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Closer fantasy baseball sleepers, targets to draft in the mid rounds. Potential 2025 fantasy baseball sleepers and undervalued relief pitchers to target in drafts.
Welcome RotoBallers to our middle-round closers and relief pitcher value picks to target in 2025 fantasy baseball drafts. We are back with more mid-round value picks to help you crush your upcoming fantasy baseball drafts. Once you reach the middle rounds of drafts, everyone is looking to draft players to build around their core. It's around that time in the draft when you can take a chance on an ascending player with league-winning upside. In this article, if you miss out on the top closers, we have a few relief pitchers who can help secure saves that can be found in the middle rounds (between picks 75-150).
Today, we're looking at some middle-round relievers for you to consider drafting in your season-long leagues this season. Are their ADPs undervalued? Will they make significant fantasy contributions and become a priority mid-round draft target? Read on to see our take.
Our editors have hand-picked these specific MLB players for your draft prep enjoyment. Usually only available to Premium subscribers, the five outlooks below are meant to give you a taste of the in-depth analysis you receive with our industry-leading 2025 Draft Kit. Be sure to subscribe today to start reading all of our in-depth 2025 player outlooks and many other premium articles and tools, including Team Sync, the Live Draft Sync assistant, Custom Rankings Service, and so much more -- available exclusively in our 2025 Draft Kit.
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Trevor Megill, Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers shipped their top relief pitcher, Devin Williams, to the New York Yankees in exchange for infielder Caleb Durbin and Nestor Cortes, which leaves their ninth-inning role open. When Williams missed time in the first half of the 2024 campaign, right-hander Trevor Megill filled that void and performed quite well as he tallied 20 saves with a solid 2.48 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP across 29 innings of work. He ended the campaign with a 2.72 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP through 46 1/3 innings with 21 total saves, which were all career-highs. He posted a strong 27.3% K rate and a 29.7% whiff rate.
In addition, he generated a 2.83 xERA and a .209 xBA, which were both significantly above the average marks among qualified pitchers. However, he posted a hefty 42.4% hard-hit rate and a modest 7.7% walk rate. The 31-year-old relies on just two pitches: his fastball and knuckle curve. His knuckle curve generated an impressive 55.0% whiff rate and a .265 xSLG. However, Megill missed some time on the injured list with a back injury, which is not promising given that he logged a career-high in innings.
However, given Megill's success in the closer role during the first half of the 2024 season, fantasy managers should expect the right-hander to receive the first save opportunity of the season. Megill has a viable path to reach the 30-save mark if he can stay healthy. Megill is a solid pick at his current 186.88 ADP on the NFBC if you choose to fade top closing options, as he carries the upside of several other top closers, albeit with more risk, but at a more favorable price.
-- Andy Smith - RotoBaller
Jhoan Duran, Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Jhoan Duran should be the top high-leverage arm in their bullpen and earn 25+ saves. There are several really good arms in the Minnesota bullpen, including Griffin Jax, Cole Sands, and Brock Stewart, who all could get save chances that steal saves from Duran. Manager Rocco Baldelli has shown he will use anyone at any time.
If Jhoan Duran shows up to Spring Training with a slider, there's some serious discussion that has to happen about him potentially being the best closer in baseball pic.twitter.com/ZzGjRKjnsg
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) February 14, 2025
However Duran has an above-average 28.9%K% and pairs that with a whopping 61.7% groundball rate, good for the 99th percentile in major league baseball. The veteran throws a four-seamer, a split-finger, and a curveball as part of a three-pitch repertoire.
In 2024, Duran had six wins, a 3.64 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, 23 saves, and 66 strikeouts in 54 innings. His current ADP of 79 shows him as one of the top 10 closers on draft boards this winter. That should continue to be the case moving into the spring, despite concerns that he could lose opportunities to other pitchers in the Minnesota bullpen.
