13 Closer Fantasy Baseball Breakout Candidates: Relief Pitcher Targets For Saves (Week 3)

April 17, 2026

Nick looks at 13 potential fantasy baseball breakouts, sleepers for closers and saves for Week 3 of 2026. His top relief pitcher waiver wire and trade targets for saves.

This season is keeping the curveballs coming as we try to get a read on the year's trends! But as we noted last week, we are happy to lean into the murkiness and unearth chances to gain an edge. It's time to scan for this week's relief risers and potential breakouts.

The piece seeks to identify surging arms and closer candidates for targeting, whether it's a short-term play or for those with longer windows. There will be those who are included due to team circumstances and early performance, still focusing on points like strikeouts, walks, and pitch usage/velocity, with most data gathered on April 13. Some will be shallow ("obvious"), others may be buy-low candidates, and a few may be on your wire.

We realize that the first week or two can spoil some in thinking that closers just grow on trees, but this is where the fun begins. And managerial trust can switch on a dime, as fantasy veterans know far too well. Now, let's pick apart some MLB bullpens and uncover some nuggets heading into Week 3 of the 2026 fantasy baseball season.

Tanner Scott & Alex Vesia, Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers are managing Edwin Diaz’s decreased velocity, which the closer says is standard business for April following his 2023 knee injury. However, Dave Roberts is being awfully coy about Diaz’s availability these days. We are far from stable footing here.

Dave Roberts added that Edwin Díaz “wants to pitch.” His availability tonight depends on what Roberts hears from the training staff, but Roberts expects Díaz to pitch this series. https://t.co/kE9hDkcCIO

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) April 13, 2026

The defending champs must love to see Scott looking like a premier arm again after he battled through a summertime elbow injury and needed an abscess removed in October. The 4.74 ERA did have a 3.43 SIERA underneath it, but the career-low 25% K rate wouldn’t ease the pain.

He was throwing more in the zone, and batters were connecting at an 80.5% clip, up three percentage points from ‘24. That is back down near 75% in the early going, perhaps due to a lower arm angle, and he’s rocking a pristine 8:0 K:BB in 6 ⅔ IP. There is some good luck here, but never discount the effects of good physical health (he called 2025 “mentally exhausting.”)

But it was Vesia, now in his sixth year as a SoCal stalwart southpaw, who snuck in for a one-out save on Saturday. He’s gotten five saves in both 2024 and ‘25 campaigns, so he’s no stranger to the ninth.

Of all RPs with at least 100 IP since ‘24 began, Vesia’s 2.24 ERA ranks fourth, with a top-12 WHIP and K rate to boot. Tip your cap and target the trusted skill with Diaz off. Blake Treinen has a rough 41% zone rate (he usually holds around 50%) and isn’t throwing enough strikes for me.

Jakob Junis & Cole Winn, Texas Rangers

After only two strikeouts in his previous five innings, Junis naturally comes into a save chance against the Dodgers in L.A. and strikes out Shohei Ohtani with some beautiful changeups. He wound up with a clean line (1 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K), though only threw 10 strikes on 19 pitches. A four-pitch walk to Will Smith and falling behind 3-0 to Kyle Tucker had me holding my breath.

I’m still tepid here, but the trust that Skip Schumaker has in Junis is undeniable. This was the first time we saw both a rested Winn and Junis align with a save chance. Winn played fireman after Jacob Latz let a 3-0 lead bleed to 3-2 and left men on the corners with two out in the seventh.

Winn succeeded in getting Andy Pages to pop out to end the threat, and then he worked around a walk in a scoreless eighth. Kudos to Danny Jansen, who challenged into a strikeout for both Winn and Junis that night. Winn being the high-leverage setup man and Junis the closer may be the status quo, but I’m skeptical it holds.

Bryan King & Kai-Wei Teng, Houston Astros

Bryan Abreu struck out one while allowing two baserunners in his first scoreless appearance of 2026…seven games in. It was the second day of back-to-back efforts for him, with Houston inserting him into the eighth while trailing 6-1. No leverage.

King has only appeared once since last week’s mention, so we won’t dig into much. He now holds a 9:3 K:BB over 6 ⅔ IP with one run allowed and an eye-popping 78.6% groundball rate. We perk up when someone can combine meaningful whiffs with grounders near the top of a leverage ladder.

Enyel De Los Santos is back, though he’s sitting at 93-94 mph versus 95-97 last year. Teng is heading in the opposite direction, up to 95-96 after holding around 93 as a starter in San Fran. Josh Hader may face live hitters this week, but there’s no sure thing around his return.

Jason Adam, San Diego Padres

They’re easing Adam back into things (he’s only pitched to one batter in each of his first two games) following last year’s ruptured left quad tendon. Naturally, he got both of them out, and to his credit, they did come on consecutive days. The second even resulted in a save.

Our interest here is primarily driven by Adam’s own strong track record, joining Jeremiah Estrada’s IL placement (elbow) and Adrian Morejon getting hit around early. I will say, Morejon is eating a .500 BABIP through 6 ⅔ IP, rocking a 2.09 FIP and 2.51 SIERA behind the 10.80 ERA.

Nevertheless, Adam now provides a breath of fresh air behind the illustrious Mason Miller, who simply can’t pitch in every game, especially with his medical track record. Bradgley Rodriguez has been great too, but there’s little doubt that Adam’s vast experience edge makes him the preferred “Plan B” for nights that Miller is off.

