0-percenter in Tyler Olson, who has as many holds (two) as runs allowed in 2018’s opening outing. Cleveland’s southpaw has since relinquished one run and two hits in 7.2 frames. He has struck out 12 of 28 batters faced this season while issuing no walks, giving him MLB’s fifth-highest K-BB percentage (42.9) behind Adam Ottavino, Josh Hader, Cingrani, and Sean Doolittle. He also has induced a 56.3 ground-ball percentage.

Olson, who did not permit a single earned run in 20 innings last season, also brandishes an impressive 17.1 swinging-strike rate and 85.7 first-pitch strike percentage to support his fast start. The 3.86 ERA and one hold have nonetheless kept him trapped in obscurity. The Indians’ rotation may actually hinder his path to fantasy relevance by being too good; no team has averaged more innings per start than their 6.5. Yet he could soon pitch in more meaningful spots after Andrew Miller left Wednesday’s game with hamstring tightness.

It’s not often a team can’t find work for a productive reliever, so expect Olson to get busier if he continues to succeed. He’s a deep-league option who may soon command mainstream notice.

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