The Hold Up 9/7: Ranking the Top 70 Relievers for Holds Every Week

The fantasy baseball season is coming to an end now and now more than ever owners need to be shrewd with their remaining pick ups. There still remain some bullpen situations that continue to change, with the two biggest ones being with the Yankees and Angels. It sounds as if the Yankees are ready to hand the closing keys back to Aroldis Chapman, making his time spent on this list short-lived. Blake Parker may still be the Angels closer, but the pieces in front of him, Yusmeiro Petit and Cam Bedrosian, still remain nice hold options.

TIER 1: Good Vibrations

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TIER 2: I’ll Be There For You

1. Anthony Swarzak (Milwaukee Brewers)

2. Archie Bradley (Arizona Diamondbacks)

3. Ryan Madson (Washington Nationals)

4. David Robertson (New York Yankees)

5. Kyle Barraclough (Miami Marlins)

6. Addison Reed (Boston Red Sox)

7. Nick Vincent (Seattle Mariners)

8. Chris Devenski (Houston Astros)

9. Dellin Betances (New York Yankees)

10. Pat Neshek (Colorado Rockies)

11. Yusmeiro Petit (Los Angeles Angels)

12. Carl Edwards Jr. (Chicago Cubs)

13. Mychal Givens (Baltimore Orioles)

14. Will Harris (Houston Astros)

15. Tommy Hunter (Tampa Bay Rays)

Ryan Madson returned this week and should continue to be a steady consistent source of holds and solid ratios. If he was dropped anywhere during his DL stint, be sure to pick him up as he could be a potential difference maker for playoff teams.
Dellin Betances has fallen out of favor in New York for the closer gig and it sounds like Aroldis Chapman will get his job back starting on Thursday. It makes sense for Betances to lose the job as he has had a couple of shaky outings in a row now, but I could certainly see him rebounding in a return to his more comfortable setup role.

TIER 3: Torn

16. Juan Nicasio (St. Louis Cardinals)

17. Kirby Yates (San Diego Padres)

18. Brandon Kintzler (Washington Nationals)

19. Tommy Kahnle (New York Yankees)

20. Trevor Hildenberger (Minnesota Twins)

21. Brad Brach (Baltimore Orioles)

22. Tyler Lyons (St. Louis Cardinals)

23. Jeurys Familia (New York Mets)

24. Chad Green (New York Yankees)

25. Cam Bedrosian (Los Angeles Angels)

26. Ryan Tepera (Toronto Blue Jays)

27. Taylor Rogers (Minnesota Twins)

28. Darren O’Day (Baltimore Orioles)

29. Pedro Baez (Los Angeles Dodgers)

30. David Hernandez (Arizona Diamondbacks)

In a rare September trade, Juan Nicasio was dealt to the Cardinals yesterday. This could potentially be a big boost for his value, and its fair to wonder given their bullpen woes that he may see some save situations before the season is over. The worst case would probably see him in some sort of set up role still, as he is certainly more reliable than the likes of Matt Bowman.
I really wish Chad Green was in a position to earn some holds as he has just been so awesome. He would be the top option if so. Over the past 2 months, his numbers are just mind-boggling. In 28.1 innings, he has 52 K’s to go with a 1.91 ERA and .63 WHIP. But just 1 hold. He is still worth owning in most leagues just based on the other numbers alone.

TIER 4: You Get What You Give

31. Jake McGee (Colorado Rockies)

32. Tony Watson (Los Angeles Dodgers)

33. Joe Musgrove (Houston Astros)

34. Brandon Morrow (Los Angeles Dodgers)

35. Bryan Shaw (Cleveland Indians)

36. Mike Minor (Kansas City Royals)

37. Steve Cishek (Tampa Bay Rays)

38. Dominic Leone (Toronto Blue Jays)

39. Joe Smith (Cleveland Indians)

40. Alex Wilson (Detroit Tigers)

41. Michael Lorenzen (Cincinnati Reds)

42. Jose Ramirez (Atlanta Braves)

43. Justin Wilson (Chicago Cubs)

44. Luke Gregerson (Houston Astros)

45. Pedro Strop (Chicago Cubs)

46. Ryan Buchter (Kansas City Royals)

47. Jake Diekman (Texas Rangers)

48. Wandy Peralta (Cincinnati Reds)

49. Ryan Dull (Oakland Athletics)

50. Mike Dunn (Colorado Rockies)

Tony Watson has had his fair share of struggles this season but it appears that he has settled in nicely to a high leverage setup role in Los Angeles. He won’t stuff the stat sheet with K’s but he should be a steady source of hold’s going forward.
Welcome back Jake Diekman. He was actually a really good set up man the last time we saw him pitch and has already picked up 2 holds in his first two games back. He probably has a ways to go until he is steady fantasy contributor but he is on the radar and could be a nice add in deeper leagues.