It is fantasy baseball season! Below, we’re focusing on fantasy baseball sleepers at the reliever position.
Non-closing or part-time-closing relievers were becoming a big piece of the pitching pie before the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with the shortened 2020 season and the careful approach that will surround ramping back up in 2021, the talented almost-starter/almost-closer types will eat up more innings than ever before.
So, in a fantasy baseball draft or auction, its a spot where value can be highly leveraged. The results posted by relief pitchers are volatile but value can be had and it’s best to get a pair and a spare in the process.
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Also see: Count on these starting pitcher sleepers to shine
Fantasy Baseball Sleepers: Relievers
RHP Trevor May, New York Mets
A year ago with the Minnesota Twins, May logged 38 strikeouts over just 23 1/3 innings. The 31-year-old has seen a velocity spike post-Tommy John surgery (which he had in 2018), and last season he upped his slider usage and the results were impressive.
May is quite good against lefty bats and figures to be used in key roles up to and including spot closing duties.
LHP Amir Garrett, Cincinnati Reds
Garrett has a great fastball, but he’s another reliever who upped his value by increasing slider usage. The 6-foot-5 port-sider made that move going into 2019 and in two seasons since (74 1/3 IP), he has registered a 3.03 ERA and 12.6 K/9.
He’s a candidate to get some saves in 2021 with the Reds moving on from RHP Raisel Iglesias, who’s now with the Los Angeles Angels. Baseball HQ projects Garrett to rack up 80 strikeouts this season.
RHP Chris Martin, Atlanta Braves
Martin is a late bloomer who figures to have a crack at a lot of high-leverage innings this summer. The 34-year-old right-hander has excellent control and owns a 2.81 ERA and 10.4 K/9 over his last 77 appearances.
He toils for an Atlanta club with a lefty closer in Will Smith, and that may slot him for an uptick in situational save chances. Baseball HQ pegs Martin as a solid source of strikeouts and ERA production.
RHP Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee Brewers
Peralta went two-or-more innings in half of his 14 relief appearances last season. His indicators show he has out-pitched his ERA each of the last three years, and that includes his 3.99 ERA posted in 2020.
Peralta is another candidate for extended progression now that a plus slider has been added to his repertoire. Thursday, the Brewers announced Peralta would begin the season as the team’s No. 5 starter, so peg him as a swing man overall and a flexible source of production for a fantasy roster.
LHP Joely Rodriguez, Texas Rangers
Texas RHP Jose Leclerc (elbow) is expected to miss significant time due to the amount of discomfort in his right elbow.
Rodriguez, who pitched in Japan in 2018 and 2019, returned to MLB last season to log a 2.13 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 12 1/3 IP for the Rangers. The 29-year-old southpaw cranks out ground balls and strikeouts. He’ll be given a wide berth to build on his 2020 return and possibly garner a handful of saves.
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