Reliever Roundup & Bullpen Bonanza, Ep. 12

Sport Relay Bullpen Awards winners for August 2024

September 1, 2024

Reliever Roundup & Bullpen Bonanza — August 2024 Awards

Welcome to the fifth Awards Edition of Reliever Roundup and Bullpen Bonanza! In this installment, we will announce the Sport Relay Reliever Award winners for August.

Statistics are for all games in the month of August and exclude position pitchers. To qualify for the leaderboards, a pitcher must have at least seven relief appearances.

We have created a convenient glossary page. If a stat name is linked, click/tap it to see, in a new tab, the definition of that stat.

Click/tap here to see the ranking method.

League averages for August:

AL — 4.08 ERA, 1.261 WHIP, 3.2 HR%, 14.8 K–BB%, 71.3 ScOtg% (ER), 3.0 GE/BE, 1.3 GE, 32.8 IS%.
NL — 4.16 ERA, 1.289 WHIP, 2.8 HR%, 16.1 K–BB%, 71.6 ScOtg% (ER), 3.2 GE/BE, 1.6 GE, 30.6 IS%.

Sport Relay Team Reliever and Bullpen Awards, August 2024

Bullpen Awards, August 2024: AL Team Relief Stats for August. Position pitchers excluded. — AL Team Relief Stats, August 2024. Position pitchers excluded.

Bullpen Awards, August 2024: NL Team Relief Stats for August. Position pitchers excluded. — NL Team Relief Stats, August 2024. Position pitchers excluded.

Relief Corps of the Month (AL), August

Minnesota Twins
7.3 GE/BE (22–3), 74.4 ScOtg%, 1.279 WHIP, 2.5 HR%, 17.8 K–BB%

Shakiest Relief Corps of the Month (AL), August

Chicago White Sox
0.7 GE/BE (6–9), 60.7 ScOtg%, 1.632 WHIP, 3.1 HR%, 12.0 K–BB%

Relief Corps of the Month (NL), August

San Francisco Giants
11.5 GE/BE (23–2), 78.7 ScOtg%, 1.244 WHIP, 1.7 HR%, 16.0 K–BB%

Shakiest Relief Corps of the Month (NL), August

Pittsburgh Pirates
1.4 GE/BE (14–10), 66.7 ScOtg%, 1.525 WHIP, 2.8 HR%, 13.8 K–BB%

Sport Relay Individual Reliever and Bullpen Awards, August 2024

AL Middle Reliever of the Month, August

Brock Burke, Los Angeles Angels (Angels games only)

Burke struggled in his three August outings with the Texas Rangers, leading the defending champions to designate the left-hander for assignment August 11. The Angels claimed him on waivers August 13 and activated him August 14. In his seven August appearances for the Halos, all of which were scoreless, Burke allowed three total baserunners, one via hit and two via walk. Doing so across 7 2/3 innings gave Burke a 0.391 WHIP. He did not allow any of the three runners he inherited to score, and of the 26 batters he faced, 14 struck out. This gave him a 46.2 K–BB% (53.8 K%, 7.7 BB%).

NL Middle Reliever of the Month, August

Dylan Lee, Atlanta Braves

Lee made nine August appearances, seven of which were scoreless (77.8 ScOtg%). Facing 32 batters across nine innings, Lee struck out 15 and allowed two earned runs, three hits, two walks, and a homer. His performance gave him a 0.556 WHIP, 3.1 HR%, and 40.6 K–BB% (46.9 K%, 6.3 BB%).

AL Setup Man of the Month, August

Griffin Jax, Minnesota Twins

Jax had one of the best months of any reliever all season. Not a soul crossed the plate with him on the mound, whether it be an earned, unearned, or inherited run. In 13 August appearances, his GE–BE count was 10–0. Tossing 12 1/3 innings, he faced 43 batters. Jax struck out 17, walked none, and allowed six hits — three singles, two doubles, and a triple. This gave him a 0.486 WHIP and 39.5 K–BB%.

NL Setup Man of the Month, August

Joel Payamps, Milwaukee Brewers

Payamps, in 14 August appearances, racked up a GE–BE tally of 9–1, obviously giving him a ratio of 9.0 GE/BE. In addition to stranding all seven runners he inherited, Payamps held opponents scoreless in 13 outings (92.9 ScOtg%). Both earned runs he allowed came on one swing of the bat — a two-run homer by Mike Yastrzemski of the San Francisco Giants, the only homer Payamps allowed all month. He faced 45 batters across 12 2/3 innings, striking out 12, walking three, and allowing five hits. His rate stats came to a 0.632 WHIP, 2.2 HR%, and 20.0 K–BB% (26.7 K%, 6.7 BB%).

