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Midseason Rankings and Tiers: Relief Pitcher (RP)

With the first half of the season in the books, it’s time for one last RotoBaller rankings update. As with our May edition, these rest-of-season rankings come from yours truly and all-around good fellow Kyle BIshop. We’ve each taken a position since Wednesday and that means that today wraps up the action, with the bullpen finishing things out.

Check out all of our updated rankings. Adjust your league size, and export your rankings. Tiers, auction values, prospects, news and more. It's all free.

Shall we?

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2017 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Relief Pitchers (Midseason Update)

Ranking Tier Player Position Kyle Nick Composite
1 1 Craig Kimbrel RP 54 50 52
2 1 Kenley Jansen RP 51 58 54.5
3 1 Roberto Osuna RP 62 104 83
4 2 Zach Britton RP 124 59 91.5
5 2 Aroldis Chapman RP 58 126 92
6 2 Wade Davis RP 104 98 101
7 2 Raisel Iglesias SP/RP 90 120 105
8 2 Corey Knebel RP 85 127 106
9 2 Felipe Rivero RP 73 160 116.5
10 2 Greg Holland RP 82 156 119
11 3 Cody Allen RP 114 128 121
12 3 Edwin Diaz RP 134 110 122
13 3 Ken Giles RP 108 152 130
14 3 Kelvin Herrera RP 148 161 154.5
15 3 Alex Colome RP 156 170 163
16 3 David Robertson RP 165 169 167
17 3 Andrew Miller RP 151 184 167.5
18 4 Chris Devenski SP/RP 150 202 176
19 4 A.J. Ramos RP 174 186 180
20 4 Justin Wilson RP 131 252 191.5
21 4 Addison Reed RP 205 183 194
22 5 Brandon Kintzler RP 183 294 238.5
23 5 Seung-Hwan Oh RP 246 234 240
24 5 Brandon Maurer RP 228 280 254
25 5 Mark Melancon RP #N/A 259 259
26 6 Jeurys Familia RP 289 #N/A 289
27 6 Hector Neris RP 265 317 291
28 6 Dellin Betances RP #N/A 293 293
29 6 Matt Bush RP #N/A 328 328
30 6 Fernando Rodney RP #N/A 334 334
31 6 Jim Johnson RP #N/A 340 340
32 6 Santiago Casilla RP #N/A 345 345
33 6 Trevor Rosenthal RP #N/A 347 347

 

Midseason Relief Pitcher Rankings Analysis

Tier 1

Craig Kimbrel may have just blown his first save at Fenway Park, but he’s still performing like an absolute warrior out on the mound with an insane 16.25 K/9 and Major League-leading 1.04 FIP. The strikeouts give him the edge -- in my opinion -- over Kenley Jansen, whose 13.5 K/9 is still incredible but just not as insane. They both make Roberto Osuna’s 1.46 FIP, 12.09 K/9 and 0.77 BB/9 rates look pedestrian, but please believe he’s worth top-tier consideration.

Tier 2

Maybe I shouldn’t have this much faith in Zach Britton, but I trust him to return to form more so than Aroldis Chapman. Kyle and I practically have the two flip-flopped across a 70-slot gap, but I’ll take Britton’s sinker over Chapman’s heater -- especially now that Joe Girardi has hinted that maybe Chap’s postseason run with the Cubbies is causing him some serious wear in 2017.

Meanwhile, folks like Wade Davis and Edwin Diaz are doing their thing, as others like Raisel Iglesias, Felipe Rivero, Greg Holland and Corey Knebel have come from far down on the ADP charts (or from the unranked territory) to provide stellar value. I’m lower on mostly everyone here as I just have a large amount of hatred for non-elite RPs, though I realize that sort of goes against what rankings are about.

Tier 3

Ken Giles is doing well, though Houston scores too many stinkin’ runs to generate as many save opportunities as their hefty win total might hint at. The Astros’ stopper is sporting a 15 percent swinging-strike rate, which would be impressive if he hadn’t posted a ridiculous 19.9 percent SwStr rate last season alongside a spectacular 13.98 K/9.

Andrew Miller was just lifted with a “hot spot” so that would jack up Cody Allen’s value in my mind, and I should also be more afraid of Kelvin Herrera and Alex Colome’s lesser skill set (especially in the strikeout and walk departments). But for now, they’re still rather secure in their roles and that goes a long way. I would feel a lot better if I knew that David Robertson would close after being traded, but I’m just not there so the ranking reflects that. The same note goes for Brandon Kintzler down in Tier Five.

Tier 4

Chris Devenski is a tank but I can only go so far for those arms that don’t really have a shot at closing and also are pretty much out of the running when it comes to breaking into the rotation and shining (a la Alex Wood). A.J. Ramos and Addison Reed are plugging along, with Justin Wilson being one of Kyle’s favorites. I’m not entirely sold on him, but I’m not going to hold it against anyone who does considering all that he’s done so far and the lack of any internal threat.

Tier 5

Seung-Hwan Oh carried such high hopes, but he’s been absolutely torched this season and has Trevor Rosenthal breathing down his neck. Brandon Maurer has been excellent and it appears that Brad Hand is drawing most of the trade interest here, though nothing is safe in San Diego. Mark Melancon should be able to recover so I’ll keep on ranking him here -- it isn’t as though I fear Sam Dyson running away with things.

Tier 6

You don’t really want to be relying on any of these guys, with most of them being rather interchangeable with anyone who has an outside shot at the ninth inning. I still hold out hope that Dellin Betances conquers his walk demons, and the aforementioned Chapman fatigue has me thinking that he ends up back in the ninth inning at some point very soon. Matt Bush (and Alex Claudio) are looking alright, and sadly folks like Fernando Rodney, Jim Johnson and Santiago Casilla continue to turn in saves and demand you roster them.

 

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