Fantasy bullpen report featuring rising relievers Garrett Whitlock, Edwin Uceta and more

New York Times

3 days ago

Another week has passed, and volatility remains constant across the high-leverage ecosystem. Justin Martinez will miss the remainder of this season and most of next season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. A.J. Puk has stopped throwing after suffering a setback in his return to play protocols, putting Shelby Miller back atop Arizona's leverage pathway. Still, he could be a trade chip if his team decides to sell ahead of the trade deadline.
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There was a scare for Detroit's Will Vest due to an injury. He left his outing this past weekend early after throwing a wild pitch. His examinations cleared him, and he's considered day-to-day (like the rest of us), but fantasy managers should monitor his results closely.
Orion Kerkering recorded his first MLB save on Monday, preserving a three-run win in Miami. As The Athletic's Charlotte Varnes reported, he may be in line for a larger leverage role in Rob Thomson's ever-fluid 'floating closer' late-inning machinations.
Although we consider Dylan Lee the preferred fill-in at closer for Atlanta, with Raisel Iglesias pitching ahead of him in recent games, the deposed closer may be back sooner rather than later.
Also, Colorado demoted Zach Agnos, putting Seth Halvorsen back on the radar for those desperately seeking saves.
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.
Garrett Whitlock (BOS): He has yet to allow a run through six June appearances, posting a win, a save, and two holds with a minuscule 0.43 WHIP across seven innings. His 36.4% K-BB rate ranks tied for 11th among his peers in this sample. If he starts working more traditional one-inning outings, he could be the replacement for Aroldis Chapman, if Chapman is traded next month.
Edwin Uceta (TB): After a slow start this season, Uceta has found his footing and hasn't yielded a run in five of his past six appearances, recording a win and four holds with 11 strikeouts versus three walks (29.6% K-BB rate) through 6.1 innings. Although Uceta has not been receiving save chances, Pete Fairbanks has produced fewer whiffs (9.1 K-BB percentage) this season and could either be traded or replaced if recent trends continue.
Orion Kerkering (PHI): The good news is Kerkering secured his first save and also collected a win in his past two outings. He has a modest six-game scoreless streak, posting a 0.88 WHIP with seven strikeouts versus three walks through 5.2 innings. Since May 9, he hasn't been scored upon in 15 of 16 contests with a 1.12 WHIP and 13 strikeouts versus seven walks in 14.1 innings. One would prefer a better walk rate while producing more whiffs, as his rolling chart will indicate. He could emerge as the preferred option for saves, but your eyes should be wide open if he does:
Juan Morillo (ARI): First, he must improve his walk rate, but he has only issued one walk during his last four appearances while recording five strikeouts and two holds. With Martinez out for the season and Puk visiting Dr. Neal ElAttrache, Morillo can forge a larger leverage share in this bullpen, primarily if the team sells ahead of the trade deadline. Key factors will be producing more whiffs (13.8 swinging strike percentage since June 9) and cutting down on free passes. Monitor him closely in deeper formats.
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*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.
(Top photo of Edwin Uceta: Mark Taylor / Getty Images)