SAGNOF: Insert Craig Kimbrel Pun Here

What’s poppin, Razzpimples?!

Remember to bookmark that Razzball Bullpen Chart, y’all! I update it obsessively.

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Let’s do it to it.

Note: All stats and Player Rater values are accurate through Sunday’s games.

Player Rater Top 20 (5×5 Standard)

Player Rater Top 20 (6×6 w/ Holds)

2024 SVHD Leaders

Weekly Saves Leaders

Weekly Holds Leaders

Weekly Blown Saves Leaders :'(

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Arizona Diamondbacks:

• Paul Sewald went south this week. I track BS+L on my spreadsheet, and I can’t remember a time anyone’s ever earned 4 in a 7-day span. This pard done did, though. Woof. One of the worst weeks I done ever seen: 67.50 ERA, 9.00 WHIP, 2 BS, 2 L. Can only go up from here! Humberto Castellanos got a vulture SV. He doesn’t count for fantasy. Ryan Thompson and Justin Martinez do, though, and they were solid enough. Thompson earned 1 W, 1 HLD, and also 1 BS despite no runs. Martinez had 1 W, 1 HLD, and 6 K. Mantiply led the team with 2 HLD but I can’t in good faith recommend that guy. The quality isn’t good and Thompson/Martinez are just better assets.

Atlanta Braves:

• Raisel Iglesias 1 SV. Pitched great. A.J. Minter/Joe Jimenez each had 1 HLD. Also pitched great. Minter’s healthy again and should be a one bad son of a gun the rest of the way.

Baltimore Orioles:

• Craig Kimbrel is your headline dandy this week, but I was too lazy to think of a pun. I’ve used “Craig Kimbrilliant” in that past and just wasn’t vibin with anything else. Anyway, he led everyone with 4 SV, striking out 8 over four scoreless. Metrics were dark red. He’s in great shape, as he pretty much always is when he’s allowed to be a full-time closer. Plenty of holds to go around: Yennier Cano/Jacob Webb/Cionel Perez all had at least 2 (Cano/Webb with 3). None of the four names here allowed runs, and they all combined for just Cano’s 1 BB.

Boston Red Sox:

• Kenley Jansen 2 SV. WHIP was meh but kept runs off the board, striking out two. Chris Martin landed back on the IL with elbow issues, so that’s definitely no bueno. Justin Slaten looks to be the new Setup Sheriff in town (2 HLD this week). Side note: can’t believe it took me this long to come up with “Setup Sheriff.” Nice ring to it, eh?

Chicago Cubs:

• Hector Neris 1 SV, 3 K over 1.1 scoreless. No walks, excellent 38.1 CSW%. Maybe he’s back on track. Porter Hodge had the only HLD. Injury update on Mark Leiter Jr.: he’s set to be activated any day now. May have already happened by the time you read this. Julian Merryweather is set to rehab soon, as well.

Chicago White Sox:

• Michael Kopech had the goods last week…not so much this week. Got 1 SV but also 1 BS and 2 L. All-around garbage. John Brebbia and Tanner Banks had 2 HLD. If you’ve gotta roster a White Sox setup guy, it’s Brebbia until he probably gets traded.

Cincinnati Reds:

• Alexis Diaz 2 SV. Allowed 3 R but 0 ER. Metrics didn’t impress. Fernando Cruz 2 HLD, 1 BS, 1 L. Was really bad, to be frank.

Cleveland Guardians:

• Emmanuel Clase 1 W, 2 SV, 0 K. Yarp, that’s a goose egg you see for strikeouts. More like the Clase of old: out-of-this-world SV totals and ratios but very mid K. On the year, he’s sunk down to 25.2 K%. The definition of mid. However, that comes with 27 SV, 0.85 ERA, and 0.64 WHIP thanks to elite H/9 and only 3.2 BB%. Still #1 on both Player Raters up top. Hunter Gaddis 2 HLD, 5 K over 3.1 scoreless. He’s overtaken Barlow for team lead in HLD, and Barlow didn’t even get one this week while three others did.

