With most teams reaching their quarter point of the season, focusing on how relievers fared can help predict how they finish, but if this season has taught fantasy managers anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. There has been a rash of injuries, though another closer has returned. Miami activated Pete Fairbanks before its game in Minnesota on Wednesday. Josh Hader continued his return-to-play protocols with a scoreless inning at the Triple-A level and could be activated by the end of the month.
Before going through the first quarter All-Stars from a fantasy perspective, here’s a table with the number of relievers on each team that have recorded a save:
Note: Cincinnati has transitioned into a shared-save situation, but Graham Ashcraft may be the preferred option; he will face a team’s toughest lineup pocket during the late innings and not be reserved strictly for save situations. Also, Tampa Bay can be misleading, though still, Bryan Baker will not always be reserved for the ninth inning. With this in mind, each team will receive one of the following labels:
Mostly Linear: This is a more traditional approach, with a manager preferring one reliever in the seventh inning, another in the eighth, and a closer (when rested) in the ninth. There are shades of gray, but it usually follows a predictable pattern in high-leverage situations.
Primary save share: The team prefers one reliever as the primary option for saves. However, the player may also be used in matchup-based situations, whether dictated by batter-handedness or batting order, especially in the late innings, providing multiple relievers with save chances each series or week throughout the season.
Shared saves: Typically, two relievers share save opportunities, often based on handedness, rest or recent usage patterns that keep them fresh. While these situations typically involve a primary and ancillary option, others may be used. Some teams also prefer a matchup-based option, which creates fluid save opportunities.
Fluid: The manager has not named a closer, and usage patterns regarding the leverage roles remain unclear.
American League leverage pathways
TeamLeverage PathwayCloser (Primary)Stopper/HLRStealth/Ancillary Option
Primary Save Share
Rico Garcia
Anthony Nunez
Andrew Kittredge
Mostly Linear
Aroldis Chapman
Garrett Whitlock
Justin Slaten
Mostly Linear
Seranthony Domínguez
Bryan Hudson
Grant Taylor
Mostly Linear
Cade Smith
Erik Sabrowski
Colin Holderman
Primary Save Share
Kenley Jansen
Kyle Finnegan
Brant Hurter
Shared Saves
Bryan Abreu
Bryan King
Enyel De Los Santos
Primary Save Share
Lucas Erceg
Matt Strahm
Daniel Lynch IV
Primary Save Share
Ryan Zeferjahn
Sam Bachman
Kirby Yates
Fluid
Yoendrys Gómez
Eric Orze
Taylor Rogers
Mostly Linear
David Bednar
Camilo Doval
Fernando Cruz
Mostly Linear
Andrés Muñoz
Eduard Bazardo
Jose A. Ferrer
Primary Save Share
Bryan Baker
Cole Sulser
Ian Seymour
Mostly Linear
Jacob Latz
Jakob Junis
Cole Winn
Fluid
Jack Perkins
Hogan Harris
Luis Medina
Mostly Linear
Louis Varland
Tyler Rogers
Jeff Hoffman
First-quarter all-stars (saves)
These are not necessarily the best relievers, but they’ve yielded the highest return on investment based on their preseason price points.
Bryan Baker (TB): His last outing was rough, but he has converted 11-of-14 save opportunities this season with a 1.04 WHIP and a 17.1 K-BB percentage.
Lucas Erceg (KC): He became more popular in late drafts, and after a rough start to the season, he has allowed one unearned run while recording three wins and five saves over his past eight appearances. He still needs to improve his walk rate, but Erceg’s one of seven relievers with at least 10 saves through May 13.
Jacob Latz (TEX): Although his most recent performance wasn’t great (while being egregiously overused), Latz owns a minuscule 0.60 WHIP with a 15.2 K-BB percentage, recording five saves in his past seven outings.
Louis Varland (TOR): Varland has replaced Jeff Hoffman as his team’s preferred save option and converted all five save chances while posting a 26.4 K-BB percentage through his first 21.2 innings.
First-quarter all-stars (SOLDS)
Erik “The Big” Sabrowski (CLE): He’s not a hulking player, but his results have been. Sabrowski leads all MLB pitchers with 16 holds across his first 22 appearances with a 0.88 WHIP and a 33.3 K-BB percentage.
Rico Garcia (BAL): Fantasy managers now recognize Garcia’s strong pitching performance this season, particularly since he was unexpectedly placed in save situations. He’s sixth in Win Probability Added on FanGraphs and has allowed one hit through his first 64 batters faced, resulting in a 0.42 WHIP while recording three wins, three saves and seven holds in his first 20 contests.
