2026 Fantasy Baseball Closers and Saves: Bullpen Draft Strategies and Later-Round Targets

March 1, 2026

Joey's fantasy baseball closers and saves strategies and sleepers for 2026 drafts. His fantasy baseball bullpen tips and later-round relief pitcher targets.

One of the hardest positions to navigate in fantasy baseball drafts is the closer position. Managers have to decide whether they are willing to go all in on the saves category or wait until the middle-to-late rounds to secure those saves. That makes choosing the right time to select a closer one of the toughest decisions managers have to make on draft day.

In this article, we will go through some bullpen draft strategies ahead of your fantasy baseball drafts. We will dive into whether taking some of the top closers (Mason Miller, Andres Munoz, Jhoan Duran, and Cade Smith) is worth it, and also analyze some sneaky closer targets that managers can target later in drafts using Yahoo ADP.

So, let's dive into the best way to navigate the closer position this year.

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Closers and Bullpen Draft Strategies

There are a lot of different ways that fantasy managers can attack the closer position. You can draft one of the top closers early and secure that position to help you get a leg up over other fantasy managers. You could also wait until the middle rounds to take a few closers, or completely punt the position until the later rounds.

The strategy that is the riskiest, though, is taking a closer early. If you look at the top seven closers selected in last year's fantasy baseball drafts, six of those seven closers wound up busting in fantasy.

Emmanuel Clase wasn't as elite on the mound before being suspended. Devin Williams lost his closer job at times amid some struggles. Miller didn't see many save opportunities on a bottom Athletics team, and then wasn't San Diego's closer once he was traded there. Josh Hader missed the final two months of the season due to a shoulder injury, and Ryan Helsley showed significant signs of regression.

Now, it's not like that every year. But passing on elite hitters for closers isn't something that should be recommended in most fantasy formats. Managers who took Clase last season missed out on Kyle Schwarber, Brent Rooker, and James Wood. Managers who took Williams or Hader missed out on Jacob deGrom and Josh Naylor.

So, be cautious when taking closers in the top 50. This year, there are five closers going inside the top-50 in drafts, and all of them have appeal. Edwin Diaz could save 40+ games with the Dodgers. Miller is set to close games on a competing San Diego team with Robert Suarez gone. Munoz was one of the best closers last year, posting a 1.73 ERA and 38 saves.

Duran could save upward of 40 games with the Phillies, and Smith will be the closer on a Guardians team that plays in a lot of close games.

Taking those closers means you are missing out on high-impact players such as Hunter Brown, Chris Sale, Yordan Alvarez, Matt Olson, Wyatt Langford, Hunter Greene, Mookie Betts, and deGrom.

The closer position is definitely important, especially in a 5x5 Roto league. You need saves to finish toward the top of that category. However, there are always closers who turn into draft-day steals. Last year, Carlos Estevez, Jeff Hoffman, Aroldis Chapman, Emilio Pagan, and Trevor Megill finished top-8 in saves, and none of those relievers had a top-160 ADP in fantasy baseball drafts.

If you can find the right closers in the middle-to-late portions of drafts, there's no need to take one of the top closers early. In most Roto leagues, managers only need about 60 to 70 saves to finish in the top half of the league in that category.

In a RotoBaller MLB Writer's League last season, I punted the closer position entirely. I drafted both Kyle Finnegan and Estevez later in drafts. Both carried me in the first half before I picked up Will Vest on waivers. Those three relievers then helped me finish in the top half in the saves category in a 12-team league.

Bottom line, there are different ways to attack the closer position in drafts. Waiting until the middle-to-late rounds could be an ideal strategy, but you have to do it right and target the right closers.

Later-Round Targets

Ryan Helsley, BAL

ADP - 137.6

There's no doubt that Helsley regressed a bit during the 2025 season. He was shaky as the Cardinals' closer to begin the season, blowing five saves out of 26 opportunities to go with a 3.00 ERA. Then, he was traded to the Mets at the trade deadline, where he had a whopping 7.20 ERA and 22 strikeouts across 20 innings pitched.

Those struggles are why Helsley finds himself with an average ADP of 139.2 in fantasy baseball drafts. However, a bounce-back season should be in store for the hard-throwing right-hander.

He signed a two-year, $28 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles this offseason and is set to be the team's closer. With Felix Bautista recovering from a torn right rotator cuff and labrum, he is expected to miss most of the 2026 season, which gives Helsley the chance to close the majority of games for an Orioles team that will be better this year.

