Archive for Relief Pitchers

Pitcher Playing Time Changes: June 27, 2025

Sam Greene-The Enquirer

Below are the latest significant projected playing time changes for pitchers in the last week, with Chase Burns‘ MLB debut the big headline. As always, you can see the rest-of-season percentages for each team on the Depth Chart diagram here.

Change in Proj. % of Team’s Remaining GS, 6/20 to 6/27
Name Team Old % of Remaining GS New % of Remaining GS PT Change Reason
Chase Burns CIN 2% 13% 11% Called up, and looks legit!
Braxton Ashcraft PIT 2% 7% 5% Moved to rotation, finally
Eric Lauer 라우어 TOR 5% 10% 5% Pitching very well in Francis’ stead
Keider Montero DET 12% 7% -5% Optioned to AAA
Ben Brown CHC 12% 7% -5% Optioned to AAA
Chris Sale ATL 19% 12% -7% Fractured ribcage
Nick Martinez CIN 16% 9% -7% Might do some more bouncing back and forth from bullpen with Burns up
Spencer Turnbull TOR 8% 0% -8% DFA’d
Max Meyer MIA 11% 0% -11% Season-ending hip surgery

 

% Change in Proj. RP IP, 6/20 to 6/27
Name Team % Chg in Proj. RP IP Reason
Nick Martinez CIN 191% Might do some more bouncing back and forth from bullpen with Burns up
Wikelman González CHW 178% Called up
Dedniel Núñez NYM 60% Likelier to stick in bullpen with Canning hurt
Austin Warren NYM 53% Likelier to stick in bullpen with Canning hurt
Jordan Hicks BOS 33% Nearing Red Sox debut
Mitch Spence ATH -31% Pitching too well in rotation to move back
Kumar Rocker TEX -38% Pitching well in rotation since recall
Hunter Bigge TBR -41% Facial fractures on foul ball
Max Kranick NYM -66% Elbow strain
José Ruiz ATL -69% DFA’d + outrighted
Matt Gage DET -74% DFA’d
Dylan Floro ATH -100% Released from MiLB deal
Hunter Stratton PIT -100% DFA’d
Kutter Crawford BOS -100% Wrist surgery
A.J. Puk ARI -100% Elbow surgery
Cody Bradford TEX -100% Elbow surgery

Ottoneu Drip: Finding Under-rostered Pitchers: June 19, 2025

Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The search for pitching help is never ending. Between injuries and ineffectiveness, fantasy players are always on the lookout for pitchers who are performing well who can provide some reinforcements. Last time I ran this column, I focused on eight starting pitchers who were pitching well at the time. This time around, my focus will shift to the bullpen — with three starters sprinkled in for good measure.

Under-rostered Starters, Last 14 Days
Player Team IP FIP K-BB% Stuff+ Pts/IP Roster%
Quinn Priester MIL 17 2.13 16.9% 99 6.35 29.4%
Emerson Hancock SEA 17.2 4.09 10.8% 82 4.92 3.1%
Mike Burrows PIT 15 1.87 27.9% 92 6.22 1.8%

Over his first seven appearances (six starts and one bulk relief appearance) for the Brewers this year, Quinn Priester’s walk rate was an untenable 14.2%. In his six appearances since then (three starts, three bulk outings), his walk rate has been a very good 3.8%. He’s been pitching in the zone a bit more often — he had a 50.9% zone rate during that first stretch and a 55.2% zone rate during the second — while still maintaining an acceptable strikeout rate and an elite groundball rate. The groundball rate alone should give him a high-ish floor for Ottoneu, and the improved command makes him an interesting dart throw. Just make sure to monitor his usage as a traditional starter or a bulk reliever.

Injuries to George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, and Bryce Miller have forced Emerson Hancock into a much more prominent role in the Mariners rotation than the team probably expected. His season stats are being dragged down by two very ugly starts: a six-run, two-out disaster in his first start of the season and a seven-run, five-inning clunker against the Yankees on May 12. I don’t recommend doing this as a frequent practice, but if you remove those starts from his overall stats, his ERA drops from 4.48 to 2.60, his FIP from 4.81 to 4.09, and his Pts/IP rises from 3.05 to 4.26. That is a perfectly cromulent starter in Ottoneu as long as you’re benching him in particularly difficult matchups.

