Top 125 Relievers for Save+Hold Leagues – MARCH 20 UPDATE

Tier 1

• Tier 1 is loaded with talent and upside, and I really can see anyone in this group finishing as the top reliever in SV+HLD leagues this season. Justin Martinez looks ready to take a step forward and is showing RP1 stuff and command (for the most part) this spring. The beauty of SV+HLD leagues is it doesn’t matter who is closing in Arizona, Martinez and A.J. Puk are both great options because they are both elite relievers.

Tier 2

• Dedniel Núñez is back and he looked fantastic in his first spring appearance, even showing increased velocity. When healthy last year, Núñez was one of the best setup men in baseball so as long as we can count on him being in that bullpen, I’d expect big things from Dedniel.
• Mason Montgomery may be in Tier 1 within a few weeks at this point because there is a chance he is the most talented reliever in baseball right now. Now maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but he just continues to look unhittable in the spring. Between his MLB stint at the end of last season and this spring, Montgomery has allowed just 2 ER on 8 hits over 16.1 IP with an absurd 28/5 K/BB ratio. I want to see a bigger sample size for sure, but the lefty will open the season in a setup role and is one of if not the highest upside targets available later in drafts.

Tier 3

• Keegan Akin should finally see consistent hold opportunities this season, and we love seeing him back up last year’s breakout with a solid spring as well. Outside of Félix Bautista, Akin features the highest strikeout upside in this bullpen and should be able to boost your WHIP as well. There’s no way he won’t break his personal record for holds in a season this year (six).
• Another lefty being slept on is Dylan Lee, who had the second-highest SwStr% rate amongst relievers last season, and it sounds like Lee also will have more hold chances this season and should easily surpass his 9 holds from last year. Lee has looked great this March and should open as the Braves top setup man.

• José Alvarado may be back to 2022-23 form as his fastball has been up 2 MPH all spring, as he is averaging 100 MPH again and it’s led to him being absolutely dominant with no runs allowed and 17 strikeouts over eight spring innings. We’ll see if the velo (and the command) sticks but for now, Alvarado is worth taking a flier on in most hold leagues.
• Speaking of flamethrowers, Ben Joyce has been featuring his splinker heavily this spring and it’s been a huge difference-maker for him as far as his swing-and-miss goes. Obviously, we just want to see Joyce healthy for 50+ innings first, but it looks like this splinker can be the answer to his swing-and-miss problems so the arrow is trending up.

Tier 4

• Yennier Cano and Kirby Yates may get pushed out of primary setup roles on their respective teams, but they should both still provide value in deeper hold league formats. Cano just doesn’t possess a ton of upside, but I’d still see him finishing with an ERA under 4 and double-digit holds. Yates may not even make it to double-digit holds in that stacked Dodgers bullpen, but he should still give you a good ERA and a ton of strikeouts.
• Hunter Gaddis’s stuff has looked improved this year, making me a little less worried about his 2024 being a fluke. He is also slated to open the year in a set-up role so he’s still worth taking a shot on and seeing what happens.

Tier 5

• Craig Yoho was cut from MLB camp by the Brewers, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be up shortly in April. He held a 1.23 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, and had 12 strikeouts over 7.1 IP this spring, so I’m not really sure what else he needed to do to make the team. Either way, we should see him make his debut shortly, and yes, there is some Devin Williams type upside here.
• Camilo Doval won’t open the year as the team’s closer, but his fantastic spring (only 1 walk in 7 games!) should guarantee him a set-up role at least. We’ve all seen the upside Doval possesses (2022-23) and he’s still only 27 years old so it shouldn’t surprise anyone if he returns to form this year.

Tier 6

• Pierce Johnson isn’t exactly the most trustworthy reliever but that’s where we are at in Tier 5, and Johnson should at least be the Braves’ primary right-handed set-up option for as long as Joe Jiménez is out (or until Craig Kimbrel can regain his magic). The ratios might be bumpy, but Johnson should help with holds and K’s early on at least.

• There’s some uncertainty in the Pirates bullpen but Colin Holderman should be locked into at least a set-up role, if not a chance to close with David Bednar struggling this spring. As is the case with the rest of the tier, the ratios could be bumpy, but Holderman does provide some safety when it comes to holds, and perhaps there more strikeout upside as well.

• Hopefully, we get to see a healthy season from Gregory Santos, who could easily slide into a setup role for the Mariners if he can stay on the field. I’d still like to see a little more swing-and-miss from him as well, but that is definitely in there as his stuff is much better than his strikeout totals say.