It\u2019s only been a week, but it feels much longer, with the high-leverage ecosystem remaining in constant flux.<\/p>\n
Edwin D\u00edaz returned from his elbow procedure hoping to cement his role with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but things didn\u2019t progress as planned. After he allowed three earned runs in Monday\u2019s non-save appearance in Colorado, he was placed back on the injured list<\/a>. His last four-seam fastball in that outing was only 93 mph<\/a>. His MRI was clean, but when he returns and what his eventual role will be are the lingering questions. In the interim, Tanner Scott will fill in capably. He\u2019s converted 18-of-20 save chances through his first 55 appearances this season, recording a 0.92 WHIP with a 26.4 K-BB percentage.<\/p>\n Also notable from a rehab standpoint, the Chicago Cubs will activate Daniel Palencia on Friday without a defined role<\/a>. Easing a reliever back into high-leverage situations makes sense, but the team\u2019s trust in Jacob Webb may prevent Palencia from being the closer. He can work himself into save chances, but they aren\u2019t guaranteed.<\/p>\n Baltimore\u2019s F\u00e9lix Bautista will begin his return-to-play rehab assignment<\/a> in the next few days. Justin Martinez was activated by Arizona and worked around a walk for a scoreless appearance in Boston. He could be used in save situations soon if his command and health cooperate.<\/p>\n This leads into my updated leverage pathways, which aim to provide accurate team approaches for procuring saves despite the multitude of confusing usage patterns throughout the league. Each team will receive one of the following labels:<\/p>\n 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<\/p>\n Andrew Kittredge<\/p>\n Yennier Cano<\/p>\n Cam Sanders<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Aroldis Chapman<\/p>\n Tyron Guerrero<\/p>\n Erik Miller<\/p>\n Shared Saves<\/p>\n Grant Taylor<\/p>\n Bryan Hudson<\/p>\n Jordan Hicks<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Cade Smith<\/p>\n Hunter Gaddis<\/p>\n Colin Holderman<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Kenley Jansen<\/p>\n Kyle Finnegan<\/p>\n Drew Sommers<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Josh Hader<\/p>\n Bryan Abreu<\/p>\n Steven Okert<\/p>\n Primary Save Share<\/p>\n Steven Cruz<\/p>\n Nate Pearson<\/p>\n John Schreiber<\/p>\n Primary Save Share<\/p>\n Ben Joyce<\/p>\n Samy Natera Jr.<\/p>\n Jos\u00e9 Fermin<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Yoendrys G\u00f3mez<\/p>\n Andrew Morris<\/p>\n Jeff Hoffman<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n David Bednar<\/p>\n Paul Blackburn<\/p>\n Brent Headrick<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Andr\u00e9s Mu\u00f1oz<\/p>\n Eduard Bazardo<\/p>\n Gabe Speier<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Bryan Baker<\/p>\n Kevin Kelly<\/p>\n Garrett Cleavinger<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Jacob Latz<\/p>\n Jakob Junis<\/p>\n Tyler Alexander<\/p>\n Primary Save Share<\/p>\n Hogan Harris<\/p>\n Luis Medina<\/p>\n Elvis Alvarado<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Louis Varland<\/p>\n Tyler Rogers<\/p>\n Braydon Fisher<\/p>\n Stock up<\/p>\n Ben Joyce (LAA): He hasn\u2019t allowed a run through his first six appearances and has not allowed a baserunner in his past four, recording a save in each of his past three.<\/p>\n Grant Taylor (CHW): He has 0.00 ERA in August, posting a 0.97 WHIP with 10 strikeouts and three walks (15.9 K-BB%) across 11.1 innings. While his role remains a source of frustration for fantasy managers, he leads the White Sox with three saves in the second half.<\/p>\n Brayan Bello (BOS): Although he\u2019s not a closer, over his past five appearances as a reliever or bulk follower, he has three wins and a save with 13 strikeouts against three walks and a 0.85 WHIP across 17.2 innings.<\/p>\n Closer concerns<\/p>\n Aroldis Chapman (BOS): He has not recorded a save since Aug. 1, but that\u2019s associated with his team. However, in his four outings since, five of the 17 batters faced have reached base (three hits and two walks) while he has given up three runs (two earned) and recorded three strikeouts. Since the All-Star break, he has a 1.15 WHIP, but it\u2019s the 13% walk rate combined with his 3.36 SIERA \u2014 the result of only throwing 51.4% of his pitches for strikes (75 strikes in 146 pitches) \u2014 that needs to be monitored.<\/p>\n Steven Cruz (KC): In the second half, Cruz leads the Royals in saves with five. He has made 16 appearances, posting a 0.94 WHIP with 11 strikeouts and two walks (14.5 K-BB%). His 3.38 ERA is accompanied by 3.61 SIERA and 3.26 xERA, but his 85.7% contact rate and 8.1 swinging-strike percentage represent pending migration toward the mean.