AL Closer of the Month, August

Josh Hader, Houston Astros

August was vintage Josh Hader, what the Astros were hoping for when they signed him to a five-year, $95 million deal last offseason. He made 13 appearances, holding opponents without an earned run in 12 of them (92.3 ScOtg%). His GE-BE tally came to 9–1 (9.0 GE/BE). The lone earned run he allowed across his 13 1/3 August innings came in his last appearance of the month, a game-tying home run by Paul DeJong of the Kansas City Royals in the top of the ninth on August 30. (Note: The Astros won that game anyway thanks to a walk-off Jose Altuve double in the bottom of the ninth off James McArthur.) He faced 48 batters in August and struck out 17, walked five, and allowed three hits. This gave him a 0.600 WHIP, 2.1 HR%, and 25.0 K–BB% (35.4 K%, 10.4 BB%).

NL Closer of the Month, August

Ryan Walker, San Francisco Giants

Walker was nearly untouchable in August, going a perfect 10–0 in GE–BE during his 12 appearances. He did not allow an earned run all month. He struck out 26 of the 53 batters he faced in his 13 2/3 innings, walking two and allowing seven hits. To cap it off, he inherited six runners and stranded all of them. His August WHIP was 0.659, and he had a 45.3 K–BB% (49.1 K%, 3.8 BB%).

Most Improved, NL, August

Ryan Walker, San Francisco Giants closer

Walker also earned the status of most improved NL reliever in August. His dominant performance gave him 183.3 points, a leap of 178.6 from July, when he earned 4.7 points. July saw him appear in 13 games, holding opponents without an earned run in 11 (76.9 ScOtg%), although he allowed an inherited runner to score in one of them (1-of-7, 14.3 IS%). His GE–BE tally was 4–3, a 1.3 GE/BE ratio. He allowed five earned runs on nine hits, walking five and striing out eight of the 53 batters he faced across 13 2/3 innings. Two of the hits he allowed were homers. This gave him a 1.024 WHIP, 3.8 HR%, and 5.7 K–BB% for July (15.1 K%, 9.4 BB%).

Biggest Plunge, NL, August

Edwin Diaz, New York Mets Closer

Diaz was not himself in August, having a 3–1 GE–BE tally in 10 appearances. He held opponents without an earned run seven times (70.0 ScOtg%), but the other three games saw him give up a combined five earned runs. In 8 2/3 innings, Diaz faced 33 batters, striking out 15, walking three, and allowing four hits. Two of the four hits, however, were home runs. This gave him a nice 0.808 WHIP and 36.4 K–BB% (45.5 K%, 9.1 BB%), but his 6.1 HR% hurt. This gave him a total of 8.8 points in August.

Diaz dropped 130.0 points from July, when he had a 6–0 GE–BE tally in eight appearances, seven of which he held opponents without an earned run (87.5 ScOtg%). He faced 31 batters in eight innings, allowing one earned run on three hits, walking five and striking out ten. Diaz had a 1.000 WHIP in July, along with a 0.0 HR% and 16.1 K–BB% (32.3 K%, 16.1 BB%; the 0.1 discrepancy is due to rounding).

Most Improved, AL, August

Jason Foley, Detroit Tigers Closer

Foley had a tough July, to put it mildly. He appeared in 11 games, tallying two GE against one BE, and pitched eight innings. He struck out three of the 43 batters he faced, allowing eight earned runs on 14 hits, including two home runs, and five walks. Foley had a 54.5 ScOtg% (6-of-11), 2.375 WHIP, 4.7 HR%, and –4.7 K–BB% (7.0 K%, 11.6 BB%) for July, earning –48.9 points.

In August, he was a completely different pitcher. All 12 of his appearances saw him prevent any earned runs, including four GE and no BE. He did not allow any of the four runners he inherited to score, either. Foley faced 40 hitters, striking out nine, walking three, and allowing three hits. This gave him a 0.545 WHIP, 0.0 HR% (obviously), a 15.0 K–BB% (22.5 K%, 7.5 BB%), and 128.7 points — a 177.6-point improvement from July.

