Relievers Qualified as Starters
In a small subset of leagues, relievers who have starting pitcher eligibility are gold. If an owner hasn’t been in such a league, the following information is useless and confusing. The specific league requirements which boost these pitcher values are (Note: normally seen in Yahoo leagues):
- Daily lineup changes
- Starting and relief pitcher slots
- Inning limits
I used to be in such a league and I would scavenge the waiver wire looking for any of these pitchers. They allow an owner to accumulate great rate stats when their starter isn’t starting. Two or three can just sit permanently in the starting slots. And every year, it seems like one guy ends up getting a few Saves.
This year’s initial list looks a little weak. The only pitcher who may eventually be in line for Saves is Alex Reyes. Here are the pitchers who started five games last season and are projected by our depth charts to relieve ranked by projected ERA. I know I’m missing some pitchers, especially rookies, but it is at least a nice starting point.
| NAME | ERA | WHIP | K/9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Salazar | 3.64 | 1.22 | 11.0 |
| Alex Reyes | 3.73 | 1.37 | 10.3 |
| Collin McHugh | 3.97 | 1.26 | 8.2 |
| Randall Delgado | 3.97 | 1.33 | 8.9 |
| Mike Montgomery | 4.03 | 1.37 | 7.6 |
| Brad Peacock | 4.09 | 1.31 | 9.9 |
| David Paulino | 4.10 | 1.27 | 9.4 |
| Austin Pruitt | 4.12 | 1.25 | 7.7 |
| Matt Andriese | 4.14 | 1.25 | 7.9 |
| Chris O’Grady | 4.29 | 1.36 | 7.7 |
| Jordan Lyles | 4.40 | 1.39 | 7.3 |
| Zack Wheeler | 4.44 | 1.38 | 8.6 |
| Tom Koehler | 4.46 | 1.36 | 8.6 |
| Seth Lugo | 4.46 | 1.30 | 7.7 |
| Rafael Montero | 4.56 | 1.46 | 8.9 |
| Wily Peralta | 4.56 | 1.43 | 7.1 |
| Trevor Cahill | 4.58 | 1.49 | 8.2 |
| Mark Leiter | 4.61 | 1.32 | 8.7 |
| Yovani Gallardo | 4.64 | 1.45 | 7.4 |
| Sam Gaviglio | 4.66 | 1.35 | 6.3 |
| Jesse Chavez | 4.67 | 1.38 | 7.6 |
| Francisco Liriano | 4.70 | 1.47 | 8.7 |
| Justin Nicolino | 4.74 | 1.44 | 5.1 |
| Eric Skoglund | 4.77 | 1.40 | 7.0 |
| Kyle Freeland | 4.80 | 1.49 | 6.3 |
| Jake Thompson | 4.97 | 1.45 | 7.2 |
| Vance Worley | 5.00 | 1.46 | 6.2 |
| Eddie Butler | 5.01 | 1.51 | 5.7 |
| Junior Guerra | 5.04 | 1.47 | 8.1 |
| Buck Farmer | 5.16 | 1.42 | 7.4 |
| Phil Hughes | 5.31 | 1.38 | 5.8 |
| Rookie Davis | 5.36 | 1.48 | 7.0 |
| David Holmberg | 5.39 | 1.53 | 5.7 |
Alex Reyes: Of the pitchers listed, I think he has the highest chance of getting Saves. He’ll be ready mid-May and then the Cardinals will figure out where he can best help the team. They have considered closing with him.
Brad Peacock and Collin McHugh: Neither one of this pair will end up closing but they could easily end up in the Astros rotation. Depending on the league’s depth, they may not have any value a starter
Danny Salazar: This could be the end of the Danny Salazar starting pitcher experiment. He just can’t stay healthy. While the Indians have Cody Allen and Andrew Miller to close, Salazar would probably max out as the 7th inning setup man unless one of the pair gets injured.
Matt Andriese: I’ve always had a soft spot for Andriese and it continues into 2018. He has a great for seamer and changeup but gets into trouble when he mixing in his curve ball (vs .414 wOBA).
Jeff, one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide,The Process, writes for RotoGraphs, The Hardball Times, Rotowire, Baseball America, and BaseballHQ. He has been nominated for two SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis and won it in 2013 in tandem with Bill Petti. He has won four FSWA Awards including on for his Mining the News series. He's won Tout Wars three times, LABR twice, and got his first NFBC Main Event win in 2021. Follow him on Twitter @jeffwzimmerman.
Um, that 1.0 listed for Reyes’s projected K/9 can’t be right. Do you mean 10.0?
He’s purely a GB/FB guy after the surgery 😉
Thank you! My league happens to be a league where this stuff really matters. Luckily for me, for some reason Chad Green qualifies as a starter there, which is great. Thanks again Jeff!
Rafael Montero is going to have Tommy John surgery and will not pitch this year.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Not sure exactly how he will be used, but in my Yahoo league, Bud Norris still has SP eligibility
I’d be worried Bud Norris is going to be STL’s mop up guy at this point, he has not looked very good this spring and almost every other RHP out of their pen has. Heck, I can see reasons for them not keeping him.
The other format where this is very helpful is Holds leagues. These guys are gold in that format.
In my Yahoo daily holds league, I have Salazar and also Matt Strahm, whom I expect to step into Brad Hand’s old set-up role. Otherwise I’m eyeing a lot of the guys on your list. Holds league guys should note that Tyler Thornburg for some reason got given SP/RP eligibility by Yahoo so he may be of use in this role if and when he returns. I too thought Bud Norris would work in this role and almost made him a keeper but I was too stung by those grand slams last year and now I’m glad I cut the cord. This does seem like slim pickings though in contrast with years past. Maybe because guys like Peacock are getting slotted in as multi-inning guys rather than set-up. Musgrove only had 6 holds last year in that role for the Astros.
Will Smith did too, for some reason IIRC
No love for Tim Lincecum?