Nick Mariano's Closer Rankings and Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups (Week 14)

June 26, 2026

Nick Mariano's top 50 closer fantasy baseball rankings, breakouts and closer waiver wire pickups for saves and holds - updated rankings for Week 14 of 2026.

What better way to look toward the second half of the year than with another installment of my rest-of-season closer ranks and waiver wire recommendations? This piece supplies my updated fantasy baseball closers rankings for Week 14 of 2026 to give you tiered closers ranks and several key relievers to add across all league types. If they aren't available on your waiver wire, then go throw out some trade offers!

This column gives me a chance to present my overall bullpen and closer ruminations, and you'll find some key injured guys slotted in as well. As the season progresses, it becomes more difficult to sit there and wait for players with low ceilings to turn it around. Are you more or less reactive with relievers compared to your other roster slots?

Be sure you allow us to do the hard work for you by signing up for our industry-leading news notifications, which will help you stay ahead of the curve. Okay, let's dig into my top 50 fantasy baseball closer leaderboard and waiver suggestions. Note that most stats are gathered through June 25 as you digest the tiered ranks that come alongside the Yahoo rostered rates before moving on to the waiver adds.

Top 50 Closers: Fantasy Baseball Rankings (Week 14)

Mariano's Closers Fantasy Baseball Analysis, Waiver Wire Pickups

Don't forget to check our daily updates on the closer depth charts if you have more questions and want even more names!!

Emilio Pagan, Cincinnati Reds (63%)

Pagan’s rehab assignment kicked off on Thursday after handling another live batting practice session on Monday, so we’d expect him back within the week. Beat reporters have already said to expect an accelerated return, which knocks Tony Santillan back onto the handcuff list.

It’s a shame for him, as he’d finally turned the season around. Imagine if he’d pitched like this for the full two months that Pagan was out!

Jacob Latz, Texas Rangers (57%)

I love Latz, you love Latz, but 43% of leagues still don’t love Latz. If my continued inclusion of him gets even one more person to pay attention, then I have done my job spreading the good word. (Naturally, he gives up his first runs in a month after I typed this out.)

Still, the southpaw’s 1.89 ERA/0.66 WHIP are pristine. Gaining whiffs/grounders and trimming walks/homers is a surefire way to my heart. I recognize the .151 BABIP (before Thursday’s game) will surely bend down the line, but the ingredients for a top closer remain.

Tanner Scott, Los Angeles Dodgers (50%)

With Edwin Diaz just starting up his bullpen sessions last week, Scott should still see the bulk of LAD’s save chances through the All-Star break. Given the nature of Diaz’s injury and the struggles leading up to the elbow surgery, Scott may have lasting appeal throughout the year.

It’s easy to chalk up all of Diaz’s struggles to the elbow, and perhaps it was genuinely bothering him across April, but don’t forget that “day-to-day” tag from Dave Roberts after Diaz mentioned his right knee felt off. The fastball velocity was down and the arm angles had fallen (leading to horrid fastball results). We already had reason to worry.

After Diaz got shelled at Coors, he then reported the elbow discomfort. Roberts relayed how those bone chips in the elbow are “asymptomatic until they’re not.” Okay, so is Diaz going to come back like the guy with underwhelming heat and poor command? Just don’t get too cavalier about writing Scott off here.

Edwin Díaz is throwing a bullpen session right now at Dodger Stadium.

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) June 19, 2026

Yoendrys Gomez, Minnesota Twins (24%)

Gomez has seen eighth-inning usage lately, which is a dagger to the hearts of those who simply want the saves to roll in. But Minnesota just got swept by the Dodgers and enjoyed a trio of blowouts in the two preceding series, so that’s how it goes at times.

He’s the best bet for saves on any given day for this team, but Anthony Banda and Andrew Morris are pitching well. This gives the team confidence to wiggle roles around, so Gomez still winds up being a coin flip to take that night’s save opportunity.

Caleb Kilian, San Francisco Giants (9%)

Well, Kilian’s post-Coors streak of nine scoreless appearances was snapped in a major way on Thursday. The closer had a man on first and two out with a three-run lead, only to let the next four batters reach for a four-run loss.

Now, if he averages one bad day per month as the exclusive closer, we will be fine. It was rather anomalous that SF only provided him two saves in the last 30 days, but that could easily be in the 7-8 range over the next 30.

Elvis Alvarado & Mason Barnett, Athletics (11% & 1%)

Alvarado’s been hit hard in recent games, though it’s still infrequent contact. Usually, someone who has only allowed seven total hits in 10 ⅔ IP with a 16:0 K:BB would be on Mason Miller’s level. Unfortunately, four of those seven hits have cleared the fence.

