I’ve previously discussed starting pitchers who have relief pitcher eligibility and you can read that piece here. On the flip side, there are relievers who carry starting pitcher eligibility. In leagues that distinguish between starting pitcher and relief pitcher spots, versatility created by using a reliever in a starter spot can be valuable. For instance, in one of my head-to-head home leagues in which we use holds and saves as separate categories and have four starting pitcher spots, two reliever spots, and two pitcher spots (spots that can be used on either starters or relievers), I’ve frequently jammed SP-eligible relievers in starting pitcher spots.
By rostering SP-eligible relievers, I can carry more relievers than my leaguemates and gain an edge in winning both saves and holds. Additionally, I can use a non-high leverage SP-eligible reliever who helps in ratios without undercutting my odds at winning holds or saves. This is just one example of a strategic move that can be deployed using SP-eligible relievers.
Not included below is one of my favorite SP-eligible relievers who I already discussed this offseason, Drew Pomeranz. The 31-year-old lefty inked a deal with the Padres this offseason and you can read my glowing analysis about his outlook this year here. In leagues that use saves and holds as individual categories or as a combined stat, Pomeranz is actually my favorite RP-eligible reliever. Don’t forget about him during drafts. The following five RP-eligible relievers should be on gamers’ radars depending on league settings, with the first reliever featured below universally seen as the favorite to close for his team in 2020.
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Jose Leclerc (TEX): 185.0 ADP
Leclerc isn’t locked into the closer role, but as quotes from general manager Jon Daniels and manager Chris Woodward suggest in Evan Grant’s piece for Dallas News, Leclerc is tentatively the favorite and the preferred option to close. He opened last year as the team’s closer only to lose the job for a significant chunk of the season and regain the role by season’s end. Ultimately, he led the team in saves with 14.
Leclerc was inconsistent last year and his biggest issue was below-average control that resulted in a 13.0 BB%. He was able to work around his poor control to some extent by fanning a boatload of batters and amassing a 33.4 K%. Both his strikeout and walk rates went in the wrong direction after a fantastic 2018 in which he walked 11.2% of the batters he faced and struck out an eye-popping 38.1% of them. His slip in strikeouts accompanied a nosedive from a 17.1 SwStr% in 2018 to 13.5% last year.
Leclerc’s 1.56 ERA in 2018 was never a realistic expectation to be repeated last year, but his 4.33 ERA was a disappointment nonetheless. In 187.0 innings pitched in the majors since debuting with a dozen relief appearances in 2016, Leclerc owns a 3.18 ERA (3.30 FIP and 3.79 SIERA), 1.21 WHIP, 14.9 BB%, 33.0 K%, and 15.0 SwStr%. He’s a mid to low-tier closer whose poor control could cost him the job, but whose strikeout ability is tantalizing. He could also be worth nudging above some other similarly valuable closers thanks to his SP eligibility depending on your league settings.
Shaun Anderson (SF): 408.7 ADP
San Francisco’s bullpen is thoroughly underwhelming and after coughing up a rotation gig last year, Anderson flashed some potential in the bullpen to close the year and earned a pair of saves. The 25-year-old pitcher has been developed as a starter by the Giants, but the third-round pick in the 2016 MLB Amateur Draft was a reliever in college and saved 13 games with a 0.97 ERA in 36 relief appearances, totaling 46.1 innings for the Florida Gators in 2016, per Baseball-Reference. In 12 relief appearances totaling 13.1 innings last year, Anderson had an ugly 6.08 ERA. The righty’s 3.51 FIP and 4.57 SIERA were considerably better, if nothing special. Anderson’s 11.9 BB% in relief isn’t good, but his 25.4 K% and 13.4 SwStr% were solid and strong, respectively. He’s a dark horse for saves this year, and if he doesn’t close, he has holds potential.
Diego Castillo (TB): 457.0 ADP
Castillo was a versatile pitcher for the Rays last year. He saved eight games, recorded 17 holds, and opened six games. In all, he pitched 68.2 innings to the tune of a 3.41 ERA (3.72 FIP and 3.58 SIERA), 1.24 WHIP, 9.0 BB%, 27.9 K%, and a 13.5 SwStr%. He has a bat-missing power arsenal featuring an upper-90s four-seamer and sinker that both maxed out at triple digits last season, per FanGraphs, and a slider that coaxed a 19.3 SwStr%. He also does a great job of keeping the ball on the ground with a 56.9 GB%. Tampa Bay’s deeper rotation this year should lead to more traditional usage from Castillo as a late-inning option, though, he could still open on occasion for lefty Ryan Yarbrough.
Cam Bedrosian (LAA): 822.0 ADP
Bedrosian’s 2019 season came to an early end at the tail end of August due to right forearm inflammation. The issue doesn’t appear to be serious at all, however, as the Angels avoided arbitration with him by coming to an agreement on a $2.8 million deal, and Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reported back in early January that Bedrosian’s “expected to be fully healthy heading into the 2020 season.”
Bedrosian spun a 3.23 ERA (3.83 FIP and 3.98 SIERA), 1.14 WHIP, 8.5 BB%, 24.8 K%, and 12.0 SwStr% in 59 appearances totaling 61.1 innings. He opened seven games, saved one, and totaled 15 holds. The Angels have added depth to their rotation, so like the aforementioned Castillo, Bedrosian isn’t likely to open as often — if at all — this year.
Tyler Clippard (MIN): Undrafted
Clippard will pitch for his seventh team since 2016 after agreeing to a one-year deal with the Twins this offseason. The well-traveled soon-to-be 35-year-old reliever is coming off of spinning a sub-3.00 ERA in 62.0 innings for the Indians last year. It’s the first time he’s totaled a sub-3.00 ERA since 2015. Having said that, since moving to the bullpen full time back in 2009, Clippard has only one season with an ERA over 4.00. He has a career 3.14 ERA in 816.0 innings.
Clippard punched out 26.6% of the batters he faced last year while walking only 6.2% of them. He had some good fortune with just a .174 batting average and .204 BABIP again, and the result was a tiny 0.85 WHIP. Before dismissing Clippard as a batted-ball luck box, make note of his career .194 average and .239 BABIP against. He avoids hard contact and he generates a bunch of pop-ups with a 14.1 IFFB% last year and 15.9 IFFB% in his career. Clippard appears to be a blind spot for projection models and ERA estimators, probably due to his favorable batted ball data. Taylor Rogers is firmly in the closer’s seat with Trevor May entrenched as his primary setup guy. Clippard could be a valuable bridge guy to that one-two punch in the seventh inning or earlier high-leverage situations.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
