Josh Shepardson | Wed, Mar 11th 2026, 7:07am EDT

5 Closers to Target (2026 Fantasy Baseball)

The MLB-high for saves in 2025 was 42. Only two players reached 40 saves, just eight had at least 30 and 21 exceeded 20. Relievers can help fantasy baseball squads with elite ratios and strikeouts, too. However, saves are still critical in leagues with traditional 5×5 scoring.

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, including the two upper-tier suggestions. 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

Upper Tier

Aroldis Chapman (RP – BOS) | ADP: 81.6

Aroldis Chapman was incredible in his first season with the Red Sox. According to FanGraphs, among pitchers who threw at least 30 innings last season, Chapman was first in ERA (1.17), second in xERA (2.06), seventh in xFIP (2.53), first in SIERA (2.11), first in WHIP (0.70), tied for fourth in strikeout rate (37.3%) and tied for fifth in saves (32).

The flame-throwing lefty had a career-low 6.6% walk rate, a career-high 71.1 F-Strike% (62.0% was the league average in 2025) and a 54.9 Zone% (52.4% was the league average in 2025). Chapman turned 38 at the end of February, but his underlying numbers were elite last season.

Chapman was the RP1 in our value-based ranking (VBR) metric last season, but he’s the RP6 in ADP. Even if Chapman takes a predictable step back, that’s priced into his ADP. He’s a dreamy anchor for fantasy baseball bullpens.

Josh Hader (RP – HOU) | ADP: 99.8

Josh Hader’s ADP is likely deflated because he was sidelined through February with biceps tendonitis. The stud reliever is seemingly trending in the right direction, with a bullpen on tap.

The lefty reliever was sharp last year, recording the following stats in 48 relief appearances spanning 52.2 innings:

6 wins
28 saves
2.05 ERA
2.00 xERA
3.18 xFIP
2.47 SIERA
0.85 WHIP
7.8% walk rate
36.9% strikeout rate
21.1 SwStr%
34% CSW%
118 stuff+
100 location+
114 pitching+

Hader is a little riskier than the other elite relievers because of his biceps tendonitis, but his upside warrants absorbing the risk at his ADP.

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.

Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.

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