Reliever Roundup & Bullpen Bonanza — The 2026 First Half in Review plus Rankings

• July 19, 2026

hReliever Roundup & Bullpen Bonanza — 2026 First Half in Review & Reliever Rankings

Welcome to the written version of Reliever Roundup and Bullpen Bonanza! This column started in written form in 2024 to give team and individual reliever rankings. For 2025, it changed to a show on YouTube and Rumble. It began this season as a show, and it simply got to be too much for this reporter to handle by himself. Stat compilation, graphics preparation, script writing, video shooting, and video editing — this reporter did all of it on his own. So…we’re back to written form until we can assemble a production crew.

Anyway, this edition will review the first half. The last show was the May Awards show, so there are about six weeks’ worth to catch up on. These analyses and rankings take it to a different level than the other reliever rankings and coverage you’ve seen. We will separate our rankings by closers, setup men, and middle relievers. (We aren’t going to worry about ranking long relievers; instead, we’ll lump them in with the middle relievers.)

Statistics are up to the end of play on Sunday, July 12 unless otherwise noted and exclude position pitchers.

To the reader: we use some statistics you do might not recognize. To help you out, we have a glossary page. Furthermore, 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.

Without further ado, away we go!

AL Back-end Mediocrity

In the first half of the season, the back ends of the American League relief units, in general, have been mediocre. By “back end,” we mean setup men and closers. In other words, the pitchers who come in to protect narrow leads or preserve tie games in the seventh inning or later. At Reliever Roundup & Bullpen Bonanza, we do not use the flawed “save” statistic but instead use the much more effective “Goose Egg” statistic and its negative counterpart, the “Broken Egg.” The key with these statistics is the ratio of Goose Eggs to Broken Eggs. Historically, dating back to 1921, the average ratio is 3.0 — three Goose Eggs for every Broken Egg. Of course, the elite relief corps have ratios higher than 3.0, and the strugglers have ratios lower than 3.0. Look at the league-wide averages for the first half:

AL — 1.330 WHIP, 2.9 HR%, 12.7 K–BB%, 70.2 ScOtg% (ER), 2.6 GE/BE, 30.3 IS%.
NL — 1.318 WHIP, 2.8 HR%, 12.5 K–BB%, 70.9 ScOtg% (ER), 3.1 GE/BE, 31.8 IS%.

The National League is right around where the averages typically are. With the American League, everything also is close to the typical averages except one — GE/BE. Breaking it down further by team shows that 9-of-15 National League teams have a GE/BE ratio greater than or equal to 3.0. Conversely, 4-of-15 American League teams have a ratio greater than or equal to 3.0. Moreover, the top AL ratio would be fourth in the NL, and the second-place AL ratio would be eighth in the NL.

AL Closers Were Struggling

A big reason for this disparity is the performances of each league’s closers. Later we will show the individual power rankings, complete with each pitcher on the leaderboard’s overall scores. The relief scoring methods we use are set up so that a pitcher with a score of 0.0 is average for his league and his role. One point is the equivalent of one percentage point, so an AL middle reliever with a score of 5.0 is performing roughly 5% higher than the average AL middle reliever. An NL setup man with a score of –5.0 is performing roughly 5% lower than the average NL setup man.

Through the three years we’ve done these rankings, a benchmark for dominance among setup men and closers is a score of 100.0. Using that benchmark, there were only four AL closers with dominant first halves — Josh Hader of the Houston Astros, Cade Smith of the Cleveland Guardians, Louis Varland of the Toronto Blue Jays, and Jacob Latz of the Texas Rangers. In the National League, there was one closer performance that broke 300 — Mason Miller of the Padres — and six others that broke 100. Those six were Gregory Soto of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Riley O’Brien of the St Louis Cardinals, Tanner Scott of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jhoan Duran of the Philadelphia Phillies, Trevor Megill of the Milwaukee Brewers, and Paul Sewald of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Strangely, however, the number of setup men breaking 100 in each league flipped. The National League had one setup man break 300 in the first half — Luke Weaver of the New York Mets. Only two others in the NL broke 100, however — Adrian Morejon of the Padres and Abner Uribe of the Brewers. The American League had seven setup men break 100, with the highest score being 152.8.

