The first installment of The Hold Up was a more of a discussion but this time we’re providing straight up rankings. Holds are a lot more spread out than saves so the shift in value as you move down isn’t too steep. Tony Watson led the league last season and could very well rack up 40+ this season as well. Betances and Miller, assuming Andrew’s bum wrist doesn’t hurt his defense to the point where the ratios take a hit, are closers in setup roles. Absolutely in love with Strop-Kela, but things don’t get iffy until the 30s. Unless you’re talking about one of the top 20 or so guys you shouldn’t be too attached.
Probably better off focusing more on depth than locking up top tier studs in hold leagues. Fill your RP and P slots with middle relievers to lock up holds and drag down ERA and WHIP. Plus you can always cut loose a backend setup man if you need to stream. Unless it’s a shallow league, every extra dollar other teams spend on holds gives you more relative value to stack your bats and staff. I’ll be updating this list every Tuesday through the season, so check back each week to stay on top of the competition.
Here are the Top 50 relievers for Holds entering Opening Day:
1. Tony Watson (Pittsburgh Pirates)
2A/B.Dellin Betances/Andrew Miller (New York Yankees)
4. Pedro Strop (Chicago Cubs)
5. Kevin Siegrist (St. Louis Cardinals)
6. Nate Jones (Chicago White Sox)
7. Hunter Strickland (San Francisco Giants)
8. Keone Kela (Texas Rangers)
9. Drew Storen (Toronto Blue Jays)
10. Luke Gregerson (Houston Astros)
11. Sergio Romo (San Francisco Giants)
12. Kevin Jepsen (Minnesota Twins)
13. Ryan Madson (Oakland Athletics)
14. Joakim Soria (Kansas City Royals)
15. Kelvin Herrera (Kansas City Royals)
16. Joe Smith (Los Angeles Angels)
17. Darren O’Day (Baltimore Orioles)
18. Joaquin Benoit (Seattle Mariners)
19. Yimi Garcia (Los Angeles Dodgers)
20. Tony Zych (Seattle Mariners
21. Addison Reed (New York Mets)
22. Tyler Clippard (Arizona Diamondbacks)
23. Sam Dyson (Texas Rangers)
24. Seung Hwan Oh (St. Louis Cardinals)
25. Bryan Shaw (Cleveland Indians)
26. Will Harris (Houston Astros)
27. Hansel Robles (New York Mets)
28. Stephen Geltz (Tampa Bay Rays)
29. Kevin Quackenbush (San Diego Padres)
30. Mark Lowe (Detroit Tigers)
31. Pedro Baez (Los Angeles Dodgers)
32. Daniel Hudson (Arizona Diamondbacks)
33. Mychal Givens (Baltimore Orioles)
34. Shawn Kelley (Washington Nationals)
35. Trevor May (Minnesota Twins)
36. Corey Knebel (Milwaukee Brewers)
37. Koji Uehara (Boston Red Sox)
38. Jumbo Diaz (Cincinnati Reds)
39. Danny Farquhar (Tampa Bay Rays)
40. Antonio Bastardo (New York Mets)
41. Mike Dunn (Miami Marlins)
42. Trevor Bauer (Cleveland Indians)
43. Zach Duke (Chicago White Sox)
44. Casey Fien (Minnesota Twins)
45. Silvino Bracho (Arizona Diamondbacks)
46. Oliver Perez (Washington Nationals
47. Justin Wilson (Detroit Tigers)
48. Justin Grimm (Chicago Cubs)
49. Junichi Tazawa (Boston Red Sox)
50. Jason Motte (Colorado Rockies)