Biggest Plunge, AL, August

Tayler Saucedo, Seattle Mariners Middle Reliever

Saucedo held opponents without an earned run in 9-of-10 July appearances (90.0 ScOtg%). Facing 35 batters across 8 1/3 innings, he allowed three runs on four hits, striking out 11 and walking six. He had a 1.200 WHIP, 33.3 IS% (1-of-3), 0.0 HR%, and 14.3 K–BB%. This gave him 19.5 total points.

In August, Saucedo held opponents scoreless in 3-of-7 appearances (42.9 ScOtg%). He faced 21 hitters across 3 2/3 innings, allowing 5-of-6 inherited runners to score (83.3 IS%) as well as six earned runs on eight hits, striking out no one and walking two. He had a 9.5 HR% (two homers), 2.727 WHIP, and –9.5 K–BB% (0 K%, 9.5 BB%). His point total was –105.2, a free-fall of 124.6 points.

Sport Relay Team Reliever and Bullpen Rankings, August 2024

Bullpen Awards, August 2024: Overall team leaderboards, August. AL (red) on the left; NL (blue) on the right. — Overall team leaderboards, August 2024. AL (red) on the left; NL (blue) on the right.

The Outlier

1. San Francisco Giants (94.6, 1st in NL) ▲ +17 from July
180.1 Clutch, 10.7 Run Prevention, 9.0 Baserunners, –0.9 Command

The Elite

2. Minnesota Twins (56.2, 1st in AL) ▲ +8 from July
107.8 Clutch, 3.1 Run Prevention, 2.0 Baserunners, 20.3 Command

3. Toronto Blue Jays (49.6, 2nd in AL) ▲ +14 from July
95.2 Clutch, 3.8 Run Prevention, 8.2 Baserunners, –3.4 Command

4. Texas Rangers (43.1, 3rd in AL) ▲ +9 from July
93.7 Clutch, –4.5 Run Prevention, –16.3 Baserunners, –9.9 Command

5. Philadelphia Phillies (39.7, 2nd in NL) ▲ +21 from July
73.7 Clutch, 8.7 Run Prevention, –3.6 Baserunners, 3.8 Command

Better Take an Early Lead…

6. Chicago Cubs (31.1, 3rd in NL) ▲ +8 from July
56.3 Clutch, 5.7 Run Prevention, 2.8 Baserunners, 12.9 Command

7. Arizona Diamondbacks (26.2, 4th in NL) ▲ +8 from July
47.3 Clutch, 2.2 Run Prevention, 11.5 Baserunners, 12.4 Command

8. Oakland Athletics (23.3, 4th in AL) ▼ –5 from July
44.0 Clutch, 3.9 Run Prevention, –2.2 Baserunners, 2.8 Command

9. Tampa Bay Rays (21.6, 5th in AL) ▼ –3 from July
19.9 Clutch, 25.2 Run Prevention, 16.4 Baserunners, 23.3 Command

The Very Good

10. Houston Astros (17.91, rounded to 17.9, 6th in AL) ▼ –2 from July
25.6 Clutch, 8.5 Run Prevention, 12.3 Baserunners, 18.3 Command

11. Los Angeles Dodgers (17.85, rounded to 17.9, 4th in NL) ▲ +17 from July
26.7 Clutch, 9.6 Run Prevention, 11.8 Baserunners, –1.0 Command

12. Los Angeles Angels (17.1, 7th in AL) ▼ –8 from July
29.1 Clutch, 7.9 Run Prevention, 7.4 Baserunners, –20.1 Command

The Good

13. Milwaukee Brewers (14.5, 6th in NL) ▲ +8 from July
17.4 Clutch, 10.4 Run Prevention, 12.9 Baserunners, 16.9 Command

14. Cleveland Guardians (10.0, 8th in AL) ▼ –13 from July
22.7 Clutch, –5.1 Run Prevention, 8.4 Baserunners, –7.1 Command

15. Detroit Tigers (7.9, 9th in AL) ▲ +12 from July
3.5 Clutch, 10.2 Run Prevention, 21.0 Baserunners, 10.1 Command

Slightly above Average

16. Washington Nationals (4.87, rounded to 4.9, 7th in NL) ▲ +6 from July
4.2 Clutch, 8.5 Run Prevention, 7.3 Baserunners, –19.3 Command

17. San Diego Padres (4.86, rounded to 4.9, 5th in NL) ▼ –8 from July
0.2 Clutch, 3.5 Run Prevention, 9.5 Baserunners, 52.1 Command

18. New York Yankees (4.1, 10th in AL) ▼ –2 from July
6.1 Clutch, 2.6 Run Prevention, 4.0 Baserunners, –4.8 Command