Alarming Lowlights

Some team performances from the first half have been particularly ugly. One that stands out is the San Francisco Giants. Their GE/BE is alarming enough at 1.9, but their Goose Egg total of 36 is the lowest All-Star Break total by any team we’ve seen since we began keeping track in 2022. However, it goes further than that. Their combined total of Goose Eggs and Broken Eggs is also low — 55. Not including themselves, only three NL teams and four AL teams had fewer than 55 first-half Goose Eggs. So, in other words, the Giants aren’t ahead very often late in close games, and the few times they are, they are highly likely to give up the lead.

But the Giants weren’t dead last in their first-half overall score. No, they were 14th in the NL and 29th in the majors. That means there was one NL team below them, and that team was the Washington Nationals. Yes, the Nationals had the lowest first-half GE/BE ratio in the NL (1.7) and second-lowest in the majors. But the Nationals also led the majors in first-half Broken Eggs — 35. That means the Nationals had one fewer Broken Egg than the Giants had Goose Eggs. Ouch.

That brings us to the one team with a lower GE/BE ratio than the Nationals, the struggling Detroit Tigers. The 2025 Tigers had one of the top relief units in baseball after making the Kyle Finnegan trade. It played a large role in their run to an extra-inning loss to the Mariners in Game Five of the ALDS. Not so with the 2026 team, which, like the Giants, has suffered both from a lack of GE opportunities (69) and GE conversions (42).

Deadbolt Delivered

Now for the most dominant team relief performances of the month. It’s time for Deadbolt Delivered — where we honor the relief units that slammed the door and threw away the key. Here are the June Door Slams!

To get a Door Slam, a team must close out the game with at least three consecutive Goose Eggs. This string must be completely uninterrupted — there cannot be any Broken Eggs in there, there cannot be any Mehs in there, and there can’t be any situation where the score differential is such that the pitcher doesn’t get any of the three. It must be Goose Egg-Goose Egg-Goose Egg. Bang, bang, bang. At least three in a row.

Why is this important? If a team gets a door slam, they completely shut the opponent down en route to a narrow victory. When the last outs are on the line, it’s lockdown only. The Door Slam celebrates those nights when the back end doesn’t merely protect the lead — it shuts the door, throws the deadbolt, and walks away with the key.

Door Slam Chart

Door Slam Totals

Here is the list of each team’s Door Slam totals for June. The Atlanta Braves played 23 games. Three teams played 25: the St. Louis Cardinals, the Chicago White Sox, and the Cleveland Guardians. Everyone else played either 26 or 27 games. As you can see from the numbers here, Door Slams are not easy to get and are not common. They aren’t un-common — we typically get at least one per day — but they aren’t common, either.

The leaders in Major League Baseball for June were the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers, each with four. For second place, we had a four-way tie among the Athletics, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Each of the four had three. The Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, and Pittsburgh Pirates had two each. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, St Louis Cardinals, and Toronto Blue Jays each had one. Five teams did not have a single Door Slam all month: the Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Angels, Tampa Bay Rays, and Washington Nationals.

In summary, during June, there were 43 total Door Slams league‑wide. Two teams had four each, and both were from the AL. Four teams had three each, two from each league. There were also four teams with two each. Seven teams had two door slams each, and fifteen teams each had one Door Slam. The American League had 23 Door Slams; the National League had 20. 13 National League teams and 12 American League teams had at least one.

To close this section, here is the season-long table.

June Team Reliever Power Rankings

Time now for the team relief corps power rankings for June. These rankings include every pitch thrown in relief by a player wearing their team’s uniform — excluding position players — during the month of June. The first table shows the scoring breakdown. Teams are ranked in Clutch, Run Prevention, Baserunner Prevention, and Command, weighted as shown. The final score determines the ranking. Zero means right at league average. Positive is better than average, negative is below average. A score of 100 means the team is 100% better than league average; a score of 50 is 50% better; a score of -50 is 50% lower, and so on. Each whole number equals one percentage point.

First, the June rankings….

Here is June’s Scatter Plot.

And now the month-by-month bar graph.

June Team Awards

That brings us to the team award winners for June. You’ve already seen who they are, but here we’ll go into more detail as to why they earned the score that they did.

AL Relief Corps of the Month: Tampa Bay Rays

They finished June with 86.1 total points, highest in the American League. Their 10.0 GE/BE ratio also led the AL, built on 10 Goose Eggs and 1 Broken Egg, the fewest in the AL. In run prevention, their 84 ERA‑minus (eighth) and 78.2% ScOtgER% (ninth) were both middle-of-the-pack, though they were both better than league-average. Their inherited runners scored percentage was second-best in the AL at 17.9, as was their 1.084 WHIP. K–BB% was seventh in the AL at 18.2%. And their home run percentage was 10th in the AL — 3.93%, rounded to 3.9%.

