Fantasy baseball 2020 tiered relief pitcher rankings

This tier features relief pitchers who were closers at one point but lost their job for a variety of reasons.

Sergio Romo, MIN

Romo has been a solid relief pitcher throughout his career. While his ERA may jump to 4.00 at times, he’s able to keep his WHIP and walk rate down while striking out close to 10 batters per nine innings.

In his short time with the Twins at the end of last season, Romo had a 3.18 ERA, 0.926 WHIP, 10.7 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and three saves. He is listed as the Twins’ setup man behind Taylor Rogers. The Twins have a great offense so if you use holds, Romo is a solid pickup for the end of the draft.

Michael Lorenzen, CIN

Lorenzen posted the second-best season of his career last year. In 83.1 innings, he had a 2.92 ERA, 1.152 WHIP, 9.2 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 with seven saves. He does hit well but most fantasy sites haven’t made him a two-way player like Shohei Ohtani.

Lorenzen is also the backup reliever to his team’s closer. The walk rate may hurt his WHIP but he does a good job limiting the big hits. With Raisel Iglesias’ struggles, Lorenzen may rack up a few more saves than others in this tier.

Ty Buttrey, LAA

Buttrey started the season great, finishing the first two months with a 1.27 ERA and 1.059 WHIP. The final four months were a struggle has he had a 5.73 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. He had two saves but was mostly used in the eighth inning.

The Angels may have found their closer in Hansel Robles but Buttrey will still get his innings. The Angels offense improved this offseason so there should be more save chances. Buttrey may find himself with five at the end of the season but his value will be as the setup man.

Trevor May, MIN

May had himself a great 2019 season. He finished with a 2.94 ERA, 1.073 WHIP, 11.1 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. The walk rate is a bit concerning, especially when the Twins have plenty of arms in the bullpen that can take his role.

If you’re looking for strikeouts late in the draft, May is someone to target. However, make sure you have a good buffer for your ratios.

Corey Knebel, MIL

Knebel followed up his amazing 2017 season with a bad 2018 season. He did not pitch in 2019 as he underwent Tommy John surgery  on April 3. Depending on when the season starts, Knebel should be back in the Brewers bullpen.

Without Knebel, the Brewers bullpen has a couple of question marks. When he’s healthy, he’ll be slotted as the setup man to Josh Hader. The offense did lose some pieces so the save chances may not be there this season. Regardless, Knebel will get his innings.

Luke Jackson, ATL

Outside of the strikeouts and saves, Jackson was not enjoyable to own last season. He had a 3.84 ERA, 1.404 WHIP, 13.1 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and 18 saves. However, it was his best season over his five-year career.

The Braves made it a point to improve their bullpen and they did so in a big way. It started by trading for Mark Melancon and Shane Greene at the deadline. The front office also added Will Smith this offseason. Jackson dropped on the depth chart to a middle reliever. However, the team will put up runs, giving Jackson opportunities to rack up the strikeouts and holds.

Kyle Crick, PIT

After the season he posted in 2018, Crick was one of my sleepers for last season. Unfortunately, he let everyone down. He finished with a 4.96 ERA, 1.551 WHIP, 11.2 K/9 and 6.4 BB/9 over 49.0 innings.

Crick is expected to be the setup man again this season. The rest of the NL Central offenses are going to be tough to get out, so Crick may not be someone you want if you need help with ratios. However, he’ll have a nice strikeout rate.

Zack Britton, NYY

In his first full year in pinstripes, Britton put up good numbers. Over 61.1 innings, he had a 1.91 ERA, 1.141 WHIP, 7.8 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9. The walk rate did not help his WHIP at all. Britton is not known as a big strikeout pitcher, career 7.4 K/9.

The Yankees bullpen is full of talent, but as just one of three lefties, Britton will be on the mound often this season. If you want a relief pitcher that’s able to keep the ball on the ground, Britton is the one. He posted a ridiculous 77.2 ground ball rate last season.

Alex Reyes, STL

Reyes hasn’t pitched a full season since 2016, and even that was just 46.0 innings. He pitched in 3.0 innings with a 15.00 ERA last year. He started in the rotation but transitioned into a reliever. The news is that, with Miles Mikolas hurt, Reyes may go back into the rotation.

He’s also in competition with Kwang-Hyun Kim and Daniel Ponce de Leon for the last rotation spot. Looking at the Cardinals pen, Reyes would be better off in the rotation but he may be more effective in short outings as a middle reliever.

Matt Strahm, SD

Strahm pitched as both a starter and a reliever last season. In 114.2 combined innings, he had a 4.71 ERA, 1.247 WHIP, 9.3 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9. Looking at the splits, Strahm was much more effective as a reliever for the Padres.

With a healthy rotation, Strahm is expected to remain in the bullpen as a middle reliever. With a low walk rate and a good strikeout rate, Strahm is a good late-draft pick to sure up some of those stats/

Ryne Stanek, MIA

Stanek had a great 2018 season with the Rays. His short time with the Marlins last season did not look good. In 21.1 innings, he posted a 5.48 ERA, 1.688 WHIP, 11.8 K/9 and a ridiculous 8.0 K/9. Yes, it was a small sample size but that is not a good sign of things to come.

The Marlins also rebuilt their bullpen this offseason, pushing Stanek down to fourth from the top. The offense is alright and the rotation will have its ups and downs. Stanek will get his innings but what he does while on the mound is a question mark.