Fantasy Baseball Closer Rankings: Where does Each Team's Leader in Saves Fit in?

Discussing fantasy baseball tiers for closers - or the relievers with the most saves on each team.

The last few weeks, FantasySP’s Ted Chmyz has been writing up closer reports for the American and National Leagues.

Today, I wanted to take a look at each team’s top closer and then rank them from a fantasy baseball perspective. We will place ever closer into a category - elite, good, average, streaming options and avoid.

Let’s get to it!

Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including waiver pickups, projections, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant. Now, with revolutionary AI Expert help. Use our fantasy baseball trade analyzer and trade value charts to break down trade scenarios.

Elite Fantasy Closers

Cleveland Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase has 21 saves and a 0.81 earned run average this season, and he’s my clear top fantasy closer right now. 

Clase has blown three saves, but has a 3-1 record and is striking out better than a batter per inning. He’s the best fantasy closer right now.

My next choice might surprise some, but it’s really hard to put anyone else but San Diego Padres’ Robert Suarez in the No. 2 slot.

Suarez is 4-0, has 17 saves, no blown saves, owns a 0.61 ERA and is nearly striking out a batter per inning. He’s not the household name some of these other guys are, but he’s arguably been the best closer in the game so far.

St. Louis Cardinals’ Ryan Helsley owns a 2.53 ERA, but leads the league with 24 saves and has blown just one, so I got him in my third slot.

Helsey has a 2-3 record and is striking out 10.1 batters per nine innings, which helps offset some of the runs he’s allowed over the course of the season.

The final two closers in my elite category are Washington Nationals’ Kyle Finnegan and New York Yankees’ Clay Holmes. I trust Holmes more in the long run, but the numbers favor Finnegan right now, so I’d put him in fourth, with Holmes in fifth.

Finnegan has a 2-3 record and 1.78 ERA this season. He’s earned 20 saves, while blowing two. Finnegan has 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

Holmes has 19 saves, a 1-2 record and a 1.80 ERA. He’s blown four saves and is striking out 8.7 batters per nine innings.

Good Fantasy Closers

Atlanta Braves’ Raisel Iglesias is the top closer for me in my good category.

Iglesias has 18 saves, a 2.70 ERA, an 0-1 record and two blown saves. The thing that keeps him from the elite category is his strikeout numbers - he’s at 6.8 Ks per nine innings.

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Evan Phillips could also maybe be in the elite category, but he missed a decent amount of time and his save numbers aren’t nearly as good right now.

Phillips has 10 saves, a 1.93 ERA and no blown saves. He doesn’t have a win or loss and has struck out 10.1 batters per nine innings.

Baltimore Orioles’ Craig Kimbrel continues to find success in the league despite getting up there in age.

Kimbrel has a 4-2 record, 16 saves and three blown saves for the season. He’s also got a 2.39 ERA and is striking out 13 batters an inning, so he remains a good fantasy option.

Oakland Athletics’ Mason Miller isn’t on a great team, but his elite strikeout numbers vault him into this category.

Miller has a 1-1 record, 2.27 ERA and 12 saves this season. Miller has blown two saves and has a ridiculous 15.9 strikeouts per nine innings figure.

Seattle Mariners’ Andres Munoz has quietly emerged as one of the league’s better closers.

Munoz has a 1.55 ERA, a 2-3 record, 12 saves and one blown save. He’s got a 12.7 strikeouts per nine inning figure that gives him a fantasy boost.

Boston Red Sox’s Kenley Jansen is another veteran still shining in the closer role.

Jansen has a 2-1 record, 2.70 ERA, 12 saves and one blown save on the season. Jansen is still averaging 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings.

Texas Rangers’ Kirby Yates has really quietly been one of the better closers in the game this season, but a lack of opportunities keeps him from the top category.

Yates is 3-0 with a 1.11 ERA and 10 saves (without a blown save). He’s also striking out 11.8 batters per nine innings. If the Rangers could get him some more opportunities, he’d be a much better fantasy asset.

Josh Hader has a 3.98 ERA in his first season with the Houston Astros, but has only blown one save and still strikes out a bunch of batters, so he’s still deserving of this category in my eyes.

Hader has a 3-4 record and nine saves on the season. He’s punching out 13.9 batters per nine innings.