Shakiest AL Relief Corps of the Month: Kansas City Royals

They finished June with –20.5 total points, 15th in the AL and 27th in the majors. They had 10 Broken Eggs, tied for the most in the league, against 15 Goose Eggs — 11th in the AL. The Royals’ 1.5 GE/BE ratio ranked 14th in the AL. Their 64.9% ScOtgER% ranked 13th in the AL, as did their 130 ERA‑minus. They finished the month 14th in Inherited Runners Scored percentage (45.7%), WHIP (1.420), and HR% (4.2%). After seeing all this, it will come as no surprise that their 6.6% K–BB% ranked 15th in the American League.

Biggest AL Plunge

The AL’s Biggest Plunge for June came from the Boston Red Sox. Putting the May numbers and June numbers side-by-side, we can readily see the reasons for their nosedive.

AL Most Improved

The most improved AL Relief Unit in June was the Tampa Bay Rays. They moved up the same number of places as the Texas Rangers, so we went to the tiebreaker. The tiebreaker is raw score, giving it to the Rays. Let’s put the May stats and June stats side-by-side so we can easily see the improvement the Rays made. When looking, take note that this is illustrating an important principle of relief pitching. How many runs a relief unit gives up is not as important as when a relief unit gives the runs up.

NL Relief Corps of the Month: Miami Marlins

They finished June with 103.9 total points, the highest mark in the National League and in the majors. Their 8.5 GE/BE ratio — from 17 GE vs. 2 BE — led the NL. Their 62 ERA-minus ranked second in the NL, and their 77.3 ScOtgER% was second in the NL and third in the majors. They also held runners well, with a major league-best 13.6% Inherited Runners Scored percentage. Their 1.104 WHIP was also second in the NL, as was their 17.9 K-BB%. Finally, their 1.7% HR was tied with the Atlanta Braves for the best in the National League. And in a remarkable occurrence, it is a true tie. The Braves surrendered six homers to 354 batters, and the Marlins coughed up seven homers to 413 batters. 6/354 and 7/413, when written as fractions, both reduce to 1/59.

Shakiest NL Relief Corps of the Month: Colorado Rockies

They finished June with –27.0 total points. Their GE/BE ratio ranked 15th in the NL, yes, but there’s more to it. It was a ratio we rarely see: a straight 1.0, 9 GE vs 9 BE. And the rest of it doesn’t get any better. 65.4% ScOtgER%? 11th in the NL. 120 ERA-minus? 12th in the NL. They didn’t struggle quite as much with inherited runners, with their 37.5% Inherited Runners Scored percentage being 10th in the NL. Their 1.714 WHIP was not only the worst in the majors, but it was 61 points higher than the next worse, which was 1.653 (Minnesota Twins). Also of concern: their 6.5 K–BB% was 14th in the National League.

One encouraging sign was their home run percentage. It was, after rounding, the same as the NL average — 3.4%.

Biggest NL Plunge

The NL’s Biggest Plunge for June came from the St. Louis Cardinals. Look at this. We’ve put the June stats on the right and the May stats on the left.

NL Most Improved

The most improved NL Relief Unit in June was the Cincinnati Reds. Though they were not one of the top relief units in the NL in June, they showed vast improvement over their May performance:

June Individual Reliever Power Rankings

Here now are the Individual Power Rankings for June. Statistics include every regular-season game during the month of June. To qualify for the rankings, there is a minimum of seven relief appearances, and for the GE/BE-plus statistic, which forms 2/3 of the “Clutch” category we use to rate setup men and closers, there is a minimum of 4 GE+BE. A note on the roles: if a team is using Co-Closers, we list both as closers. If it is “Closer by Committee,” we list all members of that committee as setup men.

AL Middle Relievers

#10: Cam Booser (TB) — 40.6
#9: Steven Okert (HOU) — 42.4
#8: Brent Headrick (NYY) — 42.9
#7: Kirby Yates (LAA) — 44.3
#6: Steven Cruz (KCR) — 46.4
#5: Peyton Gray (TEX) — 51.1
#4: Gabe Speier (SEA) — 53.4
#3: Tyron Guerrero (BOS) — 60.7
#2: Brandon Eisert (CHW) — 63.7
AL Middle Reliever of the Month: Colin Holderman (CLE) — 66.2

