Each week during the fantasy baseball season, I take a look at the relief pitcher landscape to aid with waiver wire and trade decisions. Let’s see what has changed in the past week.
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Fantasy Baseball Saves + Holds League Advice: Week 12
Saves + Holds Leaders
There are 14 relievers with 16+ saves plus holds:
| Player | Team | SV+H |
| Cade Smith | CLE | 23 |
| Mason Miller | SDP | 19 |
| Riley O’Brien | STL | 19 |
| Bryan Baker | TBR | 19 |
| Paul Sewald | ARI | 18 |
| Jhoan Duran | PHI | 18 |
| Louis Varland | TOR | 18 |
| Tyler Rogers | TOR | 17 |
| Erik Sabrowski (IL) | CLE | 17 |
| JoJo Romero | STL | 17 |
| Gregory Soto | PIT | 17 |
| Brad Keller (IL) | PHI | 16 |
| Kevin Kelly | TBR | 16 |
| Jason Adam | SDP | 16 |
| Hogan Harris | ATH | 16 |
Takeaways
- Cade Smith keeps widening the gap between him and the rest of the field. He’s second among relievers with a 33.3% strikeout-minus-walk rate.
- Brad Keller was placed on the injured list (IL) this week with forearm tendonitis. That never sounds promising, but he does leave a hole in the Phillies’ bullpen. Orion Kerkering and Jose Alvarado are probably next up for the seventh and eighth innings in front of Jhoan Duran.
- Gregory Soto is enjoying the best season of his career. He has a career-best 3.16 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 29.6% strikeout rate. He’s allowing fewer walks and less hard contact than in recent seasons, leading to a 2.90 xERA.
Saves + Holds Reliever Rankings
Here are my updated top 40 relievers for save plus holds leagues:
| Rank | Player | Team | Change |
| 1 | Mason Miller | SDP | – |
| 2 | Cade Smith | CLE | – |
| 3 | Jhoan Duran | PHI | +1 |
| 4 | Bryan Baker | TBR | -1 |
| 5 | Aroldis Chapman | BOS | – |
| 6 | Riley O’Brien | STL | – |
| 7 | Paul Sewald | ARI | – |
| 8 | Raisel Iglesias | ATL | – |
| 9 | Josh Hader | HOU | +1 |
| 10 | Andres Munoz | SEA | -1 |
| 11 | Ryan Helsley | BAL | IL |
| 12 | Jason Adam | SDP | -1 |
| 13 | JoJo Romero | STL | – |
| 14 | Robert Suarez | ATL | – |
| 15 | Trevor Megill | MIL | – |
| 16 | Kevin Kelly | TBR | – |
| 17 | Louis Varland | TOR | – |
| 18 | Tanner Scott | LAD | – |
| 19 | Abner Uribe | MIL | -7 |
| 20 | Gregory Soto | PIT | -1 |
| 21 | Jacob Latz | TEX | -1 |
| 22 | Hunter Gaddis | CLE | -1 |
| 23 | Tyler Rogers | TOR | +6 |
| 24 | Daniel Lynch IV | KCR | +2 |
| 25 | Kenley Jansen | DET | IL |
| 26 | Seranthony Dominguez | CWS | -2 |
| 27 | Tony Santillan | CIN | – |
| 28 | Rico Garcia | BAL | -6 |
| 29 | Adrian Morejon | SDP | -1 |
| 30 | Taylor Clarke | ARI | – |
| 31 | David Bednar | NYY | +2 |
| 32 | Yoendrys Gomez | MIN | +6 |
| 33 | Fernando Cruz | NYY | +1 |
| 34 | Eduard Bazardo | SEA | UN |
| 35 | Alex Vesia | LAD | UN |
| 36 | Dylan Lee | ATL | -1 |
| 37 | Devin Williams | NYM | – |
| 38 | Hogan Harris | ATH | -2 |
| 39 | Jose A. Ferrer | SEA | -8 |
| 40 | George Soriano | STL | -1 |
Biggest Risers
Kenley Jansen (RP – DET) | Previous: Injured List; Current: 25
Kenley Jansen was activated from the IL late last week. He returns to a 4.50 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and eight saves plus holds. The Tigers’ bullpen has struggled this year, whether he’s been healthy or not.
However, they’ll turn to Jansen to close out games as they look to crawl out of fourth place in the division.
Alex Vesia (RP – LAD) | Previous: Unranked; Current: 35
Alex Vesia has pitched well, but the Dodgers have so many options that he’s not always used in the best spots for fantasy. Despite the crowded bullpen, he’s put up a 2.70 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 13 saves plus holds and a 12.0 K/9.
Vesia has been a model of reliever consistency with three straight seasons of a 0.99 WHIP (including 2026), and a K/9 over 10.0 every season of his career.
Biggest Fallers
Abner Uribe (RP – MIL) | Previous: 12; Current: 19
I had high hopes for Abner Uribe coming off his breakout 2025. So far this season, he has a 3.51 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 13 saves plus holds and a 9.5 K/9. Trevor Megill is the clear closer for the Brewers, but it seems as though Uribe isn’t far off.
Uribe’s pitches look very similar to last season when he was successful, and his xERA is 2.83. However, his slider is getting hit much harder, and he’s getting way fewer whiffs with it. If Uribe can improve his location with that pitch, I don’t see why he can’t be as impactful as he was last season.
Rico Garcia (RP – BAL) | Previous: 22; Current: 28
Rico Garcia has struggled in the past week. He’s given up a home run in three of his last four appearances, recording just one hold in those 3.1 innings.
Garcia has a 1.82 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 13 saves plus holds and a 10.0 K/9 this season. Ryan Helsley was activated from the IL on Tuesday and will step right back into the closer’s role. Helsley had seven saves plus holds before his injury.
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