Helping his case for holding a late role, beyond the strong sabermetrics, is how Scott Barlow was released, and Mark Leiter Jr. is now on the IL. (Hogan Harris quietly wins, too.) What do you want to lean on with a small sample? Alvarado’s elite K:BB leads to a 1.10 SIERA and 1.93 xFIP, but the 4.22 ERA is much closer to the 4.98 FIP. I side with the former, but results matter.

*Mason Barnett got Thursday’s save after Kilian blew the game. Like Alvarado, he has also only allowed seven total hits (14 ⅔ IP) with a 19:7 K:BB. This could be a “fun” three-headed dragon to deal with.

Alex Lange, Kansas City Royals (24%)

Lange rebounded from a couple of ugly appearances in mid-June by logging a pair of saves last week, including his first save of 2026 without a single hit, walk, or hit batter on the ledger. He’s got a good thing going and the trust of his manager, Matt Quatraro.

He’s also put some distance between himself and the pack. John Schreiber has pitched well over the last month, so we’ll tack him onto the end. But Lucas Erceg, Matt Strahm, and even Daniel Lynch IV, have all fallen off, posting SIERAs north of 5.00 across the last 30 days to justify the rising ratios.

Carlos Estevez is back to throwing bullpen sessions, but if you thought Diaz had a lot to prove, then Estevez is a few levels beyond that.

Anthony Bender & Michael Petersen, Miami Marlins (3% & 2%)

Pete Fairbanks’ ERA has risen to 6.75 ERA as the homer problem continues to hammer his mistakes (2.25 HR/9). The 3.52 SIERA offers hope, but the 30.2% K% can only cover so many sins, and the contact is getting lifted. He’d never allowed a fly-ball rate above 39%, and 2026’s mark sits at 63.8%. He’s also on a one-year contract, so a deadline flip seems likely.

Bender and Petersen have each allowed one earned run over the last month, combining for 26 strong innings with K-BB% rates above 25%, respectively ranking 19th and 26th among 138 RPs with 10+ relief innings over the last month.

Garrett Whitlock & Tyron Guerrero, Boston Red Sox (15% & 0%)

The Aroldis Chapman experience has led to four runs on eight hits and a walk over his last two innings alone, making only seven appearances in the last 36 days while managing a hammy issue. Add in the fact that he’s a likely trade candidate, and suddenly we’re looking at a few paths to relevance for the rest of the bullpen.

Whitlock is the clear handcuff, and he pitched a 1-2-3 eighth on Thursday ahead of Chapman’s adventurous ninth. Guerrero is 35 years old, having played for San Diego and Miami in the late 2010s, where he could not control the lightning.

But he’s back now, and throwing a power sinker that averages nearly 100 mph with a seldom-used slider and a sprinkled-in changeup. The confidence to attack the zone is palpable, as he owns a robust 19:1 K:BB in 13 IP.

Jacob Webb & Caleb Thielbar, Chicago Cubs (3% & 2%)

The Cubs’ team run with barely any saves continued this week, so I’m not surprised that we didn’t see movement here. However, Webb still got the “closer” treatment by being held for the ninth in a tie game on Thursday. Thielbar pitched a clean eighth ahead of him.

Short Relief: More Closers and Bullpen Notes

-St. Louis is still standing behind O’Brien as the closer, but it has not been pretty. More walks than strikeouts in the last month for anyone, let alone a closer, is horrifying. Keep JoJo Romero, Ryne Stanek, and George Soriano on the watch list.

-Washington’s daily blown saves are getting tiresome. Beeter is still the committee chair, with Gus Varland and Richard Lovelady still involved. You know it’s bad when the bullpen takes a flier on 2026 Justin Lawrence after the Twins (!) gave up on him. I still like Orlando Ribalta somewhere, but he’s not good enough to overwhelm into fantasy relevance.

-The White Sox are pushing through a horrid stretch out of Seranthony Dominguez, and the upside for us as fantasy managers is not worth much if he’s not getting all (or most) of the save chances. Grant Taylor remains the stash, yet he’s eaten bad luck (4.26 ERA, 2.40 SIERA in the last 30 days).

Bryan Hudson has also stepped back. Sean Newcomb would be entertaining, but they use him in multi-inning spots, sometimes as the opener. He got an eight-out save the other day, though!

-Jimmy Herget, the frisbee master, was just slinging it in there for his second save of the year. His 14.5% swinging-strike rate is his highest mark yet, and he did post a 2.48 ERA/1.18 WHIP over 83 ⅓ IP for Colorado last year. With Jaden Hill on the IL, Herget has an inside track to saves alongside Antonio Senzatela.

Jimmy "The Human Glitch" Herget, Frisbee Sweeper. 🥏

With a perfectly timed scream in the background. 🔊 pic.twitter.com/TbOX7O8bEK

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 21, 2026

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