Clutch<\/strong> (45% of score) \u2014 How well they perform in late innings either while the game is tied or while holding a narrow lead.<\/p>\n Run Prevention<\/strong> (35%) \u2014 How well they keep runs off the board, including inherited runners.<\/p>\n Baserunner Prevention<\/strong> (13%) \u2014 Who has the lowest WHIP and lowest home run percentage (HR%). WHIP is 85% of the Baserunner Prevention score, and HR% is 15%.<\/p>\n Command<\/strong> (7%) \u2014 Who has the best strikeout percentage minus walk percentage (K\u2013BB%).<\/p>\n The total score in each category is based on the league average. Zero points equals the league average. Positive scores are better than league average; negative scores are worse. The farther their score is from zero \u2014 either positive or negative \u2014 the farther they are from the league average.<\/p>\n (Note: Due to weighting each score, adding the four categories together won\u2019t equal the total score.)<\/em><\/p>\n For a full breakdown of each category\u2019s score formula, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n (Note: We will refer to the individual relief rankings in these breakdowns. Click here<\/a> to see them.)<\/em><\/p>\n 142.1 Clutch, 9.8 Run Prevention, 11.4 Baserunners, 1.2 Command<\/em><\/p>\n Their hitting is abysmal, yet they\u2019re only a game back for the NL Central lead. True, it\u2019s a weak division, but the Brewers rarely lose when protecting narrow leads late in the game. Hoby Milner<\/a><\/strong> is a top-ten NL middle reliever. Joel Payamps<\/a><\/strong> is the top setup man in the league, with Elvis Peguero<\/a><\/strong> also in the top ten. And Devin Williams<\/a><\/strong> is among the best closers.<\/p>\n The Brewers keep runs off the board, with an NL-leading 80.0% scoreless percentage. They\u2019re second best in the NL when it comes to keeping inherited runners from scoring (24.0%). Their ERA-minus is a mind-boggling 58, best in the majors. WHIP? Lowest in the NL, at 1.101. They are eighth in K\u2013BB%, so that could improve, but it clearly isn\u2019t hurting them very much.<\/p>\n 54.1 Clutch, 2.5 Run Prevention, 2.4 Baserunners, -1.2 Command<\/em><\/p>\n The second-best relief corps in the majors also comes from the NL Central \u2014 the Pittsburgh Pirates. David Bednar<\/a><\/strong> is the top NL closer according to the individual relief rankings<\/a>. Colin Holderman<\/a><\/strong> is a top-ten setup man. The fact that the Diamondbacks scored off both of them in their dramatic come-from-behind victory Saturday was nothing short of shocking. Angel Perdomo<\/a><\/strong> and Dauri Moreta<\/a><\/strong> have been outstanding in middle relief. Their strong clutch score \u2014 54.1, second in the majors \u2014 is carrying them. Also helping is their home run rate of 1.9%, tops in the NL.<\/p>\n They are slightly below average in command and slightly above average in both run prevention and baserunners. Improving any of these will make a great unit even better.<\/p>\n 32.6 Clutch, 8.1 Run Prevention, 14.1 Baserunners, 38.6 Command<\/em><\/p>\n We have a new AL leader in the Baltimore Orioles. It\u2019s not hard to see why, as All-Stars Yennier Cano<\/a><\/strong> and Felix Bautista<\/a><\/strong> are as formidable a 1\u20132 punch as anyone in the league right now. The biggest shock of the All-Star Game was probably Elias Diaz<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s home run off Bautista, the Orioles’ closer. After all, Bautista\u2019s home run percentage is 1.8% and his K\u2013BB% is 39.4%. His strikeout percentage is an ungodly 50.9%. He and Cano both have a scoreless percentage in the 90s, as does middle reliever Danny Coulombe<\/strong><\/a>. They are second in the AL in clutch, fourth in run prevention, first in baserunners, and first in command. The Orioles could use improvement in inherited runners, as their IR% is seventh at 29.8%, only 0.4 percentage points better than league average.