Fantasy Baseball Saves Plus Holds Rankings & Advice: Week 18 (2026)

Each week during the fantasy baseball season, I take a look at the relief pitcher landscape to aid in waiver wire and trade decisions. Some returns from injury have shaken up the top 40.

Fantasy Baseball Saves + Holds League Advice: Week 18

Saves + Holds Leaders

There are 14 pitchers with 23+ saves plus holds:

Player	Team	SV+H
Cade Smith	CLE	30
Bryan Baker	TBR	30
Louis Varland	TOR	27
Mason Miller	SDP	27
Riley O’Brien	STL	27
Aroldis Chapman	BOS	25
Kevin Kelly	TBR	24
Paul Sewald	ARI	24
Jhoan Duran	PHI	24
Trevor Megill	MIL	24
Tyler Rogers	TOR	24
Jacob Latz	TEX	23
Tanner Scott	LAD	23

Takeaways

Bryan Baker finally caught Cade Smith with 30 saves plus holds. Smith should still be the favorite to lead the league, but it’s worth noting how good Baker has been. Among qualified relievers, he’s sixth in ERA (1.56) and ninth in WHIP (0.84).
Aroldis Chapman has three saves in the past week and extended his scoreless streak to eight innings. He’s on his way to consecutive seasons with a sub-2.00 ERA and the fifth of his career. He’s just five saves away from his 10th season with 30+ saves, which would tie him for third all-time in such seasons.

Saves + Holds Reliever Rankings

Here are my top 40 relievers for save-plus-holds leagues:

Rank	Player	Team	Change
1	Mason Miller	SDP	–
2	Cade Smith	CLE	–
3	Bryan Baker	TBR	+1
4	Josh Hader	HOU	+1
5	Jhoan Duran	PHI	-2
6	Aroldis Chapman	BOS	–
7	Raisel Iglesias	ATL	–
8	Louis Varland	TOR	+1
9	Riley O’Brien	STL	-1
10	Trevor Megill	MIL	+1
11	Andres Munoz	SEA	-1
12	Tanner Scott	LAD	–
13	Kevin Kelly	TBR	–
14	Jacob Latz	TEX	–
15	David Bednar	NYY	+1
16	Abner Uribe	MIL	-1
17	Tyler Rogers	TOR	+1
18	Edwin Diaz	LAD	IL
19	Dylan Lee	ATL	-2
20	Kenley Jansen	DET	+2
21	Hunter Gaddis	CLE	–
22	Luke Weaver	NYM	+1
23	Adrian Morejon	SDP	+2
24	Eduard Bazardo	SEA	-4
25	Tyler Wells	BAL	-1
26	Daniel Lynch	KCR	–
27	Andrew Morris	MIN	+1
28	Juan Morillo	ARI	UN
29	Alex Vesia	LAD	-2
30	Garrett Whitlock	BOS	-1
31	Jakob Junis	TEX	–
32	Garrett Cleavinger	TBR	–
33	Emilio Pagan	CIN	+4
34	Jeff Hoffman	TOR	–
35	Fernando Cruz	NYY	-5
36	Hogan Harris	ATH	-3
37	Grant Taylor	CWS	-1
38	Jeremiah Estrada	SDP	IL
39	Devin Williams	NYM	-1
40	Yoendrys Gomez	MIN	-1

Biggest Risers

Edwin Diaz (RP – LAD) | Previous: IL; Current: 18

Edwin Diaz was activated from the injured list (IL) on Wednesday after a three-month layoff. He struggled when he was on the field, posting a 10.50 ERA and 2.33 WHIP, but struck out 30% of batters in six innings.

Diaz was the second-ranked pitcher on this list before the injury, but it’s fair to wonder how he’ll be eased into action. Whether he immediately usurps Tanner Scott from the closer’s role is of no consequence in saves-plus-holds leagues.

Jeremiah Estrada (RP – SDP) | Previous: IL; Current: 38

Jeremiah Estrada is off the IL and rejoins a Padres bullpen that has supported multiple fantasy-relevant relievers. Coming into this year, he had posted back-to-back seasons of 35%+ strikeout and sub-10% walk rates.

Estrada is slightly worse than that this season (28% strikeout rate; 12.2% walk rate), but there’s plenty of time to turn it around. If one or both of Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon are moved at the trade deadline, Estrada could see an uptick in high-leverage work.

Biggest Fallers

Paul Sewald (RP – ARI) | Previous: 19; Current: Unranked

Paul Sewald has struggled to the point that he was removed from the closer’s role for the Diamondbacks. Over his past 13 appearances, he’s allowed 13 runs over 11.1 innings while giving up seven home runs.

Sewald always had problems giving up too many fly balls, but it’s peaked to a new career-high in home runs allowed. Juan Morillo has been solid all year for the Snakes, and should see an uptick in save opportunities.

Fernando Cruz (RP – NYY) | Previous: 30; Current: 35

Fernando Cruz has just one save and zero holds since the All-Star break. He’s picked up a blown save and one loss while allowing runs in two of those five appearances. His strikeout rate is down to 22% for the month compared to his 29.1% season-long number. Without the strikeouts, saves or holds, he’s of not much use for fantasy.