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Welcome to the Week 3 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks, where we take a look weekly at where the top 65 RPs stand moving forward in this strange sprint season. You can check out my weekly Top 101 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks as well.
David Emerick rolled out an introduction to our Baller Ranks here, and also dropped his weekly Top 200 Hitter Baller Ranks today -- I suggest you read for a full explanation of our purpose, but the TL;DR is here we're providing a one-stop-shop for SP, RP, and hitter valuation. We'll explore value produced to-date, their current standing, and provide context with analysis.
And for those who want stats like the usual 5x5 categories, strikeout rates, Called + Swinging Strike rates, xwOBA and more on a decked-out spreadsheet, we've got you covered - you can view the full Week 3 Top 65 RP Baller Ranks core sheet here.
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Top 65 Relief Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball - Week 3
| Rank | $ | Tier | Player | EV | $ | Trend | Notes |
| 1 | 15.0 | 1 | Josh Hader | 0.7 | 16.0 | -1.0 ▼ | |
| 2 | 14.0 | 1 | Kirby Yates | -0.3 | 14.0 | 0.0 ▬ | Coors Field cares not for your elite tier. |
| 3 | 14.0 | 1 | Kenley Jansen | 0.3 | 12.0 | 2.0 ▲ | |
| 4 | 13.0 | 1 | Liam Hendriks | -1.2 | 11.0 | 2.0 ▲ | |
| 5 | 11.5 | 1 | Taylor Rogers | 1.0 | 8.0 | 3.5 ▲ | |
| 6 | 11.0 | 2 | Brad Hand | 0.2 | 10.5 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 7 | 10.5 | 2 | Aroldis Chapman | 0.0 | 14.0 | -3.5 ▼ | Has been cleared, is back with team as of July 31. |
| 8 | 10.0 | 2 | Nick Anderson | 1.2 | 7.5 | 2.5 ▲ | It was never going to be a set role in the ninth for Anderson. |
| 9 | 8.0 | 3 | Hector Neris | 0.1 | 5.5 | 2.5 ▲ | |
| 10 | 7.5 | 3 | Alex Colome | 0.5 | 3.0 | 4.5 ▲ | |
| 11 | 7.0 | 3 | Raisel Iglesias | -0.2 | 6.5 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 12 | 6.5 | 3 | Archie Bradley | 2.6 | 1.0 | 5.5 ▲ | Big K's early, but the WHIP is unlikely to be an asset. |
| 13 | 6.0 | 3 | Mark Melancon | 0.8 | 1.0 | 5.0 ▲ | |
| 14 | 5.5 | 4 | Brandon Workman | 0.5 | 6.0 | -0.5 ▼ | Iffy command at times, but walks are part of the package. |
| 15 | 4.5 | 4 | Joe Jimenez | 0.7 | 1.0 | 3.5 ▲ | |
| 16 | 4.5 | 4 | Ryan Pressly | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.5 ▲ | Pressly new closer? Re-injury risk w/ minor elbow injury. |
| 17 | 4.0 | 4 | Daniel Hudson | 2.1 | 0.0 | 4.0 ▲ | |
| 18 | 3.5 | 4 | Drew Pomeranz | 3.5 | 0.0 | 3.5 ▲ | |
| 19 | 3.0 | 5 | Hansel Robles | -3.5 | 4.0 | -1.0 ▼ | |
| 20 | 2.5 | 5 | Craig Kimbrel | -2.4 | 7.0 | -4.5 ▼ | Terrifying first two outings, hope for quick rebound. |
| 21 | 2.0 | 5 | Seth Lugo | 0.0 | 2.5 | -0.5 ▼ | |
| 22 | 2.0 | 5 | Edwin Diaz | -1.6 | 11.5 | -9.5 ▼ | Early implosions after 2019's woes paint a frightful picture. |
| 28 | 2.0 | 5 | Jairo Diaz | 1.3 | 0.0 | 2.0 ▲ | Front-runner for saves in COL w/ Davis and Oberg out. |
| 23 | 1.5 | 5 | Kwang Hyun Kim | 0.1 | 0.0 | 1.5 ▲ | |
| 24 | 1.5 | 5 | Matt Barnes | -1.6 | 0.0 | 1.5 ▲ | |
| 25 | 1.5 | 5 | James Karinchak | 1.4 | 0.0 | 1.5 ▲ | |
| 26 | 1.5 | 5 | Trevor Rosenthal | 1.1 | 0.0 | 1.5 ▲ | Greg Holland isn't the guy. Kennedy is working early. |
| 27 | 1.5 | 5 | Nick Burdi | 0.7 | 0.0 | 1.5 ▲ | They won't push his workload, but he's best PIT RP w/o Kela. |
| 29 | 1.0 | 6 | Dellin Betances | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 30 | 1.0 | 6 | Emilio Pagan | -1.3 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 31 | 1.0 | 6 | Roberto Osuna | 1.3 | 13.0 | -12.0 ▼ | Now on IL w/ elbow soreness; did he ramp up too quickly? |
| 32 | 1.0 | 6 | Ken Giles | -0.5 | 10.0 | -9.0 ▼ | May return from IL soon, but any injury is significant in 2020. |
