11:33 AM ET

Follow on Twitter

The Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher with the most noteworthy numbers this season closed out Monday's 5-4 win over the Boston Red Sox and chances are good that most fantasy managers have never heard of the guy. Oh, RHP Felix Bautista remains Baltimore's actual closer, and a top-five option in fantasy leagues, but RHP Yennier Cano finished things up on Monday. Cano, 29 and an unknown journeyman with a career 8.28 ERA in 25 big-league innings (including 2023), has recorded 21 outs this season. Nobody has reached base!

Bautista investors need not worry, of course, because their guy will be the one getting the next save, and most all of them as long as he is healthy and performing well this season. Well, we think that is the case. Bautista already has two wins and five saves in 10 2/3 innings, with 19 strikeouts against three walks. His usage has been heavy, including this past weekend. Cano didn't even make the Orioles this spring. He was promoted from Triple-A Norfolk on April 13. He has three holds and a save in six appearances.

Editor's Picks

None of this means fantasy managers should stop what they are doing to add Cano, but Pittsburgh Pirates RHP David Bednar and San Diego Padres LHP Josh Hader -- both with eight saves in 11 appearances -- are the lone relief pitchers boasting more fWAR entering Tuesday. Cano, featuring a mid-90s fastball, a hard changeup and an effective slider to deal with left-handed hitters, combines a 72.7% groundball rate (third among relief pitchers) with a 45% strikeout rate (fifth among relievers). Um, yeah, that works and explains how he has moved so quickly up the team's bullpen depth chart.

Volatility remains king when it comes to big-league bullpens, as surprises such as Cano emerge every season, and some even pile on the saves. Last year, Los Angeles Dodgers RHP Evan Phillips, Red Sox RHP John Schreiber and Cincinnati Reds RHP Alexis Diaz were among them. No Orioles relief pitchers show on ESPN's most-added or most-dropped lists so far, but it won't be long until Cano's spotless numbers earn more notice. Surely there is some luck involved, but also no guarantees said luck will soon come to an end.

The Orioles bullpen enters Tuesday leading in fWAR and with a league-leading eight wins (among the team's 15 wins) and a 28% strikeout rate (fourth among bullpens after the Cubs, Cardinals and Astros). However, it's also among the worst in groundball rate at 37.2%, with only the Athletics, Royals and Rangers doing worse. That's odd. Cano is quite the anomaly among Baltimore's relief corps in that sense, though others are performing well, too, such as RHP Bryan Baker and LHP Danny Coulombe.

Those in ESPN's standard leagues care about Bautista and only Bautista, which is understandable, but we know many of you participate in far deeper formats. We advise you to learn about more than one Orioles relief pitcher. For one, Bautista, was also quite a late bloomer, starring as a rookie last year at 27, and he dealt with both knee and shoulder issues in spring training. Anyone can get hurt. Cano appears to be next in line, that quickly. In deeper leagues, take the good relief innings and take the holds. You never know when you will need them.

Random thoughts from the most-added list

Leagues start every Monday!

The 2023 fantasy baseball season is here! It's not too late to get your group back together, or to start a brand new tradition.
Join or start a league >>

Dominant Philadelphia Phillies LHP Jose Alvarado earned three holds over the first few weeks of the season. Since then, he has three saves in four appearances, as it appears manager Rob Thomson has at least temporarily abandoned his idea of a committee approach to saves. RHP Craig Kimbrel did save a weekend win, but he set Alvarado up twice last week. Alvarado and Cincinnati's Diaz are the lone relief pitchers striking out more than 50% of all batters faced. Yes, add Alvarado. He is the most-added relief pitcher for good reason.

Houston Astros RHP Bryan Abreu is up to 9.5% rostered because he saved a pair of weekend victories in a series sweep of the Atlanta Braves. Abreu has 19 strikeouts over 12 1/3 innings and he seemingly vaulted over higher-profile, more experienced RHPs Hector Neris and Rafael Montero to earn the ninth-inning work. RHP Ryan Pressly saved Friday's win, but he was deemed unavailable after that, and naturally, since he has only one save this season, he is on the most-dropped list. Something may be happening here. Pressly is 34 and no stranger to the IL. He's probably dealing with something, but now we know who is next in line, surprising (and smart) as it may be.

David Bednar, tied with Hader for the most standard fantasy points among relief pitchers, seems unlikely to continue his pace for more than 50 saves over six months, mainly because the Pirates seem unlikely to continue to win at a 70% pace for much longer. I mean, optimism aside, let's be real, folks. That can make Bednar a wise sell-high option for trades in all formats. He's great, but is he the best reliever in fantasy? Bednar is 40th in strikeout rate at 31.8%. By the way, the league leader in holds is the aptly named Pirates RHP Colin Holderman. Thought you should know.

Random thoughts from the most-dropped list

The aforementioned Dodgers RHP Evan Phillips is down to just 22.3% rostered and this continues to feel like a rather big "oopsie" by fantasy managers. Phillips is not struggling. In fact, he just came off the paternity list! Life is great for him and his family! The point is, Phillips remains the top relief pitcher on the Dodgers. They have had just four saves all season, and he has the lone two that went one inning or less. Yes, Phillips may get utilized for eighth-inning work if an opposing lineup dictates his leverage, but I still think he saves 25 games this season, not Brusdar Graterol, Daniel Hudson or any other Dodger.

Colorado Rockies RHPs Daniel Bard and Pierce Johnson are both among the top-10 dropped relief pitchers, perhaps more of a sign of fantasy managers seeing little opportunity for saves. The Rockies are 7-17 and have nary a save since April 9. They have lost 11 of 13 games. I agree that moving on in ESPN's format makes sense, but in deeper leagues, Bard is probably getting the next save chance. Remember, he pitched terrific last season -- and he can do so again. Besides, he is also the one with the big (for a relief pitcher) contract.

Braves LHP A.J. Minter lost a pair of those weekend games to the Astros, permitting five earned runs on five hits in two messy innings. So, voila! Fantasy managers are moving on. It makes some sense, with RHP Raisel Iglesias (shoulder) set to begin a rehab assignment soon, and manager Brian Snitker likely to turn to Iglesias for most of the saves when he's ready. Then again, it's a shoulder injury. Keeping Minter around in deeper formats makes more sense. LHP Dylan Lee, with a spotless ERA after 11 1/3 innings and five holds, is among the most-added relief pitchers. I would rather add his teammate RHP Nick Anderson.

Fantasy baseball karabell bullpen blog tuesday april 25

2023-04-26 00:00:44