March 24, 2023
As baseball teams move more toward the ace-reliever model, holds are becoming a more popular scoring option for fantasy leagues. This list is for players who are not currently the closer for their team (although many may rise to that role over the season), but are still worth targeting in leagues which reward holds. Current closers don’t appear on this list because anyone listed as a closer will likely be drafted anyway. Committees are always hard to judge on lists like this, but everyone in a committee takes a tiny hit in value here as some of their appearances will be save ops.
Tier I
James Karinchak
AJ Minter
Andres Munoz
Jorge Lopez
Normally this tier is for elite players who are completely blocked by an elite closer, but that list would be so short this year, that we expanded this tier to include several players who are likely to take over as closers as the year goes on. As long as they are set-up men, they are going to rack up holds, but don’t be surprised if they make the leap into the closers spot.
Tier II
Brusdar Graterol
Cionel Perez
Adam Ottavino
Erik Swanson
Jason Adam
Seranthony Dominguez
Geovanny Gallegos
David Robertson
Bryan Abreu
Andrew Chafin
The 2nd tier is a place for solid options who have a single question mark. That question mark is usually either a prominent role in a closer committee or regression/injury concerns. Expect a lot of holds out of this tier, but with a bit more variance than in tier 1.
Tier III
Yimi Garcia
Joe Kelly
Aaron Bummer
Rafael Montero
Joe Jiminez
Colin McHugh
Michael King
Joe Mantiply
The 3rd tier is where you’ll find a mix of less than elite options who still have potential for 20+ hold seasons either due to how their team uses the bullpen (Toronto/Atlanta), or by being a lower leverage option on a good team.
Tier IV
Taylor Rogers
Wil Crowe
Jose Cisnero
Caleb Theilbar
Matt Moore
John Schreiber
Matt Bush
Colin Poche
The 4th tier are mostly targets specifically for their value in providing saves/holds, and who may not help much in ratios. Think the stolen bases specialists of relievers. Here you’ll find some lefty specialists and also relievers on bad teams who are still likely to be involved in the late innings anytime their team does have a lead.
