RADIO
Mike looks at eight potential fantasy baseball breakouts, sleepers for closers and saves for Week 21 of 2026. His top relief pitcher waiver wire and trade targets for saves.
We're in the sprint to the finish line now, and finding saves, ratio controls, and strikeouts are vitally important to your team. Bullpens are always a bit topsy-turvy at this time of year, but let's find some guys who can help your roster right now.
Several situations could be changing soon; Justin Martinez is back in Arizona, Daniel Palencia should be back soon in Chicago, and injuries in Boston have opened up both setup jobs. Bullpens are a level of craziness unto themselves, in this and every season.
The most important thing to remember is to keep your finger on the pulse. Stay active in managing your roster and staying informed about what is happening in your leagues. Let the football preparation wait; we have championships hanging in the balance.
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Erik Miller, Boston Red Sox
Miller stepped into an elevated setup role last week with the injury to Garrett Whitlock. Miller has been really good all year, with two wins, four saves, 11 holds, a 2.37 WERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and 54 strikeouts in 38 innings.
Acquired to help in middle relief, Miller will now see most of his time in the seventh and eighth innings, and he could get occasional save chances on nights when closer Aroldis Chapman is off. Miller actually has the highest strikeout percentage in the Boston bullpen at 32.9%.
Tyron Guerrero, Boston Red Sox
Guerrero has been a shot in the arm for the Red Sox this year, coming out of nowhere to win a job. Now, he looks like he will replace Justin Slaten as the other setup option in Boston. Guerrero had not pitched in the big leagues since 2019 before grabbing a role in Boston this season.
Look at his Statcast below. Throwing a hard, biting sinker has been the key, and it is a pitch he throws a whopping 89% to lefties and 79% to righties. He is 6'8" with seven feet of extension. He limits hard contact and has a 26.6% K%. Need ratio help or holds? Consider Guerrero.
Hagen Smith, Chicago White Sox
It was known that Chicago was looking for pitching help at the trade deadline, and they acquired starting pitcher Luis Castillo and relief pitcher Huascar Brazoban. But the organization put Smith into the bullpen at Triple-A to prepare him to help the major league roster in August.
Used in middle relief as a bridge guy to the back end of the bullpen, Smith has battled wildness while also showing his nasty side. He surrendered a home run to Pete Crow-Armstrong last night to lose in extra innings, but he was put in a bad spot by his manager. Smith could have a role down the stretch.
Justin Martinez, Arizona Diamondbacks
Martinez was just activated off the IL, but enters a playoff race in that return. He has yet to pitch, but he should be back in the end-of-game sequencing for the Diamondbacks quickly. The team has made do with a makeshift closer all season, first Paul Sewald, and then Brandyn Garcia.
This could be a mix-and-match situation as they work Martinez back in, and Juan Morillo and Kevin Ginkel have also pitched well in their roles.
Daniel Palencia, Chicago Cubs
Palencia is currently on a rehab assignment but should be back at some point this week for the Chicago Cubs. The biggest question on my mind here is what role Palencia will fill once he returns to the bullpen, where Jacob Webb has manned the closer position in his absence with nine saves.
I guess that Palencia could return to a midgame stopper role, similar to the one he served during the playoffs last year when he was not closing.
Luis Mey, Cincinnati Reds
I have always liked Mey and wished that he would get more of a shot in Cincinnati; he rides the Triple-A shuttle often. Still only 25, Mey features a big fastball with a 98.5 MPH average velocity, and pairs that with a 55.6% groundball percentage.
While I am aware that Emilio Pagan is their closer at this time, with continued good performance, Mey could find himself as a setup option sooner rather than later; the Reds currently use Bricke Burke and Tejay Antone in those roles, but Mey has better pure stuff than either. He should get some runway here.
Aaron Ashby, Milwaukee Brewers
Ashby is among the league leaders in wins with 13 out of the bullpen, but I am not worrying myself with that stat here. No, I picked Ashby because he is now the top setup guy in Milwaukee due to the flexor tendon injury to Abner Uribe.
Ashby is 13-2, with a save, a 3.39 ERA, a slightly elevated 1.39 WHIP, and a whopping 97 strikeouts in 69 innings this season.
Kodai Senga, New York Mets
Wouldn't it be something if the New York Mets stumbled onto a way to make Senga useful? Last week I wrote in this article about how Senga could get a chance at closing games with Devin Williams on the shelf, and lo and behold, Senga got three saves last week after I wrote those words.
Senga is now the closer, and the FAAB bids last night showed how much fantasy players believe in his skill set in this role. He has simplified his pitch mix since the move to the bullpen, focusing mostly on his four-seamer and his forkball, mixing in an occasional sweeper.
It looks like Senga may have found a new home, and of course, that depends on what happens with the Williams injury and when he returns. If he does come back this season, Senga could serve as a setup man or a multiple-inning weapon out of the bullpen.
Quick Hits
Baltimore Orioles
With Ryan Helsley still on the shelf and Tyler Wells now in Tampa Bay, this committee has become even more frustrating for managers. Yennier Cano and Andrew Kittredge appear to share the role, with Rico Garcia occasionally seeing high-leverage work.
Kittredge appears to be the slight favorite, but neither is a solid waiver wire target for standard leagues. Cam Sanders had two opportunistic saves last week, one of which was one pitch, but he is a middle relief option and not a closer.
Would-be closer Ryan Helsley has just resumed a throwing program and could potentially return late in the season, but he is still at least a week away from mound work, so expect the committee to last in Baltimore.
Chicago White Sox
How does a first-place team have at least three guys and maybe four sharing the role and keep winning? The White Sox use Grant Taylor, Sean Newcomb, Jordan Hicks, and Bryan Hudson to close out games; Taylor leads the team with six saves, Hudson has five, and Newcomb has four.
This bullpen is figuring out the middle relief corps as mentioned above, with Brazoban and Smith joining holdover Trevor Richards to form a steadier crew.
Kansas City Royals
With his save on Monday night, Steven Cruz has gotten and converted his last two chances, set up in both by Nate Pearson. Maybe we are starting to find some clarity here in Kansas City with a few weeks left in the season.
Seattle Mariners
Andres Munoz looks like he is righting the ship. One bad outing should not ruin his momentum, even though it was a brutal one, giving up four earned runs on Friday night. Continue to use him with confidence, as the Mariners do not have any other real options at this time.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Looks like it is a co-closer situation given the recent struggles of Edwin Diaz and his insane 11.85 ERA. Tanner Scott had the role most of the season until Diaz came back from his elbow surgery. Diaz has not been able to throw strikes; even in his last save, he walked two and hit one.
In a non-save, mop-up situation on Monday, Diaz gave up four hits and three earned runs to the Colorado Rockies. The Dodgers have a problem here.
With an eight-game lead in the AL West, the Dodgers can play around with their back-of-the-bullpen mix, but Scott should get the chances if manager Dave Roberts decides to give Diaz a breather in the role and go into lower leverage for a bit of a reset.
Keep grinding! We are getting into mid-August already. Never give up on your fantasy team!
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