3 Relievers Who Pop
One of the best methods for evaluating relief pitcher performance is to use FanGraphs’ pitching leaderboards and sort by “relievers.”
Below are 3 arms who stand out to me so far this season. If available, they’re must-add in SV+HLD leagues. They’re likely already rostered, though, in which case consider this a fun read on one of baseball’s most under-represented positions.
Stats are entering Tuesday night
1. Ryan Helsley, RP, Cardinals
Why he’s here: Leads MLB relievers in K%, K/9, and K-BB%
I play in a “RP only” H2H categories league, so I consider myself pretty plugged into the world of relief pitchers. Yet Helsley’s emergence totally caught me off guard. I didn’t read any stories about him during spring training and was late to the party in my SV+HLD leagues.
But here he is, suddenly the top strikeout reliever in baseball.
As for what triggered the transformation, it looks like he added 1 mph to his four-seamer, plus an inch of ride.
Helsley’s four-seamer is likely playing up even more because he’s throwing it less. Meanwhile, his cutter usage has increased from 35% in 2021 to 43% this season.
Otherwise, it looks as if these two changes were all he needed. The metrics back up what he’s done. Helsley’s chase rate and swinging strike rate are both elite. Hitters are simply overmatched right now.
2. Steven Wilson, RP, Padres
Why he’s here: No. 4 in K%, No. 6 in K-BB%, No. 3 in SwStr%
I had at least heard of Helsley before this season, but Wilson came entirely out of nowhere to become one of the most dominant relievers in April.
The 27-year-old was driving for Uber this past offseason, but he’s now established himself as one of San Diego’s top setup arms. Through 7 appearances (7 1/3 innings) Wilson has a 12:2 K:BB, 4 holds, and 2 wins. Those numbers will play!
As for what makes Wilson great, we don’t have past data to compare his 2022 self to. He throws just two pitches, a four-seamer and a slider. Neither pitch is thrown with premium velocity (the four-seamer sits at 95 mph), but both pitches have elite vertical movement, especially the slider.
They pass the “stuff” test in Eno Sarris’ pitching model, too. Right now Wilson’s emergence is a reminder that velocity is important, but the shape of pitches plays a big role in a pitcher’s “stuff” as well.
3. Michael King, RP, Yankees
Why he’s here: No. 1 in fWAR, No. 9 in K% and K-BB%
King drew a lot of attention this past weekend for a dominant 3 inning, 8 strikeout performance out of the bullpen. Fantasy analysts started recommending him as a pickup in traditional roto leagues, and it’s easy to understand why.
Through 10 2/3 innings he already has 18 strikeouts, 1 win, 1 save, and 2 holds. In deeper roto formats that kind of production is useful.
King is throwing everything a tick harder this year, but what has elevated him into the elite echelon of RPs is the pristine “sweep” on his curve. The big jump in horizontal movement on this pitch occurred in 2021 for King, but he further improved it in 2022.
King’s curve has 7.7 inches of horizontal movement more than the average offering. He’s part of the Yankee pitching factory that is way ahead of the curve on the impact of this pitch.
He’ll likely pitch more innings than Helsely or Wilson as more of a bulk reliever, but so far he’s been no less dominant.