NL Middle Relievers

#10: Didier Fuentes (ATL) — 30.4
#9: Tim Mayza (PHL) — 36.1
#8: Brandyn Garcia (ARI) — 39.6
#7: Jonathan Bowlan (PHL) — 41.0
#6: John King (MIA) — 45.7
#5: Anthony Bender (MIA) — 47.6
#4: A.J. Minter (NYM) — 48.0
#3: Edgardo Henriquez (LAD) — 55.4
#2: Ryan Rolison (CHC) — 55.8
NL Middle Reliever of the Month: Huascar Brazobán (NYM) — 58.7

AL Setup Men

#10: Sam Bachman (LAA) — 32.7
#9: Hunter Gaddis (CLE) — 32.8
#8: Elvis Alvarado (ATH) — 34.6
#7: Fernando Cruz (NYY) — 47.6
#6: Grant Taylor (CHW) — 63.9
#5: Tyler Rogers (TOR) — 77.6
#4: Bryan King (HOU) — 98.0
#3: Bryan Hudson (CHW) — 160.1
#2: Andrew Morris (MIN) — 185.2
AL Setup Man of the Month: Jeff Hoffman (TOR) — 192.1

NL Setup Men

#10: Dylan Lee (ATL) — 2.8
#9: Jacob Webb (CHC) — 4.4
#8: Jason Adam (SD) — 7.3
#7: Mason Montgomery (PIT) — 18.4
#6: Luke Weaver (NYM) — 23.2
#5: Calvin Faucher (MIA) — 24.7
#4: Orion Kerkering (PHL) — 40.2
#3: Michael Petersen (MIA) — 78.9
#2: Abner Uribe (MIL) — 83.1
NL Setup Man of the Month: Adrián Morejón (SD) — 104.3

AL Closers

#5: Andrés Muñoz (SEA) — 65.5
#4: Yoendrys Gómez (MIN) — 79.7
#3: David Bednar (NYY) — 212.2
#2: Jacob Latz (TEX) — 243.3
AL Closer of the Month: Josh Hader (HOU) — 244.8

NL Closers

#5: Riley O’Brien (STL) — 56.7
#4: Trevor Megill (MIL) — 77.4
#3: Mason Miller (SD) — 90.1
#2: Tanner Scott (LAD) — 91.6
NL Closer of the Month: Jhoan Duran (PHL) — 97.6

League averages

AL — 1.363 WHIP, 2.7 HR%, 11.7 K–BB%, 69.7 ScOtg% (ER), 2.5 GE/BE, 2.2 GE, 28.8 IS%.
NL — 1.276 WHIP, 2.4 HR%, 12.8 K–BB%, 72.5 ScOtg% (ER), 3.2 GE/BE, 2.4 GE, 31.8 IS%.

First Half Team Relief Corps Power Rankings

Now it is time for the team relief corps power rankings for the First Half. These rankings include every pitch thrown in relief by a player wearing their team’s uniform — excluding position players — through the end of play on Sunday, July 12.

The first table shows the scoring breakdown. Teams are ranked in Clutch, Run Prevention, Baserunner Prevention, and Command, weighted as shown.

The final score determines the ranking. Zero means right at league average. Positive is better than average, negative is below average. A score of 100 means the team is 100% better than league average; a score of 50 is 50% better; a score of -50 is 50% lower, and so on. Each whole number equals one percentage point.

Pray for a Blowout Win:

30. Washington Nationals (−15.0)
29. San Francisco Giants (−13.1)

Stock Up on Tums:

28. Detroit Tigers (−9.2)
27. Kansas City Royals (−8.4)
26. Los Angeles Angels (−5.2)

Lots of Work to Do:

25. St. Louis Cardinals (−1.0)
24. Chicago Cubs (−0.8)
23. Minnesota Twins (0.6)
22. Colorado Rockies (1.3)

Below Average:

21. Athletics (3.7)
20. Cincinnati Reds (5.2)
19. Texas Rangers (7.3)

Slightly Below Average:

18. Baltimore Orioles (11.4)
17. New York Yankees (11.5)
16. Tampa Bay Rays (11.7)

Slightly Above Average:

15. Milwaukee Brewers (12.3)
14. Philadelphia Phillies (13.2)
13. Chicago White Sox (13.6)
12. Pittsburgh Pirates (13.9)

Above Average:

11. New York Mets (14.0)
10. Boston Red Sox (15.9)

The Decent:

9. Houston Astros (18.4)
8. Toronto Blue Jays (19.2)

The Good:

7. Atlanta Braves (21.5)
6. Arizona Diamondbacks (21.9)

The Very Good:

5. Cleveland Guardians (22.3)
4. Miami Marlins (25.2)

Better Take an Early Lead:

3. San Diego Padres (31.2)
2. Seattle Mariners (33.0)
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (40.7)

Here’s a look at the First Half Scatter Plot.