| 33 | 1.0 | 6 | Giovanny Gallegos | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 34 | 1.0 | 7 | Zach Britton | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | Strong early form, but Chapman will reclaim closer role. |
| 35 | 1.0 | 7 | Bryan Abreu | -0.9 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 36 | 1.0 | 7 | Ian Kennedy | -1.3 | 1.0 | 0.0 ▬ | Pushed to earlier work; KC is a committee at best. |
| 37 | 1.0 | 7 | Sean Doolittle | 0.1 | 4.5 | -3.5 ▼ | Working at fixing mechanics in simulated games. |
| 38 | 1.0 | 7 | Chad Green | 1.6 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 39 | 1.0 | 7 | Ryan Helsley | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 40 | 1.0 | 7 | Corey Knebel | 1.4 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 41 | 1.0 | 7 | Diego Castillo | 1.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 42 | 1.0 | 7 | Adam Ottavino | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 43 | 1.0 | 7 | Yusmeiro Petit | 1.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 44 | 1.0 | 7 | Brandon Kintzler | -0.1 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 45 | 1.0 | 7 | Aaron Bummer | 1.3 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 46 | 1.0 | 7 | Tyler Duffey | 1.3 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 47 | 1.0 | 7 | Trevor Gott | -0.7 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | Kapler doesn't anoint him, but Gott looks to be the 1A arm. |
| 48 | 1.0 | 7 | Cole Sulser | -0.4 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 49 | 1.0 | 7 | Taylor Williams | 1.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | I await Austin Adams' return, but Williams is committee leader. |
| 50 | 1.0 | 7 | Jose Alvarado | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 51 | 1.0 | 7 | Ty Buttrey | -0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | Hasn't been good, but Robles has been far worse. |
| 52 | 1.0 | 7 | Anthony Bass | 1.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 53 | 1.0 | 8 | Jonathan Hernandez | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | Most intriguing arm left in TEX 'pen, but spotty command. |
| 54 | 1.0 | 8 | Mychal Givens | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 55 | 1.0 | 8 | Trevor Richards | 0.8 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 56 | 1.0 | 8 | Sergio Romo | 0.7 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 57 | 1.0 | 8 | Jeurys Familia | 0.8 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | Rising with strong early work, could see 9th w/ Diaz stumbling. |
| 58 | 1.0 | 8 | Matt Magill | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 59 | 1.0 | 8 | Jeremy Jeffress | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | May rise to the 9th for CHC should Kimbrel fail again. |
| 60 | 1.0 | 9 | Tyler Rogers | -0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | May work in more of fireman role: closer-by-committee. |
| 61 | 1.0 | 9 | Rowan Wick | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | Notched save for CHC, but Jeffress had faced heart of order. |
| 62 | 1.0 | 9 | Oliver Drake | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | Converted two early SV opps, but this is still a carousel. |
| 63 | 1.0 | 9 | Keynan Middleton | 0.4 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | Still ramping up from missed 2019, but electric stuff. |
| 64 | 1.0 | 9 | Joakim Soria | 1.4 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 65 | 1.0 | 9 | Nick Wittgren | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ |
Relief Pitcher Movers of Note
Aroldis Chapman (RP, Yankees)
Chapman is reportedly back with the team and they’ll see how he looks after a throwing day. While Zack Britton looked solid in his stead and there’s no rush to throw Chapman right back into the ninth, we know that’s his spot. A strikeout warrior on a team with many leads to protect, the risk here is if he ramps up too quickly and hurts himself as others have.