Colorado Rockies:

• Jalen Beeks 2 SV, 3 K over 3.1 scoreless. Victor Vodnik 1 W, 1 SV as well. Tyler Kinley 1 W, 2 HLD. They all allowed baserunners but kept any of em from scoring. Could be we’re back to Beeks being worth desperation status in SV-only.

Detroit Tigers:

• Andrew Chafin and Jason Foley each had 1 SV, 1 HLD. Foley was bad. Been worth a drop in SVHD for a while now, but in SV-only it just depends on who’s on your wire.

Houston Astros:

• Josh Hader 3 SV, 2 K. Aside from being plagued by the long ball, he’s been mean desperado of late. Can’t not be a little worried about 8 HR before the All-Star Break, though — especially when considering he allowed just 11 HR over the past two seasons combined. Bryan Abreu 2 HLD, 5 K. Ryan Pressly 1 HLD, 1 K.

Kansas City Royals:

• James McArthur 1 SV, 1 K. Only pitched 1.2 IP but did well. John Schreiber 1 HLD, 1 L, 4 K. He did not pitch very well. Figure he’s a solid HLD source ROS if you can stomach the mid-ness everywhere else.

Los Angeles Angels:

• No decisions at all from LAA RP this week. Carlos Estevez pitched a scoreless inning, as did Ben Joyce. Estevez 1 K; Joyce 2 K.

Los Angeles Dodgers:

• Evan Phillips 2 W, 1 SV, 1 BS, 5 K. Metrics were dark red, but he did give up a pair of HR. Alex Vesia/Daniel Hudson/Blake Treinen all had 1 HLD. Vesia’s was a SV. Think if I’ve gotta pick of these three right now, it’s him.

Miami Marlins:

• Tanner Scott 1 SV, 4 K, dazzling metrics: 66.7 K%, 0 BB%, 25.8 SwStr%, 35.5 CSW%. If you’ve got him, you’ve got a good one. I’d sell high 1). while he’s raking and 2). before he gets traded. A.J. Puk 1 HLD, 4 K, and dazzling metrics as well: 50 K%, 0 BB%, 22.5 SwStr%, 42.5 CSW%. Completely turned his season around. Definitely the Setup Sheriff you want outta Miami at this point. Over the last month, here’s his line: 13.1 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 16 K. Tied with Nardi for team lead in holds (4) over the span, but the quality edge goes to Puk for now. That K:BB tho.

Milwaukee Brewers:

• Trevor Megill 1 SV, 5 K. Straight killed it this week. Not his fault he ain’t getting opps! Said plenty of times already that whatever happens with Devin Williams, Megill holds high-end SVHD value ROS. Bryan Hudson had 1 BS and 1 L. Wondering whether he’s a little tired or just getting figured out. Giving up hits and also walks, so mayhap it’s a lil bit of both. Devin Williams is progressing nicely and will throw live BP today. If your league has forgotten he existed, it’s time to scoop.

Minnesota Twins:

• Jhoan Duran 1 W, 1 SV, 2 K. Griffin Jax 1 HLD, 3 K. Good metrics. He’s honestly been the best RP by a good margin back there all year.

New York Mets:

• Edwin Diaz is back. Earned 1 W and 1 SV along with 1 BS. Overall, he looked fine. Reed Garrett 1 SV, 1 HLD, 4 K. Dedniel Nunez 2 HLD, 1 BS, 5 K. He’s gaining trust as a high-leverage setup man. Hard to argue a reason why you shouldn’t give him a shot in SVHD if he’s on your wire.

New York Yankees:

• Second week in a row the only SVHD for the Yanks went to Luke Weaver (1 HLD). Struck out 8 in 5.1 IP, allowing 1 ER and 1 BB. Clay Holmes blew another one. Rough June/July for him after a rip-roaring start to ’24. Maybe a frustrated owner would sell for a little discount? Just a thought.

Oakland A’s:

• Mason Miller left out to pasture again: 0 SV. Had nice whiffs this week but still got beat up for an 18.00 ERA and 3.00 WHIP.

