Fantasy baseball managers and everyone else outside of the Windy City may not have noticed, but the Chicago Cubs bullpen recently set a franchise record with 38 1/3 scoreless innings. Look at Monday's box scores and see the myriad runs permitted by relief pitchers and think about just how meaningful Chicago's streak truly is -- nary a run by an entire crew of pitchers over more than two weeks of baseball! Most people focus on the closer since they cannot name the setup men, but this Cubs group is a lot more than future Hall of Famer Craig Kimbrel.
Of course, give Kimbrel a ton of credit as well, for the much-maligned right-hander issued a mere two walks among the 48 batters that he faced in May. He allowed some runs and lost a few extra-inning games, but overall produced only a 1.50 ERA in his 12 May innings. For the season, he is fifth among closers on the ESPN Player Rater and seventh in points leagues. We all had good reasons to avoid Kimbrel in drafts, since he entered this season 0-5 with a 6.00 ERA (6.29 FIP), a 1.528 WHIP, and an exorbitant 6.0 walk rate over two rough seasons as a member of the Cubs.
However, as long as Kimbrel is aggressively throwing strikes, then all is clearly well -- and nobody knows whether we can truly trust him to do this moving forward. Perhaps it all works out. Still, one of the wisest ways for fantasy baseball managers to take advantage of value is to float the name of a top closer such as Kimbrel in trade talks in order to gain help elsewhere. Get an important bat and a lesser closer in return. Hey, time is running out before the next time Kimbrel struggles to throw strikes and, I'm sorry to say, that time is likely to arrive sooner, rather than later.
Only two pitchers accumulated more fWAR in May than Kimbrel. One is the closer for the other Chicago baseball team, as Liam Hendriks also saved eight games, though he did not permit a run. Who was No. 1 in fWAR? It was Cubs setup man Ryan Tepera, the former Toronto Blue Jays setup man who saved seven games in 2018. He should be next in line should something befall Kimbrel. Tepera faced 49 batters in May (over 14 2/3 innings), allowing three hits and no walks, with just one earned run. He whiffed 19 and even saved one win. Tepera is a strong add in NL-only formats and deeper mixed ones because, well, Kimbrel still worries me.
Meanwhile, left-hander Andrew Chafin accrued 10 holds in May, vaulting him to the top of the 2021 holds leaderboard. We know this is relevant information for the growing number of leagues counting that statistic, or combining holds with saves. For perspective, Chafin has 13 holds this season. Kimbrel has 12 saves. In leagues that combine those numbers, the value of those very different pitchers is not very different. Four of the seven hurlers with 11-plus holds are lefties who do not get saves (Chafin, Victor Gonzalez, A.J. Minter, Anthony Misiewicz), in case you need holds.
Not to be at all pessimistic, but just because the Cubs bullpen dominated for the past fortnight -- and really, for most of May -- it is not the least bit predictive for June. Things change quickly for relief pitchers, which is why fantasy managers get so frustrated. Perhaps it is Seattle's bullpen that will be awesome in June, or the one in Philadelphia ... nah, that one sure seems unlikely. Anyway, here are some other pitchers that had rather interesting May numbers.
May accolades...
Jordan Romano, Toronto Blue Jays: He won a few games and saved three others during the month, with a 1.38 ERA and a 1.12 FIP. He figures to hold down the closer role for a while, perhaps even when Julian Merryweather returns from injury. Romano can be wild, but he has issued only one walk over his past six outings. He should be rostered in more leagues.
Alex Reyes, St. Louis Cardinals: Speaking of walks, Reyes saved a league-leading nine games in May and vaulted to the top of the full-season Player Rater, although the walks continue to worry. In fact, Reyes has issued at least one walk in four consecutive outings, and has 25 of them in 28 innings this season. Frankly, he has been fortunate to post his 0.64 ERA this season. No reliever is a wiser trade option.
Paul Fry, Baltimore Orioles: The veteran left-hander throws hard and misses bats -- and the current closer, Cesar Valdez, does not. Fry had a rough outing on May 19 against the Tampa Bay Rays but, since then (over three outings and four innings) he has fanned seven with nary a base runner. His May FIP was 0.82. Saves are pending, but with a team that last won a game more than two weeks ago, perhaps not many.
... bring June trades?
Jake McGee, San Francisco Giants: The left-hander remains rostered in many more leagues than submarining right-hander Tyler Rogers, but we really have no idea how the saves will be divided from here on out. We do know that McGee has already permitted five home runs, including one over the weekend against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He saved that game, but it had been 12 days since his last one.
Brad Hand, Washington Nationals: This lefty permitted three home runs in May and his season WHIP rose to 1.31. When May began, Hand had a spotless ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. Veteran right-hander Daniel Hudson had a spotless May until the weekend and he remains on the most-added list. Frankly, if the Nationals continue their losing ways, both Hand and Hudson could be pitching the sixth inning for either the Yankees or Dodgers really soon.
Name any Minnesota Twins pitcher: Hansel Robles has settled into the closer role, but as long as he keeps walking hitters, he figures to give it back to left-hander Taylor Rogers, who is no sure thing himself. Rogers began the month with a spotless ERA before allowing multiple earned runs in three May outings. Robles has 15 walks in 23 2/3 innings. Alex Colome keeps allowing home runs. This is a mess. Roster Robles for the saves, but be prepared to pivot back to Rogers.