Mike Burrows isn’t the Pittsburgh pitching prospect we’ve all wanted to see in the big leagues (that would be Bubba Chandler), but he’s got a couple of interesting attributes that could make him an interesting pick up in Ottoneu. First of all, his changeup is currently returning a 51.7% whiff rate and a .252 xwOBA allowed. His slider’s xwOBA allowed is even lower at .221, though it’s not getting the swings and misses like his change is. The problem is that his fastball is far too hittable, which means his ceiling is capped pretty low. Still, he’s allowed just three runs total in his last three starts and is running an excellent 6.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio during this stretch. As long as the changeup continues to be a plus plus bat missing weapon and the slider continues to suppress contact, he’ll likely have stretches like this where he looks dominant. The run-of-the-mill fastball will bring him back to earth eventually.

Under-rostered Relievers, Last 14 Days
Player Team IP FIP K-BB% gmLI Stuff+ Pts/IP Roster%
Gregory Soto BAL 6.1 0.54 45.5% 1.03 118 11.63 19.6%
Bryan Baker BAL 6.1 2.59 34.8% 1.53 107 9.88 16.3%
Seranthony Domínguez BAL 6 0.73 36.4% 1.58 116 11.53 13.5%
Garrett Whitlock BOS 7 0.92 36.4% 2.04 94 10.66 59.2%
Greg Weissert BOS 5.2 2.54 12.5% 1.96 97 10.22 7.4%
Reid Detmers LAA 6 0.40 42.9% 1.90 113 11.80 51.2%
Nick Mears MIL 5.1 0.44 38.9% 0.90 103 9.80 29.8%
Louis Varland MIN 5 1.87 22.7% 1.37 103 7.88 54.3%
Brock Stewart MIN 4.2 1.35 10.0% 1.04 112 8.60 24.8%

Let’s tackle all these relievers by team. The Orioles have had a really tough time finding a consistent setup man to pitch in front of closer Félix Bautista. Six different pitchers have recorded a hold over the last week but the three pitchers listed in the table above look like the most interesting of the bunch. Bryan Baker has increased his strikeout rate 10 points this year while simultaneously cutting his walk rate to a career low. Fueled by an absolutely devastating changeup, he’s the guy I’m targeting out of this ‘pen. Seranthony Domínguez is no stranger to high-leverage work, though his inconsistent command means he’s been pretty volatile throughout his career. He’s on a heater right now, allowing just five baserunners over his last nine outings while striking out 16. Acting as the left-handed specialist in the bullpen, Gregory Soto is earning holds at a consistent pace while also providing solid rate stats.

It looks like Garrett Whitlock and Greg Weissert have settled in as the setup options in front of closer Aroldis Chapman in the Red Sox bullpen. Interestingly, both setup guys have earned saves in the last week after Chapman was unavailable for a few days and then used in the eighth inning on Wednesday to face the top of the Mariners lineup. Whitlock has overcome a long injury history and a failed attempt to convert him to a starter to settle in as a high-leverage reliever this year, a role he was familiar with back when he first broke into the big leagues. His strikeout rate has jumped up to 30.1%, though his walk rate is still a little high at 9.2%. Weissert hasn’t been as dominant as Whitlock, but he’s getting high-leverage opportunities and has done well to convert those opportunities into holds and saves.

Across three outings from April 30–May 7, Reid Detmers allowed 12 runs while recording just a single out. Since that low point, he’s allowed a single run in 16 appearances and is suddenly looking like a dominant high-leverage reliever. His strikeout rate is nearly 40% during this stretch and he’s earned six holds and two saves for the Angels. He has been throwing his fastball about two ticks harder than earlier in the season.

His pitch mix looks the same and there haven’t been any big changes to his approach: his zone rate and chase rate are ever so slightly higher during this hot streak, but batters are swinging and missing at his pitches a lot more often. His success might just come down to a harder fastball and better execution.

I included Nick Mears in this column back on May 13 and he had a bit of a hiccup right after that write up; across his next seven appearances after that article posted, he allowed six runs in 7.1 innings while striking out just three. Across his next seven appearances, he’s been a lot better, holding his opponents scoreless while allowing just two baserunners and striking out eight. He’s firmly behind Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe in the pecking order, but he could be working his way back into high-leverage opportunities in the sixth or seventh inning.

