Top Non-Closing Relievers Who Deserve More Love

When you think of the New York Yankees bullpen from the late 1990s into the 2000s, Mariano Rivera is almost certainly the first name that comes to mind.

Because when it comes to the appreciation of relievers, a majority of the love often seems to go to the closers.

Let’s continue to use Rivera as an example. In 2004, Rivera posted a career-high 53 saves along with a 1.94 ERA and finished third in AL Cy Young voting.

But that year, Rivera’s 2.5 fWAR only put him eighth among MLB relievers. And it wasn’t even the highest fWAR in the Yankees bullpen that season: Tom Gordon finished 0.3 wins higher with 2.8 fWAR.

While Gordon didn’t receive the same level of recognition that Rivera did, at least he still ended up making the All-Star Game that season. Not all top-performing non-closing relief pitchers could say the same.

B.J. Ryan, who pitched in the Baltimore Orioles’ bullpen that year, finished fourth in the league in fWAR (3.3) in 2004. Yet still, he missed out on the Midsummer Classic.

Fast forward 20 years later, and many non-closing relief pitchers are still not getting the love and recognition that they deserve.

While some are getting their flowers, like Matt Strahm, who was recently selected to the 2024 All-Star Game without recording a single save for the Philadelphia Phillies so far this season, many of the league’s best relievers were overlooked for All-Star recognition.

Here are some of the top non-closing relievers that have flown under the radar in 2024 compared to their closing counterparts.

All statistics in this article were taken prior to games on July 10.

Hunter Gaddis (CLE)

Pitching out of the Guardians bullpen, it’s easy to get lost behind the elite closer that is Emmanuel Clase, arguably the best closer in baseball right now. But Hunter Gaddis has been one of multiple pleasant surprises on the surging Guardians’ roster in 2024.

Gaddis currently ranks second in the AL in reliever fWAR with 1.5, only trailing Oakland Athletics closer Mason Miller. His 1.25 ERA ranks among the top five qualified relievers in MLB; he sits fourth, only trailing Clase, Jeff Hoffman and Kirby Yates.

Gaddis also fares well in numerous advanced metrics.

He falls within the 98th and 99th percentile in xBA (.187) and xERA (2.12), respectively, according to Baseball Savant.

He also finds himself avoiding walks and opposing hitters’ barrels at an exceptional rate. His walk rate ranks in the 94th percentile at just 4.4%, while his barrel rate ranks even higher, in the 97th percentile at a very low 2.9% clip.

Gaddis also ranks among the upper 30% of league pitchers when it comes to fastball velocity, strikeout rate, chase rate and whiff rate:

Yet despite how highly Gaddis seems to rank amongst MLB relievers, he did not earn an American League All-Star nod in 2024.

Cade Smith (CLE)

Gaddis’ fellow setup man in Cleveland has been having nearly as good a season as he has. This is rookie Cade Smith.

Smith has burst onto the major league scene after being one of the last names selected to the Guardians’ 26-man roster out of spring training.

Since then, the trio of Smith, Gaddis and Clase has been, arguably, the best back end of a bullpen in all of baseball.

Smith currently ranks seventh in the majors among qualified relievers with 1.3 fWAR. And while his modest 2.43 ERA may not rank among the best of the best, his 2.53 xERA places him in the 97th percentile of pitchers.

The rookie is also one of the best providers of strikeouts out of the ‘pen in the majors.

His 12.17 K/9 places him 14th league-wide among qualified relievers, while his 35.0% strikeout rate has him within the 98th percentile of pitchers.

Smith also finds himself ranking above the 75th percentile in numerous other metrics, like xBA, fastball velocity, whiff rate and walk rate:

Justin Slaten (BOS)

Justin Slaten is shaping up to be one of the best Rule 5 success stories in recent memory.

Slaten was selected by the New York Mets in the MLB phase of the most recent Rule 5 draft, then immediately shipped off to the Boston Red Sox. He now finds himself one of the primary setup options for renowned closer Kenley Jansen in the backend of the Red Sox bullpen.

In fact, not only does Slaten look like Jansen’s right-hand man in 2024, he’s keeping pace with the veteran closer. He currently has the same 1.2 fWAR as Jansen, good enough for ninth among major league relievers.

And Slaten is one of the more well-rounded relief pitchers you’ll find in the majors.

While he’s posted a 3.38 ERA, he’s paired that with a considerably lower 2.98 xERA, placing him in the 87th percentile league-wide.

Slaten has also been one of the best in the league in terms of getting batters to chase his stuff, while also keeping them from getting the barrel to his pitches.

He ranks in the 97th percentile in chase rate this season, with a 35.3% clip; he ranks in the 95th percentile in barrel rate, posting a very low 3.4% mark.

Slaten also finds himself within the upper 15% in statistics such as fastball velocity, average exit velocity, whiff rate and walk rate:

Adding to Slaten’s well-rounded repertoire of statistics in 2024, he also finds himself ranking in the 75th percentile or higher in xBA, strikeout rate and groundball rate:

Orion Kerkering (PHI)

Similar to the plight of relievers in the Guardians bullpen, some of the Phillies’ best relievers have been overshadowed by the top-end talent at the back end of their bullpen.

Philadelphia’s primary setup men, Strahm and Hoffman, (the latter of whom is starting to receive more save opportunities himself) were both named as National League All-Stars.

Meanwhile, José Alvarado is still receiving his share of save opportunities, and another former closer, Gregory Soto, is getting his fair share of innings as well.

Not to be forgotten, however, is the young right-hander Orion Kerkering, who’s put up exceptional numbers so far in 2024.

Kerkering ranks as the Phillies’ third-best reliever in fWAR this season (1.0), only trailing the two All-Stars Hoffman and Strahm.

The 23-year-old excels with an exceptional, high-velocity fastball. His average heater registers at 97.3 mph, placing him in the league’s 94th percentile.

Kerkering has also managed to find himself within the upper 10% of the league in average exit velocity surrendered, hard-hit rate, groundball rate and walk rate:

Beyond his low walk rate, Kerkering has also done a great job limiting baserunners in general. He’s managed very low totals in both WHIP (0.86) and batting average against (.193).

This has led Kerkering to a sparkling 1.34 ERA so far in 2024. And while his xERA (2.96) is considerably higher than his current posted ERA, he still ranks within the 88th percentile in xERA.

Ryan Walker (SFG)

For the past few years, the Giants bullpen has been headlined by the electrifying arsenal of Camilo Doval. And with the Rogers twins, Tyler and Taylor, holding the primary setup roles for San Francisco in 2024, Ryan Walker has gotten a bit lost in the conversation.

But that’s no fault of Walker’s, as he has had himself an extremely solid year so far in 2024.

Walker is one of only 18 qualified relief pitchers to post an fWAR of 1.0 or higher. He has been worth exactly 1.0 fWAR up to this point.

He has also posted a respectable 2.44 ERA, paired with an equally impressive 90th-percentile xERA of 2.94.

On top of that, Walker has limited baserunners with a high degree of effectiveness so far this season. He currently holds a sub-1.00 WHIP and a sub-.200 average against.

This has been possible in large part due to his high strikeout rate (33.5%), which ranks in the 96th percentile.

Walker has also managed a very respectable 88th-percentile walk rate of just 5.4%.

Furthermore, he ranks among the top 25% (at least) in several other key metrics, including average exit velocity, hard-hit rate and whiff rate:

Jeremiah Estrada (SDP)

The San Diego Padres bullpen has been anchored by an impressive 22-save and 1.77-ERA performance from their closer, Robert Suarez.

Yet, Jeremiah Estrada has arguably been the best reliever in the Padres bullpen in 2024.

Estrada is tied with Adrian Morejon for the top fWAR among Padres relievers at 0.9. He’s likely best remembered this season for the stretch in May in which he struck out 13 consecutive batters:

To that point, very few relievers this season have been able to strike batters out like Estrada has. He currently ranks in the 100th percentile in strikeout rate, posting a clip of 40.3%.

Estrada is one of only five qualified major league relievers with a K/9 rate above 14.00. His 14.78 rate ranks third in the league, only trailing Mason Miller and Aroldis Chapman.

He has earned his high strikeout rate with exceptional chase rates and whiff rates. His 33.1% chase rate ranks in the 89th percentile, while his 36.5% whiff rate ranks in the 98th percentile of the major leagues.

Bryan Hudson (MIL)

Trevor Megill has been the go-to guy to close games for the Milwaukee Brewers in the absence of star closer Devin Williams.

In this case, Megill has genuinely been the best relief option for his team, which has not always been the case for the other teams we’ve explored.

Still, that should not diminish the remarkable work that set-up man Bryan Hudson has done this season.

Hudson ranks fourth in the majors amongst qualified relievers with a 0.75 WHIP. He’s also paired that with a 1.54 ERA, which ranks 13th in the league for relief arms.

While he has definitely outperformed his xERA to this point, Hudson’s 2.96 xERA still places him in the league’s 88th percentile. He is also outperforming his .205 xBA with a .143 batting average against so far. But his xBA still falls in the upper 10% of major league pitchers.

Moreover, Hudson has also been exceptional at striking batters out. His strikeout rate of 29.5% places him in the 90th percentile.