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Another week of baseball means another week of bullpen drama. Nothing like the Mets/Cardinals drama though. We're staying in the bullpens here, not jumping over the fence. There were plenty of saves, even more holds, and some blown saves this week. A few surprises, and some strong throwing arms getting healthy made some bullpens shift around a bit.
We're in Week 4 already, which means most fantasy managers are starting to get an idea of what they might need to change about their roster in order to compete this season. Waiver wire pickups, FAAB bids, and trades are starting in earnest and we're here to help you with your bullpens to make sure your relievers are the best in your league!
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Houston Astros - Bullpen and Closers News
Astros closer Ryan Pressley is on the injured list with a knee injury. While he's been out, the Astros simply hadn't had a save situation until this Wednesday night. All along, most folks assumed Hector Neris would take Pressly's place, but in the first possible save opportunity, it was Ryne Stanek on the mound instead. He picked up the save and touched 100 on the radar gun. After the game manager Dusty Baker noted that Pressly was "not quite ready" yet and mentioned the closing experience of Neris and Rafael Montero. In the very next game, another save chance came up, and this time it was Montero on the mound. He allowed a solo homer, but earned the save anyway. Looks like it'll be Stanek and Montero until Pressly returns.
Risers: Ryne Stanek, Rafael Montero
Fallers: Hector Neris
Miami Marlins - Bullpen and Closers News
It looks like the Marlins really want to make this Anthony Bender thing happen, and they're going to keep giving him the ball in save situations despite his rough start to the season. He was unavailable for a few days while dealing with a hip injury, so the Marlins saw Tanner Scott and Louis Head each earn one save. Bender has four though, and has been on the mound for every save opportunity when healthy. Dylan Floro is on his way back from a shoulder injury and should pitch high-leverage innings right away. If Bender pitches well, he may keep the job, but Floro won't be too far behind. Scott looked like he might be replacing Bender, but it turned out to be a temporary replacement just because of Bender's hip. Cole Sulser earned a four-out save on Thursday, but that was after Bender had pitched two games in a row and wasn't available for a third.
Risers: Anthony Bender
Fallers: Tanner Scott
Cincinnati Reds - Bullpen and Closers News
Lucas Sims worked his way back from the injured list and immediately jumped into the closer's role for the Reds. That allows us to cross off one of the harder to figure out committees, so that's a plus. Sims has nice strikeout upside and will be the clear favorite for saves in Cincinnati. The issue is that in order for Sims to get a save, the Reds will have to win some games. It doesn't look like that will happen all that often this season, so any closer in a Reds uniform is going to have his upside severely limited. You can slow play it though, as Sims should still help ratios and will pick up saves here and there, and then he might get traded at the deadline and go pitch for a team that wins some baseball games. It's a little risky, but there are worse options out there. Art Warren and Tony Santillan will slide back into a more traditional setup role ahead of Sims.
Risers: Lucas Sims
Fallers: Art Warren, Tony Santillan
Seattle Mariners - Bullpen and Closers News
Paul Sewald is back from the COVID IL and manager Scott Servais immediately said that Sewald would return to his high-leverage role in the bullpen. The Seattle bullpen is an all out committee at this point, with three different pitchers (Diego Castillo, Andres Munoz, and Drew Steckenrider) each having one save, and seven different pitchers recording holds, but none with more than two. Sewald, Castillo, Munoz, and Steckenrider all seem equally likely to pitch the ninth inning on any given day, making figuring out the Mariners bullpen in standard leagues a complete nightmare. In holds leagues, however, guys like Sewald, Castillo, and Munoz have excellent strikeout upside and will usually be in hold or save situations. They'll all have value in leagues where holds count, and even more in leagues where K/9 or K% are scoring categories.
Risers: Chaos, Elmo fire gifs
Fallers: Any Mariners reliever in standard formats
Texas Rangers - Bullpen and Closers News
Rangers manager Chris Woodward finally did it: he said the word "closer" and he said it about Joe Barlow. That knocks another committee off the chart, which is always helpful for those chasing saves in fantasy leagues. Barlow should be a solid fantasy reliever with nice strikeout upside, although the Rangers might not win a ton of games this year, limiting his save opportunities. Matt Bush ended up earning a save despite Woodward's closer declaration, but that was based more on Barlow's recent workload as he needed a day off. Barlow is definitely worth rostering in most formats now that he's taken the job.
Risers: Joe Barlow
Fallers: Matt Bush, Brett Martin
Short Relief - Other Bullpen News
-Blue Jays setup man Adam Cimber currently leads all of baseball in wins, with 4. Seems sustainable.
-The Red Sox bullpen is still a total mess, but they seem to be insisting that they want Matt Barnes to eventually make his way into the closer's role.
-Aroldis Chapman is still the closer for the Yankees, but they've shuffled a few things ahead of him. With Jonathan Loaisiga struggling, Clay Holmes has taken over the key setup/8th inning role. He's worth an add in holds leagues.
-With Liam Hendriks dealing with some back spasms, Kendall Graveman should continue to work as the temporary closer for the White Sox.
-Alex Colome has been seeing more save chances in Colorado, but it appears the job still belongs to Daniel Bard. Whenever Bard is unavailable though, it'll be Colome on the mound, and he's clearly the next guy up if Bard gets hurt.
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