Understanding your league’s settings and getting the most out of them is one edge fantasy baseball gamers can exploit to enhance their odds of winning a championship.
In leagues with separate roster spots for starting pitchers and relievers, using starters with relief pitcher eligibility in reliever spots or relievers with starting pitcher eligibility in starter spots is a way to get the better of your league mates. I’ve previously discussed a half-dozen RP-eligible starting pitchers for gamers to draft. Now we turn our attention to a quartet of SP-eligible relievers in this piece.
- Fantasy Baseball Draft Rankings
- Fantasy Baseball Research & Advice
- Fantasy Baseball Average Draft Position (ADP)
- Fantasy Baseball News
SP-Eligible Relief Pitcher Targets
A.J. Puk (SP, RP – ARI) | Pitcher #110/280.2 ADP
FanGraphs’ RosterResource lists Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk as co-closers for the Diamondbacks, but Puk is the superior hurler. Thus, if I’m putting a chip down on one of Arizona’s co-closers consolidating the role almost entirely for himself, Puk is my pick.
The southpaw failed as a starter at the beginning of last year but excelled after he was shifted back to the bullpen. According to FanGraphs, Puk had the following stats in relief in 2024:
- 58 appearances
- 57.2 innings
- 1.72 ERA
- 2.54 xFIP
- 2.16 SIERA
- 0.75 WHIP
- 5.1 BB%
- 35.0 K%
- 16.5 SwStr%
- 33.9 CSW%
- 120 stuff+
- 114 location+
- 131 pitching+
Remarkably, Puk’s numbers from the bullpen were more impressive after the Diamondbacks traded for him. Puk’s value is higher in leagues with holds or holds-plus-saves. Still, he’ll help fantasy gamers in ERA, WHIP and strikeouts while chipping in saves in standard 5×5 leagues, at worst, and can drastically outperform his average draft position (ADP) if he handles 70% or more of Arizona’s save opportunities this season.
Tyler Holton (SP, RP – DET) | Pitcher #165/354.5 ADP
Jason Foley (28 saves in 2024) paced the Tigers in saves in 2024, but Tyler Holton chipped in with eight, and six others also saved games for Detroit last season. Holton, a lefty, made 66 appearances for the Tigers in 2024, exceeding three outs 37 times. The lefty also started (as an opener) nine games.
Unlike Puk, Holton’s unlikely to snatch the closing gig for himself. However, Holton can supplement his modest save contributions with more innings of useful ERA and WHIP contributions than the average reliever. Holton pitched 85.1 innings in 2023 and 94.1 in 2024. He had a career-best 2.78 xERA last season. Holton’s stats since 2023:
- 179.2 innings
- 2.15 ERA
- 3.72 xFIP
- 3.55 SIERA
- 0.82 WHIP
- 5.2 BB%
- 22.3 K%
- 46.5 GB%
- 11.5 SwStr%
- 29.6 CSW%
- 99 stuff+
- 102 location+
- 99 pitching+
Holton would be much less interesting if he had to clog up one of only a few relief pitcher spots. However, sneaking him into a starting pitcher spot in leagues with daily lineup changes when other starters aren’t scheduled to pitch is appealing. So too is playing him in place of a starter with one ugly matchup in weekly leagues. Either option enhances Holton’s fantasy value.
Jose Butto (SP, RP – NYM) | Pitcher #212/541.3 ADP
Jose Butto isn’t a threat to overtake Edwin Diaz as the Mets’ closer, and he might not be the next person up, either. Lefty A.J. Minter is a lights-out reliever with 36 career saves. If Diaz was hurt and the Mets preferred to have Minter available for high-leverage situations before the ninth inning, Butto could save games. Nevertheless, Butto is featured in this piece as a target in leagues with holds, holds-plus-saves or deeper formats. Butto is also a sneaky streaming target in shallower formats when the starting pitchers available have unfavorable matchups.
Butto overachieved in his opportunities to start for the Mets in his young career, evidenced by the gap between his 3.76 ERA and 4.81 xFIP. He was much better in relief. In 23 games and 36 innings in relief last season, Butto recorded the following stats:
- 2.00 ERA
- 3.69 xFIP
- 3.53 SIERA
- 1.00 WHIP
- 12.3 BB%
- 29.7 K%
- 15.2 SwStr%
- 30.1 CSW%
Again, Butto isn’t a draft target in 5×5 12-team mixed leagues or shallower, but he’s an occasional streamer in those leagues and a nifty selection in larger formats or leagues using holds or holds-plus-saves.
Beau Brieske (SP, RP – DET) | Pitcher #260/553.0 ADP
Beau Brieske has less impressive statistics and underlying data than Foley and Holton. Nevertheless, he is listed as a closer on RosterResource alongside Foley and Holton. Brieske recorded his only save in 2024 on September 24. He could snag a few saves this season, and a probable high-leverage role should yield holds, which would help fantasy gamers in leagues that count them.
Brieske didn’t have world-beater numbers last season. Nonetheless, the righty’s 3.59 ERA, 3.31 xERA and 24.5 K% were fine. His 4.27 xFIP, 4.00 SIERA and 1.26 WHIP in 2024 were less thrilling. Still, gamers hunting for every possible save or hold while squeezing an extra relief pitcher into a starting pitcher slot could do worse than picking Brieske.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | SoundCloud | TuneIn
Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