<\/p>\n Save streamers (ancillary saves or shared roles) Shared Saves<\/p>\n Jonathan Lo\u00e1isiga<\/p>\n Brandyn Garcia<\/p>\n Justin Martinez<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Raisel Iglesias<\/p>\n Dylan Lee<\/p>\n Didier Fuentes<\/p>\n Primary Save Share<\/p>\n Jacob Webb<\/p>\n Daniel Palencia<\/p>\n Ryan Zeferjahn<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Emilio Pag\u00e1n<\/p>\n Brock Burke<\/p>\n Luis Mey<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Jordan Romano<\/p>\n Brennan Bernardino<\/p>\n Jaden Hill<\/p>\n Primary Save Share<\/p>\n Tanner Scott<\/p>\n Edgardo Henriquez<\/p>\n Jack Dreyer<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Pete Fairbanks<\/p>\n Michael Petersen<\/p>\n Calvin Faucher<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Trevor Megill<\/p>\n Aaron Ashby<\/p>\n Chad Patrick<\/p>\n Primary Save Share<\/p>\n Kodai Senga<\/p>\n Daniel Duarte<\/p>\n Nate Lavender<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Jhoan Duran<\/p>\n Jonathan Bowlan<\/p>\n Brooks Raley<\/p>\n Shared Saves<\/p>\n Mason Montgomery<\/p>\n Luke Weaver<\/p>\n Gregory Soto<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Riley O’Brien<\/p>\n George Soriano<\/p>\n Ryne Stanek<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Mason Miller<\/p>\n Adrian Morejon<\/p>\n Jeremiah Estrada<\/p>\n Primary Save Share<\/p>\n Dylan Smith<\/p>\n Keaton Winn<\/p>\n Jason Foley<\/p>\n Shared Saves<\/p>\n Clayton Beeter<\/p>\n Orlando Ribalta<\/p>\n Yovanny Cruz<\/p>\n Stock up<\/p>\n Mason Montgomery (PIT): He\u2019s amid a nine-game scoreless streak, during which he has two wins and converted three saves while posting a 0.63 WHIP with 17 strikeouts and two walks (46.9 K-BB%) over seven innings.<\/p>\n Tanner Scott (LAD): He\u2019s back into the saves saddle, having converted 18-of-20 save chances this season. He hasn\u2019t allowed a run in seven of eight games in August.<\/p>\n Daniel Duarte (NYM): He\u2019s riding an eight-game scoreless streak in which he has recorded a win, two saves and four holds, while posting a minuscule 0.46 WHIP with seven strikeouts and three walks across 8.2 innings. In deeper formats, there\u2019s value in those ratios with a side of ancillary saves.<\/p>\n Luis Mey (CIN): Since his promotion on Aug. 7, he has turned in six scoreless outings, three requiring more than three outs, resulting in a 0.72 WHIP with 16 strikeouts and two walks (40 K-BB percentage) over 9.2 innings.<\/p>\n Closer concerns<\/p>\n Emilio Pag\u00e1n (CIN): He\u2019s suffered a hamstring injury and has been battling a hand issue in recent appearances. Despite this, he has converted all nine save opportunities in the second half with a 0.69 WHIP and 28 K-BB percentage. However, his 2.08 ERA is accompanied by a 97.6% strand rate. If the Reds continue to drift in the wild-card standings, he could be shut down or used more sparingly with eyes on 2027.<\/p>\n Clayton Beeter (WSH): He has not done anything wrong, but the team may continue using him in the highest-leveraged moments, not as a closer. Leading the team with five of its six second-half saves makes this a bit shortsighted. But his last save was on Aug. 7, and if he\u2019s not recording them, what value does he really provide from a fantasy perspective? In the second half, he owns a 1.13 WHIP with a 4.8 K-BB percentage and a 4.73 SIERA across 10.2 innings.<\/p>\n Save streamers (ancillary saves or shared roles) Bryan Baker<\/p>\n 36<\/p>\n Yoendrys G\u00f3mez<\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n Riley O’Brien<\/p>\n 32<\/p>\n Riley O’Brien<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n Mason Miller<\/p>\n 31<\/p>\n David Bednar<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Cade Smith<\/p>\n 31<\/p>\n Bryan Baker<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n David Bednar<\/p>\n 29<\/p>\n Kodai Senga<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Louis Varland<\/p>\n 28<\/p>\n Louis Varland<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Jhoan Duran<\/p>\n 28<\/p>\n Josh Hader<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Aroldis Chapman<\/p>\n 27<\/p>\n Jacob Webb<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Raisel Iglesias<\/p>\n 25<\/p>\n Jacob Latz<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Jacob Latz<\/p>\n 24<\/p>\n Ben Joyce<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Paul Sewald<\/p>\n 24<\/p>\n Jhoan Duran<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Andr\u00e9s Mu\u00f1oz<\/p>\n 23<\/p>\n Jordan Romano<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Trevor Megill<\/p>\n 22<\/p>\n Mason Miller<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Yoendrys G\u00f3mez<\/p>\n 20<\/p>\n Emilio Pag\u00e1n<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Josh Hader<\/p>\n 18<\/p>\n Hogan Harris<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Tanner Scott<\/p>\n 18<\/p>\n Kenley Jansen<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Pete Fairbanks<\/p>\n 18<\/p>\n Andr\u00e9s Mu\u00f1oz<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Holds Dylan Lee<\/p>\n 28<\/p>\n Tanner Scott<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n Tyler Rogers<\/p>\n 