3 Fantasy Baseball Closers to Draft (2026)

Fantasy baseball gamers can find saves throughout the draft. The top closers who will likely pile up saves and move the needle in ERA, WHIP and strikeouts cost a pretty penny in drafts. For instance, Mason Miller and Edwin Diaz have top-50 average draft positions (ADPs).

There’s a compelling case for drafting either of them. Still, the following targets have more affordable ADPs. The middle-tier target has an ADP just inside the top 200. A pair of dart throws rounds out the list.

Closers to Target in Fantasy Baseball Drafts

Middle Tier

Dennis Santana (RP – PIT) | ADP: 189.8

The Pirates struck gold when they claimed Dennis Santana off waivers in June of 2024. Santana has logged the following stats in 109 relief appearances and 114.2 innings with the Pirates:

5 wins
17 saves
2.28 ERA
3.14 xERA
3.83 xFIP
3.35 SIERA
0.89 WHIP
6.3% walk rate
24.9% strikeout rate
14% SwStr%
31.6 CSW%

Santana is one of just 19 relievers projected by the Zeile consensus projections to surpass 20 saves this season (24). He’s also projected for four wins, a 3.88 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 62 strikeouts in 66.8 innings. That’s rock-solid production for a reliever with an ADP just inside the top 200.

Late-Round Gambles

Griffin Jax (RP – TB) | ADP: 216

Pete Fairbanks is a Marlin after saving a team-high 27 games for the Rays last year. Fairbanks surpassed 20 saves in three straight seasons, with others mixing in for saves as well.

Tampa Bay’s closer role is up for grabs. Griffin Jax had an unexciting 4.23 ERA in 73 appearances (two starts as an opener) last season. However, his 3.25 xERA, 2.19 xFIP and 2.35 SIERA were much more encouraging marks. Jax didn’t save any games last season, but he had 10 saves in 2024, four in 2023 and one in 2022.

Jax also does an outstanding job of striking out batters, with a 35% strikeout rate in 2025. His elite strikeout rate was supported by his 18.1 SwStr%, 35.2 CSW%, 109 stuff+, 117 location+ and 127 pitching+. Gamers should target Jax for his skills and hope he rises to the top of Tampa Bay’s pecking order for saves.

Lucas Erceg (RP – KC) | ADP: 438

Carlos Estevez is the incumbent closer for the Royals after saving an MLB-high 42 games in 2025. The veteran righty’s 2.45 ERA was also superb. The rest of Estevez’s profile was mediocre or worse.

In 67 appearances totaling 66 innings last season, Estevez recorded the following stats:

4 wins
3.69 xERA
4.95 xFIP
4.43 SIERA
1.06 WHIP
8.2% walk rate
20.1% strikeout rate
25% ground-ball rate
8.2 SwStr%
24.3 CSW%

Estevez’s profile is shaky, and his fly-ball centric batted-ball profile could bite him in the butt at Kauffman Stadium this year after the Royals renovated the ballpark to increase home runs. Furthermore, Estevez’s fastball averaged 95.9 miles per hour (MPH) in 2025, down from 96.8 MPH in 2024, and has plummeted to 89 MPH through two spring training appearances.

Lucas Erceg is the likely next person up if Estevez coughs up the job. His 2.64 ERA in 2025 outkicked his 3.83 xERA, 3.95 xFIP and 3.78 SIERA. Still, Erceg’s 52.8% ground-ball rate last year should fit renovated Kauffman Stadium better than Estevez’s fly-ball profile. Erceg doesn’t have the sexiest profile, but he’s a viable late-round dart for gamers chasing saves at the end of drafts.