<\/p>\n 31.6 Clutch, 8.8 Run Prevention, 3.2 Baserunners, 38.0 Command<\/em><\/p>\n The Blue Jays surged four places since last week, climbing to second in the AL. Middle relievers Tim Mayza<\/a><\/strong>, Trevor Richards<\/a><\/strong>, and Nate Pearson<\/a><\/strong> are all among the best in the AL. So is closer Jordan Romano<\/a><\/strong>. However, setup man Erik Swanson<\/a><\/strong> is having the best season of everyone listed.<\/p>\n The area where the Blue Jays could use the most improvement is home run percentage. It comes in slightly higher than league average, hurting their baserunner rating.<\/p>\n 27.3 Clutch, 9.3 Run Prevention, 6.6 Baserunners, 29.7 Command<\/em><\/p>\n Despite improving in three of the four categories, the Mariners slid one spot in the rankings. This is because they dropped in clutch, the most heavily weighted category, due to a dip in their GE\/BE ratio. Middle reliever Gabe Speier<\/a><\/strong> and closer Paul Sewald<\/a><\/strong> are in the AL Top Ten for individual reliever ratings. Setup man Justin Topa<\/a><\/strong> is also ranking high, coming in 11th.<\/p>\n 29.5 Clutch, 2.9 Run Prevention, 7.8 Baserunners, -6.3 Command<\/em><\/p>\n The Yankees have fired their hitting coach, but their relief corps is in good shape. Their clutch score improved by over 12 points, more than overtaking their drops in the other three categories. Setup man Wandy Peralta<\/a><\/strong> has had effective results, albeit in a bend-but-don\u2019t-break manner. Closer Clay Holmes<\/a><\/strong>, however, has been outstanding in the first half, ranking in the top five of all AL closers.<\/p>\n 23.3 Clutch, 9.1 Run Prevention, 5.4 Baserunners, -3.8 Command<\/em><\/p>\n The Guardians find themselves in the same boat as the Mariners, improving in three categories while dropping clutch, the category with the greatest weight. They are well-equipped for the stretch run, however. Closer Emmanuel Clase<\/a><\/strong>, setup men Enyel De Los Santos<\/a><\/strong> and Trevor Stephan<\/a><\/strong>, and Middle Reliever Eli Morgan<\/a><\/strong> all rank either seventh or eighth in the AL Top Ten for their roles.<\/p>\n 35.0 Clutch, -4.3 Run Prevention, -1.5 Baserunners, -6.3 Command<\/em><\/p>\n The Tigers have the top clutch score in the American League. However\u2026they are below average in every other category, with the biggest blow coming in run prevention. Translation: their back end is excellent. Their middle relief is not. Expect to see closer Alex Lange<\/a><\/strong> and setup man Jason Foley<\/a><\/strong> in a lot of trade rumors over the next three weeks. (Note: We\u2019re not saying they <\/em>will be traded, simply that they\u2019ll be talked about.)<\/em><\/p>\n 29.0 Clutch, -3.1 Run Prevention, 1.2 Baserunners, 18.0 Command<\/em><\/p>\n Phillies closer Craig Kimbrel<\/a><\/strong>, who closed out the NL victory in the All-Star Game Tuesday night, is on quite a run. He has given up a run only once in his last 17 outings, dating back to June 1. That came on June 8, giving him a current streak of 13 straight scoreless appearances. This has helped boost the Phillies, who have made a remarkable climb in the rankings over the same time span. On May 25, two weeks before this column first ran, the Phillies were 13th in the NL. They are now third. Truly remarkable. Their strengths are clutch and command. They are slightly below average in run prevention and slightly above average in baserunners. Should one or both categories improve, watch out.