Archie Bradley (RP, Diamondbacks)
Bradley owns a dominant arsenal, but the inconsistent command has held him back. In his first 2 ⅔ IP, Bradley has seven strikeouts and just one walk. I’ll take it! The last two seasons, Bradley has run respective 18.6% and 16.1% K-BB rates. Don’t expect this 37.5% rate to hold up, but anything north of 20% will play well if he can keep those walks in check.
Hansel Robles (RP, Angels)
Robles has diminishing velocity and a ballooned ERA to kick off 2020, so we need to watch Ty Buttrey if Robles can’t rejuvenate things. I’m a bit surprised not to see him hit the IL with something like shoulder fatigue, but we can’t trust him right now. Buttrey hasn’t been sharp to start, but he’s still the traditional hedge. Keynan Middleton is an interesting add as well after recovering from Tommy John surgery, but he’s yielded six hits over 2 ⅓ IP and may need to refine command before touching the ninth.
Craig Kimbrel (RP, Cubs)
Kimbrel has shown two distinct types of crappy form to open 2020. First, he couldn’t find home plate. And then he was far too hittable, with Josh Bell and Colin Moran taking him deep on Friday night. Until he finds some middle ground, especially given 2019’s woes, only desperate fantasy teams can start him. Saturday saw Jeremy Jeffress got out of an inherited bases-loaded jam in the seventh before twirling a scoreless eighth, which saw Rowan Wick pick up the save behind him. That level of trust and the strong result has me leaning Jeffress’ way as the hedge.
Edwin Diaz (RP, Mets)
Diaz pinned some of his recent troubles on not pitching for five days between appearances. On some level, I can accept that. But he was also awful last season and we can’t forget so easily. He’s helped by Dellin Betances being worse on Friday (4 ER!) and Seth Lugo appearing mortal, but Jeurys Familia could creep back into the conversation with a resurgent splitter. The door to a committee situation is well past ajar, so we have to knock him down the table.
Sean Doolittle (RP, Nationals)
Doolittle is admittedly off mechanically and needs simulated games to try to right the ship. That’s not what you want out of any pitcher midseason, especially a short season. And he was already sharing the ninth with Daniel Hudson as it was. Now, Hudson could put his foot down on the closer gig while Doolittle is no lock to sharpen his form.
Other Arms to Note:
- Pittsburgh’s Nick Burdi, who is their preferred closer until Keone Kela comes back. I wager they let Kela build trade value when he returns, but always take the Burdi in the hand.
- Colorado’s Jairo Diaz should be their stopper with Wade Davis on the IL and Scott Oberg’s 2020 done. Diaz picked up the save on Sunday and is worth grabbing in all formats. It wouldn’t shock me if he doesn’t relinquish the job.
- Baltimore appears to have settled on Cole Sulser as a ninth-inning option, opting to utilize Mychal Givens earlier against strong portions of the order.
- Seattle is without Austin Adams, which still makes me sad, but Williams is the “1A” chair of the closer committee. Don’t expect 100% of the save opportunities to go his way, same as Sulser and perhaps Jonathan Hernandez in Texas, but you target skills first and let the saves come to you.
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