9 Closer Fantasy Baseball Breakout Candidates: Relief Pitcher Targets For Saves (Week 8)

May 19, 2026

Andersen looks at nine potential fantasy baseball breakouts, sleepers for closers and saves for Week 8 of 2026. His top relief pitcher waiver wire and trade targets for saves.

We've arrived at the back half of May, and it can be easy for fantasy baseball managers to feel like the season has "settled." Prospects have been called up to solidify rosters, and players who opened the year on the injured list have started to come back fully healthy. Rest assured, though: there are still plenty of undervalued and sneaky arms for this week's relief risers and potential breakouts.

We've gathered here to identify surging arms and closer candidates, with many of them able to help you here and now, and others on the periphery. Few can be considered true "locks" for the ninth inning, but identifying those arms with the potential to step into consistent, high-leverage roles can give you a major advantage in fantasy baseball. So, with stats gathered through May 18, let's talk about some pitchers to add to the roster (by waiver or trade) or watch list.

This writer does his best to change the names used, but there are a few repeat customers who are being recommended once again. And if they feel obvious to you, then hopefully you're either rostering them yourself or going out and acquiring them. Let's break down some bullpen shenanigans going into Week 8 of the 2026 fantasy baseball season.

Jacob Latz & Jakob Junis, Texas Rangers

Latz is one of those names repeated on this list for yet another week. The Rangers haven't had a save situation since last Wednesday, and although Latz blew the save in that game, he's still the team's go-to option in high-leverage situations. The lefty leads the team with five saves, has 3.39 K/BB with a .125 BABIP, and is rostered in 24% of fantasy leagues.

Although we're confident Latz is the primary option for saves here, we can't rule out Junis getting more looks. After a week off, he threw a scoreless inning on Monday, lowering his ERA to 1.80 and his WHIP to 0.75. He's not a big strikeout guy, but he has limited walks and hasn't allowed a home run yet. Plus, he has three saves and is available in 89% of leagues.

Jacob Latz Fully in Command of Rangers Closing Job? https://t.co/o1Lhxf4L7W

— RotoBaller MLB (@RotoBallerMLB) May 15, 2026

Hogan Harris, Athletics

Harris is the most recent pitcher to earn a save for the A's. He was called upon to handle the ninth inning on Friday, just one day after Jack Perkins blew a save and was tagged with the loss. The Athletics now have three different pitchers with at least three saves this season, but Harris seems to have a leg up on the competition because he has a save and a hold in his last two outings.

So far this year, Harris, a lefty, has a 2.45 ERA and 4.56 FIP. His fastball velocity has jumped to a career-high mark of 95.3 mph, and he's striking out batters at a clip of 9.82 K/9. The biggest blemish on his stat line is his walk rate of 6.95 BB/9, which could be the main reason why he's still not the sole closer option on the A's roster. However, he's available in 95% of leagues and is worth rostering.

Matt Gage, San Francisco Giants

The Giants' bullpen is a fluid situation, and Gage is trending up after he earned his first career save on Saturday. Normally, we'd be a bit hesitant to add a reliever who quite literally had never earned a save before three days ago, but the closer role is so wide open in San Francisco that Gage is an intriguing speculative addition.

The results have certainly been there for the 33-year-old southpaw, who has a 1.40 ERA and .189 opponent BABIP. Our biggest concerns are that his 6.05 K/9 and 5.12 could threaten his ability to handle leverage situations over a greater sample size. Rostered in less than 1% of leagues, though, he's still a fine waiver wire target in deep leagues.

Congratulations to Matt Gage on his first MLB save! pic.twitter.com/6hpJAacmLJ

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) May 17, 2026

Antonio Senzatela & Juan Mejia, Colorado Rockies

The Rockies are in the basement of the NL West, but there are still two intriguing relievers to at least monitor in fantasy baseball. The first is Senzatela, who has now earned either a save or a win in each of his last two games. He has a mere 1.27 ERA, and he has benefitted from getting his average fastball velocity up to a career-high mark of 97.1 mph. The starter-turned-reliever is rostered in less than 10% of leagues.

Mejia handled the save situation on Monday, allowing one hit and one strikeout during a scoreless ninth inning against the Rangers. Much like Senzatela, he's up to three saves on the year. He has a 3.46 FIP with 10.57 K/9 and 4.30 BB/9, and his fastball is now sitting at 98 mph. He's available in nearly every league and should continue to share save duties with Senzatela.

Sam Bachman, Los Angeles Angels

I guess we're looking at the process of elimination here? The Angels walked off the A's on Monday, so nobody earned the save for this 17-31 Halos squad. However, Bachman did pitch two scoreless innings in relief, allowing one hit, zero walks, and two strikeouts. Meanwhile, his primary competition for leverage innings — Ryan Zeferjahn — allowed one run, two walks, and two hits over 0.1 innings.

Trevor Megill, Milwaukee Brewers

Megill was the Brewers' primary option for saves entering the season, but it quickly shifted to a shared duty between him and Abner Uribe. At this point, we're back to leaning on Megill as the preferred closer in Milwaukee, although it hasn't been pretty for either leverage arm.

Megill earned the Brewers' most recent save on Friday, bringing his season total to a team-leading five. He still has a shaky 5.63 ERA, but his 1.92 FIP suggests he's been very unlucky and is due to bring his ERA down soon. We're encouraged by the fact that he has amassed 11.25 K/9 and hasn't surrendered a home run yet. Megill is still available in 47% of leagues.

Trevor Megill Earns Save for Brewers, Seeing Fantasy Value Bounce Back https://t.co/3a7F7NZZi8

— RotoBaller MLB (@RotoBallerMLB) May 16, 2026

Luis Garcia, Minnesota Twins

Taylor Rogers earned the save on Monday, but he was likely deployed in the closer role simply because Garcia had thrown 22 pitches the day before. Garcia did allow a run in that outing on Sunday, but he also struck out a batter and earned the save as the Twins beat the Brewers by a run.

Although Garcia's 9.00 ERA and 3.60 K/9 are real concerns, we're encouraged by his two saves and the fact that the Twins continue to trust him in leverage scenarios. Rogers, Eric Orze, and Justin Topa are all still in the mix for saves, but we'd expect to see a rested Garcia in the ninth inning of Tuesday's game if it's a save situation.

Quick Hits:

- Sean Newcomb is the most recent White Sox reliever to save a game after Seranthony Dominguez blew the lead on Sunday. Still, Dominguez has 10 saves and 10.6 K/9 this year, so his closer job is probably safe for now.

- Brad Keller was charged with a blown save after allowing a run in the seventh inning of Monday's game against the Reds. Philadelphia was able to reclaim the lead, and primary closer Jhoan Duran slammed the door in the ninth.

- Gregory Soto blew a save last Friday, but he didn't really lose any ground because Dennis Santana was charged with a loss on the same day. Soto, whose four saves lead the Pirates, remains the closer to roster in Pittsburgh.

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