Each week during the season, I take a look at the reliever landscape to aid with waiver wire and trade decisions. Let’s dive into what has changed over the past seven days.
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Fantasy Baseball Saves + Holds League Advice
Saves + Holds Leaders
Here are the top 15 relievers in total saves plus holds through July 2.
| Player | Team | SV+H |
| Tanner Scott | LAD | 25 |
| Josh Hader | HOU | 24 |
| Robert Suarez | SDP | 24 |
| Abner Uribe | MIL | 24 |
| Carlos Estevez | KCR | 23 |
| Bryan Abreu | HOU | 21 |
| Camilo Doval | SFG | 20 |
| Emilio Pagan | CIN | 20 |
| Emmanuel Clase | CLE | 19 |
| Jason Adam | SDP | 19 |
| Tommy Kahnle | DET | 19 |
| Jeff Hoffman | TOR | 19 |
| Tony Santillan | CIN | 19 |
| Phil Maton | STL | 19 |
| Jeremiah Estrada | SDP | 19 |
Takeaways
- Josh Hader leads the league with four saves plus holds over 3.1 innings this past week. He has a 1.86 ERA, 0.72 WHIP and five wins to go along with his 24 save plus holds. He also leads all relievers in strikeout-minus-walk rate (K-BB%) at 35.4%. The Astros are currently tied for third in the MLB in wins, with Hader closing out games.
- Emilio Pagan continues his great season for Cincinnati. He has a 3.09 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 11 K/9, while being the only pitcher in their bullpen with a sub-1.00 WHIP. His flyball tendencies may lead to more homers as the weather warms up, but he’s been brilliant so far.
- Emmanuel Clase is looking more like the pitcher we saw in 2023 than the sub-2.00 ERA pitcher we’ve seen multiple times in his career. Since May 1, he has a 1.21 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 9.6 K/9 and 13 saves. He’s only allowed an earned run in two appearances in that timeframe, but his groundball rate is still 14% lower than his career average. His cutter specifically is a pitch to watch, as its .316 batting average against (BAA) is 166 points worse than it was last year.
Saves + Holds Reliever Rankings
Here are my updated top 40 relievers for SV+H leagues.
| Rank | Player | Team | Change |
| 1 | Josh Hader | HOU | – |
| 2 | Robert Suarez | SDP | – |
| 3 | Edwin Diaz | NYM | +1 |
| 4 | Emmanuel Clase | CLE | +1 |
| 5 | Andres Munoz | SEA | -2 |
| 6 | Tanner Scott | LAD | – |
| 7 | Mason Miller | ATH | – |
| 8 | Bryan Abreu | HOU | +1 |
| 9 | Cade Smith | CLE | -1 |
| 10 | Jason Adam | SDP | – |
| 11 | Abner Uribe | MIL | – |
| 12 | Devin Williams | NYY | – |
| 13 | Carlos Estevez | KCR | – |
| 14 | Griffin Jax | MIN | – |
| 15 | Aroldis Chapman | BOS | – |
| 16 | Tommy Kahnle | DET | – |
| 17 | Daniel Palencia | CHC | +3 |
| 18 | Camilo Doval | SFG | -1 |
| 19 | Jhoan Duran | MIN | +2 |
| 20 | Lucas Erceg | KCR | -1 |
| 21 | Shelby Miller | ARI | +1 |
| 22 | Luke Weaver | NYY | -4 |
| 23 | Robert Garcia | TEX | – |
| 24 | Kirby Yates | LAD | – |
| 25 | Ryan Helsley | STL | – |
| 26 | Kyle Finnegan | WSH | – |
| 27 | Emilio Pagan | CIN | +5 |
| 28 | Jeff Hoffman | TOR | – |
| 29 | Felix Bautista | BAL | +2 |
| 30 | Hunter Gaddis | CLE | -1 |
| 31 | Tony Santillan | CIN | -4 |
| 32 | Phil Maton | STL | +1 |
| 33 | Trevor Megill | MIL | +2 |
| 34 | Chris Martin | TEX | – |
| 35 | Jeremiah Estrada | SDP | +1 |
| 36 | Reed Garrett | NYM | -6 |
| 37 | Bryan King | HOU | – |
| 38 | Ryan Walker | SFG | +1 |
| 39 | Matt Strahm | PHI | -1 |
| 40 | Reid Detmers | LAA | – |
Biggest Risers
Edwin Diaz isn’t a huge riser, but he does join the top three for the first time all season. His season stats sit at 1.91 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 13.3 K/9, three wins and 17 saves. His xERA, xBA, whiff, strikeout and barrel rates are all in the 96th percentile or better. The Mets are one of the best teams in the league and should provide Diaz with plenty more opportunities.
Daniel Palencia (RP – CHC) | +3
Daniel Palencia has been lights out as the Cubs’ closer. Since recording his first save on May 21, he has a 1.26 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 11.9 K/9 and 10 save plus holds. His walk rate on the season is mediocre at 8.5%, but he’s only allowed three walks in 14.1 innings since taking over the closer’s role. Even if the Cubs make a trade to bring in a more established reliever, Palencia will hold value as the setup man.
Biggest Fallers
Luke Weaver was activated from the injured list (IL) about a week and a half ago, but hasn’t forced the Yankees to put him back in the closer’s role. Across four innings, he’s given up two earned runs in two of five appearances. He did strike out five batters, allowing only one walk, so it wasn’t all bad.
However, since Weaver went on the IL, Devin Williams has pitched 8.2 innings, allowing one run while striking out 10 and earning six saves. He was expected to be the closer coming into the year, and the competition between the two has lessened.
Tony Santillan (RP – CIN) | -4
Tony Santillan has been really good, but it’s only a matter of time before his ERA is closer to four. His current line has been useful at a 2.87 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 7.2 K/9 and 19 saves plus holds. However, his ERA indicators sit at a 4.34 xERA, 3.91 FIP and 4.50 xFIP. The biggest issue is his lack of strikeouts. He had an impressive 38% strikeout rate last year, but his fastball is down one mile per hour and isn’t getting whiffs at the same rate. If he isn’t missing bats and giving up as much hard contact as he is, it’s going to get ugly.
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