Amid one of the toughest seasons for saves, ranking closers remains an exercise in futility, or at least it feels that way. There are teams with fluid-based approaches, and veterans with closer experience remain on the radar. Rookies start finding their footing, and once it seems like a usage pattern develops, roles change once again. Last, injured relievers will be activated once the calendar hits June, with Josh Hader two rehab outings away from rejoining Houston:
As our updated saves tracker illustrates, there have been more relievers securing saves, and the soft spot is in the middle. They are either widely dispersed or concentrated for a few teams:
When assessing the rankings, understand that they remain fluid as sample sizes grow. They are a mix of in-season results and rest-of-season potential. Rankings should be part of a fantasy player’s toolkit, not the sole source of evaluation. This week may look different. I have continued to use updated SGPs (standard gains points) for the season and the last two weeks, with an eye on rest-of-season potential.
Relievers on the Rise
- Kirby Yates (LAA): Secured his first save for the Angels and has a leash for more moving forward. Did he find the same fountain of youth as Paul Sewald?
- Richard Lovelady (WSH): This may be a rodeo ride, but he’s converted four saves this month. Of course, his 2.35 ERA is accompanied by a 4.51 SIERA and a 4.17 xERA, which suggests regression is coming. However, if desperate for saves, fantasy managers may kick the tires.
- Juan Mejia (COL): He’s been used like the primary save share over the last week, which signals a potential changing of the guard atop the Rockies’ bullpen hierarchy. Can he stay there?
Updated RP Rankings for Saves
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Mason Miller |
| 2 | Cade Smith |
| 3 | Jhoan Duran |
| 4 | Raisel Iglesias |
| 5 | Louis Varland |
| 6 | Bryan Baker |
| 7 | Tanner Scott |
| 8 | Aroldis Chapman |
| 9 | Andrés Muñoz |
| 10 | Devin Williams |
| 11 | Paul Sewald |
| 12 | Daniel Palencia |
| 13 | Pete Fairbanks |
| 14 | David Bednar |
| 15 | Riley O’Brien |
| 16 | Jacob Latz |
| 17 | Abner Uribe |
| 18 | Gregory Soto |
| 19 | Caleb Kilian |
| 20 | Lucas Erceg |
| 21 | Seranthony Domínguez |
| 22 | Kenley Jansen |
| 23 | Kirby Yates |
| 24 | Jeff Hoffman |
| 25 | Bryan King |
| 26 | Rico Garcia |
| 27 | Anthony Nunez |
| 28 | Antonio Senzatela |
| 29 | Juan Mejia |
| 30 | Chad Patrick |
| 31 | Richard Lovelady |
| 32 | Hogan Harris |
| 33 | Mark Leiter Jr. |
| 34 | Robert Suarez |
| 35 | Jose A. Ferrer |
| 36 | Ian Seymour |
| 37 | Will Klein |
| 38 | Grant Taylor |
| 39 | Will Vest |
| 40 | Aaron Ashby |
| 41 | Pierce Johnson |
| 42 | Bryan Abreu |
| 43 | Clayton Beeter |
| 44 | Trevor Megill |
| 45 | Travis Adams |
| 46 | Bryan Hudson |
| 47 | Graham Ashcraft |
| 48 | George Soriano |
| 49 | Yoendrys Gómez |
| 50 | Gus Varland |
| 51 | Joel Kuhnel |
| 52 | Alex Vesia |
| 53 | Brad Keller |
| 54 | Luke Weaver |
| 55 | Orlando Ribalta |
| 56 | Hunter Gaddis |
| 57 | Daniel Lynch IV |
| 58 | Taylor Rogers |
| 59 | Orion Kerkering |
| 60 | Michael Petersen |
SOLDS Risers
- Jeff Hoffman (TOR): He can be streaky, but over his last four appearances, he has recorded a hold and two saves with six strikeouts and no walks while allowing one hit across 3.2 innings. Among all qualified relievers, he ranks fifth in K-BB percentage (29.6), fourth in SIERA (1.92), one spot behind his teammate Louis Varland, and fifth in swinging strike percentage (19 percent).
- Hunter Gaddis (CLE): After a rough start returning from the injured list, he has been scoreless in his last six outings, posting a minuscule 0.474 WHIP with five strikeouts versus one walk over 6.1 innings, recording a win, a save, and three holds.
- Keaton Winn (SF): While the fantasy community tries figuring out who is getting saves for the Giants, Winn has been scoreless in nine of ten games this month with a win and five holds while recording a 0.75 WHIP across 10.2 innings.
