{"id":7637,"date":"2023-08-25T18:01:20","date_gmt":"2023-08-26T01:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/?p=7637"},"modified":"2025-12-09T10:09:02","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T18:09:02","slug":"reliever-roundup-bullpen-bonanza-week-20-individual-rankings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2023\/08\/25\/reliever-roundup-bullpen-bonanza-week-20-individual-rankings\/","title":{"rendered":"Reliever Roundup and Bullpen Bonanza \u2014 Week 20 Individual Rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reliever Roundup & Bullpen Bonanza \u2014 Week 20 Individual Rankings<\/h2>\n

We are near the end of Week 20 of the season. Here are the top ten individual relievers in each league. But these rankings take it to a different level than the other reliever rankings you\u2019ve seen. We will separate our rankings by closers, setup men, and middle relievers. (We\u2019re not going to worry about ranking long relievers.)<\/p>\n

Rankings are split into the following categories. These categories encompass what a relief pitcher\u2019s jobs<\/a> are and are weighted according to importance. We don\u2019t want to get bogged down, so we\u2019ll keep it brief. (Author\u2019s Note: For full details, including the full leaderboards, leave a comment and I\u2019ll be glad to get back to you.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Setup Men and Closers<\/h4>\n

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

Middle Relievers<\/h4>\n

Run Prevention<\/strong> (60%), Baserunner Prevention<\/strong> (26%), Command<\/strong> (14%)<\/p>\n

Totaling Up the Scores<\/h4>\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

In addition, a player must have at least 20 relief appearances to qualify for these rankings.<\/p>\n

(Note: Due to weighting each score, adding the 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

Week 20 Individual Reliever Rankings<\/h3>\n

AL Middle Relievers<\/h4>\n
\"\"<\/a>
*26.9 with TB and -11.2 with PIT.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shawn Armstrong<\/a><\/strong> of the Tampa Bay Rays<\/a> takes over the top ranking with an overall score of 42.3. The injured Brock Stewart<\/a><\/strong> of the Minnesota Twins<\/a> is in second with an overall score of 37.2. Third place goes to Tim Mayza<\/a><\/strong> of the Toronto Blue Jays<\/a>, with a score of 28.9. Gabe Speier<\/a><\/strong> of the Seattle Mariners<\/a> and Tyler Holton<\/a><\/strong> of the Detroit Tigers<\/a> are fourth and fifth with scores of 27.3 and 25.8, respectively. Coming in sixth is Danny Coulombe<\/a><\/strong> of the Baltimore Orioles<\/a> with a score of 25.5. Seventh and eighth place go to Nick Pivetta<\/a><\/strong> of the Boston Red Sox<\/a> and Ian Hamilton<\/a><\/strong> of the New York Yankees<\/a>. Their scores are 22.2 and 21.9, respectively. Robert Stephenson<\/a><\/strong> of the Rays \u2014 who began the season with the Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a> \u2014 and Trevor Richards<\/a><\/strong> of the Blue Jays round out the top ten. They came in at 15.71 and 15.68, respectively, both rounded to 15.7.<\/p>\n

AL Setup Men<\/h4>\n
\"\"<\/a>
*80.0 with KCR and 58.1 with TEX.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Matt Moore<\/a><\/strong> of the Los Angeles Angels<\/a> leads the AL setup men with an overall score of 162.9. Runner-up Erik Swanson<\/a><\/strong> of the Blue Jays is second with an overall score of 147.7. Another Oriole, Yennier Cano<\/a><\/strong>, holds third place with a score of 140.8. Aroldis Chapman<\/a><\/strong> of the Texas Rangers<\/a>, who began the season with the Kansas City Royals<\/a>, is in fourth with a combined total of 138.1 between his two teams. Fifth place is Jason Foley<\/a><\/strong> of the Tigers (126.4). In sixth is Chris Martin<\/a><\/strong> of the Red Sox with 120.3. Coming in seventh is Justin Topa<\/a><\/strong> of the Mariners, scoring 119.7. Hector Neris<\/a><\/strong> of the Houston Astros<\/a>, Trevor Stephan<\/a><\/strong> of the Cleveland Guardians<\/a>, and Matt Brash<\/a><\/strong> of the Mariners round out the top ten. Their scores are 109.0, 105.5, and 90.1, respectively.<\/p>\n

AL Closers<\/h4>\n
\"\"<\/a>
*Paul Sewald had 149.9 with SEA before being traded to ARI 7\/31.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The leading closer is Felix Bautista<\/a><\/strong> of the Orioles, who scored 243.5. Number two is Alex Lange<\/a><\/strong> of the Tigers, who scored 148.4. Will Smith<\/a><\/strong> of the Rangers and Carlos Estevez<\/a><\/strong> of the Angels are third and fourth with scores of 102.9 and 101.7, respectively. Emmanuel Clase<\/a><\/strong> of the Guardians rounds out the top five with a score of 97.8. In sixth is Jhoan Duran<\/a><\/strong> of the Twins (97.5), followed by Clay Holmes<\/a><\/strong> of the Yankees (93.4). Ryan Pressly<\/a><\/strong> of the Astros, with a score of 90.3, is in eighth. Kenley Jansen<\/a><\/strong> of the Red Sox and Jordan Romano<\/a><\/strong> of the Blue Jays finish off the top ten. Their scores are 90.1 and 78.7, respectively.<\/p>\n

NL Middle Relievers<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Of NL middle relievers with at least 20 appearances, Ryan Brasier<\/a><\/strong> of the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> comes in first with a score of 37.5. Andrew Nardi<\/a><\/strong> of the Miami Marlins<\/a> (26.4) comes in second. Third and fourth belong to the injured Jesse Chavez<\/a><\/strong> (26.3) of the Atlanta Braves<\/a> and Angel Perdomo<\/a><\/strong> of the Pirates (24.5). Jordan Weems<\/a><\/strong> of the Washington Nationals<\/a> (22.3) rounds out the top five. Another Marlin, Steven Okert<\/a><\/strong> (21.5), is in sixth, while Jeff Hoffman<\/a><\/strong> of the Philadelphia Phillies<\/a> (21.4) is narrowly in seventh. Taylor Rogers<\/a><\/strong> of the San Francisco Giants<\/a> is in eighth with a score of 19.1. A.J. Puk<\/a><\/strong> of the Marlins (18.2) and Matt Koch<\/a><\/strong> of the Colorado Rockies<\/a> (18.0) complete the top ten.<\/p>\n

NL Setup Men<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Joel Payamps<\/a><\/strong> of the Milwaukee Brewers<\/a> leads all eligible NL setup men with a score of 158.1. Tyler Rogers<\/a><\/strong> of the Giants \u2014 twin brother of Taylor \u2014 is in second (129.0). Tanner Scott<\/a><\/strong> of the Marlins is third with 107.4. Fourth and fifth are Lucas Sims<\/a><\/strong> of the Cincinnati Reds<\/a> and Mark Leiter Jr.<\/a> <\/strong>of the Chicago Cubs<\/a>, with scores of 98.7 and 82.2, respectively. Caleb Ferguson<\/a><\/strong> of the Dodgers is sixth, scoring 74.6. At seventh and eighth are Colin Holderman<\/a><\/strong> of the Pirates and Hunter Harvey<\/a><\/strong> of the Nationals. Their scores are 71.7 and 65.4, respectively. Gregory Soto<\/a><\/strong> of the Phillies and Brusdar Graterol<\/a><\/strong> of the Dodgers finish off the top ten with scores of 61.3 and 58.3, respectively.<\/p>\n

NL Closers<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The highest-scoring closer in the NL by a wide margin is Devin Williams<\/a><\/strong> of the Brewers, with a score of 301.3. Alexis Diaz<\/a><\/strong> of the Reds is the runner-up, with 171.7, while Raisel Iglesias<\/a><\/strong> of the Braves is third, scoring 166.0. David Bednar<\/a><\/strong> of the Pirates is fourth, with Paul Sewald<\/a><\/strong> of the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a> in fifth. Their scores are 147.4 and 143.6, respectively, with Sewald\u2019s total including the points he earned with the Mariners before the July 31 trade. In sixth and seventh are Kyle Finnegan<\/a><\/strong> of the Nationals (122.0) and Josh Hader<\/a><\/strong> of the San Diego Padres<\/a> (118.6). Giovanny Gallegos<\/a><\/strong> of the St. Louis Cardinals<\/a> is eighth (117.4). Rounding out the top ten are Camilo Doval<\/a><\/strong> of the Giants and Evan Phillips<\/a><\/strong> of the Dodgers. Their respective scores are 107.1 and 106.6, respectively.<\/p>\n

Full Score Explanation<\/h3>\n

For clutch, we will use both the Goose Egg total (33%) and the ratio of Goose Eggs to Broken Eggs (67%) due to the major flaws in Saves and Holds. Full details about Goose Eggs are here<\/a>. Otherwise, here\u2019s the elevator speech.<\/p>\n

A Goose Egg is like a save, except more restrictive. Here are the main points…<\/p>\n