Updating our saves tracker, one notices a spike in relievers with saves compared with last year, and, unfortunately, a slight reduction in concentrated saves by closers at the top. It’s especially evident at the top of the ecosystem, where only one (Mason Miller) has more than seven saves.
Since the two relievers who would be featured as stock-up options were also on the list last week, hopefully you were proactive and added them before their price points escalated in waiver priority or FAAB bids this past weekend. Louis Varland has emerged as the preferred save option for Toronto, recording saves in both games this weekend against Cleveland. Through 15 innings, he owns a 1.067 WHIP with 23 strikeouts versus four walks (33.3 K-BB%).
In a less assured bullpen, Jack Perkins secured his second save on Sunday, logging two scoreless frames, giving up a hit, and striking out two. Across only six outings, he’s logged 11.1 innings, posting a 1.147 WHIP with 15 strikeouts against three walks (25 K-BB%). I want to do a deeper dive into his usage patterns this year versus Miller’s during his rookie season. There may be similar paths toward taking over as the closer.
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 used updated SGPs (standard gains points) for the season and the last two weeks, with an eye on rest-of-season potential.
There will be outliers like Brad Keller, who is an obvious injury replacement, but must be ranked for weekly lineups.
Reliever Rankings for Saves
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Mason Miller |
| 2 | Riley O’Brien |
| 3 | Robert Suarez |
| 4 | Andrés Muñoz |
| 5 | Cade Smith |
| 6 | David Bednar |
| 7 | Louis Varland |
| 8 | Aroldis Chapman |
| 9 | Bryan Baker |
| 10 | Paul Sewald |
| 11 | Pete Fairbanks |
| 12 | Abner Uribe |
| 13 | Ryan Helsley |
| 14 | Tanner Scott |
| 15 | Emilio Pagán |
| 16 | Kenley Jansen |
| 17 | Devin Williams |
| 18 | Gregory Soto |
| 19 | Dennis Santana |
| 20 | Jack Perkins |
| 21 | Brad Keller |
| 22 | Ryan Walker |
| 23 | Lucas Erceg |
| 24 | Erik Miller |
| 25 | Seranthony Domínguez |
| 26 | Jacob Latz |
| 27 | Jakob Junis |
| 28 | Phil Maton |
| 29 | Enyel De Los Santos |
| 30 | Victor Vodnik |
| 31 | Joel Kuhnel |
| 32 | Aaron Ashby |
| 33 | Alex Vesia |
| 34 | Luke Weaver |
| 35 | Antonio Senzatela |
| 36 | Jeff Hoffman |
| 37 | Garrett Whitlock |
| 38 | Gus Varland |
| 39 | Cole Sands |
| 40 | Juan Morillo |
| 41 | Hogan Harris |
| 42 | Kyle Finnegan |
| 43 | Drew Pomeranz |
| 44 | Ryan Zeferjahn |
| 45 | Tony Santillan |
| 46 | Daniel Lynch IV |
| 47 | Matt Brash |
| 48 | Tyler Kinley |
| 49 | Justin Sterner |
| 50 | Grant Taylor |
| 51 | Trevor Megill |
| 52 | Matt Strahm |
| 53 | Ben Brown |
| 54 | Will Vest |
| 55 | José Alvarado |
| 56 | Orion Kerkering |
| 57 | JoJo Romero |
| 58 | Camilo Doval |
| 59 | Keaton Winn |
| 60 | Yohan Ramírez |
Reliever Rankings for SOLDS
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Mason Miller |
| 2 | Riley O’Brien |
| 3 | Rico Garcia |
| 4 | Robert Suarez |
| 5 | Erik Sabrowski |
| 6 | Louis Varland |
| 7 | Cade Smith |
| 8 | Gregory Soto |
| 9 | Andrés Muñoz |
| 10 | Juan Morillo |
| 11 | Tony Santillan |
| 12 | Dennis Santana |
| 13 | Aaron Ashby |
| 14 | David Bednar |
| 15 | Tanner Scott |
| 16 | Aroldis Chapman |
| 17 | Ryan Helsley |
| 18 | Jason Adam |
| 19 | Bryan Baker |
| 20 | Emilio Pagán |
| 21 | Pete Fairbanks |
| 22 | Dylan Lee |
| 23 | Abner Uribe |
| 24 | Tyler Rogers |
| 25 | Matt Brash |
| 26 | Kenley Jansen |
| 27 | Hunter Gaddis |
| 28 | Brad Keller |
| 29 | Graham Ashcraft |
| 30 | Paul Sewald |
| 31 | Tyler Kinley |
| 32 | Garrett Whitlock |
| 33 | Lucas Erceg |
| 34 | Ryan Walker |
| 35 | Hogan Harris |
| 36 | Erik Miller |
| 37 | Jack Perkins |
| 38 | Daniel Lynch IV |
| 39 | Anthony Nunez |
| 40 | Isaac Mattson |
| 41 | Jacob Latz |
| 42 | Will Vest |
| 43 | Trevor Megill |
| 44 | Kyle Finnegan |
| 45 | Enyel De Los Santos |
| 46 | Antonio Senzatela |
| 47 | Kevin Kelly |
| 48 | Luke Weaver |
| 49 | Phil Maton |
| 50 | Jakob Junis |
| 51 | Joel Kuhnel |
| 52 | Justin Sterner |
| 53 | Seranthony Domínguez |
| 54 | Alex Vesia |
| 55 | Devin Williams |
| 56 | Braydon Fisher |
| 57 | Adrian Morejon |
| 58 | Cole Winn |
| 59 | Brock Burke |
| 60 | JoJo Romero |
| 61 | Yohan Ramírez |
| 62 | Mason Fluharty |
| 63 | Ryan Thompson |
| 64 | Keaton Winn |
| 65 | Gabe Speier |
| 66 | Matt Strahm |
| 67 | Nick Mears |
| 68 | Brennan Bernardino |
| 69 | Andrew Kittredge |
| 70 | Jimmy Herget |
| 71 | Mason Montgomery |
| 72 | Brant Hurter |
| 73 | Kody Funderburk |
| 74 | Tim Hill |
| 75 | Jose A. Ferrer |
Stock Up for SOLDS
- Jason Adam (SD): He’s recorded a hold in five of his seven appearances since his activation from the injured list. He’s been a volume play, but strikeouts and ratio protection should remain a part of his package in this format.
