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Relief Pitchers Deeper Dive - Week 1

Relief pitchers to monitor for holds or as closer handcuffs. RIck Graham analyzes under-the-radar RP as deep league targets or waiver wire adds.

Today and every Tuesday moving forward throughout the 2018 MLB season, we will take a deep dive into some of the lesser-owned relief pitchers on the market that are worth keeping tabs on.

This can be a good tool for those in deeper holds leagues, although any pitcher in a position to make a move on their respective team's closer job will get priority.

This week we will take a look at potential cheap (under 20% owned on Yahoo) saves options, as it will take some time to weed out the middle relievers jockeying for high-leverage jobs.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

Under-the-Radar Relievers to Watch

Kenyan Middleton (Los Angeles Angels) - 18% owned

Middleton continues to gain traction as a potential closer in L.A. after he cleaned up Blake Parker's mess Sunday afternoon. It's likely Scioscia goes back to Parker as he deserves another chance, but Middleton should still be locked into a prime setup role for the time being. We've seen Scioscia continuously decline to announce his closer before, so there's also the chance that the best case scenario is that Middleton and Parker wind up splitting the ninth inning. Even if that's the case, Middleton can be useful in mixed leagues giving his strikeout upside (16.6 SwStr% in 2017!) and occasional saves. This also isn't the first time Scioscia has leaned on Middleton to close out games. He earned two saves last August before a meltdown led to Blake Parker being inserted into the role. At this point, Middleton needs to be owned in most holds leagues, AL-only and is a worthy speculative add in deeper standard leagues.

Darren O'Day (Baltimore Orioles) - 7% owned

O'Day is by no means your typical closer with an average fastball velocity of 88 MPH and a sidewinder delivery (yes, I know who Brad Ziegler is). With Brad Brach off to a bad start, and working in mop-up duty during Sunday's game, this has led to speculation that Brach may have been booted from the closer's gig. That seems like an overreaction, but at the same time, I can certainly see a situation where Brach loses the job if he falters in his next couple of outings. I personally would rather see Mychal Givens (who also worked in Sunday's loss) get a shot at closing out games, but the tea leaves seem to be pointing to O'Day as the next man up. O'Day won't miss a ton of bats like Givens can, but he will bring you solid ratios, which is just fine for a source of saves you plucked from the waiver wire.

Kevin Jepsen (Texas Rangers) - 0% owned

I was shocked to here that Kevin Jepsen would be the 1B to Keone Kela's 1A on the Rangers initial closer depth chart. I had no idea Jepsen was still hanging around pro ball, as he hasn't really been relevant since 2015 and spending last year struggling for the Nationals AAA team. That's not to say Jepsen is guaranteed to have no value this season, as he was a fairly productive reliever for a long time when he was with the Angels. We saw guys like Brandon Morrow and Joe Smith resurrect their careers last year, so why not Jepsen? However, unless he makes a major change to his repertoire, there really is not enough upside here to warrant an add in most leagues. In deep leagues and AL-only though, he is worth a look as someone who can chip in a cheap save or two here and there. Just don't expect much of a contribution to your ratios or strikeouts.

 

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers




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REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Griffin Conine

To Have Shoulder Surgery On Tuesday
Luke Keaschall

Twins Prospect Luke Keaschall Suffers Broken Forearm
Logan Gilbert

Leaves Friday's Start With Forearm Tightness

Vikings Select Tai Felton To Finish Day 2

Seahawks Select Quarterback Jalen Milroe With The 92nd Pick Overall

Browns Select Dillon Gabriel 94th Overall

Packers Pick Savion Williams At No. 87 overall

Steelers Snag Kaleb Johnson In Round 3

Broncos Select Wide Receiver Pat Bryant With The 74th Overall Pick

Texans Select Jaylin Noel With 79th Pick

Lions Select Wide Receiver Isaac TeSlaa With The 70th Overall Pick
Jack Leiter

To Start On Sunday

Patriots Add Wide Receiver Kyle Williams In Round 3

Browns Draft Harold Fannin Jr. With 67th Pick
Garrett Mitchell

Makes Early Exit
Luke Keaschall

Removed Early On Friday
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Likely Avoids Major Injury
Cole Ragans

Dealing With Mild Groin Strain

Broncos Add RJ Harvey To Backfield With 60th Pick

Raiders Select Jack Bech With 58th Pick

Chargers Add Wide Receiver Tre Harris In Round 2
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Lions Acquire 57th Pick From Broncos

Seahawks Draft Elijah Arroyo 50th Overall
Carolina Panthers

Panthers Acquire 51st Pick From Broncos
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Cardinals Snag Will Johnson At No. 47

Jets Add A Pass-Catcher With Mason Taylor At No. 42

Rams Select Terrance Ferguson With 46th Pick
Houston Texans

Texans Acquire 48th Pick From Raiders, Draft Aireontae Ersery

Saints Snag Tyler Shough At No. 40
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Out For Personal Reasons On Friday
Brandin Podziemski

Not On Injury Report For Game 3
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Warriors Optimistic About Jimmy Butler III Playing Saturday
Jae'Sean Tate

To Remain Out Saturday
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Unavailable For Game 3
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Out On Saturday
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Ruled Out For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Orlando
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To Miss Saturday's Game
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Available For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Magic
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Iffy For Saturday's Action
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Officially Available On Friday For Game 3 Against Magic
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Back From Injury On Friday
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Questionable For Game 4 On Saturday
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To Miss Game 4 On Saturday
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Available For Game 3 In Minnesota
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Available To Return Saturday
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To Return On Tuesday At The Latest
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Takes Positive Step On Friday
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Questionable For Saturday
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Set For Larger Role In Game 4
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To Start Game 3 For Oilers
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Resting For First Time This Year
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To Play Limited Minutes In Game 3
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Red Sox-Guardians Game Postponed On Friday
Luke Hughes

Remains Out On Friday
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Tigers-Orioles Postponed On Friday
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A Game-Time Decision Friday
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Out On Friday Against Royals
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Ivan Herrera Hopes To Start Rehab Assignment Next Week
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Sitting Out For First Time This Season
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Questionable For Game 3 On Friday
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Back In Action On Friday
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Could Miss Game 3 On Saturday
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Set For UFC Kansas City Main Event
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Collects Double-Double In Loss
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Set For Featherweight Bout
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Shuts Out Lightning In Game 2
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Finishes Thursday's Win With Five Points
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Posts Four Assists In Game 3 Win
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Celebrates Hat Trick During Four-Point Performance
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Exits Early Thursday
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Hurt In Game 2
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Tagged As Questionable For Friday
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Likely Out Again On Friday
Anthony Cirelli

Good To Go Thursday
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Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2
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To Miss Training Camp
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Returns To Practice
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Traveling With Capitals
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Still Out On Thursday
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Set To Join Maple Leafs Lineup For Game 3
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Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
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A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
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Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
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In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
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A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
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Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
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Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
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Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
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Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
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Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
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