Relief pitcher rankings are flimsy, to begin with, but particularly this time of year.
That's because, in most Fantasy formats, a reliever's value is tied to his capacity for saves, and his capacity for saves is likely to change based on offseason maneuvering. I think I know who's closing for most teams next year, but there are free agents (Kirby Yates, Carlos Estevez, Kenley Jansen, Jeff Hoffman, Craig Kimbrel, and Blake Treinen, to name a few) and trade candidates (Mason Miller stand out). Suffice it to say that by March of next year, the relief pitcher landscape will look different than it does now.
But we have to start somewhere, right? These early rankings articles are meant to be the first word, not the last -- and that goes for every position, not just relief pitcher.
You may be wondering about starting pitchers with relief pitcher eligibility (SPARPs, as they're sometimes known) since none are featured here, but I have to tell you, the selection isn't great. Bowden Francis is clearly the best after his strong finish to last season, and you'll notice he's in my top 12 for Head-to-Head points leagues, where SPARPs are more valuable. But if he turns out to be a flash in the pan, which is highly possible, you'll regret passing up a true closer in 5x5 leagues.
Other SPARPs of interest include Drew Rasmussen, provided he secures a rotation spot for the Rays, Jackson Jobe, a top prospect who doesn't quite look like a finished product, and Nick Martinez, a journeyman who exceeded expectations in 2024. Realistically, though, none will be drafted in a 5x5 league until almost all the saves are gone.
Note that the focus here is standard 5x5 scoring (such as Rotisserie leagues), but scroll a little further, and you'll see my rankings for points leagues.
| 1 |
Emmanuel Clase
Cleveland Guardians RP
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| While Clase doesn't get the strikeouts you'd expect from a closer, he's reliably dominant in every other way, having registered at least 40 saves in three consecutive seasons and an ERA south of 1.50 in three of the past four. He set career marks in both categories (47 saves with a 0.61 ERA) in 2024. | |
| 2 |
Devin Williams
Milwaukee Brewers RP
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| A stress fracture in his back cost Williams the first two-thirds of 2024, but he came back looking no worse for wear and now has a 1.70 ERA and 14.6 K/9 since the start of 2020. That's reason enough to rank him this way, but it helps that the Brewers are regularly in contention. | |
| 3 |
Josh Hader
Houston Astros RP
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| Though Hader has been a mainstay at the top of the relief pitcher rankings since first emerging as a closer in 2018, his 2024 was enough of a misstep to make people wonder if it's time to downgrade him. But we should probably dismiss the small-sample ERA, given that he had the highest swinging-strike rate among relievers and remains the undisputed closer for a contender. | |
| 4 |
Edwin Diaz
New York Mets RP
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| Another member of closer royalty who didn't deliver up to his usual standards in 2024, Diaz's biggest problem was that the Mets, for all their success, didn't give him a ton of save chances. It seems like an utter fluke, and since his stuff still seems to be intact at age 30, we can trust him to bounce back, as he has more than once already in his career. | |
| 5 |
Ryan Helsley
St. Louis Cardinals RP
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| Durability was thought to be the biggest concern for Helsley coming into the year, and yet he went on to record 49 saves, the most in the majors not just in 2024 but also since 2018. His 1.10 WHIP was higher than you'd expect from an elite closer, though, and he remains a health risk just because of how hard he throws. | |
| 6 |
Raisel Iglesias
Atlanta Braves RP
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| You could say this past season was Iglesias' most dominant yet, given his 1.95 ERA and 0.74 WHIP, but then again, he also had the lowest strikeout rate of his career. Is it a sign that the 34-year-old is beginning to decline, or just small-sample weirdness (relief pitcher samples being inherently small)? I say the latter. | |
| 7 |
Felix Bautista
Baltimore Orioles RP
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| By the end of 2025, this may seem far too low for Bautista, who was trending toward being the No. 1 reliever in Fantasy before a torn UCL abruptly ended his 2023. However, we should obviously hedge our bet after a year lost to injury. He's expected to be full-go for spring training and faces no obstacles to reclaiming the closer role. | |
| 8 |
Ryan Walker
San Francisco Giants RP
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| Walker's near-sidearm delivery makes him difficult to square up, and by midseason, it was clear he was the Giants' best reliever. The transition from Camilo Doval to Walker as closer was a rousing success, so while Walker doesn't have a long history as a role, I'm inclined to rank him like a stud. | |
| 9 |
Mason Miller
Oakland Athletics RP
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| Miller's pure stuff ranks up there with any closer and has given him plenty of name value, but there's the not-so-small matter of him filling the role for a bad Athletics team that gives him an upper limit of 30 saves or so. A trade is possible, but hardly a given, and durability concerns have long surrounded Miller as well. | |
| 10 |
Robert Suarez
San Diego Padres RP
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| Suarez dominated early last year while throwing his fastball nearly 80 percent of the time, but that approach became less effective in time, leading to a bumpy finish and questions as to whether he's the right man for the job. Manager Mike Shildt never wavered in his commitment to Suarez, though, and that counts for a lot at this position. | |
| 11 |
Andres Munoz
Seattle Mariners RP
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| The biggest obstacle for Munoz becoming an elite closer is gone now, what with manager Scott Servais having been fired in late August, and notably, all but one of Munoz's appearances thereafter was to close out a game. His 22 saves in 2024 represented a career-high, but the hope here is he'll finally have a chance to exceed 30. | |
| 12 |
Kirby Yates
Texas Rangers RP
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| Back in 2019, Yates was the top closer in Fantasy with a 1.19 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and 15.0 K/9, and five years later, he delivered much of the same with a 1.17 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 12.4 K/9. At 37, his years of elbow troubles appear to be behind him, and the expectation as he enters the free agent market is that he'll sign somewhere to be the closer. | |
| 13 |
Lucas Erceg
Kansas City Royals RP
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| Of the relievers they acquired leading up to the trade deadline, Hunter Harvey was the Royals' first choice to close, but a back injury opened the door for Erceg to seize the role, which he did emphatically. The converted third baseman made huge strides with regard to control this year and certainly has the stuff to close. | |
| 14 |
Jhoan Duran
Minnesota Twins RP
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| Duran's average fastball velocity ranked behind only Miller and the Angels' Ben Joyce, and yet it was more than a mile per hour slower than in 2023, which was apparently enough of a tipping point. Duran was more hittable overall, and it led to manager Rocco Baldelli reverting to more of a by-committee approach to the ninth inning, albeit with Duran as the leader of that committee. | |
| 15 |
Luke Weaver
New York Yankees RP
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| After nearly a decade as a failed starter, Weaver tweaked his fastball grip to emerge as a stud reliever for the Yankees. He wound up serving as closer during their postseason run, which presumably puts him in the driver's seat for 2025, but given the Yankees' penchant for acquiring talent, it's possible they bring in a more proven option this winter. | |
| 16 |
Porter Hodge
Chicago Cubs RP
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| The Cubs punted veteran closer Hector Neris in August and turned the role over to Hodge, a rookie who had been their best reliever to that point and was near flawless in the role, blowing just one of his eight save chances after inheriting it. He could stand to throw more strikes, but he's been so difficult to hit thus far that it hasn't mattered. | |
| 17 |
David Bednar
Pittsburgh Pirates RP
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| Bednar never seemed right after missing most of spring training with a lat issue, and his long leash finally dwindled to nothing in September. But the two-time All-Star will likely get another chance to close in 2025 -- particularly since his replacement, Aroldis Chapman, is a free agent -- and there's reason to believe a more conventional buildup will put him back on the right path. | |
| 18 |
Pete Fairbanks
Tampa Bay Rays RP
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| Fairbanks is presumably in line to be the Rays closer again, but after another year marred by health issues, this time impacting his performance, it's not clear that he deserves to be. Edwin Uceta could pose a threat, and even if manager Kevin Cash defaults to Fairbanks, you have to anticipate an IL stint or two. | |
| 19 |
Alexis Diaz
Cincinnati Reds RP
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| Diaz's 2024 began disastrously, and though his ERA improved over the course of it, his strikeout and walk numbers remained not so great. With a new manager (Terry Francona) and a new edict to win in 2025, the Reds are likely to explore other options in the ninth inning, and even if they don't, Diaz's grasp on the role figures to be a tenuous one. | |
| 20 |
Kyle Finnegan
Washington Nationals RP
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| An All-Star for the first time in 2024, Finnegan somehow didn't follow Hunter Harvey out the door at the trade deadline, which means he'll once again enter 2025 as the Nationals' presumptive closer. He's really not a closer-caliber reliever -- a truth made evident by his poor second half -- but with no one else vying for the role, he could pile up saves again, as he did in 2024. | |
What changes in points leagues?
1. Emmanuel Clase, CLE
2. Devin Williams, MIL
3. Josh Hader, HOU
4. Edwin Diaz, NYM
5. Ryan Helsley, STL
6. Raisel Iglesias, ATL
7. Felix Bautista, BAL
8. Ryan Walker, SF
9. Mason Miller, OAK
10. Robert Suarez, SD
11. Bowden Francis, TOR
12. Andres Munoz, SEA
13. Kirby Yates, free agent
14. Lucas Erceg, KC
15. Jhoan Duran, MIN
16. Luke Weaver, NYY
17. Drew Rasmussen, TB
18. Porter Hodge, CHC
19. David Bednar, PIT
20. Pete Fairbanks, TB