Updated RP Rankings for SOLDS
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Mason Miller |
| 2 | Cade Smith |
| 3 | Erik Sabrowski |
| 4 | Jhoan Duran |
| 5 | Robert Suarez |
| 6 | Louis Varland |
| 7 | Bryan Baker |
| 8 | Tanner Scott |
| 9 | Raisel Iglesias |
| 10 | Aroldis Chapman |
| 11 | Rico Garcia |
| 12 | Andrés Muñoz |
| 13 | Paul Sewald |
| 14 | Kevin Kelly |
| 15 | Devin Williams |
| 16 | Jason Adam |
| 17 | Riley O’Brien |
| 18 | Jeff Hoffman |
| 19 | Ian Seymour |
| 20 | JoJo Romero |
| 21 | Gregory Soto |
| 22 | Keaton Winn |
| 23 | Jose A. Ferrer |
| 24 | Adrian Morejon |
| 25 | Garrett Whitlock |
| 26 | Pete Fairbanks |
| 27 | Daniel Palencia |
| 28 | Anthony Nunez |
| 29 | Tyler Rogers |
| 30 | Dylan Lee |
| 31 | Hunter Gaddis |
| 32 | Caleb Kilian |
| 33 | Fernando Cruz |
| 34 | Jacob Latz |
| 35 | Abner Uribe |
| 36 | Lucas Erceg |
| 37 | David Bednar |
| 38 | Antonio Senzatela |
| 39 | Trevor Megill |
| 40 | Luke Weaver |
| 41 | George Soriano |
| 42 | Taylor Clarke |
| 43 | Kenley Jansen |
| 44 | Matt Brash |
| 45 | Jeremiah Estrada |
| 46 | Daniel Lynch IV |
| 47 | Bryan King |
| 48 | Brad Keller |
| 49 | Bryan Hudson |
| 50 | Aaron Ashby |
| 51 | Will Klein |
| 52 | Mason Montgomery |
| 53 | Orion Kerkering |
| 54 | Alex Vesia |
| 55 | Juan Mejia |
| 56 | Hogan Harris |
| 57 | Grant Taylor |
| 58 | Bryan Abreu |
| 59 | Seranthony Domínguez |
| 60 | Graham Ashcraft |
| 61 | José Alvarado |
| 62 | Eduard Bazardo |
| 63 | Will Vest |
| 64 | Scott Barlow |
| 65 | Mark Leiter Jr. |
| 66 | Kyle Finnegan |
| 67 | Andrew Nardi |
| 68 | Richard Lovelady |
| 69 | Eric Orze |
| 70 | Brooks Raley |
| 71 | Jusitn Sterner |
| 72 | Jaden Hill |
| 73 | Pierce Johnson |
| 74 | Travis Adams |
| 75 | Sam Bachman |
Updated RP Rankings for Holds
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Erik Sabrowski |
| 2 | Robert Suarez |
| 3 | Rico Garcia |
| 4 | Jeff Hoffman |
| 5 | Jason Adam |
| 6 | Ian Seymour |
| 7 | Adrian Morejon |
| 8 | Dylan Lee |
| 9 | Kevin Kelly |
| 10 | Fernando Cruz |
| 11 | Keaton Winn |
| 12 | Brad Keller |
| 13 | Hunter Gaddis |
| 14 | Jose A. Ferrer |
| 15 | Garrett Whitlock |
| 16 | JoJo Romero |
| 17 | Jeremiah Estrada |
| 18 | George Soriano |
| 19 | Taylor Clarke |
| 20 | Tyler Rogers |
| 21 | Trevor Megill |
| 22 | Will Vest |
| 23 | George Soriano |
| 24 | Daniel Lynch IV |
| 25 | Anthony Nunez |
| 26 | Luke Weaver |
| 27 | Orion Kerkering |
| 28 | Alex Vesia |
| 29 | Matt Brash |
| 30 | José Alvarado |
| 31 | Michael Petersen |
| 32 | Will Klein |
| 33 | Brooks Raley |
| 34 | Eduard Bazardo |
| 35 | Bryan Hudson |
| 36 | Andrew Nardi |
| 37 | Matt Gage |
| 38 | Justin Sterner |
| 39 | Scott Barlow |
| 40 | Jaden Hill |
Updated RP Rankings for AL-Only Saves
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Cade Smith |
| 2 | Louis Varland |
| 3 | Bryan Baker |
| 4 | Aroldis Chapman |
| 5 | Andrés Muñoz |
| 6 | David Bednar |
| 7 | Jacob Latz |
| 8 | Lucas Erceg |
| 9 | Seranthony Domínguez |
| 10 | Kenley Jansen |
| 11 | Kirby Yates |
| 12 | Jeff Hoffman |
| 13 | Bryan King |
| 14 | Rico Garcia |
| 15 | Anthony Nunez |
| 16 | Hogan Harris |
| 17 | Mark Leiter Jr. |
| 18 | Jose A. Ferrer |
| 19 | Ian Seymour |
| 20 | Grant Taylor |
| 21 | Will Vest |
| 22 | Bryan Abreu |
| 23 | Travis Adams |
| 24 | Yoendrys Gómez |
| 25 | Joel Kuhnel |
Sleeper Alert
- Travis Adams (MIN): Yes, he’s the 11th different pitcher with a save this season, but he has retired four of his last 14 batters faced via strikeout (28.6 K%) and has recorded a win and a save in his last three appearances, all scoreless, spanning 4.1 innings. Monitor his progress and usage patterns in upcoming contests.
Updated RP Rankings for NL-Only Rankings
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Mason Miller |
| 2 | Jhoan Duran |
| 3 | Raisel Iglesias |
| 4 | Tanner Scott |
| 5 | Devin Williams |
| 6 | Paul Sewald |
| 7 | Daniel Palencia |
| 8 | Pete Fairbanks |
| 9 | Riley O’Brien |
| 10 | Abner Uribe |
| 11 | Gregory Soto |
| 12 | Caleb Kilian |
| 13 | Antonio Senzatela |
| 14 | Juan Mejia |
| 15 | Chad Patrick |
| 16 | Richard Lovelady |
| 17 | Robert Suarez |
| 18 | Will Klein |
| 19 | Aaron Ashby |
| 20 | Pierce Johnson |
| 21 | Clayton Beeter |
| 22 | Trevor Megill |
| 23 | Graham Ashcraft |
| 24 | George Soriano |
| 25 | Gus Varland |
Sleeper Alert
- Jaden Hill (COL): He’s been scoreless over his last seven appearances, securing three holds with eight strikeouts and no walks (32 K-BB%) while posting a 0.571 WHIP. If Mejia struggles as the “closer,” Hill may get chances soon.
Thanks for being a part of the Closer Monkey community. Stay safe, and be well.
Statistical Credits: