Another week, and more chaos across the high-leverage ecosystem. Kansas City has revived Alex Lange, putting him squarely in the crosshairs of fantasy managers searching for saves. Josh Hader made his triumphant debut and recorded his first save. Daniel Palencia remains in fantasy purgatory, but flashed his upside while keeping the game tied at the top of the ninth on Sunday Night Baseball.
While teams continue using matchup-based approaches, 160 relievers have already recorded a save this season:
Although the top end of the saves strata remains in line with past years, the number of relievers with at least five or ten saves remains behind past paces as a result of the appreciable spike in pitchers securing a save this season.
Many factors make rankings challenging, but help may be on the way soon:
Rehab Reports
Baltimore Orioles
Ryan Helsley will begin his rehab outings this week:
Cincinnati Reds
Good news regarding Emilio Pagán:
Detroit Tigers
Kenley Jansen will pitch on Tuesday, and if there is rain, Wednesday for Toledo, according to this update by Evan Petzold on X, and this one by Chris McCosky:
Kansas City Royals
Carlos Estévez is throwing, but it’s in the early stages:
Los Angeles Dodgers
Good news regarding Edwin Díaz:
However, his placement on the 60-day injured list means he cannot return until after the All-Star break. Teams with room or a comfortable place in the standings with saves should start stashing him before he ramps up his return-to-play protocols.
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.
Saves Leaderboards
Updated RP Rankings for Saves
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Cade Smith |
| 2 | Jhoan Duran |
| 3 | Mason Miller |
| 4 | Paul Sewald |
| 5 | Louis Varland |
| 6 | Bryan Baker |
| 7 | Trevor Megill |
| 8 | Aroldis Chapman |
| 9 | Raisel Iglesias |
| 10 | Josh Hader |
| 11 | David Bednar |
| 12 | Jacob Latz |
| 13 | Riley O’Brien |
| 14 | Daniel Palencia |
| 15 | Tanner Scott |
| 16 | Andrés Muñoz |
| 17 | Devin Williams |
| 18 | Gregory Soto |
| 19 | Seranthony Domínguez |
| 20 | Grant Taylor |
| 21 | Pete Fairbanks |
| 22 | Kirby Yates |
| 23 | Rico Garcia |
| 24 | Alex Lange |
| 25 | Will Vest |
| 26 | Keaton Winn |
| 27 | Lucas Erceg |
| 28 | Hogan Harris |
| 29 | Yoendrys Gómez |
| 30 | Clayton Beeter |
| 31 | Antonio Senzatela |
| 32 | Justin Sterner |
| 33 | Caleb Kilian |
| 34 | Mark Leiter Jr. |
| 35 | Carmen Mlodzinski |
| 36 | Robert Suarez |
| 37 | Jeff Hoffman |
| 38 | Bryan King |
| 39 | Enyel De Los Sanntos |
| 40 | Tony Santillan |
| 41 | Aaron Ashby |
| 42 | Tyler Rogers |
| 43 | Jose A. Ferrer |
| 44 | Matt Brash |
| 45 | Luke Weaver |
| 46 | Anthony Bender |
| 47 | Gus Varland |
| 48 | Didier Fuentes |
| 49 | Wilber Dotel |
| 50 | Erik Miller |
| 51 | Brock Burke |
| 52 | Abner Uribe |
| 53 | Brad Lord |
| 54 | Daniel Lynch IV |
| 55 | Caleb Ferguson |
| 56 | Taylor Rogers |
| 57 | Orion Kerkering |
| 58 | Bryan Hudson |
| 59 | Hunter Gaddis |
| 60 | George Soriano |
SOLDS Leaderboards
Updated RP Rankings for SOLDS
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Cade Smith |
| 2 | Jhoan Duran |
| 3 | Mason Miller |
| 4 | Louis Varland |
| 5 | Dylan Lee |
| 6 | Paul Sewald |
| 7 | Bryan Baker |
| 8 | Robert Suarez |
| 9 | Hunter Gaddis |
| 10 | Trevor Megill |
| 11 | Raisel Iglesias |
| 12 | Gregory Soto |
| 13 | Aroldis Chapman |
| 14 | Jose A. Ferrer |
| 15 | Tanner Scott |
| 16 | Rico Garcia |
| 17 | Tyler Rogers |
| 18 | JoJo Romero |
| 19 | Adrian Morejon |
| 20 | David Bednar |
| 21 | Riley O’Brien |
