Fantasy Baseball Saves Plus Holds Rankings & Advice (2025)

Each week during the season, I take a look at the reliever landscape to aid with waiver wire and trade decisions. This past week saw multiple high-end relievers land on the injured list (IL).

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Fantasy Baseball Saves + Holds League Advice

Saves + Holds Leaders

Here are the top 12 relievers in saves plus holds (SV+H) through June 4th.

Takeaways

• All good things must come to an end, as Andres Munoz gave up his first earned runs of the season. He gave up runs in back-to-back appearances against the Twins. Even with four earned runs given up, he had four strikeouts to one walk in two innings.
• Josh Hader has quietly been doing his thing. He ranks second among relievers with 10+ innings pitched in strikeout minus walk rate (K-BB%), only behind Randy Rodriguez of the Giants. Hader has a 1.38 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and a 13.5 K/9 over 26 innings pitched.
• Reed Garrett has pitched extremely well, and it’s about time I took notice. While his 0.68 ERA is unsustainable, his xERA is still a solid 2.92. He’s striking out batters at nearly a 30% clip for the second straight season. However, with the improved stuff comes worsened control. Garrett’s walk rate is over 12%, which explains why his WHIP is on the higher end with such a low ERA.
• Tommy Kahnle leads the MLB-best Tigers in saves plus holds. His 1.40 ERA and 0.78 WHIP have been super valuable despite his lower strikeout rate. He’s had three straight seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA with the Dodgers and Yankees, and is well on his way to a fourth in a row.

Saves + Holds Relievers Rankings

Here are my updated top 40 relievers for saves plus holds leagues.

Biggest Risers

Phil Maton (RP – STL) | Unranked

Phil Maton has impressed in his first season with the Cardinals. His 13 SV+H are tied for the team lead with Ryan Helsley, and Maton leads the bullpen with a 2.45 ERA. He ranks 29th of 258 relievers in K-BB%, and is enjoying the second-best strikeout rate of his career.

Matt Strahm (RP – PHI) | Unranked

Matt Strahm has rejoined the top 40 with Jose Alvarado‘s suspension and Jordan Romano‘s subsequent poor play. Orion Kerkering is also a candidate to get more opportunities as another righty option, however, Strahm has been their best reliever. He’s one of the few relievers in the Phillies bullpen with a K/9 higher than 10 and a BB/9 lower than three.

Biggest Fallers

Luke Weaver (RP – NYY) | Injured

Luke Weaver was placed on the IL with a hamstring injury and will miss about a month. While tragic after how well Weaver has pitched this year, the Yankees are lucky to have options like Devin Williams, Mark Leiter and Fernando Cruz who can take over.

Despite giving up a run in the first save opportunity post-Weaver, Williams has been much better of late. Since May 14th, the date Weaver got his first save after taking over the closer role, Williams has a 3.12 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 13.5 K/9 and has allowed only one walk in 8.2 innings pitched.

Lucas Erceg (RP – KCR) | Injured

Lucas Erceg landed on the IL with a back issue. He was part of a lights-out duo with Carlos Estevez that saw them combine for 30 SV+H by June 1st.

Erceg was one of four relievers in the Royals’ bullpen with at least 20 innings pitched and a sub-2.00 ERA. He is the only one of that group with a 0.74 WHIP. Daniel Lynch and John Schreiber should see some extra high-leverage situations while he’s on the mend.

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