Understanding that ranking relievers can become outdated within hours, Closer Monkey’s updated rankings fuse in-season results with rest-of-the-season potential for a number often worth debating. This week, we are not only providing saves and SOLDS rankings, but also introducing holds for those in leagues which count them separately. Match-ups often work best in this format, and some relievers like José Alvarado was not included in the holds, but he still may accrue them throughout the year.
Relievers on the Rise
- Jeff Hoffman (TOR): He’s converted all three save chances while recording 13 strikeouts versus one walk (36.4 K-BB%) with a 20 percent swinging strike rate and a 64.5 contact allowed percentage—all elite numbers.
- Carlos Estévez (KC): Though not out of the woods with his velocity, he posted 40 percent of his whiffs during Sunday’s outing while striking out three consecutive Guardians’ hitters, including José Ramírez. He has a 1.14 WHIP and converted five of six save opportunities in his first seven appearances.
Closer Concerns
- Jhoan Durán (MIN): It’s a small sample, but he has only posted one hold with five strikeouts against three walks (8 K-BB%) over 6.1 innings. He owns a 65.2 strike percentage, but his swinging strike rate has plummeted to 8.7 percent versus his career rate of 16.1 percent. He’s also allowing more contact (81.8 percent contact rate allowed) and more in the strike zone (93.8 Z-contact percentage). A .176 batting average on balls in play (BAbip) and poor contact have insulated his ratios.
- Emmanuel Clase (CLE): With the caveat that he will receive a long leash from his team, he’s posted a 2.14 WHIP with seven strikeouts against one walk (16.2 K-BB percentage), a 7.71 ERA, a 3.55 xERA, and a 2.98 SIERA. His troubles have been with batting average on balls in play. It currently sits at a robust .481 versus his career .255 percentage. Hope lies in his 17.7 swinging strike percentage and an eye-popping 54.1 O-Swing percentage. He’s also allowed less contact than last year’s 75.8 percent, down by 3.6 percentage points.
Updated Top 40 for Saves
| Rank | Relievers |
| 1 | Mason Miller |
| 2 | Josh Hader |
| 3 | Robert Suarez |
| 4 | Jeff Hoffman |
| 5 | Ryan Walker |
| 6 | Andrés Muñoz |
| 7 | Tanner Scott |
| 8 | Ryan Helsley |
| 9 | Emmanuel Clase |
| 10 | Devin Williams |
| 11 | Raisel Iglesias |
| 12 | José Alvarado |
| 13 | Kenley Jansen |
| 14 | Pete Fairbanks |
| 15 | Carlos Estévez |
| 16 | Jhoan Durán |
| 17 | Edwin Díaz |
| 18 | Justin Martinez |
| 19 | A.J. Puk |
| 20 | Aroldis Chapman |
| 21 | Félix Bautista |
| 22 | Kyle Finnegan |
| 23 | Ryan Pressly |
| 24 | Trevor Megill |
| 25 | Luke Jackson |
| 26 | Dennis Santana |
| 27 | Tommy Kahnle |
| 28 | Seth Halvorsen |
| 29 | Blake Treinen |
| 30 | Jason Adam |
| 31 | Griffin Jax |
| 32 | Emilio Pagán |
| 33 | Calvin Faucher |
| 34 | Lucas Erceg |
| 35 | Orion Kerkering |
| 36 | Luke Weaver |
| 37 | Yennier Cano |
| 38 | Porter Hodge |
| 39 | Daniel Lynch IV |
| 40 | Tony Santillan |
Just Missed:
- Bryan Abreu (HOU)
- Justin Slaten (BOS)
- Yimi García (TOR)
- Kirby Yates (LAD)
- Hunter Gaddis (CLE)
- Jordan Leasure (CHW)
- Cam Booser (CHW)
- Alexis Díaz (CIN)
Stash Candidates
- Abner Uribe (MIL)
- David Bednar (PIT)
- Graham Ashcraft (CIN)
- Mason Montgomery (TB)
Updated Top 75 for SOLDS
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Mason Miller |
| 2 | Robert Suarez |
| 3 | José Alvarado |
