Strike Zone

May Reliever Rankings

by Matthew Pouliot

May 5, 2014, 12:55 am ET

Updated On: October 4, 2018, 4:09 pm ET

Welcome to the May reliever rankings. As always, players are ranked based on how I believe they will perform in 5x5 scoring over the rest of the season. Included along with the position rankings is an updated top 300 list.

Click to see other May rankings:

Top 300 | SP | RP | OF | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | C | DH

Editor's Note: Rotoworld's partner FanDuel is hosting a one-day $45,000 Fantasy Baseball league for Monday night's MLB games. It's $25 to join and first prize is $7,000. Starts at 7:05pm ET on Monday. Here's the FanDuel link.

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Relief pitcher rankings

May	RP	Team	2014
1	Kenley Jansen	Dodgers	1
2	Craig Kimbrel	Braves	2
3	Trevor Rosenthal	Cardinals	3
4	Greg Holland	Royals	4
5	Glen Perkins	Twins	6
6	Joe Nathan	Tigers	7
7	Francisco Rodriguez	Brewers	56
8	David Robertson	Yankees	10
9	Aroldis Chapman	Reds	13
10	Koji Uehara	Red Sox	5
11	Sergio Romo	Giants	11
12	Jonathan Papelbon	Phillies	15
13	Rafael Soriano	Nationals	20
14	Joakim Soria	Rangers	18
15	Steve Cishek	Marlins	17
16	Addison Reed	Diamondbacks	12
17	Ernesto Frieri	Angels	8
18	Tommy Hunter	Orioles	24
19	Jim Johnson	Athletics	9
20	Fernando Rodney	Mariners	19
21	Grant Balfour	Rays	16
22	Casey Janssen	Blue Jays	25
23	Huston Street	Padres	29
24	John Axford	Indians	28
25	Jason Grilli	Pirates	14
26	LaTroy Hawkins	Rockies	33
27	Hector Rondon	Cubs	169
28	Mark Melancon	Pirates	36
29	Matt Lindstrom	White Sox	153
30	Joaquin Benoit	Padres	27
31	Cody Allen	Indians	30
32	Daisuke Matsuzaka	Mets	183 SP
33	Danny Farquhar	Mariners	61
34	Pedro Strop	Cubs	38
35	Jesse Crain	Astros	32
36	Daniel Webb	White Sox	40
37	Jake McGee	Rays	39
38	Sean Doolittle	Athletics	44
39	Joe Smith	Angels	100
40	Kyle Farnsworth	Mets	203
41	A.J. Ramos	Marlins	43
42	Brad Ziegler	Diamondbacks	48
43	Luke Gregerson	Athletics	80
44	Chad Qualls	Astros	37
45	Rex Brothers	Rockies	31
46	Wade Davis	Royals	50
47	Junichi Tazawa	Red Sox	41
48	Will Smith	Brewers	73
49	Tyler Clippard	Nationals	42
50	Brett Cecil	Blue Jays	121
51	Sam LeCure	Reds	51
52	Chris Withrow	Dodgers	67
53	Ryan Cook	Athletics	68
54	Nick Vincent	Padres	59
55	Joel Peralta	Rays	54
56	Darren O'Day	Orioles	47
57	Alex Torres	Padres	52
58	Drew Storen	Nationals	65
59	Sergio Santos	Blue Jays	34
60	Josh Fields	Astros	58
61	Danny Otero	Athletics	74
62	Jean Machi	Giants	72
63	Jason Motte	Cardinals	71
64	Santiago Casilla	Giants	70
65	Jonathan Broxton	Reds	63
66	Jordan Walden	Braves	90
67	Kelvin Herrera	Royals	46
68	Brandon Kintzler	Brewers	69
69	Craig Stammen	Nationals	53
70	Tony Watson	Pirates	95
71	Shawn Kelley	Yankees	106
72	Gonzalez Germen	Mets	119
73	David Carpenter	Braves	82
74	Nate Jones	White Sox	23
75	Aaron Crow	Royals	81
76	Aaron Loup	Blue Jays	60
77	Edward Mujica	Red Sox	49
78	Anthony Bass	Astros	211
79	Jose Veras	Cubs	26
80	Steve Delabar	Blue Jays	76

Dropping off (from top 60): Jim Henderson (21^st), Bobby Parnell (22^nd), J.J. Hoover (35^th), Neftali Feliz (45^th), Paco Rodriguez (55^th), Brian Wilson (57^th)

Johnson’s 1 2/3 scoreless innings for a win Sunday against the Red Sox was another big step in the right direction for him. It’s a good bet that he’ll resume getting save chances this week.

Frieri should be in a similar boat: he hasn’t allowed a hit or a walk in 4 2/3 innings since losing his gig in Anaheim. Joe Smith has done nothing wrong since replacing him, but the Angels would surely rather have Frieri closing out games if he’s gotten things turned around.

The Mets say Farnsworth is still the closer for the moment, but Matsuzaka looks like the better option among the vets. He ranks highest here, coming in eight spots above Farnsworth. Germen also cracks the top 80 as the most interesting youngster in the Mets pen. There’s been some speculation about moving Jenrry Mejia back to the pen and perhaps seeing what he can do late in games, but I hope they don’t go that route.

Following Santos’s implosion, Cecil rates as the favorite for saves in Toronto’s pen. Fortunately, Janssen’s return from an oblique strain might be just 10-14 days away.

The rehabbing Joel Hanrahan picked the Tigers over teams that would have given him the chance to close following his return from Tommy John surgery, so he doesn’t crack the top 80 here.