The Twins bullpen has been a bit of a mess recently — they’ve lost three games for the team in the past week — but that just means there are new opportunities for relievers to gain the trust of manager Rocco Baldelli. Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax are probably safe in their roles, but Louis Varland and Brock Stewart could be sneaking into high-leverage work ahead of those two. Varland has transitioned from the rotation to the ‘pen this year and has looked pretty solid as a reliever. He’s got the big fastball and devastating curveball to thrive in the late innings. Stewart has what Stuff+ thinks is one of the very best sliders in baseball. He’s been particularly injury prone during his career and his command can be spotty at times, leading to some volatility. Still, the 35% strikeout rate is nothing to scoff at, and as long as he’s healthy, he should be a high-leverage option for the Twins.


Pitcher Playing Time Changes: June 13, 2025

Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Below are the latest playing time changes for pitchers in the past week, with a couple of brutal pieces of news — Tommy John surgery for both Corbin Burnes and Jackson Jobe — the unfortunate headliners this week.

Change in Proj. % of Team’s Remaining GS, 6/6 to 6/13
Name Team Old % of Remaining GS New % of Remaining GS PT Change Reason
Chad Patrick MIL 7% 14% 7% Sticking in rotation with Civale move to bullpen
Mike Vasil CHW 1% 7% 6% Appears to be getting stretched out
Tony Gonsolin LAD 15% 10% -5% Elbow discomfort (no UCL damage)
Bryse Wilson CHW 5% 0% -5% DFA’d
Cole Ragans KCR 18% 13% -5% Strained rotator cuff (getting second opinion, would guess this keeps going down)
Bryce Miller SEA 17% 11% -6% Elbow inflammation
Ryan Weathers MIA 16% 8% -8% Lat strain
Jackson Jobe DET 10% 0% -10% Tommy John surgery
Aaron Civale MIL 16% 5% -11% Moved to bullpen
Corbin Burnes ARI 12% 0% -12% Tommy John surgery

 

% Change in Proj. RP IP, 6/6 to 6/13
Name Team % Chg. In Proj. RP IP Reason
Aaron Civale MIL 450% Moved to bullpen
José Ruiz ATL 260% Claimed from Phillies
Tayler Scott ARI 180% Brought up to help beleagured bullpen
Tyler Alexander CHW 178% Signed after Brewers DFA, should eat innings
Nestor Cortes MIL 130% Will there be a rotation spot for him when healthy?
Bryce Jarvis ARI 118% See Scott, Taylor
Andre Granillo STL 54% Earned first MLB callup after dominating Triple-A
Ryan Burr TOR -31% Has stalled out a bit in progression from shoulder injury
Fraser Ellard CHW -32% Transferred to 60-day IL
Beau Brieske DET -35% Optioned to Triple-A after being blitzed by Orioles
Justin Martinez ARI -39% UCL sprain, seeking second opinion 🙁
Jake Cousins NYY -48% UCL injury of some kind
Michael Soroka WSN -49% Pitching well enough to stick in rotation
Ryne Nelson ARI -50% Should stay in rotation a while with Burnes hurt
Jacob Misiorowski MIL -52% Certainly looking like a starter!
Mike Vasil CHW -64% Being stretched out
Bryse Wilson CHW -65% DFA’d
Matt Bowman BAL -69% DFA’d
Carlos Hernández PHI -70% DFA’d

Pitcher Playing Time Changes: June 6, 2025

Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Below are the latest playing time changes for pitchers in the past week, highlighted by AJ Smith-Shawver’s season-ending injury that increases the importance of Grant Holmes and Bryce Elder in Atlanta’s rotation.

SP % of Team GS Changes Since May 30
Name Team Old % of Remaining GS New % of Remaining GS PT Change Reason
Bryce Elder ATL 9% 16% 7% Smith-Shawver injury
Michael Lorenzen KCR 15% 10% -5% Noah Cameron emergence
Corbin Burnes ARI 18% 12% -6% Elbow inflammation, expect this number to go down more
Pablo López MIN 19% 9% -10% Teres major strain
AJ Smith-Shawver ATL 15% 0% -15% Tommy John surgery

 