| 4 | Ryan Walker |
| 5 | Jeff Hoffman |
| 6 | Jason Adam |
| 7 | Tanner Scott |
| 8 | Justin Martinez |
| 9 | A.J. Puk |
| 10 | Andrés Muñoz |
| 11 | Josh Hader |
| 12 | Raisel Iglesias |
| 13 | Ryan Helsley |
| 14 | Emmanuel Clase |
| 15 | Griffin Jax |
| 16 | Jeremiah Estrada |
| 17 | Luke Weaver |
| 18 | Aroldis Chapman |
| 19 | Lucas Erceg |
| 20 | Devin Williams |
| 21 | Yennier Cano |
| 22 | Yimi García |
| 23 | Carlos Estévez |
| 24 | Cade Smith |
| 25 | Tyler Rogers |
| 26 | Chris Martin |
| 27 | Robert Garcia |
| 28 | Orion Kerkering |
| 29 | Tony Santillan |
| 30 | Kenley Jansen |
| 31 | Pete Fairbanks |
| 32 | Mason Montgomery |
| 33 | Porter Hodge |
| 34 | Edwin Díaz |
| 35 | Bryan Abreu |
| 36 | Phil Maton |
| 37 | Blake Treinen |
| 38 | Kirby Yates |
| 39 | Ryne Stanek |
| 40 | Kyle Finnegan |
| 41 | Hunter Gaddis |
| 42 | Luke Jackson |
| 43 | Trevor Megill |
| 44 | Jhoan Durán |
| 45 | Alex Vesia |
| 46 | JoJo Romero |
| 47 | A.J. Minter |
| 48 | Daniel Lynch IV |
| 49 | Tommy Kahnle |
| 50 | Dennis Santana |
| 51 | Félix Bautista |
| 52 | Reed Garrett |
| 53 | Edwin Uceta |
| 54 | Matt Strahm |
| 55 | Cole Sands |
| 56 | Justin Slaten |
| 57 | Tyler Holton |
| 58 | Anthony Banda |
| 59 | Justin Sterner |
| 60 | Bryan King |
| 61 | Chad Green |
| 62 | Erik Miller |
| 63 | Mark Leiter Jr. |
| 64 | Seranthony Domínguez |
| 65 | Shelby Miller |
| 66 | Ryan Pressly |
| 67 | Tim Herrin |
| 68 | Abner Uribe |
| 69 | Randy Rodríguez |
| 70 | Brendon Little |
| 71 | Paul Sewald |
| 72 | Calvin Faucher |
| 73 | Jacob Webb |
| 74 | Gabe Speier |
| 75 | Keegan Akin |
Relievers on the Rise
- Daniel Lynch IV (KC): With Hunter Harvey placed on the injured list, Lynch gets a more prominent leverage role. He’s also recorded two wins and a save with a 0.71 WHIP. One cannot ignore his 4.72 SIERA; hopefully, he will improve his K-BB percentage this scoring period.
- Hayden Birdsong (SF): He missed our rankings but has secured three holds with nine strikeouts against three walks (17.1 K-BB%) through four appearances spanning nine innings with a 0.89 WHIP. Those seeking ratio protection with a reliever who can be deployed as an SPARP should look no further.
Top 50 for Holds
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Jason Adam |
| 2 | Porter Hodge |
| 3 | Lucas Erceg |
| 4 | Cade Smith |
| 5 | Tony Santillan |
| 6 | Griffin Jax |
| 7 | Luke Weaver |
| 8 | Jeremiah Estrada |
| 9 | Orion Kerkering |
| 10 | Yimi García |
| 11 | Tyler Rogers |
| 12 | Tim Herrin |
| 13 | Kirby Yates |
| 14 | Phil Maton |
| 15 | A.J. Puk |
| 16 | Blake Treinen |
| 17 | Mason Montgomery |
| 18 | Robert Garcia |
| 19 | Daniel Lynch IV |
| 20 | Yennier Cano |
| 21 | Shelby Miller |
| 22 | Abner Uribe |
| 23 | Hunter Gaddis |
| 24 | A.J. Minter |
| 25 | Justin Slaten |
| 26 | Bryan King |
| 27 | Hayden Birdsong |
| 28 | Seranthony Domínguez |
| 29 | Chris Martin |
| 30 | Alex Vesia |
| 31 | Reed Garrett |
| 32 | Jared Koenig |
| 33 | Matt Strahm |
| 34 | Paul Sewald |
| 35 | Graham Ashcraft |
| 36 | Mark Leiter Jr. |
| 37 | Trent Thornton |
| 38 | Gabe Speier |
| 39 | Randy Rodrìguez |
| 40 | Tyler Ferguson |
| 41 | Justin Sterner |
| 42 | Chad Green |
| 43 | Louis Varland |
| 44 | Edwin Uceta |
| 45 | Julian Merryweather |
| 46 | Ronny Henriquez |
| 47 | Anthony Banda |
| 48 | Max Kranick |
| 49 | Jalen Beeks |
| 50 | Hoby Milner |
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Statistical Credits: