Only the New York Yankees began this week with a bullpen ERA on the good side of 3.00, which is surprising because fantasy baseball managers don't seem terribly interested in rostering the individual pitchers in the bullpen. Manager Aaron Boone is not relying on any one man to save and hold the leads, either. In fact, six Yankees have had saves over the past 30 days, led not by 2022 All-Star RHP Clay Holmes -- the lone Yankees reliever rostered in more than 10% of ESPN standard leagues -- but journeyman LHP Wandy Peralta, with four.
New York's relief pitchers boast a 2.86 ERA and rank eighth in cumulative WAR, well behind the noteworthy Baltimore Orioles bullpen, which features the top two relief pitchers in fantasy baseball this season in RHPs Felix Bautista and Yennier Cano. However, Yankees relievers are inducing ground balls at a 51.2% rate, easily the best. Peralta ranks 10th among qualified relief pitchers at 61.3%, and RHPs Jimmy Cordero and Ian Hamilton (currently injured) are close behind. Holmes, oddly enough, has merely a 53.1% rate, the worst of his career.