Projected RP IP Changes Since May 30
Name Team % Chg in RP IP Reason
Michael Kelly ATH 331% Return from gambling suspension, on MLB roster
Andrew Saalfrank ARI 171% Return from gambling suspension, in AAA
Erik Sabrowski CLE 86% Nearing end of injury rehab
Valente Bellozo MIA 83% Pitching well as a long man
Edgardo Henriquez MIA 75% Continues to shoot up the depth chart
Javier Assad CHC 75% It’ll ultimately be between him and Brown for a rotation spot
Cristian Mena ARI 65% Providing length out of MLB bullpen with Ryne Nelson back in rotation
Bradgley Rodriguez SDP 64% Got first call to MLB; optioned back down but should be back
Kumar Rocker TEX 62% Optioned to AAA; will there be a rotation spot open for him at any point?
Ben Brown CHC 57% Might keep working behind opener, shorter stints eventually?
Rob Zastryzny MIL 54% Pitched his way into circle of trust
Génesis Cabrera CHC 49% Pitching well since joining team
Bowden Francis TOR 46% SP ineffectiveness could lead to move to bullpen sooner than later
Craig Kimbrel ATL 37% Welcome back to ATL, Craig!
Steven Matz STL 35% Pitching in shorter stints out of bullpen, return to rotation at any point looks unlikely
Michael Lorenzen KCR 31% Noah Cameron emergence; he’s got bullpen experience anyway!
Andre Pallante STL -30% Pitching well enough to stay in rotation
Drey Jameson ARI -30% On AAA IL (elbow)
Luis Mey CIN -31% Optioned back to AAA
James McArthur KCR -33% Still hasn’t started rehab assignment
Charlie Morton BAL -33% Finally stringing some good starts together, so he should stick
Zebby Matthews MIN -33% Some better starts lately + López injury
Ryne Nelson ARI -33% Moving back to rotation
Andrew Walters CLE -35% Lat strain
Scott Blewett ATL -35% DFA’d
Grant Holmes ATL -47% Much likelier to stay in rotation with AJSS injury
David Festa MIN -50% Bad start in West Sac but should stay in rotation with López out
Mitch Spence ATH -55% Moved to rotation
Tyler Alexander MIL -67% DFA’d
Tanner Rainey PIT -74% DFA’d
José Ruiz PHI -75% DFA’d
Tyson Miller CHC -80% DFA’d
Evan Phillips LAD -100% Tommy John surgery

ERA Equivalent WHIP (or Why Yusei Kikuchi is Unrosterable)

Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Every week, I look through my rostered pitchers noting the worst ones and churn them out next week. This week, the Yusei Kikuchi stood out. Someone with a 3.06 ERA and his ERA estimators around 4.50. It was his ERA estimators throwing red flags, but I have other pitchers worse. It was his 1.52 WHIP, third worst among qualified starters behind Kyle Freeland (1.63) and Jack Kochanowicz (1.56). With WHIP being its own Roto category, it has as much weight as ERA but ERA is the mentioned multiple times more often than WHIP. I’m just going to create a simple WHIP to ERA conversion to put both on the same scale.

To get the conversion equation, I used the overall rankings for the NFBC’s Main Event (15 team) and Online Championship (12 team). With them, I ranked the WHIP and ERA values separately. I removed the the first and last 10% of values because the change for them isn’t linear.

With the tails removed and plotted the best remaining WHIP with the best remaining ERA. I did that for each one. Here are the plotted results.

The correlation is nearly perfect, so the correlation equations can be used to convert a WHIP to an ERA equivalent. Here is conversion table.

Equivalent ERA Value for a Given WHIP
WHIP ME Eqiv ERA OC Eqiv ERA
0.70 0.48 0.52
0.80 1.09 1.12
0.90 1.70 1.72
1.00 2.31 2.33
1.10 2.92 2.93
1.20 3.53 3.53
1.30 4.14 4.13
1.40 4.75 4.73
1.50 5.36 5.33
1.60 5.97 5.94
1.70 6.58 6.54
1.80 7.19 7.14
1.90 7.80 7.74
2.00 8.41 8.34

The results for the two league types are close so I’ll only use the Main Event information going forward. Besides the above table, I have created a public Google Sheet (copy by going to File -> Make a Copy) where a WHIP can be entered and an equivalent ERA is spit out.

Kikuchi’s 1.52 WHIP would be equivalent to a ~5.50 ERA. No one is starting/rostering a pitcher with a 5.50 ERA this deep into the season. The high WHIP can’t be ignored and I’m likely to move on where I can find decent options.

Besides Kikuchi, Here are the qualified pitchers who have a WHIP that does as much ratio damage as a 4.50 or worse ERA.

