Each week during the fantasy baseball season, I take a look at the relief pitcher landscape to aid with waiver wire and trade decisions. Some injuries and returns from injuries have shaken up my top 40.
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Fantasy Baseball Saves + Holds League Advice: Week 10
Saves + Holds Leaders
There are 17 relievers with 13+ saves plus holds.
| Player | Team | SV+H |
| Cade Smith | CLE | 21 |
| Bryan Baker | TBR | 17 |
| Mason Miller | SDP | 17 |
| Erik Sabrowski (IL) | CLE | 17 |
| Paul Sewald | ARI | 15 |
| Riley O’Brien | STL | 15 |
| JoJo Romero | STL | 15 |
| Trevor Megill | MIL | 14 |
| Kevin Kelly | TBR | 14 |
| Hogan Harris | ATH | 14 |
| Gregory Soto | PIT | 14 |
| Jhoan Duran | PHI | 14 |
| Robert Suarez | ATL | 13 |
| Tony Santillan | CIN | 13 |
| Louis Varland | TOR | 13 |
| Tyler Rogers | TOR | 13 |
| Jason Adam | SDP | 13 |
Takeaways
- Cade Smith leads the league with 21 saves. He ranks third with a 33.3% strikeout-minus-walk rate (K-BB%), and his 1.07 FIP would be second among qualified relievers. He’s a good bet to hold the save lead for the rest of the season if he stays healthy.
- Mason Miller isn’t far behind Smith in saves plus holds, but he’s the leader in K-BB% (39.6%) and FIP (0.49). His 17.6 K/9 would rank first all-time among relievers according to Statmuse.
- Jhoan Duran (33.8%) rounds out the top three relievers in K-BB%. He’s sixth in the league in saves and K/9 at 14.0. Only Duran, Miller, Aroldis Chapman, and Raisel Iglesias have 10+ saves and zero blown saves.
Saves + Holds Reliever Rankings
Here are my updated top 40 relievers for saves + holds leagues:
| Rank | Player | Team | Change |
| 1 | Mason Miller | SDP | – |
| 2 | Cade Smith | CLE | – |
| 3 | Bryan Baker | TBR | +2 |
| 4 | Aroldis Chapman | BOS | -1 |
| 5 | Jhoan Duran | PHI | +2 |
| 6 | Andres Munoz | SEA | – |
| 7 | Paul Sewald | ARI | +3 |
| 8 | Jason Adam | SDP | – |
| 9 | Raisel Iglesias | ATL | – |
| 10 | Riley O’Brien | STL | -6 |
| 11 | Abner Uribe | MIL | – |
| 12 | JoJo Romero | STL | – |
| 13 | Tanner Scott | LAD | – |
| 14 | Robert Suarez | ATL | – |
| 15 | Trevor Megill | MIL | +2 |
| 16 | Gregory Soto | PIT | +2 |
| 17 | Josh Hader | HOU | IL |
| 18 | Kevin Kelly | TBR | +1 |
| 19 | Louis Varland | TOR | +2 |
| 20 | Rico Garcia | BAL | -4 |
| 21 | Jacob Latz | TEX | +4 |
| 22 | Hunter Gaddis | CLE | +4 |
| 23 | Lucas Erceg | KCR | -8 |
| 24 | Seranthony Dominguez | CWS | +3 |
| 25 | Devin Williams | NYM | -1 |
| 26 | Keaton Winn | SFG | +3 |
| 27 | Brad Keller | PHI | +1 |
| 28 | Matt Strahm | KCR | IL |
| 29 | Tony Santillan | CIN | +1 |
| 30 | Taylor Clarke | ARI | +2 |
| 31 | Jose A Ferrer | SEA | UN |
| 32 | Adrian Morejon | SDP | +3 |
| 33 | Fernando Cruz | NYY | – |
| 34 | David Bednar | NYY | +3 |
| 35 | Ian Seymour | TBR | +1 |
| 36 | Hogan Harris | ATH | UN |
| 37 | Tyler Rogers | TOR | +3 |
| 38 | Yoendrys Gomez | MIN | UN |
| 39 | George Soriano | STL | UN |
| 40 | Brock Burke | CIN | UN |
Biggest Risers
Josh Hader (RP – HOU) | Injured List
Josh Hader finally makes his return from the injured list (IL). There had been a mix of relievers used by the Astros in Hader’s stead, but none were good enough to hold the spot. Last season, he had a 2.05 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 13.0 K/9, and 28 saves across 52.2 innings. Coming into the year, if he were healthy, Hader would rank in the top five, but he’ll need to build his way back. The Astros are tied for 14th in the league with 15 saves and could use his experience as a closer.
Hogan Harris (RP – ATH) | Unranked
I’m eating my words a little bit with Hogan Harris here. Last week, I said he would need to make significant improvements to crack my top 40, and here he is, ranked 36 just one week later. In my defense, he has been a little better in the last two weeks. Since May 17, he’s got a 3.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 10.5 K/9, two saves, and two holds. He has the ninth most saves plus holds in that span.
Where he lacks in strikeouts, Harris makes up for in weak ground balls. His hard-hit rate is in the 98th percentile, and his groundball rate is a career-high 52%. His walk rate is still way too high, but he’s allowed only one walk in his last 3.2 innings. Maybe there’s some progress being made.
Biggest Fallers
Riley O’Brien (RP – STL) | -6
Riley O’Brien has been struggling mightily. Since the beginning of May, he’s pitched 11 innings with an 8.18 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 12 strikeouts to four walks, six saves, and two blown saves. He should still have a decent leash on the closer’s role, but JoJo Romero and George Soriano have made a solid case to get the next save chance. O’Brien is still the best reliever in the Cardinals’ bullpen for the long run.
Kenley Jansen (RP – DET) | Injured List
Kenley Jansen landed on the IL and leaves behind a mess of a bullpen in Detroit. Kyle Finnegan and Will Vest are likely the first guys to get a save chance. They both have experience closing and have had success in recent years. However, that success wasn’t in 2026.
Finnegan has a pretty 1.93 ERA but an ugly 1.54 WHIP. He complements those ratios with a shockingly-low 13.7% strikeout rate and an extreme 16.2% walk rate. His xERA of 4.28 seems better than expected with those kinds of results.
Vest has a hideous 7.23 ERA and 1.45 WHIP, but at least his xERA is 3.37, and his strikeout (24.1%) and walk (8.4%) rates are more respectable. Neither is currently pitching well enough to be included in the top 40.
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