Nick Mariano's Updated Saves+Holds Rankings for Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitchers

We're back to celebrate the glory that is relief pitchers with another rendition of my top-150 Saves+Holds (Solds) rankings with a month of play in the books. I know there are dozens of you out there who play in formats with SV+HLD, or leagues where Saves and Holds are separate categories. Or maybe you're just a fantasy baseball bullpens junkie and can't help yourself from reading relief pitcher content! Whatever your ailment, we've got the remedy.

While the closer's role is important, an increasing number of managers are moving their best arm into a flexible role while shuffling who gets the ninth. Saves+Holds (or Solds, or SV+HLD) leagues help fantasy leagues reward the best arms regardless of the inning, though it still favors closers in a vacuum. Be sure to also check out our constantly updated fantasy baseball closers and saves depth charts.

Reminder: A hold is recorded when a relief pitcher enters with a lead of three runs or less, or with the tying run on deck, at the plate, or on base, and maintains that lead while recording at least one out. While I look for pitchers used in high-leverage situations, this is also about how good the arm is and how efficient their K/9 works for many of you. There are notes and analysis below, following the rankings table.

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Updated Saves+Holds Rankings - Mixed Leagues

Rankings updated on May 4th

Saves+Holds Tiered Rankings Analysis Notes

-Liam Hendriks had many of us worried with early-season scuffles, but he looks back to normal after a week off meant to alleviate back tightness. The 33-year-old collected his seventh save of 2022 on Wednesday night with a 1-2-3 inning, which marks his fourth straight appearance without a hit allowed since taking some time off. Whew.

-Jordan Romano & Taylor Rogers are off to hot starts, performing well and getting plenty of save opportunities thrown their way. You love to see it, especially if you’re a Padres fan realizing what could’ve been had Rogers not stepped into San Diego’s bullpen.

-Devin Williams is still an electrifying talent with wicked strikeout stuff to help those who must eye K/9. Perhaps you play in rotisserie leagues with inning caps, or your H2H matchups since need as many whiffs from RP slots as possible and you don’t have many SP/RP guys to slot in. After some early stumbles, Williams looks to have righted the ship so I’m not docking him from preseason expectations. He’d issued six walks and allowed four runs in his first four games but has posted 6 ⅓ IP of scoreless ball with only two hits and two walks since then. We’ll take it.

-Ryan Pressly is set to return shortly so I’ll leave him on the table for now. While Hector Neris and Rafael Montero performed admirably in his stead, Pressly remains the man for Houston when healthy.

All six pitches of Ryan Pressly's rehab appearance in Sugar Land. All six pitches were strikes. Fastball velocity appears to be back in the 93-94 range and good shape to the curveball. pic.twitter.com/OzxRNsNYZi

— Eephus Tosser (@EephusTosser) May 4, 2022

-Michael King looks like NYY’s most effective arm at the moment, boasting a starter’s four-pitch mix that plays up out of the bullpen. Even if the raw SV+HLD tally isn’t at the top of any leaderboards, his 25/3 K/BB ratio and 0.51 ERA through 17 ⅔ IP cannot be ignored. The Yankees will win many a game, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see a premier fireman reach 6-8 wins on top of the relief stats. Clay Holmes is no slouch either, being used more frequently in a traditional RP mold compared to King’s multi-inning stints. That means more holds for you and me. It’s crazy how Chad Green and Jonathan Loaisiga can “struggle” and this bullpen is still A-OK.

-Tyler Rogers & Ryan Tepera may not win any K/9 titles, but they’re logging holds at a steady pace and have solidified roles at the back-end of their bullpens. Names such as these, or Michael Fulmer, don’t have to be sexy, they just have to reliably get the job done.

-Daniel Bard won’t be crowned the King of Consistency for his career, but he is opening 2022 as well as we could’ve hoped after 2021’s crumbling. He lost the closer’s role following a loss of command last season, which prompted many to wonder if he’d lost the zone in a similar way to that which led to his early retirement in the 2010s. He’s coming out swinging with seven saves and a win on the back of a 13/0 K/BB ratio across nine innings. The 1.96 FIP and xFIP are in lockstep with the 2.00 ERA and we are mile-high happy. Bud Black said he prefers a stopper who has strikeout stuff and it’s clear there’s no committee here.

-Jake Diekman has nine holds but Boston’s bullpen is a straight-up nightmare at the moment and Diek is no exception. The southpaw has always lived dangerously with a walk rate in the 12-14% range but it’s a tad higher at the moment alongside a troubling HR uptick that reared its head in ‘21. Prior to last season, Diekman’s HR/9 was always below 1.0 and that meant the crummy walk rates didn’t do as much damage. In 2021 it jumped to 1.48 and he’s already surrendered two round-trippers in just 8 ⅔ IP so far in ‘22. He also blew a save just last night. I think Boston needs Garrett Whitlock in the ‘pen, and he’d be a top-25 guy here if he was, but we’ll see how they utilize Tanner Houck. Maybe there’s another level as a reliever for the right-handed Chris Sale.

-Dylan Floro should make his 2022 MLB debut soon so I’m tossing him into the 70s with the expectation he regains the closing role in short order. Anthony Bender still looks off to me, as he blows his second save and takes his third loss of ‘22 while I write this, with fewer whiffs and seemingly less confidence in the zone. Floro held his own in 2021, posting a 2.81 ERA with an identical 2.81 FIP over 64 frames for the Marlins. Anthony Bass also has a quiet six holds already too.

*I’ll say that it’s difficult to lay guys such as Spencer Strider into these, as they clearly offer ratio relief and K/9 upside in fantasy but don’t get many late opportunities. If you want to target the pitchers who work longer stints early in games, or hope for the relief wins that we see from Brock Burke and Keegan Thompson, then go right ahead. I’d suggest not reading much into their placement on boards such as this and following a roster construction/risk tolerance decision tree for yourself instead.

Once you hit a certain spot towards the lower end of ranking tables then it really becomes more about what your needs are. That should always inform your path but when it comes to late darts and free-agent speculation, you simply have to be wise and play for yourself, not play for my or anyone else’s lists. Don’t be afraid to add a guy like Oakland’s Zach Jackson after one game. Be honest with your ratio buffers when taking on a committee piece like Chris Stratton or Matt Barnes. Be forgiving on early surface RP stats, with many still under 10 innings of play, looking instead at walk rates and overall command.

You can do this!

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