Qualified Starters with an Equivalent ERA Value Over 4.50
Name ERA WHIP equivalent ERA NFBC Main Event Roster%
Kyle Freeland 5.72 1.63 6.15 4%
Jack Kochanowicz 5.34 1.56 5.72 4%
Yusei Kikuchi 3.06 1.52 5.48 98%
José Soriano 3.41 1.51 5.42 98%
Randy Vásquez 3.99 1.47 5.18 42%
Gavin Williams 3.79 1.45 5.05 100%
Luis L. Ortiz 4.40 1.43 4.93 91%
Max Meyer 4.73 1.42 4.87 100%
Sean Burke 4.20 1.42 4.87 28%
Jonathan Cannon 4.66 1.40 4.75 21%
Michael Lorenzen 4.33 1.40 4.75 98%
Zac Gallen 5.54 1.40 4.75 100%
Dean Kremer 4.70 1.39 4.69 81%
Jeffrey Springs 4.72 1.38 4.63 97%
Shane Baz 4.92 1.38 4.63 100%
Andre Pallante 4.23 1.36 4.50 86%
Chris Bassitt 3.80 1.36 4.50 97%

Gavin Williams and José Soriano have been devastating managers’ in the WHIP category but it doesn’t seem as bad with sub-4.00 ERA.

WHIP is probably one of the most misunderstood categories and hopefully I made it easier to understand an expectable value.


Dominant Non-Closing Relievers — May 27, 2025

Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

In 12-team mixed leagues and shallower, you’re generally ignoring relievers that aren’t closing games or potentially will be given the incumbent’s missteps. That’s not true in 15-team+ mixed and, especially, mono leagues. In such deeper formats, replacement level for starting pitchers is poor. You’re essentially choosing between a 4.50 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, but with perhaps 10 wins and 120 strikeouts, starting pitcher, or a middle reliever with superior ratios, but fewer wins and strikeouts. Typically, the latter is actually more valuable even if he doesn’t record a single save all season. So let’s dive into some of the most dominant non-closing middle relievers this year who might be a better option than your worst starter.

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Pitcher Playing Time Changes: May 23, 2025

Nathan Seebeck-Imagn Images

Below are the most significant playing time projection changes for pitchers for the past week, led by Jared Jones‘ season-ending elbow surgery that could keep him out for most or all of 2026, too.

SP % of Team GS Changes Since May 16
Name Team Old % of Team’s Remaining GS New % of Team’s Remaining GS Change Reason
Adrian Houser CHW 1% 13% 12% Acquired from TEX + added to rotation
Colton Gordon HOU 3% 11% 8% Covering for Blanco in rotation
Slade Cecconi CLE 2% 7% 5% Covering for Lively in rotation
Ronel Blanco HOU 17% 11% -6% Elbow soreness; getting second opinion
Osvaldo Bido ATH 13% 5% -8% Sent to AAA
Jared Jones PIT 8% 0% -8% Elbow surgery, out for year
Jordan Hicks SFG 15% 7% -8% Moved to bullpen
Hayden Wesneski HOU 10% 0% -10% Tommy John surgery
Kyle Gibson BAL 15% 0% -15% DFA’d + released

 

Projected RP IP Changes Since May 16
Name Team % Chg in Proj. RP IP Reason
Jordan Hicks SFG 111% Moved to bullpen
Carmen Mlodzinski PIT 64% Optioned to AAA, lane back to MLB might be as RP
Aaron Ashby MIL 50% Working in relief on rehab assignment
Landen Roupp SFG -31% More secure in rotation with Hicks moved out
Elvis Peguero MIL -35% Optioned to AAA
Colin Holderman PIT -39% Thumb tenosyvonitis, visiting specialist
Hayden Birdsong SFG -46% Moved to rotation
José Alvarado PHI -52% 80-game PED suspension
Joel Payamps MIL -73% DFA’d
Hayden Wesneski HOU -100% Tommy John surgery
Tayler Scott HOU -100% DFA’d + elected FA
Tyler Matzek NYY -100% DFA’d + elected FA
Yoendrys Gómez CHW -100% DFA’d (again)
Chris Stratton KCR -100% DFA’d

Overpaying for a Bird and a Song

Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Last week, the Giants decided to move Jordan Hicks to the bullpen and Hayden Birdsong to the rotation. While some fantasy managers had already stashed Birdsong, he was available in many leagues like these nine NFBC Main Event leagues.

These teams spent 15% to 20% of their yearly budget on a starter projected to be below replacement-level. Unless a manager wore blinders or took some analyst’s hype without any doing their own basic analysis of Birdsong. No line of reasoning points to Birdsong making a difference, and the most likely scenario is that he’s on the waiver wire in a couple of weeks. Read the rest of this entry »


Ottoneu Drip: Finding Under-rostered Pitchers: May 13, 2025

Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The search for pitching help is never ending. Between injuries and ineffectiveness, fantasy players are always on the lookout for pitchers who are performing well who can provide some reinforcements. Right now, there’s an absolute dearth of starting pitching available on the waiver wire. I’ve scraped the bottom of the barrel for these nine under-rostered pitchers — four starters and five relievers.