<\/p>\n 25.6 Clutch, -2.8 Run Prevention, 2.6 Baserunners, 7.5 Command<\/em><\/p>\n The Giants have fallen in clutch and command but improved in run prevention and baserunners. Their main horses are the Rogers twins, middle reliever Taylor and setup man Tyler, as well as closer Camilo Doval<\/a><\/strong>. Doval, of note, earned the win Tuesday night in the All-Star Game. For the second half, the Giants need to improve their run prevention. In scoreless outing percentage, they are third from the bottom in the NL.<\/p>\n 20.3 Clutch, 0.0 Run Prevention, 4.8 Baserunners, 13.7 Command<\/em><\/p>\n Tough week for the Marlins, causing them to plummet from third to eleventh. What hurt them were drops in the two categories with the heaviest weights, clutch and run prevention. Seventh-inning setup man Dylan Floro<\/a><\/strong> gave up runs in both his appearances of the week. Closer A.J. Puk<\/a><\/strong> had four appearances, putting up goose eggs in the first and last and broken eggs in the second and third. Despite the setbacks, Floro and Puk are both in the NL top-ten for their respective roles. If the Marlins improve their run prevention score in the coming week, look for them to rebound. They have too many talented relievers to stay down for long.<\/p>\n 23.5 Clutch, 0.4 Run Prevention, 1.1 Baserunners, -5.1 Command<\/em><\/p>\n The Red Sox improved greatly in clutch over the last week, sending them up the overall leaderboard while remaining seventh in the AL. But they are average in run prevention and baserunners. In command, they are below average. The stud of this group is setup man Chris Martin<\/a><\/strong>, whose GE\/BE ratio is 6.5 (ninth in the AL). In addition, his scoreless outing percentage (86.7%) and WHIP (0.977) are toward the top. The rest of the group needs to improve their run prevention and baserunner scores to get this group higher up the charts.<\/p>\n 17.2 Clutch, -1.2 Run Prevention, 4.6 Baserunners, 14.3 Command<\/em><\/p>\n The Braves are hanging in there, eagerly anticipating the return of Jesse Chavez<\/a><\/strong>, the top middle reliever in the NL. Closer Raisel Iglesias<\/a><\/strong> is also in the NL top five for his role. Everyone else has been rather pedestrian. But it hasn\u2019t hurt their overall record, obviously, since they\u2019ve won 27 of their last 32 games.<\/p>\n 15.9 Clutch, 3.2 Run Prevention, 1.4 Baserunners, -8.1 Command<\/em><\/p>\n The Reds lead the NL Central and have won nine of their past twelve. They improved their overall score as well as their scores in every category except command. But they fell three spots due to other teams leapfrogging them. Closer Alexis Diaz<\/a><\/strong> and setup man Lucas Sims<\/a><\/strong> pack a tremendous 1\u20132 punch, ranking second and third in the NL for their respective roles. The rest of the \u2018pen has been at or below average. If any of the middle relievers can get in a groove, look out.<\/p>\n 5.4 Clutch, -0.5 Run Prevention, -6.2 Baserunners, 0.6 Command<\/em><\/p>\n The Dodgers lack a true closer, using the setup trio of Brusdar Graterol<\/a><\/strong>, Caleb Ferguson<\/a><\/strong>, and Evan Phillips<\/a><\/strong> over the final three innings in whichever matchups are most favorable. The rest of the \u2018pen is nothing to write home about. Look for the Dodgers to try to add a closer at the deadline. They could also use a dependable middle reliever, as their current ones are having mediocre seasons at best.<\/p>\n![\"Team](\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/07\/RRBB-20230710.png\")
<\/a><\/h3>\nWeek 15\/All-Star Break Team Reliever and Bullpen Rankings<\/h3>\n
The Elite<\/h4>\n
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Better Take an Early Lead\u2026<\/h4>\n
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The Very Good<\/h4>\n
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Slightly above Average<\/h4>\n
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The Average<\/h4>\n
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