While holds are even tougher to predict than saves, the players we’ll highlight today include some elite setup men that have proven to be closer candidates to target off the waiver wire for Week 15 of the fantasy baseball season.

The more likely a team is to win, the more likely a pitcher will be eligible to earn the holds that could be the difference between winning or losing in your fantasy league. Bear in mind, an effective relief pitcher highlighted today could find himself in a closer's role if the everyday closer is unavailable or recently ineffective.

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Closers, Saves & Holds - Waiver Wire Adds

Koji Uehara, Boston Red Sox

4 Saves, 12 Holds, 4.81 ERA, 33.2 IP, 48 K, 1.10 WHIP

Despite trading to acquire Brad Ziegler from Arizona, former Red Sox closer Koji Uehara looks to be the front-runner for closing opportunities during Craig Kimbrel's absence. Opponents hitting .220 against Uehara. Despite throwing his 87.0 MPH sinker 51.2% of the time, Uehara is generating just 18.7% ground balls with fly balls generated 61.3% of the time in a very hitter-friendly home ballpark. Uehara currently has a career-high 12.8 K/9 this year. The Red Sox are a strong team with playoff aspirations. As long as they play well, Uehara will find himself in save opportunities that will benefit both the Red Sox and a fantasy team if he is picked up while Kimbrel is sidelined.

Tyler Clippard, Arizona Diamondbacks

1 Save, 13 Holds, 2.97 ERA, 33.1 IP, 41 K, 1.20 WHIP

Speaking of Arizona, with Ziegler out, Tyler Clippard will likely slot into the ninth inning for saves. This year, opponents are hitting .240 against Clippard. The fastball, changeup pitcher will not blow batters away with his fastball averaging at 90.8 MPH but Clippard generates 44.9% fly balls. The Diamondbacks are clearly not living up to their expectations after the busy off-season. Daniel Hudson had a case to be a candidate for closing but he is more likely a candidate to be traded before the deadline. When the Diamondbacks are poised for a close win, count on Clippard to get in the game for the save.

Seung Hwan Oh, St. Louis Cardinals

2 Saves, 14 Holds, 1.59 ERA, 45.1 IP, 59 K, 0.86 WHIP

The St. Louis Cardinals have ground to make up in the standings so wins need to be secured by closer Seung Hwan Oh. Primarily relying on a 92.5 MPH fastball while mixing in a 85.4 MPH slider, Oh generates fly balls (42.1%) and ground balls (44.1%) at roughly the same rate. Opponents are hitting .159 against Oh so he has transitioned well into the major leagues. Oh had a good case to be on the All-Star Game roster but was ultimately excluded. Fantasy owners would benefit from having him on their team, however.

Brandon Kintzler, Minnesota Twins

5 Saves, 2.42 ERA, 26.0 IP, 16 K, 0.92 WHIP

After converting his first five save opportunities, Brandon Kintzler has secured his spot as the Minnesota Twins' closer. His functionality in fantasy is strictly for saves. He is a contact pitcher with a 5.5 K/9 and an outstanding 64.2% ground ball rate. He relies on a 92.7 MPH sinker 87.1% of the time so keeping the walks down, which he has at 0.7 BB/9 this year. Opponents are hitting .224 against Kintzler this year. He will not provide glamorous strikeout numbers so if you strictly need a source for saves, Kintzler is a reliable option for a waiver wire pickup.

Brandon Maurer, San Diego Padres

1 Save, 13 Holds, 5.53 ERA, 40.2 IP, 50 K, 1.38 WHIP

The San Diego Padres looked within to replace their closer after trading Fernando Rodney away. Reliever Brandon Maurer was given the first opportunity at closing wins for the Padres. The power-pitching Maurer has opponents hitting to a .239 batting average this year. Primarily using a 95.4 MPH fastball and 84.4 MPH, Maurer generates 40.4% fly balls and 37.6% ground balls but he has a pitcher-friendly home ballpark. Maurer is having an exceedingly strong K/9 as his career average is 7.7 but he finished the first half of the season at 11.1. Maurer has not seen many save opportunities so far, but he will fare well in the opportunities he is presented with and is a reasonable waiver wire pick up.

 

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