| 22 | Kevin Kelly |
| 23 | Jacob Latz |
| 24 | Josh Hader |
| 25 | Fernando Cruz |
| 26 | Jason Adam |
| 27 | Hogan Harris |
| 28 | Andrés Muñoz |
| 29 | Enyel De Los Santos |
| 30 | Jeff Hoffman |
| 31 | Daniel Palencia |
| 32 | Luke Weaver |
| 33 | Keaton Winn |
| 34 | Grant Taylor |
| 35 | Brad Keller |
| 36 | Orion Kerkering |
| 37 | Devin Williams |
| 38 | Abner Uribe |
| 39 | Bryan King |
| 40 | Justin Sterner |
| 41 | Daniel Lynch IV |
| 42 | Matt Brash |
| 43 | Alex Lange |
| 44 | Seranthony Domínguez |
| 45 | Yoendrys Gómez |
| 46 | Brooks Raley |
| 47 | Will Vest |
| 48 | Juan Morillo |
| 49 | Eduard Bazardo |
| 50 | Bryan Hudson |
| 51 | Aaron Ashby |
| 52 | Antonio Senzatela |
| 53 | Jacob Webb |
| 54 | Brandyn Garcia |
| 55 | John King |
| 56 | Anthony Bender |
| 57 | Caleb Kilian |
| 58 | Erik Miller |
| 59 | George Soriano |
| 60 | Mason Montgomery |
| 61 | Lucas Erceg |
| 62 | Mark Leiter Jr. |
| 63 | Ryan Rolison |
| 64 | Michael Petersen |
| 65 | Brock Burke |
| 66 | Braydon Fisher |
| 67 | Brad Lord |
| 68 | Pete Fairbanks |
| 69 | Sam Bachman |
| 70 | Ryne Stanek |
| 71 | Taylor Clarke |
| 72 | Kyle Finnegan |
| 73 | Jusitn Slaten |
| 74 | Colin Holderman |
| 75 | Tim Herrin |
Holds Leaderboards
Updated Rankings for Holds
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Dylan Lee |
| 2 | Hunter Gaddis |
| 3 | Robert Suarez |
| 4 | Tyler Rogers |
| 5 | Orion Kerkering |
| 6 | Fernando Cruz |
| 7 | JoJo Romero |
| 8 | Jason Adam |
| 9 | Grant Taylor |
| 10 | Kevin Kelly |
| 11 | Luke Weaver |
| 12 | Brad Keller |
| 13 | Daniel Lynch IV |
| 14 | Gabe Speier |
| 15 | Aaron Ashby |
| 16 | Adrian Morejon |
| 17 | Abner Uribe |
| 18 | Justin Sterner |
| 19 | Matt Brash |
| 20 | Brad Lord |
| 21 | Rico Garcia |
| 22 | Jose A. Ferrer |
| 23 | Jeff Hoffman |
| 24 | Huascar Brazobán |
| 25 | Enyel De Los Santos |
| 26 | Brooks Raley |
| 27 | Eduard Bazardo |
| 28 | Bryan King |
| 29 | Wilber Dotel |
| 30 | Michael Petersen |
| 31 | Ryne Stanek |
| 32 | Juan Morillo |
| 33 | Colin Holderman |
| 34 | Tim Herrin |
| 35 | Kevin Ginkel |
| 36 | George Soriano |
| 37 | Hogan Harris |
| 38 | Brad Lord |
| 39 | Didier Fuentes |
| 40 | Brent Headrick |
Updated RP Rankings for AL-only Saves
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Cade Smith |
| 2 | Louis Varland |
| 3 | Bryan Baker |
| 4 | Aroldis Chapman |
| 5 | Josh Hader |
| 6 | David Bednar |
| 7 | Jacob Latz |
| 8 | Andrés Muñoz |
| 9 | Seranthony Domínguez |
| 10 | Grant Taylor |
| 11 | Kirby Yates |
| 12 | Rico Garcia |
| 13 | Alex Lange |
| 14 | Will Vest |
| 15 | Lucas Erceg |
| 16 | Hogan Harris |
| 17 | Yoendrys Gómez |
| 18 | Justin Sterner |
| 19 | Mark Leiter Jr. |
| 20 | Jeff Hoffman |
| 21 | Bryan King |
| 22 | Enyel De Los Santos |
| 23 | Tyler Rogers |
| 24 | Jose A. Ferrer |
| 25 | Matt Brash |
Updated RP Rankings for NL-only Saves
| Rank | Reliever |
| 1 | Jhoan Duran |
| 2 | Mason Miller |
| 3 | Paul Sewald |
| 4 | Trevor Megill |
| 5 | Raisel Iglesias |
| 6 | Riley O’Brien |
| 7 | Daniel Palencia |
| 8 | Tanner Scott |
| 9 | Devin Williams |
| 10 | Gregory Soto |
| 11 | Pete Fairbanks |
| 12 | Keaton Winn |
| 13 | Clayton Beeter |
| 14 | Antonio Senzatela |
| 15 | Caleb Kilian |
| 16 | Carmen Mlodzinski |
| 17 | Robert Suarez |
| 18 | Tony Santillan |
| 19 | Aaron Ashby |
| 20 | Luke Weaver |
| 21 | Gus Varland |
| 22 | Didier Fuentes |
| 23 | Wilber Dotel |
| 24 | Erik Miller |
| 25 | Brock Burke |
Thanks for being a part of the Closer Monkey community. Stay safe, and be well.
Statistical Credits: