Building your bullpen is one of the trickiest parts of fantasy baseball. Reliever production can vary wildly from year to year, and there are a number of different ways to approach fantasy drafts. Do you target a stud reliever or two early? Should you try to grab cheap saves late? Do you grab studs who have an uncertain role and hope for their talent to win out in the end?
Emmanuel Clase has led the league in saves in three consecutive seasons, and he will almost certainly be the first reliever off the board in most drafts. After that, Devin Williams, Josh Hader, Mason Miller, Edwin Diaz, and Ryan Helsley comprise the next tier. All five have the potential to pile up saves with elite peripherals, and all five are entrenched in their roles. Clase is typically coming off the board inside the top 50 picks, while the other five have ADPs somewhere between 59 and 73.
But after that? That’s when things get complicated. Let’s dive into five different players coming off the board late in drafts that could provide value.
Lucas Erceg, Kansas City Royals, 182 ADP
Erceg was acquired by the Royals before the trade deadline last season, and he took over as their primary closer. He was absolutely lights out in that role, tallying 11 saves across 23 appearances with a 2.88 ERA.
Even those numbers don’t tell the full story. Erceg’s advanced metrics were even more impressive. He pitched to a 1.17 FIP as a member of the Royals, and he tallied 31 strikeouts compared to just three walks. Including his time with the A’s, he finished in the 85th percentile for strikeout rate and 77th percentile for walk rate.
When batters did manage to make contact, Erceg still dominated. He induced ground balls at a 46.5% clip, and most of his batted-ball events were soft contact: his 85.9 mph average exit velocity put him in the 98th percentile.
It remains to be seen if Erceg can duplicate those results in 2025, but he ultimately profiles as one of the better relievers in baseball. If not for the Royals acquiring Carlos Estévez this offseason, he would be coming off the board significantly earlier in drafts.
Estévez is undoubtedly going to get save chances for the Royals, and Erceg could operate behind him at the beginning of the season. Still, he was the better pitcher by most metrics last season. The talent should be able to win out in the end.
David Bednar, Pittsburgh Pirates, 199 ADP
Unlike Erceg, Bednar enters the year with minimal competition. He’s filled the role of Pirates closer since 2022, and he led the National League with 39 saves in 2023. The fact that he did that for a Pirates team that managed just a 76-86 record should provide some optimism. Pittsburgh undoubtedly has more talent at this point, so Bednar could have more opportunities at the end of games.
The only issue is…Bednar wasn’t good last season. His numbers fell off a cliff, especially his ERA. He pitched to a 5.77 mark after sitting at 2.61 or better in each of the previous three years.
Can Bednar turn things around in 2025? Bednar had to overcome an oblique injury last season, and there was also a belief that he was tipping pitches. If he can stay healthy — and avoid telling opposing batters which pitch is coming — there’s no reason he can’t go back to being one of the best closers in the game. Before getting injured, he converted on 15 consecutive save opportunities from April through June.
Bednar still throws hard, posting an average fastball velocity of 97.2 miles per hour, and he gets batters to chase his offspeed pitches. If he reverts to 2023 form, he stands out as a really cheap source of saves. That’s particularly true on ESPN, where he’s not coming off the board until pick No. 292 on average.
Trevor Megill, Milwaukee Brewers, 201 ADP
Megill is a player whose stock could continue to rise throughout the offseason. However, he’s available pretty late in drafts for the time being. He’s going outside the top-200 picks on ESPN, and he’s just barely inside the top 200 on other platforms.
Megill should have the opportunity to step into the closer role in Milwaukee this season. Hader and Williams have both moved on to greener pastures, leaving Megill as one of the team’s most reliable arms.
We’ve seen Megill in the closer role previously. Williams was sidelined with an injury for most of last season, and Megill racked up 21 saves in his absence. He also pitched to a career-best 2.72 ERA.
Most of his advanced metrics suggest his performance wasn’t fluky. His xERA checked in at 2.83, while opposing batters mustered a paltry .208 expected batting average against him. Megill relies on a dominant two-pitch mix, with his fastball sitting in the 99th percentile for velocity and his breaking ball generating a 167 Stuff+.
Megill wasn’t truly elite from a strikeout standpoint last season, but his underlying metrics are promising there as well. He got batters to chase at an above-average rate, and he had a strong Whiff rate as well.
Ultimately, this is a good pitcher who plays for a team that won 93 games last season. They might not be quite as good this year, but they’ve had at least 86 wins in four straight years. Megill should get his opportunities, and he’s a good bet to take advantage of them.
Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Angels, 253 ADP
Jansen has officially inked a contract with the Angels and will return to where everything started for him. Well, kind of. The Angels might not be the Dodgers, but Jansen established himself as a Hall-of-Fame closer while pitching in Los Angeles. He spent the first 12 years of his career in Los Angeles, tallying 360 saves in the process, before spending the past three seasons with the Braves and Red Sox.
Jansen joins a bullpen that features flamethrower Ben Joyce, but there is little concern about who will be the team’s closer on Opening Day. Jansen is a living legend, and he has a stated goal of reaching 500 career saves. He wouldn’t have agreed to sign with the Angels if he wasn’t going to get opportunities to add to his tally.
Additionally, Jansen is still getting the job done. He’s not as dominant as he was in his prime, but he still ranked in the 82nd percentile or better in xERA, xBA, and strikeout rate.
He might not get a ton of save opportunities pitching for the lowly Angels, but there is very little risk with him at this price tag. He’s one of the cheapest closers available in drafts, and Angels’ pitchers still managed 35 saves last year in a season where they won just 63 games.
Orion Kerkering, Philadelphia Phillies, 317 ADP
Edited shortly after publication to acknowledge Romano as the initial Phillies closer.
The Phillies’ bullpen is going to look markedly different this season. Estévez is now in Kansas City, while Jeff Hoffman inked a three-year, $33M deal with the Blue Jays. It leaves Kerkering, José Alvarado, and Jordan Romano as their top three relievers.
Romano is currently expected to operate as the team’s closer to begin the season. He’s filled that role for the Blue Jays in the past, and he’s had plenty of success doing so. He racked up 95 saves from 2021 through 2023, and he posted an ERA of 2.90 or better each season.
However, Romano dealt with elbow injuries for much of last year, limiting him to just 13.2 innings. He struggled mightily when he was on the mound, pitching to a 6.59 ERA and a 7.60 xERA.
If Romano struggles out of the gates, Kerking has the potential to surpass him in the pecking order pretty quickly. He was far more effective last season, pitching to a 2.29 and 3.19 xERA, and it’s possible we haven’t seen the best of him yet at just 23 years old. Like Romano, he also pitches from the right side, which would give him the edge over Alvarado from a splits standpoint.
Kerkering has all the necessary stuff to be an elite closer. Big fastball? Check. Kerkering averaged 97.2 miles per hour last season, which put him in the 92nd percentile. Strikeouts in bunches? Check. Kerkering put away 28.8% of opposing batters via punchouts. Excellent batted-ball metrics? Check. He ranked in the 92nd percentile for groundball rate, 88th percentile for barrel rate, and 86th percentile for exit velocity.
In other words, if Romano opens the door for him, expect Kerkering to kick it off the hinges. He’s worth a flyer at the end of drafts as a potential closer for a team that won 95 games last season.