Daniel Lynch (KC): After improving his velocity this offseason, he’s produced a 0.75 WHIP with a 26.5 K-BB percentage while moving up his team’s leverage ladder.
On the rise
Ryan Zeferjahn (LAA)
Luis Medina (ATH)
Bryan Hudson (CHW)
Stash list
*For keeper-league players or those trying to mine saves later this month/season
Anthony Nunez (BAL) — ancillary saves
Bryan Hudson (CHW)
Luis Medina (ATH)
Emiliano Teodo (TEX)
Marco Raya (MIN)
National League leverage pathways
TeamLeverage PathwayCloser (Primary)Stopper/HLRStealth/Ancillary Option
Mostly Linear
Paul Sewald
Juan Morillo
Taylor Clarke
Mostly Linear
Raisel Iglesias
Robert Suarez
Dylan Lee
Mostly Linear
Daniel Palencia
Phil Maton
Jacob Webb
Shared Saves
Graham Ashcraft
Pierce Johnson
Brock Burke
Primary Save Share
Victor Vodnik
Juan Mejia
Antonio Senzatela
Primary Save Share
Tanner Scott
Alex Vesia
Kyle Hurt
Mostly Linear
Pete Fairbanks
Calvin Faucher
John King
Primary Save Share
Abner Uribe
Trevor Megill
Aaron Ashby
Mostly Linear
Devin Williams
Luke Weaver
Brooks Raley
Mostly Linear
Jhoan Duran
Brad Keller
José Alvarado
Primary Save Share
Gregory Soto
Dennis Santana
Mason Montgomery
Mostly Linear
Riley O’Brien
JoJo Romero
George Soriano
Mostly Linear
Mason Miller
Jason Adam
Jeremiah Estrada
Shared Saves
Caleb Kilian
Keaton Winn
Erik Miller
Shared Saves
Gus Varland
PJ Poulin
Orlando Ribalta
First-quarter all-stars (saves)
Aaron Ashby (MIL): Your current MLB leader in wins (seven) through May 13, Ashby recorded his first hold in his most recentt appearance and has a 24.8 K-BB percentage across 27 innings. In player raters, he rates highly because wins provide tremendous value. He could start securing ancillary saves soon as well.
Riley O’Brien (STL): As a late-round flier in many leagues, he has locked down 12-of-15 save opportunities with a 0.95 WHIP and 26.9 K-BB percentage through his first 20 innings.
Antonio Senzatela (COL): A multi-inning reliever with starting-pitcher eligibility can be a stealth option in leagues with these designations. He has recorded at least four outs in all of his 12 games, logging 27.1 innings with three wins and two saves.
Paul Sewald (ARI): His timing could be better, but Sewald has converted 9-of-10 save chances this season with a 0.91 WHIP and 23 K-BB percentage. However, in his 18 appearances, he has recorded 14 scoreless outings, allowed at least a run in four contests, multiple runs in three, and three earned runs in two games this season.
First-quarter all-stars (SOLDS)
Gregory Soto (PIT): He’s risen in leverage standing for the Pirates, recording the team’s past three saves. On the season, he’s posted a 0.70 WHIP with a 24.1 K-BB percentage through his first 21.1 innings.
Juan Morillo (ARI): Coinciding with Sewald’s stability at the backend of games for Arizona, Morillo has notched eight holds and a save while recording a 0.80 WHIP with a 21.9 K-BB percentage across his first 18.2 innings.
On the rise
Tanner Scott (LAD)
Kyle Hurt (LAD)
Josh Ekness (MIA)
Stash list
*For keeper-league players or those trying to mine saves later this month/season
Graham Ashcraft (CIN)
Erik Miller (SF)
Clayton Beeter (WSH)
A.J. Puk (ARI)
Josh Ekness (MIA)
First-quarter leaderboardsSaves leaders through May 13SOLDS leaders through May 13
My rankings are a blend of in-season performance and rest-of-season expectations. If you feel strongly about a player, by all means, roster him.
Ratio relievers
*Multi-IP/bridge relievers who can vulture wins and help protect ratios.
Aaron Ashby (MIL)
Antonio Senzatela (COL)
Daniel Lynch (KC)
Brant Hurter (DET)
Didier Fuentes (ATL)
Statistical Credits: FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference.com, Baseball Savant, BrooksBaseball.net. Check out my work at Reliever Recon and Closer Monkey for daily updates.