It seemed perfectly reasonable and expected that the sputtering St. Louis Cardinals would turn to RHP Giovanny Gallegos to handle the ninth-inning work when RHP Ryan Helsley went on the IL last week due to a forearm strain. After all, Helsley and Gallegos split the saves for the first 10 weeks of the season, neither dominating but each performing well enough to warrant more opportunities. This is what manager Oliver Marmol chose, and yeah, it frustrated fantasy managers.
Imagine how Gallegos investors felt when their guy didn't get the saves, even when Helsley left.
Jordan Hicks, arguably the hardest throwing right-hander in the sport but never one to pile on the saves (or, curiously enough, the strikeouts), saved Monday's win at Washington, his third save in as many days. It's hard to believe. In an oversensitive era in which few relief pitchers even get the chance to pitch on three consecutive days, Hicks -- despite a history of arm injuries -- stunningly just did it, closing out each victory. He should be among the most-added relief pitchers in ESPN leagues over the coming days, especially since he is currently rostered in barely 2% of them.
Gallegos pitched the eighth inning on Monday sans incident, needing only 10 pitches to earn his seventh hold. Holds matter in ESPN standard leagues, but certainly less than saves do -- and there was little indication that Hicks would leapfrog Gallegos for those saves.
Perhaps this will be the long-term role fantasy managers once dreamed of for Hicks. He saved six games with 25 holds during his breakout rookie season of 2018, and then he saved 14 games the next season before Tommy John surgery derailed things. In 2022, he made eight starts. Hicks always threw hard, but he always walked way too many hitters. Even this season, Hicks has a bloated 1.50 WHIP to go along with his 4.02 ERA.
The difference in 2023 is that Hicks is missing more bats, striking out 34% of hitters (with a 12% swinging strikeout rate), though this seems to be coming at the expense of his once-gaudy ground ball rate, which used to be among the top marks among relief pitchers, but now sits around 51%.
Watch Monday's ninth inning and it is hard to believe any hitters can compete with hard sinkers coming in at 103 mph when they are near the strike zone. Lane Thomas, Washington's leadoff hitter, managed to foul off a 104-mph sinker, but he was overmatched. All Hicks needed with his wicked stuff was the proper command of it. He hasn't walked anyone in his last four outings.
Marmol surprised Cardinals fans and media alike by bypassing Gallegos for closing duties, and he could change his mind any day. Who knows? It certainly is rare for a manager to not promote the top setup man (or co-closer, in this case) when the team's closer gets injured. Add Hicks in fantasy, just in case this sticks, though, because he always had the stuff to be a dominant closer. Perhaps his time is now. Just keep Helsley and Gallegos around in deeper formats in case the situation pivots yet again.
Stock rising
Scott McGough, Arizona Diamondbacks: It was LHP Andrew Chafin and RHP Miguel Castro who split most of the saves and got all of the fantasy attention for a while, but now it is the right-handed McGough who is on the most-added list -- and for good reason. McGough, 33, spent the last four seasons in Japan and seemed as good a choice as any for Arizona's saves this season, but he struggled in April and, as recently as five weeks ago, his ERA was still on the wrong side of 5.00. It isn't anymore.
McGough has saved two of the last three Diamondbacks wins, and he has not permitted an earned run over his last 14 appearances. The team may be best served utilizing him in a multi-inning role, but that would work for fantasy managers, too. McGough is missing plenty of bats and is among the top-20 relief pitchers in strikeouts. It makes sense to drop Chafin and Castro to get McGough.
A.J. Minter, Atlanta Braves: Presumed closer RHP Raisel Iglesias had a nightmare series against the Detroit Tigers last week, permitting eight hits and four runs over two appearances, blowing one save, and the left-handed Minter now seems to be back in the closing picture (after his own series of blowups in late-April). Iglesias has seven saves over the last 30 days, but Minter has nearly as many fantasy points in that span because of better run prevention, and seven saves-plus-holds. We're not saying Minter is "the one to roster" the rest of the way, but Atlanta should cruise to 100 wins, so perhaps both veteran pitchers can help fantasy managers quite a bit along the way.
Andres Munoz, Seattle Mariners: Munoz returned recently from a two-month absence due to a shoulder strain. He has made five appearances since then, permitting nary a base hit nor run, issuing only two walks and striking out 10 hitters over five innings. Nothing against RHP Paul Sewald, who is enjoying another solid season without overpowering anyone with his 91 mph heater, but he hardly possesses the same stuff as Munoz. This also hardly means they will swap roles, but Munoz should be rostered in a lot more leagues. Currently-injured New York Mets RHP Edwin Diaz was the only relief pitcher with more strikeouts than Munoz last season. He's that good.
Stock falling
Liam Hendriks, Chicago White Sox: Still an inspiring story for his successful return from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hendriks made only five appearances before his elbow started barking. Perhaps this is not such a big deal, and Hendriks returns to the mound soon, pitches great and saves myriad games over the final three months. However, if we strip away everything else and just focus on any hard-throwing relief pitcher in his mid-30s dealing with elbow inflammation, concern is warranted.
Hendriks has already had a cortisone shot and a PRP injection is coming. Veteran Kendall Graveman is probably the closer over Joe Kelly and Reynaldo Lopez, but the White Sox are not winning much, so it may be best to ignore this bullpen for now and hope Hendriks is OK.
Yennier Cano, Baltimore Orioles: It may seem silly to list a pitcher with a 0.99 ERA, who ranks No. 2 (behind his teammate Felix Bautista) on the full-season Player Rater among relievers, in this space, but Cano has not been so dominant over the past month. In fact, while he has permitted only three earned runs over 13 2/3 innings (1.98 ERA), his WHIP is 1.61 in that span and his strikeout rate has plummeted. In fact, Cano has recorded a strikeout in only two of his last eight appearances covering 8 2/3 innings.
Yeah, it was a great story and Cano continues to pile on the holds as the Orioles streak toward a playoff spot, but recent trends show there are better setup relievers deserving of fantasy attention, including Texas Rangers RHP Josh Sborz, Los Angeles Angels RHP Chris Devenski, San Diego Padres RHP Steven Wilson, Miami Marlins LHP Tanner Scott and Toronto Blue Jays RHP Erik Swanson.
Scott Barlow, Kansas City Royals: Let's try to frame this one a different way. There are zero Oakland Athletics relievers rostered in more than 1% of ESPN standard leagues, in part because the team is so awful and there is rarely much to save. Well, the standings claim that the Royals are just as bad as the Athletics -- and actually quite a bit worse over the past month. Oakland has had six saves over the past 30 days. Kansas City? Only two, split evenly between trade candidates Barlow and LHP Aroldis Chapman. They are both pitching capably and perhaps will be valuable enough in run prevention and strikeouts moving ahead, but neither is aiding fantasy managers much today.