Under-rostered Starters, Last 30 Days
Player Team IP FIP K-BB% Stuff+ Pts/IP Roster%
Colin Rea CHC 31 3.44 13.5% 95 4.51 40.4%
Tyler Anderson LAA 35.1 3.82 13.3% 96 4.99 20.8%
Chad Patrick MIL 31.1 3.05 12.4% 103 4.83 11.6%
Chris Paddack MIN 32.1 4.04 14.7% 95 4.77 7.6%

I covered Colin Rea the last time I ran this column and I still think he’s one of the more interesting starting pitchers out there. The wide pitch mix, arm angle change, and an improved fastball all make him a pretty interesting pick up.

Tyler Anderson isn’t flashy or fancy but he’s a veteran starter with one elite pitch, his changeup. When that pitch is working for him, he can have stretches like this where he’s able to limit hard contact and generate just enough swings and misses. He probably won’t reach the ceiling of his breakout season with the Dodgers back in 2022, but he’s a solid enough starter that can be counted on in the right matchups.

Chad Patrick has filled in capably for the Brewers as they work through all their early season injuries. He’s survived by inducing a ton of weak contact in the air, which has served him well so far, but it’s also the same reasony why his xFIP is 4.42, more than a run higher than his ERA. Still, over his last three starts, his strikeout-to-walk ratio is a very good 4.67 and he’s improved as he’s adjusted to pitching in the big leagues for the first time.

Chris Paddack started off the season with two absolute stinkers, allowing 13 runs in 7.1 innings with more walks than strikeouts. In his six starts since then, he’s allowed just 10 runs in 32.1 innings with a 2.60 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His last start against the Giants was his best of the year; he pitched into the eighth inning, allowing just three hits while striking out six. He’s always been a bit home run prone and he’s been pretty lucky in that regard during this stretch. Still, it seems like he has his signature fastball-changeup combo working for him right now.

Under-rostered Relievers, Last 30 Days
Player Team IP FIP K-BB% gmLI Stuff+ Pts/IP Roster%
Brendon Little TOR 11.2 2.09 22.0% 1.40 116 7.69 36.7%
Mason Fluharty TOR 13.1 2.29 20.5% 0.95 117 8.65 0.9%
Danny Coulombe MIN 11.1 0.47 38.5% 1.34 104 9.96 28.4%
Nick Mears MIL 13 1.89 20.5% 2.13 98 9.17 21.4%
Ryan Borucki PIT 10.2 1.90 20.0% 0.93 115 8.83 8.6%

The Blue Jays have quietly put together one of the best relief corps in baseball and that’s largely thanks to breakout seasons from guys like Brendon Little and Mason Fluharty. Among all pitchers who have thrown at least 10 innings this season, Little leads all of baseball in swinging strike rate. His sinker has been devastating thanks to some mechanical deception and a ton of drop on the pitch. Fluharty might be even more interesting. As a lefty, he’s yet to allow a hit to a right-handed batter this year. Like Little, he’s got some mechanical deception aiding him and a hard cutter that has given right-handed batters fits when it’s located on the inside half of the plate. Little is a little higher on Toronto’s bullpen pecking order, but Fluharty should be seeing some high leverage work soon too.

Danny Coulombe hasn’t allowed a run in almost a full calendar year. Of course, a lot of his 2024 season was spent on the IL, but he’s now run his scoreless streak to 27 games and 26.1 innings. It took a while for the Twins to start giving him high leverage work but he’s finally working the seventh and eighth innings regularly.

The Brewers bullpen has been a bit of a work-in-progress this year after they moved on from their closer Devin Williams in the offseason. Trevor Megill has a tight hold on the ninth inning, but Nick Mears has worked his way into the high leverage mix in the seventh and eighth innings.

Ryan Borucki isn’t seeing that much high leverage work yet, but the guys in front of him in the Pirates bullpen aren’t all that impressive. The biggest difference for him this year are a new splitter and sweeper that are both returning above average whiff rates. Those two pitches have pushed his Stuff+ from merely average up to 109 on the season.


Pitcher Playing Time Changes: May 9, 2025

Rick Scuteri – Imagn Images

Below are the latest significant playing time projection changes for pitchers, with a couple of Cades leading the list for biggest gainers amongst SP.

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