{"id":8234,"date":"2023-09-27T22:47:46","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T05:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/?p=8234"},"modified":"2025-12-09T10:07:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T18:07:34","slug":"reliever-roundup-bullpen-bonanza-week-26-individual-rankings-20230925","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2023\/09\/27\/reliever-roundup-bullpen-bonanza-week-26-individual-rankings-20230925\/","title":{"rendered":"Reliever Roundup and Bullpen Bonanza \u2014 Week 26 Individual Rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reliever Roundup & Bullpen Bonanza \u2014 Week 26 Individual Rankings<\/h2>\n

We are in Week 26, the final week of the regular 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 30 total relief appearances to qualify for these rankings. Players who have played for multiple teams this season are ranked based on their full-season totals, even if they have switched leagues. They are ranked in the league of their current team.<\/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 26 Individual Reliever Rankings<\/h3>\n

AL Middle Relievers<\/h4>\n

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Robert Stephenson<\/a><\/strong> and Shawn Armstrong<\/a><\/strong>, both of the Tampa Bay Rays<\/a>, take the top two positions with overall scores of 26.9 and 24.9. Sam Hentges<\/a><\/strong> of the Cleveland Guardians<\/a> is third with 21.1. Fourth place goes to Gabe Speier<\/a><\/strong> of the Seattle Mariners<\/a> (17.3). Fifth and sixth place go to Kevin Kelly<\/a><\/strong> of the Rays and Ian Hamilton<\/a><\/strong> of the New York Yankees<\/a>, respectively. Kelly has 17.20 and Hamilton has 17.17, both rounded to 17.2. Coming in seventh is Jordan Hicks<\/a><\/strong> of the Toronto Blue Jays<\/a>. His combined total between the Blue Jays and the St. Louis Cardinals<\/a>, where he began the season, is 16.4. Will Vest<\/a><\/strong> of the Detroit Tigers<\/a> has 15.6, putting him in eighth place. Emilio Pagan<\/a><\/strong> of the Minnesota Twins<\/a> and Jimmy Cordero<\/a><\/strong> of the Yankees round out the top ten. They came in at 14.6 and 12.5, respectively.<\/p>\n

AL Setup Men<\/h4>\n

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Chris Martin<\/a><\/strong> of the Boston Red Sox<\/a> leads the AL setup men with an overall score of 149.4. Runner-up Tyler Holton<\/a><\/strong> of the Tigers has an overall score of 147.7. Colin Poche<\/a><\/strong> of the Rays holds third place with a score of 135.0. 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 score of 131.3 between the two teams. In fifth and sixth place are Jason Foley<\/a><\/strong> of the Tigers (129.3) and Erik Swanson<\/a><\/strong> of the Blue Jays (128.9). Coming in seventh and eighth are Matt Brash<\/a><\/strong> and Justin Topa<\/a><\/strong>, both of the Mariners, with 126.0 and 115.6, respectively. Hector Neris<\/a><\/strong> of the Houston Astros<\/a> and Jason Adam<\/a><\/strong> of the Rays complete the top ten. Their scores are 103.8 and 89.1, respectively.<\/p>\n

AL Closers<\/h4>\n

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(Note: Felix Bautista<\/a><\/strong> of the Orioles, with 247.9, has the top score but has been removed from the leaderboard due to his injury.)<\/em><\/p>\n

In first place among AL closers is Alex Lange<\/a><\/strong> of the Tigers, who scored 166.4. Clay Holmes<\/a><\/strong> of the Yankees and Yennier Cano<\/a><\/strong> of the Orioles<\/a> are second and third with scores of 131.9 and 130.5, respectively. Emmanuel Clase<\/a><\/strong> of the Guardians (112.4) is in fourth. Carlos Estevez<\/a><\/strong> of the Los Angeles Angels<\/a> holds fifth place with 111.2. In sixth is Jhoan Duran<\/a><\/strong> of the Twins (103.0), followed by Will Smith<\/a><\/strong> of the Rangers (102.2) in seventh place. Jordan Romano<\/a><\/strong> of the Blue Jays, with a score of 99.1, is in eighth. Andres Mu\u00f1oz<\/a><\/strong> of the Mariners and Trevor May<\/a><\/strong> of the Oakland Athletics<\/a> complete the top ten. Their scores are 83.0 and 81.2, respectively.<\/p>\n

