Fantasy Baseball Closer Depth Charts - MLB Bullpens and Saves

Saves are an important component for many fantasy baseball leagues. Closers are one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball, and one of the highest turnover positions in MLB. Each year, closers drop like flies and many MLB teams make in-season changes due to injuries or poor performance. Relief pitchers are becoming increasingly important for... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Closers and Saves Waiver Wire Report for Week 5

Yeah, sure, the NFL Draft happened last night and it was exciting, but did you see that Marlins reliever Calvin Faucher has started his Marlins career with 7.2 scoreless innings and a 10:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio? Maybe we're a little too bullpen-brained here in the RotoBaller Closers and Saves Report... Another week of baseball is behind us,... Read More

Florio's Bullpen Report: Speculative Saves, Changing Bullpens, Elite Ratios (Week 5)

This is a wonderful time to be a sports fan. The NBA and NHL playoffs are in full swing and the NFL Draft is right around the corner. It is one of the best weeks on the sports calendar. With so much going on, it could be easy to take your eye off the fantasy... Read More

MLB Teams With Closer Issues for Fantasy Baseball: Always Be Closing

Accumulating saves isn’t always easy in fantasy baseball. We entered the season with some reliable closers on the disabled list, including Devin Williams (back) and Paul Sewald (oblique). There is also Josh Hader, who was considered one of the top closers heading into the season. Not only does he have just two saves, but he... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Closers and Saves Waiver Wire Report for Week 4

It's still early enough in the 2024 season that we can have a lot of fun with small sample sizes. For example, Kyle Finnegan, Ryan Helsley, and Clay Holmes each have seven saves. The Astros, Marlins, White Sox, Rockies, and Twins don't even have seven wins yet. If you combine the Marlins and the White... Read More

Florio's Bullpen Report: Mason Miller Elite, Sneaky Relievers to Add

All offseason long in fantasy baseball articles, podcasts, and radio shows, you hear about clarity with bullpens. We may not know who exactly is going to get the bulk of save chances, but the belief is that once the season starts playing out, we will get answers and know who is getting those valuable opportunities.... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Closers and Saves Waiver Wire Report for Week 3

Another week down and now we have pretty much every baseball team with a dozen games played. A lot of things make sense (Mookie Betts and the Dodgers are really good, the Phillies and Braves are battling for the NL East, the White Sox are bad, etc.) Some things make less sense (what happened to... Read More

Florio's Bullpen Report: Changes in Kansas City, Colorado, and Philly?

It’s awesome having fantasy baseball back in our lives. Checking lineups, box scores, and more importantly -- fantasy live scoring. But with the excitement of fantasy baseball being back, there tends to be some overreactions this time of year.  It is important to remember that we are just two weeks into this marathon of a... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Closers and Saves Waiver Wire Report for Week 2

We're a week into the season and...the Angels are in first place, the Guardians are the best team in baseball by run differential, and the Marlins might never win a game again. In other words: it's still early, folks! But early or not, we've already seen some bullpen trends start to develop across the league.... Read More

Florio's Bullpen Report: Figuring Out Early-Season Usage

We are back! For those who have read this article in the past, you know the deal. For those new, welcome. Every week, I write about bullpens that are changing their late-inning usage, and give some relievers you can speculate on that are trending toward save opportunities and elite strikeout and ratio relievers in fantasy... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Closer Battles Entering The 2024 MLB Season

The long wait is over and Major League Baseball’s opening weekend is finally here! Rosters have been whittled down but some positional battles are still being worked out. Several teams’ bullpen roles, in particular, are still up in the air. A handful of teams are entering the season employing the closer-by-committee approach to finishing games.... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Closers and Saves Waiver Wire Report for Week 1

We've made it, folks! The offseason is behind us, the Seoul Series already happened, and Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues are both just memories. It's opening weekend 2024 and...there is already so much going on in the league's bullpens. We had a few Opening Day surprises regarding how managers chose to deploy some of their bullpen... Read More

Top 125 Saves+Holds Rankings for Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitchers (2024)

There's plenty of traditional fantasy baseball content where bullpen chatter is all about the closer role. Saves+Holds reliever ranks can be overlooked or left stale from an early offseason article, but I'll be here at least once a month to bring my leaderboard for the season. Allow me, Nick Mariano, to do my namesake proud... Read More

Updated Closer and Relief Pitcher (RP) Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 175 for March Drafts

With the new era of baseball and MLB rule changes, relief pitchers are becoming more important than ever for building a winning fantasy baseball team. It's key to know who the best bullpen arms are, and below you'll see our take on that with our MLB team's updated 2024 fantasy baseball closers and relief pitcher... Read More

Closers and Saves Bullpen Report for Fantasy Baseball - Late March Edition

We're another week closer to Opening Day (or, in between Opening Days for Dodgers and Padres fans). That means we have our first two official saves of 2024! Besides that, bullpen hierarchies are starting to look much more defined, and injuries are still ravaging pitchers on seemingly every team. In this weird liminal space where... Read More