26<\/p>\n Jonathan Bowlan<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Kevin Kelly<\/p>\n 25<\/p>\n Tyler Holton<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Hunter Gaddis<\/p>\n 24<\/p>\n A.J. Minter<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Ryne Stanek<\/p>\n 24<\/p>\n Nathan Lavender<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Eduard Bazardo<\/p>\n 24<\/p>\n Dylan Lee<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Garrett Whitlock<\/p>\n 21<\/p>\n Ryne Stanek<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Garrett Cleavinger<\/p>\n 21<\/p>\n Jeff Hoffman<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Michael Petersen<\/p>\n 21<\/p>\n Brent Headrick<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Erik Sabrowski<\/p>\n 21<\/p>\n Andrew Morris<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n JoJo Romero<\/p>\n 21<\/p>\n 16 tied with<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n SOLDS Bryan Baker<\/p>\n 38<\/p>\n Tanner Scott<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n Riley O’Brien<\/p>\n 33<\/p>\n Yoendrys Gomez<\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n Louie Varland<\/p>\n 33<\/p>\n Riley O’Brien<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n Mason Miller<\/p>\n 31<\/p>\n Grant Taylor<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n Cade Smith<\/p>\n 31<\/p>\n Jonathan Bowlan<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n Tanner Scott<\/p>\n 30<\/p>\n Tyler Holton<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n Tyler Rogers<\/p>\n 30<\/p>\n David Bednar<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n David Bednar<\/p>\n 29<\/p>\n Bryan Baker<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Trevor Megill<\/p>\n 29<\/p>\n Kodai Senga<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Kevin Kelly<\/p>\n 29<\/p>\n Louie Varland<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Jhoan Duran<\/p>\n 28<\/p>\n Ben Joyce<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Dylan Lee<\/p>\n 28<\/p>\n Daniel Duarte<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Aroldis Chapman<\/p>\n 27<\/p>\n Tyler Rogers<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Jacob Latz<\/p>\n 26<\/p>\n A.J. Minter<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Yoendrys Gomez<\/p>\n 26<\/p>\n Nathan Lavender<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Raisel Iglesias<\/p>\n 25<\/p>\n Dylan Lee<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Hunter Gaddis<\/p>\n 25<\/p>\n Ryne Stanek<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Ryne Stanek<\/p>\n 25<\/p>\n Jeff Hoffman<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Paul Sewald<\/p>\n 24<\/p>\n Brent Headrick<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Abner Uribe<\/p>\n 24<\/p>\n Andrew Morris<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Eduard Bazardo<\/p>\n 24<\/p>\n 31 tied with<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Ratio relievers<\/p>\n *Multi-inning or bridge relievers who can vulture wins and help protect ratios. <\/p>\n Steven Okert (HOU) Statistical Credits: FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference.com, Baseball Savant, BrooksBaseball.net. Check out my work at Reliever Recon<\/a> and Closer Monkey<\/a> for daily updates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s only been a week, but it feels much longer, with the high-leverage ecosystem remaining in constant flux.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":820189,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[21850,363,99],"class_list":["post-820188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-fantasy-baseball","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=820188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/820189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=820188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=820188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=820188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nPrimary 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.
\nShared 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.
\nFluid: The manager has not named a closer, and usage patterns regarding the leverage roles remain unclear.
\nAmerican League leverage pathways
\n TeamLeverage PathwayCloser (Primary)Stopper\/HLRStealth\/Ancillary Option<\/p>\n
\nSteven Cruz (KC)
\nBryan Hudson; Jordan Hicks (CHW)
\nSave stashes
\nCam Sanders; F\u00e9lix Bautista (BAL)
\nCarlos Duran (KC)
\nNational League leverage pathways
\n TeamLeverage PathwayCloser (Primary)Stopper\/HLRStealth\/Ancillary Option<\/p>\n
\nMason Montgomery; Luke Weaver (PIT)
\nDaniel Duarte (NYM)
\nAaron Ashby (MIL)
\nSave stashes
\nJustin Martinez (ARI)
\nLuis Mey (CIN)
\nYovanny Cruz (WSH)
\nLeaderboardsSaves
\n 2026SavesLast 14 DaysSaves<\/p>\n
\n 2026HoldsLast 14 DaysHolds<\/p>\n
\n 2026SOLDSLast 14 DaysSOLDS<\/p>\n
\nBrayan Bello (BOS)
\nBradgley Rodriguez (SD)
\nDaniel Duarte (NYM)<\/p>\n