Following our saves and holds preview articles, today we combine the two to get the top relief pitchers for SV+HD leagues. While opportunity is certainly taken into consideration, it’s typically hard to gauge because bullpen usage is so fluid throughout the season for most teams. The bulk of the rankings are derived from swing-and-miss ability, expected outcome stats (FIP, SIERA, xwOBA, etc.), and a little bit of HOTEL mixed in. Also, keep in mind that holds are much more volatile and harder to predict. We’ve only seen eight seasons from a pitcher with more than 30 holds since 2016, while 38 closers have gone over 30 saves in that same time frame.
The Rankings
Rank | Player | Team |
---|---|---|
1. | Edwin Diaz | New York Mets |
2. | Josh Hader | Milwaukee Brewers |
3. | Kenley Jansen | Los Angeles Dodgers |
4. | Blake Treinen | Oakland Athletics |
5. | Aroldis Chapman | New York Yankees |
6. | Craig Kimbrel | Free Agent |
7. | Sean Doolittle | Washington Nationals |
8. | Will Smith | San Francisco Giants |
9. | Kirby Yates | San Diego Padres |
10. | Jose Leclerc | Texas Rangers |
11. | A.J. Minter | Atlanta Braves |
12. | Roberto Osuna | Houston Astros |
13. | Dellin Betances | New York Yankees |
14. | Felipe Vazquez | Pittsburgh Pirates |
15. | Ryan Pressly | Houston Astros |
16. | Brad Hand | Cleveland Indians |
17. | Corey Knebel | Milwaukee Brewers |
18. | Seranthony Dominguez | Philadelphia Phillies |
19. | Jose Alvarado | Tampa Bay Rays |
20. | Andrew Miller | St. Louis Cardinals |
21. | Ken Giles | Toronto Blue Jays |
22. | Raisel Iglesias | Cincinnati Reds |
23. | Wade Davis | Colorado Rockies |
24. | Matt Barnes | Boston Red Sox |
25. | David Robertson | Philadelphia Phillies |
26. | Jeurys Familia | New York Mets |
27. | Joakim Soria | Oakland Athletics |
28. | Joe Jimenez | Detroit Tigers |
29. | Trevor May | Minnesota Twins |
30. | Jose Castillo | San Diego Padres |
31. | Cody Allen | Los Angeles Angels |
32. | Jeremy Jeffress | Milwaukee Brewers |
33. | Taylor Rogers | Minnesota Twins |
34. | Keone Kela | Pittsburgh Pirates |
35. | Jace Fry | Chicago White Sox |
36. | Mychal Givens | Baltimore Orioles |
37 | Arodys Vizcaino | Atlanta Braves |
38. | Archie Bradley | Arizona Diamondbacks |
39. | Jordan Hicks | St. Louis Cardinals |
40. | Pedro Strop | Chicago Cubs |
41. | Seung Hwan Oh | Colorado Rockies |
42. | Adam Ottavino | New York Yankees |
43. | Ryan Brasier | Boston Red Sox |
44. | Ty Buttrey | Los Angeles Angels |
45. | Alex Colome | Chicago White Sox |
46. | Craig Stammen | San Diego Padres |
47. | Diego Castillo | Tampa Bay Rays |
48. | Tony Watson | San Francisco Giants |
49. | Trevor Rosenthal | Washington Nationals |
50. | Carl Edwards Jr. | Chicago Cubs |
51. | Hector Neris | Philadelphia Phillies |
52. | Richard Rodriguez | Pittsburgh Pirates |
53. | Oliver Perez | Cleveland Indians |
54. | Sergio Romo | Miami Marlins |
55. | Drew Steckenrider | Miami Marlins |
56. | Kelvin Herrera | Chicago White Sox |
57. | Greg Holland | Arizona Diamondbacks |
58. | Brad Boxberger | Kansas City Royals |
59. | Blake Parker | Minnesota Twins |
60. | Darren O’Day | Atlanta Braves |
61. | Zach Britton | New York Yankees |
62. | Hector Rondon | Houston Astros |
63. | Tony Cingrani | Los Angeles Dodgers |
64. | Dan Winkler | Atlanta Braves |
65. | Will Harris | Houston Astros |
66. | Chad Green | New York Yankees |
67. | Chris Devenski | Houston Astros |
68. | Pedro Baez | Los Angeles Dodgers |
69. | Shane Greene | Detroit Tigers |
70. | Scott Oberg | Colorado Rockies |
71. | Victor Arano | Philadelphia Phillies |
72. | David Hernandez | Cincinnati Reds |
73. | Reyes Moronta | San Francisco Giants |
74. | Lou Trivino | Oakland Athletics |
75. | Yoshihisa Hirano | Arizona Diamondbacks |
76. | Ryan Tepera | Toronto Blue Jays |
77. | Seth Lugo | New York Mets |
78. | Jesse Chavez | Texas Rangers |
79. | Adam Conley | Miami Marlins |
80. | Tanner Scott | Baltimore Orioles |
81. | Brandon Morrow | Chicago Cubs |
82. | Mark Melancon | San Francisco Giants |
83. | Amir Garrett | Cincinnati Reds |
84. | Justin Anderson | Los Angeles Angels |
85. | Jared Hughes | Cincinnati Reds |
86. | Dominic Leone | St. Louis Cardinals |
87. | Chaz Roe | Tampa Bay Rays |
88. | Hunter Strickland | Seattle Mariners |