Closers and Relief Pitchers to Bounce Back for 2024 Fantasy Baseball

For the last three seasons, I have written the Bullpen Report here at RotoBaller. If you are unfamiliar, the article follows bullpens throughout the season to not only get ahead of closer changes but to identify those non-full-time closers that can be useful in fantasy baseball.  So when this article was up for grabs, it... Read More

JB's Bullpen Method Strategy for 2024: Making FrankenAces Out of Relief Pitchers

Four years ago, our esteemed JB Branson published an article breaking down his favorite fantasy baseball strategy that he’s deployed for over a decade. In his words, the Bullpen Method is a lifestyle that reflects the importance of balance on a fantasy team. Since then he's published this yearly Bullpen Method article, which most recently... Read More

Closers and Saves Bullpen Report for Fantasy Baseball - Mid-March Edition

Another week of training in the spring, another week of bullpen news, rumors, and injuries. While things will certainly ramp up as we approach Opening Day, this was anything but a quiet week in bullpens across the league. Before we jump into news and notes, be sure to take a look at our bullpen-by-bullpen break... Read More

3 Overvalued Closers: Bust Candidates for Fantasy Baseball Drafts (2024)

Relief pitcher is one of the trickier positions to determine fantasy baseball value given the volatility of the position and the limited ways it can provide fantasy output. Generally speaking, relief pitchers are only valuable in most fantasy leagues if they serve as the closer for their team. There are exceptions depending on league type,... Read More

Closers and Bullpen Arms to Target for Fantasy Baseball Drafts - American League

The toughest decision you might have to make in your fantasy baseball draft is when to target a bullpen arm. Securing those saves in a roto league could be the difference between winning or losing a week. So, is it worth it to spend a fifth- or sixth-round pick on Houston Astros closer Josh Hader? ... Read More

Closers and Saves Bullpen Report for Fantasy Baseball - NL Edition

With a little more spring training behind us, we're back with the National League version of Closers and Saves Bullpen Report! Make sure to look over the American League edition that was published last week. There's still plenty of time until Opening Day, so as usual we can expect changes to come, but for now? Looks... Read More

4 Impact Relief Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball Drafts (2024)

As fantasy players, we love to use the term "breakout" to define players who will outperform their projections. Finding these values that others miss can be the key to a successful season for our teams. One such place where we need not only acumen but also luck finding helpful players is in the bullpen. Bullpens... Read More

Relief Pitchers To Target For Holds in Fantasy Baseball Drafts (2024)

Holds is a fun alternative stat category to saves. Chasing saves can be difficult, as most teams go with a traditional approach and have just one player serving as their closer. That makes finding them in fantasy baseball leagues potentially difficult, especially for managers who don’t want to spend early draft capital on a closer.... Read More

3 Bullpen Arms To Target In Fantasy Baseball Drafts - NL Edition (2024)

The hardest thing to decide in a fantasy baseball draft is when to grab relief pitchers. Saves are super important in roto leagues, so choosing a closer early could be a nice strategy. Some of the top ones, like Devin Williams of the Milwaukee Brewers, are going super early. Williams is usually off the board... Read More

Closers and Saves Bullpen Report for Fantasy Baseball - AL Edition

We are so back. Spring training is underway, people are already overreacting to meaningless games, and somehow several top-tier free agents are still unemployed. It's always a fun time in the baseball world as hope springs eternal for most teams (some try their best to be realistic, but even then you can see the slightest... Read More

Closers and Relief Pitchers to Regress for 2024 Fantasy Baseball

I have written the Bullpen Report every week during the fantasy baseball season for the past three years here at RotoBaller. The one thing that you quickly learn is that bullpen arms are volatile. Just because a reliever was awesome last year does not guarantee future success.  Now that does not mean they will fall... Read More

Closers and Relief Pitcher Draft Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Roto Leagues (February Updates)

It's time to consider the one position on your roster that many fantasy baseball players find the least palatable: relief pitchers. I hear the collective groan. But here's the thing: this doesn't have to be painful. If you slot pitchers into tiers and convince yourself that you will be happy getting a guy from those... Read More

Bullpen Arms To Target In 2024 Fantasy Baseball Drafts - Closers and Relief Pitchers

Fantasy baseball drafts are right around the corner, and it's never too early to start prepping for your league. In the early rounds, position players and starting pitchers get the most love because they have the most value in both points and roto leagues. But relief pitchers are just as important in the middle to... Read More

2024 Fantasy Baseball Closers and Saves: Bullpen Draft Strategies and Late-Round Targets

As we prepare to navigate another busy fantasy baseball season of drafting, which is the best season we have all year, we need to contemplate how we will tackle the stickiest wicket in fantasy baseball: saves. How we value relief pitchers has changed throughout the last few seasons. We know that relief pitchers are throwing... Read More