Philadelphia Phillies:

• Jeff Hoffman 2 SV, 3 K. Looked fantastic. Jose Alvarado 1 SV. Looked a lot less fantastic. Orion Kerkering 1 HLD, 5 K. Also looked pretty fantastic. Matt Strahm 1 W, 1 BS, 3 K. Great CSW%. I keep internally flip-flopping on whether I like Strahm or Kerkering more. I still give a bump to Strahm for being one of the most dominant RP all season, but you can’t ignore Kerkering’s upside.

Pittsburgh Pirates:

• No saves this week. Aroldis Chapman had 1 W, 1 BS, and 1 L. Struck out 5 but also walked 4 and allowed 3 H. Colin Holderman wasn’t super effective but did have 5 K and good metrics. David Bednar threw a pen session and was able to use his full repertoire without issue. That’s always good news. Reckon he ain’t awfully far away and could even start rehab this week.

San Diego Padres:

• Robert Suarez 2 SV, 1 BS. Hurt your ratios this week. Jeremiah Estrada 2 HLD, 4 K over 3.1 scoreless. His ERA ain’t been the best over a month-long span, but the metrics pop off my spreadsheet and the 18:3 K:BB looks purty dandy indeed.

Seattle Mariners:

• Andres Munoz 1 SV. Weird to say but he had 0 K in 3 IP. Ryne Stanek 1 W, 1 HLD, 1 BS, 4 K. Tough blown save but overall a good week backed up by great strike metrics. Gregory Santos (remember him?) is rehabbing. Will need a stint on the lengthier side to get up to par. He figures to slot into high-leverage usage eventually.

San Francisco Giants:

• Camilo Doval 3 SV, 5 K. No runs. Looked like the Doval you saw with starry eyes back on draft day. Tyler Rogers 3 HLD, 3 K. Ryan Walker 1 W, 1 HLD, 2 K. Both viable for holds.

St. Louis Cardinals:

• Ryan Helsley 1 W, 1 SV, 1 BS. Pretty bland week overall. Still rocks my noggin that he’s already got 31 SV. I’d be willin to bet you told yourself on draft day you’d be thrilled to death with 31 SV from Ryan Helsley by season’s end. Ryan Fernandez 2 HLD, 1 K. JoJo Romero 1 HLD, 1 BS, 1 K. No decisions for Andrew Kittredge, but he had 5 K. More’n the other three combined.

Tampa Bay Rays:

• Pete Fairbanks 1 SV, 1 K. Just ain’t had lots of opps lately. Bummer. Jason Adam 2 HLD, 1 K. I feel like he’s had a down year for some reason, and then I go look at his hella elite ratios and 18 SVHD. Not to mention 4 W. Granted, his FIP and SIERA (both at 3.63) are almost two points higher than his actual ERA (1.86).

Texas Rangers: 

• Kirby Yates 2 SV, 5 K. No hits, no runs, no walks. Just badassery. David Robertson 2 HLD, 2 K. Pitched very well himself.

Toronto Blue Jays: 

• Chad Green 1 W, 2 SV, 6 K. Been pretty good as Toronto’s interim closer. Jordan Romano is probably done for a good long while (if not a very long while). Yimi Garcia, however, is starting rehab and shouldn’t need a ton of time before activation. I would assume he becomes primary saves guy again, but they could also still use Green if/when Yimi is needed for the highest-leverage situations. Jays season is almost a lost cause, however, so maybe they just up and sell some guys off instead. Green and Yimi would fetch nice returns methinks.

Washington Nationals:

• Kyle Finnegan 1 SV, 1 BS, 2 K. Overall had fine results, it’s just the metrics were pretty poopy. Hunter Harvey 1 HLD, 1 BS, and more awful numbers. Might throw up in your mouth a little bit when you look at his line over his last month: 10.2 IP, 16 H, 12 R, 10 ER, 2 HR, 6 BB, 12 K. Gotta weather the storms with these types. His job is safe.

That’s all for this week! Thanks for reading. Leave me a comment below so I feel all warm and fuzzy.