Ryan Helsley with his first save as an Oriole. Here’s how his inning went during his live bullpen:

Gunnar groundout
O’Neill K
Cowser flyout
Alonso popup
Beavers K pic.twitter.com/3tjCcM1cbt

— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) February 12, 2026

While Helsley's numbers did fall off a bit last season, he still had a solid whiff rate (29.5%), chase rate (30.8%), and strikeout rate (25%). Those are three things fantasy managers should be looking for when picking a closer. With Baltimore projected to win 84 games in 2026 (per FanGraphs), the newly acquired Orioles closer is a nice double-digit round target.

Emilio Pagan, CIN

ADP - 162.9

Pagan is one of the best closers to target in the middle-to-late rounds of drafts. It's honestly a little shocking to see him go as late as he is in most leagues. Despite a breakthrough campaign in 2025, the Reds' closer has a current 134 ADP in NFBC leagues and is even going a few rounds later on other platforms.

Pagan emerged as one of the top closer pickups early in the 2025 season. He quickly established himself as Cincinnati's closer and was reliable in that role all year. He finished with a 2.88 ERA, 32 saves, and 81 strikeouts across 68 2/3 innings pitched. More importantly, he ranked in the 89th percentile or better in expected batting average against (.181), strikeout rate (30%), and chase rate (32.6%).

Emilio Pagán's 2Ks in the 9th. ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/joL3wXtDBb

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 5, 2025

Considering Pagan is set to remain in that closer role in 2026, he is a fantastic selection in the double-digit rounds. He didn't allow much hard contact (37.0% hard-hit rate) in that ninth-inning role, struck out batters at an elite clip, and the Reds are expected to be a solid team again this season.

That all makes Pagan a viable target in fantasy baseball drafts. His 32 saves last season were tied for the fifth-most in all of baseball. So, don't sleep on him in drafts.

Daniel Palencia, CHC

ADP - 163.6

Daniel Palencia checks all the boxes that you want in a closer in fantasy. He has already been named the closer just days into the start of spring training, has experience in that closer role, strikes out batters at an elite clip, and will be closing games for a Cubs team that is expected to be one of the top teams in the National League. Targeting closers who are set to close games for elite teams is usually a recipe for success.

As a result, Palencia is a strong closer target at his 170 ADP on most platforms.

Palencia was solid in the closer role for the Cubs a season ago. The right-hander saved 22 games to go with a 2.91 ERA and 61 strikeouts across 52 2/3 innings pitched. He even converted 15 straight save opportunities at one point from May 21 to August 1. During that stretch, he had a 0.75 ERA and a 28.9% strikeout rate.

Daniel Palencia secures the [W] with a 1-2-3 save 😤 pic.twitter.com/LrJj7gRdWH

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) August 23, 2025

Although Palencia struggled a bit down the stretch, some of that could have been correlated to a shoulder injury that landed him on the 15-day IL in September. He eventually went back to his dominant self in the postseason, where he allowed zero runs in five of his six appearances. That should give fantasy managers enough confidence in the Cubs' closer entering the season.

He ranked in the 80th percentile or better in expected ERA (3.26), average fastball velocity (99.6 mph), strikeout rate (28.4%), and barrel rate (4.4%). That makes him a sneaky closer target at his current price tag.

Dennis Santana, PIT

ADP - 181.4

If you are looking for a potential closer going a bit later in drafts, look no further than Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Dennis Santana. Santana ended the season as their closer, and he looked good in that ninth-inning role throughout the year. He converted 16 of 19 save opportunities to go with a 2.17 ERA and 60 strikeouts across 70 1/3 innings pitched.

With the Pirates only adding Gregory Soto to the bullpen this offseason, there's a strong chance that Santana is Pittsburgh's primary closer in 2026. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes that will be the case this season. That means Santana could be a prime later-round target going past pick 200.

Many believe the Pirates will be a better team than they were a year ago, which could lead to more save opportunities for Santana. Even if Pittsburgh isn't a whole lot better, fantasy managers have seen David Bednar save plenty of games on bad Pittsburgh teams before. So, as long as Santana is the closer, he has a strong shot to save 20+ games.

His chase rate (34.6%) ranked in the 96th percentile last year, and his 0.87 WHIP is an encouraging sign entering 2026. That's enough reason to make him a potential target later in fantasy baseball drafts if you opt to fade the higher-end options.

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