Waiver Relief: Week 24

Welcome to the final edition of Waiver Relief for the 2026 season. As I addressed in last week’s issue, this article isn’t suited for the fantasy playoffs, and I’m not one to overstay my welcome. It’s time to wrap this thing up and bid adieu.

For the season finale, I’ll be providing my ultimate top-10 lists for saves, holds, and SPRPs. These will be followed by my Waiver Relief Recap, covering my personal highlights and lowlights in my second year at PitcherList. My hope is that this makes for an enjoyable read while also acting as a way to hold myself accountable. If you have any instances of where my advice impacted your fantasy season (for better or worse!) let me know on Twitter under this post. I’d love to hear about them.

Thanks for reading!

(stats updated through Thursday, 9/3)

 

Saves – Top 10 (<=60%-rostered Yahoo)

1. Mason Montgomery – PIT (34%)
2. Tanner Scott – LAD (55%)
3. Ben Joyce – LAA (18%)
4. Yoendrys Gómez – MIN (36%)
5. Elvis Alvarado – ATH (12%)
6. Dylan Smith – SF (2%)
7. Kodai Senga – NYM (25%)
8. Jordan Romano – COL (14%)
9. Grant Taylor – CHW (36%)
10. Calvin Faucher – MIA (7%)

Honorable Mention: Jacob Webb (CHC), Andrew Kittredge (BAL), Steven Cruz (KC), Juan Morillo (ARI), Erik Tolman (WSH)

 

Holds – Top 10 (<=10%-rostered Yahoo)

1. Erik Miller – BOS (5%)
2. Jonathan Bowlan – PHI (3%)
3. Tyler Wells – TB (10%)
4. Dylan Dodd – ATL (6%)
5. Bradgley Rodriguez – SD (4%)
6. Jack Dreyer – LAD (4%)
7. Edgardo Henriquez – LAD (2%)
8. Nate Lavender – NYM (3%)
9. Justin Martinez – ARI (6%)
10. Brooks Raley – PHI (3%)

Honorable Mention: Michael Petersen (MIA), Cam Booser (TB), Daniel Duarte (NYM), Samy Natera Jr. (LAA), Drew Sommers (DET)

 

SPRPs – Top 10 (Yahoo-eligible)

1. Mason Montgomery – PIT (34%)
2. Jacob Latz – TEX (71%)
3. Grant Taylor – CHW (36%)
4. Didier Fuentes – ATL (13%)
5. Tyler Wells – TB (10%)
6. Bradgley Rodriguez – SD (4%)
7. Jack Dreyer – LAD (4%)
8. Yoendrys Gómez – MIN (36%)
9. Kodai Senga – NYM (25%)
10. Hagen Smith – CHW (2%)

Honorable Mention: Sean Newcomb (CHW), Bryan Hudson (CHW), Mason Fluharty (TOR), Tyler Holton (DET), Andrew Morris (MIN)

 

Waiver Relief: 2026 Recap

 

Best Calls

1. Bryan Baker as a preseason deep-league saves recommendation all the way back in week one.
2. Riley O’Brien to separate himself in a then-crowded Cardinals bullpen; mentioned in week one, featured in week two.
3. All three featured SPRPs in week one – Tyler Holton, Jack Dreyer, and Tyler Wells – held up nicely.
4. Dylan Lee as my top holds league target by week three, featured in week four.
5. The Sub-1% Club (RPs featured and/or ranked while rostered below 1%) was stacked, including Jacob Latz, Tyler Wells, Brent Headrick, Brandyn Garcia, Bradgley Rodriguez, and many others.

 

Worst Calls

1. Brendon Little and Edwin Uceta hand-selected for the Waiver Relief logo (Little was swapped out for Erik Sabrowski; Uceta, who never pitched an inning, remained out of pure love).
2. Jack Perkins as my top saves recommendation in week six. (more on that in a bit)
3. Willing to bet back in week one that Chris Martin would set a personal best in saves; he had zero and was DFA’d.
4. All three featured holds targets in week one – Shawn Armstrong, José Alvarado, and Brendon Little – were tremendous disappointments.
5. Post-trade deadline analysis left something to be desired; overhyped both Luke Weaver and Jeff Hoffman while downplaying Dylan Smith and Ben Joyce.

 

Most Valuable Sentence

On the Rays’ preseason closing situation: There’s room for [Bryan] Baker to stake a claim to the ninth inning in a pen that should be hard to pin down.

 

Most Damaging Advice

On Jack Perkins vs. Jacob Latz as breakout save targets: I would prioritize Perkins between the two, but Latz should also be among the most-acquired RPs over the coming days.

 

Overall Grade: B+

Pros: Was indisputably early to multiple league-winners. Scanning through my rankings and featured pickups week to week gives a solid reflection of both reasonable expectations at the time and how the season would play out.
Cons: Chose incorrectly on the given “close call” of the week on multiple occasions. Missed out on featuring some quick risers (Kevin Kelly comes to mind) entirely before they were too heavily rostered.