Fantasy bullpen report featuring first-half all-stars and rising star Grant Taylor
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It's been a rough stretch for leverage relievers in Arizona. After losing A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez for the season, Shelby Miller emerged as a viable option at closer but landed on the injured list with a forearm strain and underwent imaging. If he's lost for the season, it will cost the team a potential trade chip — he will be a free agent at the end of the season. Kevin Ginkel recorded the first save in Miller's absence and takes over the top spot in my adjusted leverage pathway, but he can be streaky. An intriguing stash candidate could be Anthony DeSclafani, if he transitions into a one-inning reliever, which has not transpired as of this writing.
Although Grant Taylor possesses immense upside as a reliever this year, his manager has deployed him as the highest-leveraged reliever, not a closer in a traditional sense. While it may result in some frustration for fantasy managers, if he gets 60% of the saves over the remainder of the season, he's worth the roster spot.
Last but not least, Tanner Scott has been struggling with contact during recent outings. In seven appearances between June 20 and July 9, he has posted an inflated 1.92 WHIP, allowing multiple hits in four contests with a .400 BABIP. He had reduced contact before these games, illustrated by his rolling game chart:
Whether he has suffered from bad luck or sequencing, when a batter is ahead in the count, they are hitting .333 against his four-seam fastball with a .941 xSLG and a robust .570 xwOBA. Getting ahead in counts and accruing more whiffs with his slider could provide a better second half from a statistical standpoint, but he now leads the majors with six blown saves. He may have help soon. Blake Treinen appeared during a Triple-A game on July 9, retiring the side and striking out two. He recorded two saves in his first eight games before being placed on the injured list in April.
With this in mind, our leverage pathways have been updated. Here are our high-leverage pathway identifiers. Each team will receive one of the following labels:
Access The Athletic's guide for abbreviations used in fantasy baseball.
*SGP is standings gains points — a player's impact on the standings based on their statistics/ratios.
*Multi-inning or bridge relievers who can vulture wins and help protect ratios.
Statistical Credits: Fangraphs.com, Baseball-Reference.com, BaseballSavant.com and BrooksBaseball.net. Check out my work at Reliever Recon and Closer Monkey for daily updates.
(Photo of Grant Taylor: Chet Strange / Imagn Images)
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