Arizona Diamondbacks’ Paul Sewald simply hasn’t pitched enough to be part of the top category.

In 13 games pitched, Sewald has a 0.77 ERA and is perfect in his seven save opportunities. He’s averaging 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

Average Fantasy Closers

Pittsburgh Pirates’ David Bednar was one of the top fantasy closers coming into the season, but sits with a 5.34 ERA and three blown saves.

Bednar has a 3-3 record and 15 saves overall. He’s striking out better than a batter per inning, and is trending in the right direction of late.

Cincinnati Reds’ Alexis Diaz is another NL Central closer with 15 saves, but a high ERA of 5.47.

Diaz is 1-3 and has blown two saves so far. He’s also better than a strikeout per inning, which helps make up for the bloated ERA.

San Francisco Giants’ Camilo Doval was another top-end fantasy closer at the start of the season, but has a rough 4.71 ERA so far.

Doval has a 2-1 record, 13 saves and two blown saves. He’s striking out 11.3 batters per inning, which still makes him a solid fantasy asset.

Philadelphia Phillies’ Jose Alvarado is sitting at a 3.19 ERA and 12 saves on the season.

Alvarado has blown two saves and has a 1-3 record. He’s striking out 9.6 batters per nine innings.

Minnesota Twins’ Jhoan Duran dealt with an injury this season and simply hasn’t pitched enough yet.

Duran is 2-2, and is 11-for-11 in save opportunities, but with a 3.60 ERA. He’s striking out only 7.6 batters per inning so far, which keeps him in this category.

Tampa Bay Rays’ Pete Fairbanks has also dealt with injuries this season, so he sticks in this category. 

Fairbanks is 1-2 and has converted 10 of his 11 save opportunities. He’s got a solid 3.13 ERA and 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

Detroit Tigers’ Jason Foley might be higher up this list if he was playing on a better team.

Foley has a 2-1 record and 2.81 ERA. He’s got 12 saves, two blown saves and a 7.4 strikeouts per nine inning mark.

Toronto Blue Jays’ Jordan Romano is the last closer in this category for me. He’s only appeared in 15 games so far because of injuries of his own.

Romano has a 6.59 ERA, but eight saves in nine chances. He’s striking out just less than a batter per inning, and should lower his ERA a bunch with simply a few more games on the bump.

Fantasy Closer Streaming Options

Miami Marlins’ Tanner Scott appears in the streaming category for me because of the team he is on.

Scott has a 1.86 ERA, but just eight saves in 10 opportunities so far. He’s striking out 9.9 batters per nine innings, just needs more opportunities to be beneficial to fantasy owners.

Chicago Cubs’ Hector Neris is the team’s new closer, but has had some ups and downs already.

Neris is 6-2, but with a 4.73 ERA and four blown saves in 14 chances. He’s striking out 8.1 batters per nine innings.

New York Mets’ Edwin Diaz has struggled this season, but is striking out enough batters to appear in this category for me.

Diaz is 2-1, but with a 4.91 ERA, six saves and four blown saves. He’s striking out 13.5 batters per nine innings, and is one to watch in case he regains his elite form at some point this season.

Milwaukee Brewers’ Trevor Megill has 13 saves despite not even serving as the team’s closer all season.

He’s got a 2.14 ERA, an 0-1 record, 13 saves in 14 chances and is striking out 11.1 batters per nine innings. I only call him a streamer because he’ll likely lose his closer role when Devin Williams returns.

Los Angeles Angels’ Carlos Estevez is trending in the right direction lately.

He’s 1-3 with a 3.52 ERA and three blown saves across 16 opportunities. He’s striking out a batter per inning.

Fantasy Closers to Avoid

Only three closers/teams make this section for me.

Jalen Beeks has the most saves for the Colorado Rockies, Michael Kopech leads the Chicago White Sox and James McArthur leads the Kansas City Royals. 

Both Beeks and Kopech have ERAs over 3.50 and have already blown four saves. Their teams don’t win enough to justify rostering these guys outside deeper leagues.

McArthur has a 5.02 ERA and four blown saves. The Royals are winning enough, but I still don’t trust McArthur enough to roster him outside a deep league.

#closers #2024-fantasy-baseball