NL Middle Relievers<\/h4>\n

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Of NL middle relievers with at least 30 appearances, Jeff Hoffman<\/a><\/strong> of the Philadelphia Phillies<\/a> comes in first with a score of 28.4. Jesse Chavez<\/a><\/strong> of the Atlanta Braves<\/a> (26.2) comes in second. Third and fourth belong to Hoby Milner<\/a><\/strong> of the Milwaukee Brewers<\/a> (24.4) and Matt Moore<\/a><\/strong> of the Miami Marlins<\/a> (24.2). Moore\u2019s totals include his numbers with the other two teams he has played for in 2023, the Angels and Guardians. Angel Perdomo<\/a><\/strong> of the Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a> (24.1) rounds out the top five. Ryan Brasier<\/a><\/strong> (18.7) and Shelby Miller<\/a><\/strong> (22.1) \u2014 both of the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> \u2014 are in sixth and seventh, respectively. Brasier began the season with the Red Sox, and his score includes his stats from both teams. Abner Uribe<\/a><\/strong> of the Brewers (19.6), Matt Strahm<\/a><\/strong> of the Phillies (17.246, rounded to 17.2), and Taylor Rogers<\/a><\/strong> of the San Francisco Giants<\/a> (17.196, rounded to 17.2) complete the top ten.<\/p>\n

NL Setup Men<\/h4>\n

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Andrew Nardi<\/a><\/strong> of the Marlins leads all eligible NL setup men by a commanding margin with a score of 249.4. Julian Merryweather<\/a><\/strong> of the Chicago Cubs<\/a>, with 146.9, is second. Tyler Rogers<\/a><\/strong> of the Giants is in third (118.4). Fourth and fifth are Joel Payamps<\/a><\/strong> of the Brewers and Giovanny Gallegos<\/a><\/strong> of the Cardinals, with scores of 110.6 and 105.6, respectively. Hunter Harvey<\/a><\/strong> of the Washington Nationals<\/a> is sixth, scoring 97.4. This narrowly put him ahead of seventh-place Lucas Sims<\/a><\/strong>, who scored 97.2. Brusdar Graterol<\/a><\/strong> of the Dodgers, David Robertson<\/a><\/strong> of the Marlins \u2014 who started the season with the New York Mets<\/a> \u2014 and Justin Lawrence<\/a><\/strong> of the Colorado Rockies<\/a> finish off the top ten with scores of 95.9, 84.2 (combined), and 82.2, respectively.<\/p>\n

NL Closers<\/h4>\n

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The highest-scoring closer in the NL by a wide margin is, once again, Devin Williams<\/a><\/strong> of the Brewers, with a score of 271.3. David Bednar<\/a><\/strong> of the Pirates is the runner-up, with 184.5, while Alexis Diaz<\/a><\/strong> of the Cincinnati Reds<\/a> is third, scoring 163.5. Tanner Scott<\/a><\/strong> of the Marlins is fourth, with Paul Sewald<\/a><\/strong> of the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a> in fifth. Their scores are 150.6 and 136.3, respectively. Sewald\u2019s total includes his performance with the Mariners before the July 31 trade. In sixth and seventh are Camilo Doval<\/a><\/strong> of the Giants (120.8) and Raisel Iglesias<\/a><\/strong> of the Braves (112.1). Kyle Finnegan<\/a><\/strong> of the Nationals is eighth (103.4). Rounding out the top ten are Evan Phillips<\/a><\/strong> of the Dodgers and Josh Hader<\/a><\/strong> of the San Diego Padres<\/a>. Their respective scores are 98.9 and 96.0, respectively.<\/p>\n

Full Leaderboards<\/h4>\n
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Middle Relievers (AL), full leaderboard, through end of play 9\/25. Minimum of 30 total relief appearances.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Setup Men (AL), full leaderboard, through end of play 9\/25. Minimum of 30 total relief appearances.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Closers (AL), full leaderboard, through end of play 9\/25. Minimum of 30 total relief appearances.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Middle Relievers (NL), full leaderboard, through end of play 9\/25. Minimum of 30 total relief appearances.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Setup Men (NL), full leaderboard, through end of play 9\/25. Minimum of 30 total relief appearances.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Closers (NL), full leaderboard, through end of play 9\/25. Minimum of 30 total relief appearances.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\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