And the line graph of every team’s rankings in the First Half, week by week.

First Half Individual Reliever Power Rankings

Here are the Individual Power Rankings for the First Half. Statistics include every regular-season game up through the end of play on Sunday, July 12. To qualify for the rankings, there is a minimum of 20 relief appearances, and for the GE/BE-plus statistic, which forms 2/3 of the “Clutch” category we use to rate setup men and closers, there is a minimum of 10 GE+BE. A note on the roles: if a team is using Co-Closers, we list both as closers. If it is “Closer by Committee,” we list all members of that committee as setup men.

AL Middle Relievers

#10: Steven Cruz (KCR) — 10.7
#9: Trevor Richards (CHW) — 11.5
#8: Tyler Alexander (TEX) — 11.9
#7: Gabe Speier (SEA) — 13.5
#6: Eduard Bazardo (SEA) — 15.9
#5: Grant Wolfram (BAL) — 17.3
#4: Erik Sabrowski (CLE) — 18.0
#3: Spencer Miles (TOR) — 19.7
#2: Jovani Morán (BOS) — 21.1
#1: Yennier Cano (BAL) — 25.0

NL Middle Relievers

#10: Jack Dreyer (LAD) — 16.0
#9: Ryan Thompson (ARI) — 16.4
#8: Brennan Bernardino (COL) — 18.7
#7: Dylan Dodd (ATL) — 19.8
#6: Huascar Brazobán (NYM) — 20.6
#5: Edgardo Henriquez (LAD) — 21.3
#4: Jonathan Loáisiga (ARI) — 22.4
#3: Didier Fuentes (ATL) — 22.9
#2: Jonathan Bowlan (PHL) — 28.1
#1: Brandyn Garcia (ARI) — 52.0

AL Setup Men

#10: Kevin Kelly (TB) — 89.6
#9: Sam Bachman (LAA) — 95.7
#8: Brent Headrick (NYY) — 96.8
#7: Hunter Gaddis (CLE) — 102.7
#6: Daniel Lynch IV (KCR) — 113.0
#5: Rico Garcia (BAL) — 116.3
#4: Tyler Rogers (TOR) — 119.9
#3: Grant Taylor (CHW) — 128.9
#2: Garrett Whitlock (BOS) — 144.5
#1: Bryan Hudson (CHW) — 152.8

NL Setup Men

#10: Michael Petersen (MIA) — 76.5
#9: Juan Morillo (ARI) — 77.7
#8: Brooks Raley (NYM) — 80.8
#7: Mason Montgomery (PIT) — 81.4
#6: Dylan Lee (ATL) — 85.5
#5: Brock Burke (CIN) — 89.1
#4: Orion Kerkering (PHL) — 98.3
#3: Abner Uribe (MIL) — 100.0
#2: Adrián Morejón (SD) — 121.1
#1: Luke Weaver (NYM) — 300.5

AL Closers

#5: David Bednar (NYY) — 92.9
#4: Bryan Baker (TB) — 99.1
#3: Jacob Latz (TEX) — 137.2
#2: Louis Varland (TOR) — 142.1
#1: Cade Smith (CLE) — 167.7

NL Closers

Since #6 and #7 also broke 100, we’re including them in the list.

#7: Paul Sewald (ARI) — 101.1
#6: Trevor Megill (MIL) — 109.9
#5: Jhoan Duran (PHL) — 124.9
#4: Tanner Scott (LAD) — 125.5
#3: Riley O’Brien (STL) — 137.5
#2: Gregory Soto (PIT) — 151.2
#1: Mason Miller (SD) — 328.7

League Averages

AL — 1.330 WHIP, 2.9 HR%, 12.7 K–BB%, 70.2 ScOtg% (ER), 2.6 GE/BE, 3.1 GE, 30.3 IS%.
NL — 1.318 WHIP, 2.8 HR%, 12.5 K–BB%, 70.9 ScOtg% (ER), 3.1 GE/BE, 3.1 GE, 31.8 IS%.

First Half Team Statistics in Detail

Catching Up

Here is a graphics archive to catch up on all the missing weeks between the first week of June and the All-Star Break.

Week 10

Individual

Week 11

Individual

Week 12

Individual

Week 13

Individual

Week 14

Individual

Week 15

Individual

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