Rest-of-Season Relief Pitcher Rankings (Midseason Update)

The trade deadline approaches and bullpen speculation is running rampant, with the battle for saves likely deciding which spot on the podium you'll stand on. We here at RotoBaller want to give you the inside track for a successful second half with a Rest-of-Season update of our mixed rankings analysis. RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, Bill Dubiel and Scott Engel want you to crush the competition and know that rankings can't end on draft day. Check out our fantasy baseball rankings dashboard for the latest and greatest ranks at any time.

Only three RP-eligible players are within the top-50 on Yahoo's 5x5 standard scoring system, but then things really open up. Of course, the relief pool goes well beyond closers that accrue saves. I realize innings and roster spots are precious, but Scott Oberg and Ryan Pressly are top-100 players too. Keep an open mind and let's talk bullpens.

Without any more delay, let's break down the 2019 relief pitcher rest-of-season rankings for July.

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• Fantasy baseball closer depth charts

Relief Pitcher Tiered Ranks - 5x5 Mixed Leagues (July)

In case you missed it, our very own "Big Pick Nick" Mariano was recently named the #1 overall most accurate industry expert ranker for the 2018 season. You can see his secret sauce below! Additionally, industry legend Scott Engel recently joined the RotoBaller team and provides his insights as well. Scott is an FSWA Hall Of Famer and award winner.

Rankings Analysis - Top Tiers

Tier One

Yates, Chapman, Hader, Jansen, Diaz and Hand find themselves at the top, with Diaz being the clear grandfathered exception, whereas the others’ performances are worthy of top-five discussion in 2019. While I personally have Hader over Yates due to the insane strikeout rate and league-leading 1.66 SIERA, I can’t be upset at Yates winding up numero uno. His 30 saves lead the league, which has helped make him the top closer thus far.

Considering past save rate isn’t exactly predictive, I’ll take Hader’s absurd 50.3% strikeout rate and 42.3% K-BB mark. Chapman doesn’t casually touch 104 mph anymore, but his increased slider usage makes him a different kind of nasty. Jansen has rebounded from low-velo concerns in kind and Hand is fantasy’s third-best stopper in 5x5 formats.

Tier Two

Vazquez is filthy but the Pirates could ship him to a team that doesn’t use him in the ninth. It’s unlikely, but possible given Pittsburgh’s lot. Osuna is humming right along, though only 40 K’s in 38 ⅔ IP is surprising. Doolittle’s metrics have slipped since last season (1.95 SIERA in ‘18, up to 3.80 in ‘19) but he went from a career-low .196 BABIP last year to a career-high .351 thus far.

You’re likely most intrigued by Kimbrel, who has only logged five appearances in the majors through July 14. Two of the first three resulted in a combined five earned runs as he shakes off the rust, but he’s had a clean last two appearances for saves. Expecting peak Kimbrel right out of the gate is silly, but Craig has yet to post a SIERA south of 2.93 or strikeout rate below 36% in his career. Take whatever discount you can get here.

Tier Three

Giles is working through nerve inflammation in his right elbow, but remember Hader’s elite marks from before? Well, Mr. Ken’s 2.07 SIERA, 43.4% K rate and 36.1% K-BB mark are second only to Hader out of qualified relievers. Giles is a likely trade candidate and I’d knock him up to Tier Two if he retains a closing role.

Will Smith is all but gone at the Trade Deadline, so your gamble will be on whether the southpaw takes the eighth or the ninth on his new squad. Neris is a volatile arm that rides or dies with his splitter command, but most other options that Philly entered the year with are injured.

Rankings Analysis - Middle Tiers

Tier Four

An unfortunate facet of the RP ranks going last in the article rotation is that bullpens are the most volatile. You could subtract 100 from Hendriks for me and add it to Blake Treinen, putting him into Tier Three. I love what we’re seeing from Liam while Treinen simply doesn’t inspire any confidence right now.

Shane Greene and Alex Colome aren’t as strong a trade candidate as Will Smith, but they’re close. Wade Davis must deal with Coors and has quite the rocky season to date, while Jose LeClerc may never see the ninth this year. We still have to respect his top-10 abilities when on, but he seems to blow it whenever he nears the ninth.

Tier Five

It appears Carlos Martinez should hold onto the closer’s job in 2019, what with his 2.18 ERA/0.97 WHIP over 20 ⅔ IP. After posting an elevated 11.5% walk rate in ‘18, it’s nice to see an early 8.8% mark in ‘19. Jordan Hicks isn’t coming back this season and CarMart makes a nice RP2/3 in 12-team formats.

With Jose Alvarado on the shelf for roughly six weeks, Emilio Pagan could be on many first-place teams, though I think Diego Castillo works back into a 50/50 split. Both should be owned in most leagues.

I’m done speculating on Jeremy Jeffress -- it looks like any hopes of a split like last season are six feet under. Hunter Strickland is also nearing dump territory thanks to a setback already in the books on top of the lengthy injury. He’ll then need to show he’s game-ready again.

Tier Six

Kelley is the clear favorite for me in this group, with my feelings illustrated with Jose LeClerc’s tepid blurb. Lorenzen is the other name that can get you some saves, though he’s clearly still the 1B to Raisel Iglesias’ 1A at the back-end. Meanwhile, A.J. Minter has scooped some saves when Luke Jackson is resting, but Minter won’t produce enough value on his own to warrant playing without a regular closing role.

Since our ranks got put in, it was made fairly clear that Daniel Hudson has leapfrogged Joe Biagini as the heir apparent to Ken Giles’ ninth should a trade go down. Joe Jimenez has also looked better of late and warrants top-300 consideration for sure.

Rankings Analysis - Lower Tiers

Tier Seven

Obviously, you’re burying Alvarado in the ranks here. These are mostly dart throws that would require an injury, demotion or miraculous recovery to hit it big. Most require more than one of those. Rehabbers include Philly’s David Robertson and Seranthony Dominguez, the Cubbies’ Brandon Morrow and the Yanks’ Dellin Betances - who was recently cleared to start throwing.

Mark Melancon could be one of the last men standing in San Francisco after Will Smith, Sam Dyson and Tony Watson potentially fetch some prospects. I still think Moronta is the one to own, but the Giants may do their darndest to give Melancon and his awful contract some trade value.

The best value in this tier likely comes from Boston's Brandon Workman, but his .169 BABIP underscores the 4.06 SIERA behind the 1.74 ERA. Tread carefully.

Tiers Eight & Nine

If the dart throws came earlier than these are the weighted darts that will take even more effort to hit any sort of bullseye with. In fact, you should consider yourself lucky if you score any points with them at all.

Folks such as Yoshihisa Hirano could take the D-backs role from Greg Holland, though Yoan Lopez is impressing in the eighth. Corbin Burnes could reenter the rotation at some point, but we can’t lean on him until he curbs the longball issue. Fernando Rodney is Fernando Rodney, but Washington is desperate for bullpen help and their crumminess means Rodney is already Doolittle’s backup. Doolittle is great but is not known for his durability.

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