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 13
Saves + Holds Leaders
There are 14 relievers with 17+ saves plus holds:
| Team | Player | SV+H |
| Cade Smith | CLE | 24 |
| Bryan Baker | TBR | 21 |
| Mason Miller | SDP | 21 |
| Louis Varland | TOR | 21 |
| Riley O’Brien | STL | 20 |
| Tyler Rogers | TOR | 19 |
| JoJo Romero | STL | 18 |
| Paul Sewald | ARI | 18 |
| Jhoan Duran | PHI | 18 |
| Kevin Kelly | TBR | 18 |
| Erik Sabrowski | CLE | 17 |
| Jason Adam | SDP | 17 |
| Trevor Megill | MIL | 17 |
| Gregory Soto | PIT | 17 |
Takeaways
- Bryan Baker continues to impress for the Tampa Bay Rays. He has a 1.78 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 9.8 K/9 over 32 appearances. His change-up was his best pitch a year ago, and he’s using it almost exclusively (45%) with his four-seam fastball (50%) this season. It has a 38.5% whiff rate and a .148 batting average against.
- Louis Varland and Tyler Rogers have both been excellent. Varland has the fifth-best strikeout rate among qualified relievers, right behind Jeff Hoffman. Rogers has never been a big strikeout threat, but limits hard contact unlike many pitchers, and has a groundball rate near 65%.
- Jason Adam is putting up the worst strikeout rate of his career, but his best walk rate ever. He had four straight seasons with 50+ innings and a sub-3.00 ERA coming into 2026, and is well on his way to another.
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 | – |
| 4 | Bryan Baker | TBR | – |
| 5 | Riley O’Brien | STL | +1 |
| 6 | Paul Sewald | ARI | +1 |
| 7 | Raisel Iglesias | ATL | +1 |
| 8 | Josh Hader | HOU | +1 |
| 9 | Aroldis Chapman | BOS | -9 |
| 10 | Andres Munoz | SEA | – |
| 11 | Jason Adam | SDP | +1 |
| 12 | Trevor Megill | MIL | +3 |
| 13 | JoJo Romero | STL | – |
| 14 | Robert Suarez | ATL | – |
| 15 | Kevin Kelly | TBR | +1 |
| 16 | Louis Varland | TOR | +1 |
| 17 | Tanner Scott | LAD | +1 |
| 18 | Ryan Helsley | BAL | -7 |
| 19 | Abner Uribe | MIL | – |
| 20 | Kenley Jansen | DET | +5 |
| 21 | Erik Sabrowski | CLE | IL |
| 22 | Gregory Soto | PIT | -2 |
| 23 | Jacob Latz | TEX | -2 |
| 24 | Tyler Rogers | TOR | -1 |
| 25 | Daniel Lynch IV | KCR | -1 |
| 26 | Eduard Bazardo | SEA | +8 |
| 27 | Tony Santillan | CIN | – |
| 28 | Adrian Morejon | SDP | +1 |
| 29 | Fernando Cruz | NYY | +4 |
| 30 | David Bednar | NYY | +1 |
| 31 | Yoendrys Gomez | MIN | +1 |
| 32 | Hunter Gaddis | CLE | -10 |
| 33 | Dylan Lee | ATL | +3 |
| 34 | Alex Vesia | LAD | +1 |
| 35 | Rico Garcia | BAL | -7 |
| 36 | Hogan Harris | ATH | +2 |
| 37 | Devin Williams | NYM | – |
| 38 | Seranthony Dominguez | CWS | -12 |
| 39 | Jose A. Ferrer | SEA | – |
| 40 | Bryan King | HOU | UN |
Biggest Risers
Kenley Jansen (RP – DET) | Previous: 25; Current: 20
Kenley Jansen has picked up two saves in three scoreless innings since his return from injury. He’s allowed only one hit and one walk during his outings while striking out three.
The Tigers have started to pile up wins. Coming into Wednesday, they had seven straight games decided by three or fewer runs. This should allow Jansen to see plenty of save opportunities the rest of the way.
Erik Sabrowski (RP – CLE) | Previous: Injured List; Current: 21
Erik Sabrowski was activated from the injured list (IL) last week. Before the injury, he led the league in holds and was 10th in my rankings.
Since his return, however, Sabrowski has allowed three earned runs in one inning spanning two appearances. There is bound to be some rust coming back from a 28-day layoff, so he’ll need to work his way back up the rankings with some scoreless appearances.
With Sabrowski’s return to the bullpen, Hunter Gaddis will likely cede some high-leverage opportunities.
Biggest Fallers
Aroldis Chapman (RP – BOS) | Previous: 5; Current: 9
Aroldis Chapman, it’s not you, it’s your manager. Chapman has been excellent this season, as per usual. He has a 2.08 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 12.1 K/9 and 14 saves.
The problem is that Chapman has only been used five times since May 20th. During that stretch, he’s pitched four innings, picked up two saves and taken two losses. The Red Sox are 7-12 in June and are limiting Chapman’s opportunities. On the other hand, he could be traded at some point and see his usage return to normal, contender levels.
Ryan Helsley (RP – BAL) | Previous: 11; Current: 18
I was down on Ryan Helsley coming into the season. He had a poor 2025, and his WHIP just seemed like a red flag. However, my ego had to take a back seat when he was pitching well through the first month of the season, before an injury derailed him.
Through April 28th, Helsley had a 2.53 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 12.7 K/9 and seven saves in 10.2 innings. In his two appearances since returning, he’s allowed four earned runs, four hits, three homers and two walks, with two strikeouts. I won’t count it as a win after just 1.2 innings, but the writing’s been on the wall.
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