May Reliever Rankings

Here is the May edition of my rest-of-season position rankings and overall top 300 for 5x5 leagues. I’m using five-game eligibility, so plenty of players have added new positions since Opening Day. Because I love you, I’ve also tweaked the top 300 to include previous rankings this year.

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Click to see other May rankings:

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

May ROS Relief pitcher rankings

Dropping off: Robert Stephenson (No. 26), Matt Brash (No. 33), Will Smith (No. 38), Chad Green (No. 52), Erik Swanson (No. 56), Tyler Kinley (No. 59)

• Even though his performance has picked up of late, Tanner Scott slides eight spots here. Perhaps no major leaguer is more likely to be traded this summer, and it’s quite possible he’d be a setup man elsewhere. Also, the Marlins should again have a quality alternative once A.J. Puk returns from some shoulder fatigue. I had Puk ranked as the No. 64 SP coming in, but that wasn’t because I liked him nearly as much as a starting pitcher; I was still figuring he’d get saves at some point. Of course, there is a chance that the Marlins will wind up trading both guys in July.

• Kyle Finnegan has nine saves and a 2.19 ERA, but because of some of the flyballs he’s given up, Statcast credits him with a 5.80 xERA. Hunter Harvey, meanwhile, has been truly impressive for the Nationals, posting a 19/3 K/BB and allowing no homers or barrels in 14 2/3 innings. Dave Martinez was pretty quick to turn to Harvey when Finnegan struggled last year, and there might come a time when he needs to make a switch again. Alas, both are trade candidates, too, or I’d probably have them a little higher in the rankings.