Bullpen Usage

MLB bullpen usage and reliever availability

Recent workload for every bullpen, showing which arms have thrown, how much, and how recently. Use it to work out who is realistically available tonight and who has been used enough that a manager will avoid him.

Why bullpen availability moves totals and props

A team whose three best relievers all pitched the previous two days is a different team than its season numbers suggest. The innings still have to be covered, and they get covered by whoever is left, which is usually the worst arms on the staff.

This matters most in the late innings, which is exactly where close games are decided. A depleted bullpen raises the realistic run expectation for the opposing offence in the seventh through ninth, and that shows up in totals and in team totals before it shows up in anybody's power rankings.

It also changes starter workload. A manager protecting a tired bullpen will let a starter face the lineup a third time when he otherwise would not, which raises that starter's strikeout and innings props and lowers the value of the opposing offence's late-inning production.

How to use it day to day

Check both bullpens before betting a total. Two rested bullpens argue for the under in a way that team run-scoring numbers alone will not show you. Two gassed bullpens argue for the over, and that is often the version the market is slowest to price.

For strikeout props on relievers, availability is the whole bet. An excellent reliever who will not pitch is worth nothing, and the fastest way to lose a prop is to bet an arm that was never going to appear.

Frequently asked questions