Each week during the fantasy baseball season, I take a look at the relief pitcher landscape to aid with waiver wire and trade decisions. Here’s what has changed in the last week.
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Fantasy Baseball Saves + Holds League Advice: Week 14
Saves + Holds Leaders
There are 15 relievers with 18+ saves plus holds:
| Player | Team | SV+H |
| Cade Smith | CLE | 26 |
| Bryan Baker | TBR | 23 |
| Louis Varland | TOR | 22 |
| Riley O’Brien | STL | 22 |
| Jhoan Duran | PHI | 21 |
| Kevin Kelly | TBR | 21 |
| Mason Miller | SDP | 21 |
| Tyler Rogers | TOR | 20 |
| Jacob Latz | TEX | 20 |
| Paul Sewald | ARI | 19 |
| Erik Sabrowski | CLE | 19 |
| JoJo Romero | STL | 19 |
| Jason Adam | SDP | 19 |
| Gregory Soto | PIT | 18 |
| Trevor Megill | MIL | 18 |
Takeaways
- Jacob Latz has four saves in the last week. He pitched five innings, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out seven. His 18 saves rank seventh in the league, and his xERA is in the 97th percentile.
- Paul Sewald has struggled over his past four outings. In those 3.2 innings, he’s allowed five earned runs on eight hits and a walk with four strikeouts. He’s only had one blown save on the season, so his position should remain safe, but he’s going through it right now.
- Kevin Kelly continues to rack up the holds, but the underlying stats don’t back it up. While he has an impressive 2.61 ERA, it’s accompanied by a 4.24 xERA and 3.61 FIP. Kelly has been lucky with a .238 batting average on balls in play (BABIP), which has led to the second-most holds in the league.
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 | Josh Hader | HOU | +3 |
| 6 | Riley O’Brien | STL | -1 |
| 7 | Raisel Iglesias | ATL | – |
| 8 | Aroldis Chapman | BOS | +1 |
| 9 | Paul Sewald | ARI | -3 |
| 10 | Louis Varland | TOR | +6 |
| 11 | Andres Munoz | SEA | -1 |
| 12 | Jason Adam | SDP | -1 |
| 13 | Trevor Megill | MIL | -1 |
| 14 | JoJo Romero | STL | -1 |
| 15 | Kevin Kelly | TBR | – |
| 16 | Tanner Scott | LAD | +1 |
| 17 | Abner Uribe | MIL | +2 |
| 18 | Jacob Latz | TEX | +5 |
| 19 | Tyler Rogers | TOR | +5 |
| 20 | Kenley Jansen | DET | – |
| 21 | Eduard Bazardo | SEA | +5 |
| 22 | Dylan Lee | ATL | +11 |
| 23 | Emilio Pagan | CIN | IL |
| 24 | David Bednar | NYY | +6 |
| 25 | Yoendrys Gomez | MIN | +6 |
| 26 | Hunter Gaddis | CLE | +6 |
| 27 | Adrian Morejon | SDP | +1 |
| 28 | Alex Vesia | LAD | +6 |
| 29 | Fernando Cruz | NYY | – |
| 30 | Bryan King | HOU | +10 |
| 31 | Ryan Helsley | BAL | -13 |
| 32 | Jakob Junis | TEX | UN |
| 33 | Daniel Lynch | KCR | -8 |
| 34 | Erik Sabrowski | CLE | -13 |
| 35 | Yennier Cano | BAL | UN |
| 36 | Gregory Soto | PIT | -14 |
| 37 | Hogan Harris | ATH | -1 |
| 38 | Devin Williams | NYM | -1 |
| 39 | Seranthony Dominguez | CWS | -1 |
| 40 | Jose A. Ferrer | SEA | -1 |
Biggest Risers
Dylan Lee (RP – ATL) | Previous: 33; Current: 22
Dylan Lee has been lights out this season. In 37 innings, he has a microscopic 0.97 ERA, 0.62 WHIP, and a career-best 32.8% strikeout rate. Robert Suarez landed on the injured list (IL) late last week and opened the door for Lee to see more action.
Adrian Morejon (RP – SFP) | Previous: 28; Current: 27
Admittedly, Adrian Morejon has not risen much in the rankings. However, he’s still worth talking about. For the season, he has a 3.32 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 10.6 K/9, 14 holds, one save and, maybe most valuable of all, six wins as a reliever.
Generally speaking, we don’t expect relievers to record a bunch of wins, but Morejon is coming off a season where he recorded 13 wins in 75 appearances. He has a sub-3.00 ERA in each of the last two seasons, and his ERA estimators suggest he’s deserved better this season.
Biggest Fallers
Daniel Lynch (RP – KCR) | Previous: 25; Current: 33
I got excited about Daniel Lynch with all of the Royals’ bullpen woes, but he’s given up runs in four of his last 13 appearances.
Over that span, he has a 4.76 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, three holds, one blown save, and a dismal 0.75 K/BB ratio. Alex Lange may very well be the best bet for high-leverage situations, but I’m still keeping Lynch relevant in the rankings for now.
Gregory Soto (RP – PIT) | Previous: 22; Current: 36
Gregory Soto had a rough June — 3.50 ERA, 2.45 WHIP, four saves, one hold and two blown saves. He has posted an 11.1 K/9 during that timeframe, but he’s also allowed nearly five walks per nine innings. He’s got a short leash in the top 40.
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