89. | Steve Cishek | Chicago Cubs |
90. | Joe Kelly | Los Angeles Dodgers |
91. | Ryne Stanek | Tampa Bay Rays |
92. | Kyle Crick | Pittsburgh Pirates |
93. | Phil Maton | San Diego Padres |
94. | Juan Nicasio | Philadelphia Phillies |
95. | Brad Brach | Chicago Cubs |
96. | Anthony Swarzak | Seattle Mariners |
97. | Tyler Olson | Cleveland Indians |
98. | Ryan Buchter | Oakland Athletics |
99. | Sam Dyson | San Francisco Giants |
100. | Shawn Kelley | Texas Rangers |
101. | John Brebbia | St. Louis Cardinals |
102. | Trevor Hildenberger | Minnesota Twins |
103. | Nate Jones | Chicago White Sox |
104. | Pat Neshek | Philadelphia Phillies |
105. | Fernando Rodney | Oakland Athletics |
106. | Kyle Barraclough | Washington Nationals |
107. | Tayron Guerrero | Miami Marlins |
108. | Robert Gsellman | New York Mets |
109. | Tommy Hunter | Philadelphia Phillies |
110. | Justin Miller | Washington Nationals |
111. | Cam Bedrosian | Los Angeles Angels |
112. | Addison Reed | Minnesota Twins |
113. | Ray Black | San Francisco Giants |
114. | Tim Mayza | Toronto Blue Jays |
115. | Andrew Chafin | Arizona Diamondbacks |
116. | Paul Fry | Baltimore Orioles |
117. | Neil Ramirez | Cleveland Indians |
118. | Dylan Floro | Los Angeles Dodgers |
119. | Robert Stock | San Diego Padres |
120. | Drew VerHagen | Detroit Tigers |
121. | Taylor Cole | Los Angeles Angels |
122. | Heath Hembree | Boston Red Sox |
123. | Adam Cimber | Cleveland Indians |
124. | Luis Garcia | Philadelphia Phillies |
125. | Nick Vincent | San Francisco Giants |
Notes
The top 80 have been covered, so let’s jump right into No. 80 and Brandon Morrow. Easily a top-40 talent, health has always been his downfall, and he is now rehabbing from arthroscopic elbow surgery. He will miss at least a month, probably closer to two, and will have to contend with Pedro Strop among other capable relievers in that bullpen once he returns. I’m not an advocate of holding onto relievers with long-term injuries unless they are guaranteed their jobs back and/or are truly special talents. He’s only worth a draft pick if you have injured list spots, and even still, it could very well end up a wasted pick.
Tanner Scott and Justin Anderson are both intriguing because of their incredible ability to get swings and misses. Scott posted a 16.7% swinging-strike rate, good for 10th among relievers, while Anderson had a 37.19 whiff rate, good for ninth. Why are they so low, then, you ask? Both had tendencies to walk the yard, with Scott holding a 4.73 BB/9 with Anderson at a dismal 6.51%. If they can shore up some of the command issues, both have the stuff to move quickly way up the rankings.
It’s unfortunate for fantasy purposes Ryne Stanek made 29 “starts” this past year as his stuff plays great as a prototypical late-inning reliever. It’ll be interesting to see how the Rays attack the whole “opener” role this season, but keep on eye on Stanek if he winds up in a more conventional role this year.
The 20-player gap between 94 and 113 features plenty of names who were at the top of these lists not all that long ago. Despite an ERA of 6.00 this past year and lodged in a deep Philly bullpen, Juan Nicasio could still be a big contributor this season. A ridiculously high .402 BABIP explains a lot as to why things went wrong last year as he still had an impressive 26.2% K/BB rate.
Although I’m not sure exactly where he fits into the Angels 25-man roster, keep an eye on Taylor Cole. A 34.48% whiff rate and 20% K/BB over his first 36 MLB innings have me intrigued. He’s already 29 and missed all of 2017 recovering from injury, but there’s some ability here if he can earn a consistent role at the end of games.
(Photo by Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire)
These relieved lists are great, thanks! Small note: I keep seeing K/BB listed as a percentage, but it should simply be the quotient of Ks divided by walks. I think the percent being listed is actually referring to K%-BB%.
Can I ask why you have Minter ranked so highly? His ratios don’t seem as elite as a lot of the other reliever options.
would by any chance… Fernando Romero be on this list….now that the Twins said they would use him out of the pen?
Yes he would crack the top 100 as of now