Grant Wolfram & Rico Garcia & Anthony Nunez, Baltimore Orioles

Any excuse to throw double ampersands at my editors, eh? Yes, I know that these guys are longer shots to be viable save-getters in 2026. But their performance is FrankenAce-worthy, and I try to include some of that!

If I told you that Ryan Helsley had four saves with seven strikeouts and a 3.38 ERA over 5 ⅓ IP, you’d nod and say, “That sounds solid.” Then I’d sprinkle in the four walks, how none of his six appearances have come without allowing a baserunner, and remind you of his pitch-tipping-aided 6.26 ERA in the second half of last year.

This is not to say Helsley is going to bottom out again, especially since he just finally threw a clean inning in '26 for a nice save, but some warning signs are present. Regardless, Wolfram has been outstanding as the key southpaw with Keegan Akin out, locking down three holds with a win and 10 strikeouts in six innings.

He’s always had whiffs, but they would tend to come with walks. You know that deal: Great stuff, wild stuff. But he’s yet to walk a single hitter over 25 batters faced, so that’s neat! He’s also carrying around a .462 BABIP, though it was .393 last year.

The sporadic sweeper can keep the slider effective against lefties, but the sinker is his primary pitch against both sides of the plate. The 6-foot-7 southpaw drops a curveball in with the four-seamer against righties, so he’s a viable three-pitch arm against each. Akin will return, but Wolfram is still healthy buy.

Shoutout to Garcia, who hasn’t allowed a hit across 7 ⅔ IP (8:3 K:BB, one save, four holds). I still expect Andrew Kittredge’s impending return to dampen enthusiasm there, but RP lovers will continue to respect him.

Anthony Nunez used to be a shortstop, but woe be to the first baseman who would’ve had to deal with this devastating sweeper, which has resulted in more strikeouts (5) than batted balls (4). The changeup is also feasting. This man had 83 Ks and a 2.06 ERA/0.81 WHIP in 56 ⅔ IP across the minors last year! Heck, even Yennier Cano has a 5:0 K:BB through 4 ⅓ IP. Good job, Drew French.

Tough night in Baltimore but this Anthony Nunez sweeper is chef's kiss. pic.twitter.com/oAXVOfoZH3

— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) April 1, 2026

Griffin Jax, Tampa Bay

He hurt many of us, but this occurred last year, and he wound up still being valuable. Edwin Uceta could still wind up being the best Ray RP, but we can’t get cocky about the long-term outlook for a preseason “cranky shoulder” holding up.

We love Bryan Baker around these parts, but Jax has quietly struck out three of his last five batters faced, notching two holds in back-to-back games after taking four days off. It came with more sweepers (50%+ after no more than 45% in his first five games). He also iced his April 11 strikeout with the lone curveball thrown that day, leaning on an improved 3,057 rpm.

It’s unlikely that Jax, Baker, or Uceta will become “the guy,” but few had any expectations of such in Tampa. Getting Jax back in the committee rotation wouldn’t be surprising, and his ceiling is still the best of the bunch.

Games facing 3 batters and striking all 3 out
(2024-now):

15 Mason Miller
14
13
12
11
10 Griffin Jax
9 Jeff Hoffman
8 Devin Williams
7
6 Jeremiah Estrada, Camilo Doval pic.twitter.com/RFQCsdHt83

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 11, 2026

You like how I can find ways to nudge Miller propaganda in? Anyway, Edwin Uceta has a 4:0 K:BB over 3 IP on rehab, pitching three times over six days. He’s moving up to Triple-A and should soon clear the final checkpoints, but setbacks loom with pitcher shoulder injuries. Don’t put in pen that he’s your savior for the rest of the way.

Joel Kuhnel & Jack Perkins, Athletics

The A’s remain an exceptionally nasty committee, but we can’t deny that Kuhnel is a “riser” by virtue of two saves and a hold in his first four games of ‘26. Only one hit allowed with no walks over 3 ⅓ IP is dandy, but only one strikeout harkens to a career 18.4% K.

The career 5.66 ERA does have a 3.75 SIERA attached to it, at least. It seems that he’s now happy to lean on his sinker, which can be cruel to those without overpowering secondaries. We’ve seen weirder bullpen heroes emerge, but not by much.

It’s highly likely that we’ll look back on this blip and laugh. But what about Perkins? He got the win in his 2026 debut with three strikeouts over a seven-out effort. He then struck out a pair with all seven pitches for strikes in his first inning on Monday before everything fell apart in his second frame. Still, he has upside (7:1 K:BB in 4 IP) worth keeping tabs on here.

Quick Hits:

-Craig Kimbrel struck out two in a scoreless 2026 debut, but his FB sat 92-93 and the curve induced a 376-foot lineout (100 mph EV). He’s a familiar name, but chill.
-I’m not sure Brandon Pfaadt has the top-heavy arsenal to become the next SP-turned-RP star, but we’ll see.
-The Cubs are down Hunter Harvey (triceps) and Phil Maton (knee), which opens the door for Jacob Webb, Caleb Thielbar, and the volatile Ben Brown.
-Ryan Thompson has three holds over four perfect appearances since April 7.
-Kirby Yates (knee) is slated to begin his rehab assignment shortly.
-Hunter Gaddis allowed a run on two hits and a walk in the eighth of a 9-3 win for his first game of ‘26. The forearm injuries terrify me and there’s some rust, but he’s already working late.

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