-- Mike Carter - RotoBaller
Ryan Walker, San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants pitcher Ryan Walker was a revelation in 2024 as one of the best relief pitchers in all of baseball. Walker posted 10 wins, 10 saves, 21 holds, a 1.91 ERA, a 0.85 WHIP, and 99 strikeouts in 80 innings. It was a remarkable season in that Walker did not start the season in the closer role; incumbent Camilo Doval held that role. Walker even started a game for the Giants.
There will be some regression in the wins and ratios this year, and Walker's role remains unclear despite the success in 2024. His current ADP of 113 shows that fantasy players believe him to be the closer and most likely candidate to earn saves, but Doval is still on the roster and had been an excellent source of saves the two years prior.
Walker boasted a 31.2%K% and a minuscule 5.8%BB% last season, and if he keeps in those ranges (both of which were career highs for him), he should retain the closer's role. Yet even if he is in a high-leverage role, Walker will have value on fantasy rosters. If he is the full-time closer, expect 25 saves.
-- Mike Carter - RotoBaller
Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Angels
Shortly before spring training, right-handed pitcher Kenley Jansen inked a one-year worth $10 million with the Los Angeles Angels. Jansen is expected to continue to operate as the bona fide ninth-inning option with his new club. Last season, Jansen spent his second season with the Boston Red Sox. Across 54 2/3 innings, the 37-year-old held a 3.29 ERA with a 1.06 WHIP. He tallied 27 saves with a strong 28.2 percent strikeout rate.
Kenley Jansen's cutter has been one of baseball's top pitches since he debuted in 2010. Since then (playoffs included):
972 strikeouts
.569 OPS against
.188 BA againstLast year, opposing hitters punched out 50 times with a .635 OPS and .215 BA. pic.twitter.com/opQkqur5gy
— Brent Maguire (@bmags94) February 11, 2025
This was his fourth-straight campaign tallying at least 25 saves. He also generated a 3.24 xERA and a .208 xBA, which placed him in the 82nd and 86th percentile, respectively. However, he did see his hard-hit rate climb to 37.0 percent and barrel rate climb to 11.1 percent, which was both the highest marks of his career.
However, he was able to raise his ground-ball rate by 10 points in 2024, which helped offset his hard contact. With the Halos, fantasy managers should expect Jansen to be deployed as the clear ninth-inning option, making him a safe bet for saves. However, given the hard contact he allows, he does carry some ERA concerns. Sitting with a recent ADP of 191 on the NFBC, fantasy managers should target him if they lack saves as a high-floor RP3. Jansen is an absolute value at his current ADP as he is RotoBaller's RP15 heading into upcoming fantasy drafts.
-- Andy Smith- RotoBaller
Andres Munoz, Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Andres Munoz should be viewed as an elite closer heading into 2025 despite his injury concerns. Last summer, Munoz tallied a career-high 22 saves with a strong 2.12 ERA and a stellar 0.96 WHIP over 59 1/3 innings of work. Munoz loved pitching at T-Mobile Park as he held a near-perfect 0.28 ERA and a 0.53 WHIP across 32 innings.
Under the hood, the hard-throwing right-hander generated elite metrics that placed him among the top pitchers last season. Munoz generated a 2.94 xERA, .178 xBA, 39.8% whiff rate and a 33.2% K rate which were all within the 90th percentile among qualified pitchers. He also generated ground balls at a strong 54.0% rate. However, he did allow barrels at a hefty 8.7% rate.
The one concern about Munoz is his injury history. Munoz battled a back injury and elbow soreness at different times of the 2024 campaign. In addition, he has only surpassed 60 innings pitched once during his five-year major league career. Despite these concerns, Munoz sits as the clear ninth-inning option on a Seattle team that will have ample save opportunities given their elite starting rotation.
Fantasy managers who opt to wait to take their first relief pitcher should feel confident drafting Munoz at his current 89.91 ADP on the NFBC as a solid RP1, given his elite ratios. He is an absolute value at his current ADP with a RotoBaller overall ranking of 65. However, given his injury history, he may have trouble reaching 30+ save territory.
-- Andy Smith - RotoBaller
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