Fantasy Baseball Saves Plus Holds Rankings & Advice: Week 22 (2026)

Each week during the fantasy baseball season, I take a look at the relief pitcher landscape to aid in waiver wire decisions. We’re getting close to the fantasy playoffs, so I’ll try to help you steal some saves plus holds categories.

Fantasy Baseball Saves + Holds League Advice: Week 22

There are 12 pitchers with 30+ saves plus holds:

Player	Team	SV+H
Bryan Baker	TBR	40
Cade Smith	CLE	35
Riley O’Brien	STL	34
Louis Varland	TOR	34
Mason Miller	SDP	32
Tyler Rogers	TOR	31
Tanner Scott	LAD	31
Trevor Megill	MIL	31
David Bednar	NYY	30
Dylan Lee	ATL	30
Kevin Kelly	TBR	30
Aroldis Chapman	BOS	30

Takeaways

Bryan Baker is poised to finish out the season as the best reliever regardless of format. He picked up two more saves in the past week to pad his lead on Cade Smith, who is three behind with 35. His strikeout rate isn’t quite as high as Smith’s or close to Mason Miller‘s, but Baker’s done a better job of limiting the free passes. The biggest knock on him compared to those other pitchers would be that if he runs into a rough patch, the Rays have plenty of other options in their bullpen.
David Bednar completely changed his season around from June on. In his last 33.1 innings, he has a 0.81 ERA, 0.57 WHIP, 9.7 K/9 and 18 saves. That’s a stark improvement from his 5.56 ERA in May. The Yankees are second in the American League in the standings and should have plenty more opportunities for Bednar to add to his great season.
Tyler Rogers defies what fantasy managers usually look for in a relief pitcher. He has a WHIP on the higher side at 1.18 and an all-time low strikeout rate at 12.7%. Despite these flaws, he’s in the midst of his second consecutive season with an ERA under 2.00. He has a unique submarine-style delivery that allows him to pitch more regularly than most pitchers, and it makes it tough for batters to square him up, as evidenced by his 100th percentile barrel rate. He’s 9.2 innings away from his fifth straight season with 70+ innings.

Saves + Holds Reliever Rankings

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

Rank	Player	Team	Change
1	Bryan Baker	TBR	–
2	Mason Miller	SDP	–
3	Louis Varland	TOR	–
4	Josh Hader	HOU	–
5	Cade Smith	CLE	–
6	Trevor Megill	MIL	–
7	Riley O’Brien	STL	–
8	Jhoan Duran	PHI	–
9	Aroldis Chapman	BOS	–
10	Tanner Scott	LAD	–
11	David Bednar	NYY	–
12	Jacob Latz	TEX	+1
13	Raisel Iglesias	ATL	-1
14	Kevin Kelly	TBR	–
15	Dylan Lee	ATL	–
16	Tyler Rogers	TOR	–
17	Andres Munoz	SEA	–
18	Hunter Gaddis	CLE	+2
19	Grant Taylor	CWS	+2
20	Adrian Morejon	SDP	-1
21	Mason Montgomery	PIT	+1
22	Yoendrys Gomez	MIN	+3
23	Eduard Bazardo	SEA	–
24	Alex Vesia	LAD	–
25	Brandyn Garcia	ARI	+2
26	Garrett Cleavinger	TBR	-8
27	Jakob Junis	TEX	+3
28	Kenley Jansen	DET	-2
29	Rico Garcia	BAL	+3
30	Emilio Pagan	CIN	-1
31	Ben Joyce	LAA	+2
32	Ryne Stanek	STL	+3
33	Daniel Palencia	CHC	IL
34	Jeff Hoffman	MIN	–
35	Tony Santillan	CIN	IL
36	Aaron Ashby	MIL	–
37	Hogan Harris	ATH	–
38	Jacob Webb	CHC	-10
39	Daniel Duarte	NYM	+1
40	Nate Pearson	KCR	UN

Biggest Risers

Daniel Palencia (RP – CHC) | Previous: Injured List; Current: 33

Daniel Palencia returned from the injured list (IL) and should step back into the Cubs’ closer role. In his return, he pitched a perfect inning, but he gave up three runs in his next appearance. It hasn’t been a great season, but Palencia had a fantastic campaign last year and still has plenty of upside.

The Cubs have had 13 pitchers record saves this season and are practically begging for someone to take control. Jacob Webb has been solid in Palencia’s absence, but he doesn’t seem like a long-term solution.

Nate Pearson (RP – KCR) | Previous: Unranked; Current: 40

Much like the Cubs, the Royals have struggled to maintain consistency in the closer role. Enter Nate Pearson. He spent most of the season playing for the Astros before being acquired by Kansas City in July.

Over the last month, Pearson has allowed only one run over 13.2 innings with two saves and four holds. Steven Cruz has struggled lately, and Pearson seems to be their best option.

Biggest Fallers

Fernando Cruz (RP – NYY) | Previous: 38; Current: Injured List

Fernando Cruz landed on the IL with UCL damage and may be looking at Tommy John surgery. He was having his best season to date in terms of run prevention with a 3.13 ERA. However, that came with a 1.34 WHIP and the first sub-30% strikeout rate of his career. Brent Headrick is someone to monitor as a potential replacement for Cruz as the Yankees’ set-up man.

Headrick has had a phenomenal season to the tune of a 1.88 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 11.3 K/9, but has struggled in August. He’s allowed an ERA of 4.63 in the month and gave up 17 hits in 11.2 innings. It does come with a 14.7 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9, so it hasn’t all been bad.

Garrett Cleavinger (RP – TBR) | Previous: 18; Current: 26

Garrett Cleavinger didn’t do anything wrong, but was probably ranked too high to begin with. For starters, it would be very difficult for any team to sustain three valuable relievers, much less three in the top 20.

On top of that fact, the Rays have had 15 pitchers with a hold or save this season, and five with double digits. He’s fine to keep around, but won’t be a difference-maker down the stretch.