- Tyler Rogers (TOR): Over the last 14 days, he’s posted four holds with a 0.60 WHIP across 6.2 innings.
- Daniel Lynch IV (KC): He owns an eight-game scoreless streak during which he’s allowed one hit and no walks while recording 10 strikeouts (37 K-BB%) across 8.1 innings with two holds in his last four outings.
Reliever Rankings for Holds
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Rico Garcia |
| 2 | Aaron Ashby |
| 3 | Gregory Soto |
| 4 | Erik Sabrowski |
| 5 | Juan Morillo |
| 6 | Jason Adam |
| 7 | Matt Brash |
| 8 | Tony Santillan |
| 9 | Tyler Rogers |
| 10 | Gregory Soto |
| 11 | Hunter Gaddis |
| 12 | Tyler Kinley |
| 13 | Dylan Lee |
| 14 | Dennis Santana |
| 15 | Keaton Winn |
| 16 | Hogan Harris |
| 17 | Antonio Senzatela |
| 18 | Garrett Whitlock |
| 19 | Erik Miller |
| 20 | Graham Ashcraft |
| 21 | Anthony Nunez |
| 22 | Braydon Fisher |
| 23 | Luke Weaver |
| 24 | Cole Winn |
| 25 | Brant Hurter |
| 26 | Kevin Kelly |
| 27 | Kyle Finnegan |
| 28 | Daniel Lynch IV |
| 29 | Andrew Kittredge |
| 30 | Justin Sterner |
| 31 | Alex Vesia |
| 32 | Will Vest |
| 33 | Isaac Mattson |
| 34 | Brock Burke |
| 35 | Caleb Kilian |
| 36 | Brennan Bernardino |
| 37 | Matt Gage |
| 38 | Yohan Ramírez |
| 39 | Ryan Thompson |
| 40 | JoJo Romero |
Reliever Rankings for AL-Only Saves
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Andrés Muñoz |
| 2 | Cade Smith |
| 3 | David Bednar |
| 4 | Louis Varland |
| 5 | Aroldis Chapman |
| 6 | Bryan Baker |
| 7 | Ryan Helsley |
| 8 | Kenley Jansen |
| 9 | Jack Perkins |
| 10 | Lucas Erceg |
| 11 | Seranthony Domínguez |
| 12 | Jacob Latz |
| 13 | Jakob Junis |
| 14 | Enyel De Los Santos |
| 15 | Joel Kuhnel |
| 16 | Jeff Hoffman |
| 17 | Garrett Whitlock |
| 18 | Cole Sands |
| 19 | Hogan Harris |
| 20 | Drew Pomeranz |
| 21 | Ryan Zeferjahn |
| 22 | Daniel Lynch IV |
| 23 | Matt Brash |
| 24 | Justin Sterner |
| 25 | Grant Taylor |
Reliever Rankings for NL-Only Saves
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Mason Miller |
| 2 | Riley O’Brien |
| 3 | Robert Suarez |
| 4 | Paul Sewald |
| 5 | Pete Fairbanks |
| 6 | Abner Uribe |
| 7 | Tanner Scott |
| 8 | Emilio Pagán |
| 9 | Devin Williams |
| 10 | Gregory Soto |
| 11 | Dennis Santana |
| 12 | Brad Keller |
| 13 | Ryan Walker |
| 14 | Erik Miller |
| 15 | Phil Maton |
| 16 | Victor Vodnik |
| 17 | Aaron Ashby |
| 18 | Alex Vesia |
| 19 | Luke Weaver |
| 20 | Antonio Senzatela |
| 21 | Gus Varland |
| 22 | Juan Morillo |
| 23 | Tony Santillan |
| 24 | Tyler Kinley |
| 25 | Trevor Megill |
Thanks for being a part of the Closer Monkey community. Stay safe, and be well.
Statistical Credits: