Fantasy Baseball: National League East Bullpen Report

As Opening Day approaches, MLB teams are finalizing their bullpen strategies, with several key relievers vying for closing roles. Let's take a closer look at the National League East.

Atlanta Braves

Raisel Iglesias – There haven’t been any hiccups for Iglesias in spring training (no runs and four baserunners over six innings with six strikeouts). His fastball (95.7 mph) aligns with his recent career path, with no changes in pitch mix.
Hector Neris – The Braves added Neris in early March, and he won a spot in their bullpen after pitching three shutout innings with three baserunners and one strikeout in spring training. His fastball over the past two seasons has been down more than one mile per hour from his peak years.

Raisel Iglesias posted a career-best 1.95 ERA for the @Braves to earn his third appearance on the #Top10RightNow! pic.twitter.com/aZlzFKExxW
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 9, 2025

Miami Marlins

Calvin Faucher – There hasn’t been any excitement in Faucher’s right arm in spring training (six runs, 13 baserunners, and two home runs over 7.2 innings with six strikeouts). His fastball (93.8 mph) is down about two mph. He threw his sinker and changeup at career-high rates in spring training at the expense of his curveball. I don’t have any faith in him keeping the job long-term if Faucher happens to win the Marlins’ ninth-inning role.
Anthony Bender – In eight spring training appearances, Bender allowed five runs, 10 baserunners, and two home runs over 8.2 innings, striking out 10. His slider (87.1 mph) has had an uptick in velocity in March but not in success.

New York Mets

Edwin Diaz, Closer – Spring training batters had success against Diaz (two runs, five hits, and five walks over 3.1 innings with five strikeouts), giving some fantasy drafters enough of a reason to select another top-tier closing option. His fastball (95.9) is down about 1.5 mph from 2024, and his slider lost about two miles per hour of velocity.
A.J. Minter – After a lengthy recovery from hip surgery, Minter is no longer listed with an injury tag on the Mets’ bullpen depth chart. He pitched 4.2 innings this spring, leading to three runs, five baserunners, and two home runs with six strikeouts. Minter threw his cutter over 50% of the time this spring. His four-seam fastball (94.0) is about two mph lower than his 2023 season.

After walking the first two batters of the inning, Edwin Díaz rallies to strike out the next three ♨️ pic.twitter.com/QjzfwOvCBC
— SNY (@SNYtv) March 9, 2025

Philadelphia Phillies

Jordan Romano, Closer – A solid spring training (no runs over 8.2 innings with six baserunners and eight strikeouts) solidified Romano’s fantasy stock in late March. Despite his success, his fastball (95.9) and slider (85.3) velocities were career-low if repeated in the regular season.
Orion Kerkering – In his rookie season, Kerkering didn’t record a major league save. His right arm is pushing closer to the ninth inning based on his success in spring training (one run, five hits, one walk, and one home run over 8.1 innings with 10 strikeouts). Kerkering was my top closer in waiting this fantasy draft season.
Jose Alvarado – The best Phillies reliever in spring training was Alvarado. He didn’t allow a run over nine innings with three hits, three walks, and an impressive 20 strikeouts. Philadelphia used him as a part-time closer (23 saves) over the previous two years.

Washington Nationals

Kyle Finnegan, Closer – Based on closing experience, Finnegan should have a long leash again for saves in 2025 despite signing back with Washington late in February. He allowed three runs, five hits, and one home run over four innings in spring training with no walks and three strikeouts. His fastball (96.1) was down about one mph while ditching his slider and increasing the usage of his split-finger fastball.
Jorge Lopez – In the early fantasy draft season, Lopez appeared to have the inside track for saves for the Nationals based on his uptick on the mound last season with the Cubs. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been sharp in spring training (three runs and eight baserunners over 3.2 innings with four strikeouts). All of his pitches have been down about one mph in his clocked games in March.

Atlanta Braves

Miami Marlins

New York Mets

Philadelphia Phillies

Washington Nationals

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