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Fantasy Baseball Middle Reliever Targets: Week 7

Fantasy Baseball Middle Reliever Targets: Week 7

Bullpens are beginning to take form, giving fantasy managers a clearer idea of who they can trust to compile holds. Then again, most premier setup men are already owned in leagues straying beyond saves.

Anyone seeking a middle reliever off the waiver wire should no longer have access to studs. They can still, however, find some hurlers who have either recently settled into a late-inning role or are beckoning for a brighter spotlight. The following four players all have a consensus ownership percentage no higher than 1 percent, so chances are they’re still available to help in holds formats. While they’re not elite choices, they’re all pitching well with room for personal or role growth.

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Tommy Hunter (PHI): 1 Percent Owned
Unless you’re playing in a 20-team NL-only holds league, nobody bothered to stash Tommy Hunter through the opening month. Even after recording a 2.61 ERA, 28.1 strikeout percentage and 25 holds for the Rays last year, he’s still just a middle reliever.

Still owned in 1 percent of leagues, the 31-year-old hasn’t received much attention since returning from a hamstring injury in late April. Having allowed seven hits and three runs in seven innings, the former starter has not done much to command mainstream attention. He has also, however, recorded four holds in eight outings with eight strikeouts and a 75.0 ground-ball rate. Every time he pitched in the eighth frame. That could change when Pat Neshek makes his 2018 debut, but that’s likely at least another week away. For now, Hunter has a clearer path to high-leverage roles with Adam Morgan sidelined due to a strained back.

For a brief moment, it appeared Phillies manager Gabe Kapler was presenting the free-agent signing a save opportunity on Tuesday night. Hunter instead opened the ninth by striking out Brandon Belt before closer Hector Neris shut the door, retiring Evan Longoria and Brandon Crawford. Considering Neris has ceded nine walks in 13.2 innings, the change would not have shocked anyone following Sunday’s blown save. While the Phillies possess some talented young relievers in Victor Arano and Edubray Ramos, Hunter’s newly minted $9 million salary likely makes him the probable next-man-up unless Neshek returns without missing a beat.

Ryan Pressly (MIN): 1 Percent Owned
As a 29-year-old who recorded a 4.70 ERA last season, Ryan Pressly has understandably garnered little attention in Minnesota’s bullpen. Anybody speculating on someone usurping Fernando Rodney in Minnesota targeted Addison Reed or Trevor Hildenberger, but this pick is made away from the closer carousel. When it comes to a ninth-inning role, Rodney is the equivalent of a Twinkie in an apocalypse. He’s never going away. Besides, Reed is the clear second in command anyway.

Yet Hildenberger has accrued a 3.52 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 15 middling innings, so Pressly could at least jump to third in the pecking order. The righty has relinquished two earned runs (and another unearned) in 19.2 frames while accumulating 26 strikeouts and a 16.7 swinging-strike percentage. Opponents have mustered a mediocre 63.1 contact rate while chasing 37.8 percent of his pitches outside the strike zone.

He’s throwing his slider approximately one-quarter of the time. Perhaps he should even bolster that rate, as the pitch has yielded just one hit and a dozen strikeouts. Pressly has not sustained such dominance during an average career, but he currently resembles a late-inning player.

Michael Feliz (PIT): 1 Percent Owned
Last week, I highlighted Richard Rodriguez and Kyle Crick as two relievers capable of ascending Pittsburgh’s bullpen hierarchy. While the former has registered a dominant 0.08 FIP, he has still not tallied a hold as a result of handling longer mop-up duties. Crick, meanwhile, has relinquished three walks and runs apiece in a pair on May outings.

Yet the 21-16 Pirates have exceeded expectations, and a young reliever acquired in a big offseason trade has emerged as a significant late-inning asset. It just isn’t Crick. Michael Feliz, sent from the Astros in the Gerrit Cole deal, has cemented a team-high six holds. He has posted a 3.00 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 15 frames. Since surrendering four runs without attaining an out in 2017’s inaugural outing, the 24-year-old has yielded just one run in 16 appearances.

Yet those blow-up outings are nothing new for Feliz, who has allowed four or more runs eight times in his career. That’s how someone with 192 strikeouts, 54 walks, and a 2.87 SIERA gets saddled with a 4.90 ERA. Like Felipe Vazquez, who struggled with inconsistency before getting traded to Pittsburgh, a dominant slider could lead Feliz to a closing assignment one day. Or maybe his ERA jumps two runs over the next two weeks. He’s the ultimate tease, so proceed with caution despite the tantalizing upside.

James Pazos (SEA): 0 Percent Owned
There’s an excelling Mariners pitcher that deserves more recognition. I’m talking, of course, about James Pa … Pazos. OK, maybe Paxton carries a tad more fantasy clout, but Seattle’s other James Pa has not allowed a run or walk since April 7. He now boasts a 1.46 ERA and 0.81 WHIP with 14 strikeouts and one walk, and the strong start has positioned him to pocket holds in three of his past five outings.

Edwin Diaz has already notched 13 saves with an overpowering 42.5 strikeout percentage, but Seattle’s middle innings are far murkier. Although Juan Nicasio’s 12 holds leads the AL, his ERA ballooned to 6.00 after getting lit up for four runs on Wednesday night. Nick Vincent’s seven holds come with a 4.61 ERA. Dan Altavilla has amassed four holds, but nine walks. Pazos thus at least represents the best seventh-inning option.

This could also merely be a case of riding the hot hand. He left last May sporting a 1.93 ERA, only to allow 13 earned runs in June and July. Then he dominated (10 IP, 1 ER, 11 K) in August. In other words, he’s a reliever. Not a must-own one, but nevertheless someone who will at least stockpile strikeouts on a playoff contender. With a few more strong outings, Pazos may join the top-three names in the not-so-prestigious 1 Percent Club.

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Andrew Gould is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive and follow him @andrewgould4.

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