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Andy's holds league fantasy baseball sleepers and draft targets for 2026. He looks at relief pitchers to target for holds in fantasy baseball hold leagues.
While most fantasy baseball leagues only score saves as a category, occasionally you may find yourself in a saves+holds league or a league that scores holds as a separate category. In these leagues, relief pitchers that typically serve as the setup man on their respective clubs see a massive surge in value as they are nearly just as valuable as the high-end closers.
In this piece, we will spotlight several relief pitchers to push up your boards in holds leagues (or saves+holds leagues) as they are projected to finish near the top of those statistics in 2026.
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Matt Brash, Seattle Mariners
The key to finding elite options for holds is targeting the setup reliever on bullpens with a clear closer. The Mariners fit that bill as Andres Munoz is one of the most elite closers in the game.
Matt Brash enjoyed a breakout season back in 2023 when he tallied 25 holds while holding a 3.06 ERA and 1.33 WHIP across 70 2/3 innings. He racked up 107 punchouts (34.7% K%) but allowed a modest 29 walks (9.4% BB%).
However, Brash would undergo an internal brace procedure in 2024, which kept him on the shelf for the entire season. Brash would return to the bump in May 2025 and would immediately reclaim his title as one of the game's top setup pitchers.
Across 47 1/3 innings, the 27-year-old posted a career-best 2.47 ERA with a strong 1.25 WHIP. He struck out 58 hitters (slightly lower, at 29.1% K%) and lowered his walk rate to a modest 9.0% rate. He tallied 21 holds and nearly matched his career-high in a much smaller sample size.
Brash is primarily a two-pitch pitcher, deploying his slider and sinker nearly 82.0% of the time. His slider (60.6% usage) posted a strong .249 xwOBA but posted a lower 36.0% whiff rate, compared to the incredible 48.7% whiff rate he held back in 2025. The sinker was not as effective, posting a .366 xwOBA.
Nonetheless, Brash was still able to find success and should be even more equipped heading into 2026, with another healthy offseason under his belt. ATC projects the Niagara product to tally 19 holds (tied for the eighth-most among RPs) with a stellar 10.65 K/9 and a 3.17 ERA.
Brash has 20+ hold upside and should provide you with elite strikeout totals along the way.
Jeremiah Estrada, San Diego Padres
Following a similar theme, with San Diego having one of the game's best ninth-inning pitchers in Mason Miller, Jeremiah Estrada enters 2026 as a top target for holds. Last summer, Estrada logged 30 holds, placing him fifth among all relievers.
The 27-year-old emerged as one of the game's most dominant relievers when he posted a 2.95 ERA with a 1.07 WHIP across 61 innings back in 2024. During this campaign, Estrada totaled an eye-catching 94 punchouts at a 37.3% K%, placing him within the top 1.0% of all major league pitchers.
In 2025, Estrada's face-value metrics declined, as he posted a slightly higher 3.45 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP over 73 innings. He remained a high-end strikeout pitcher, posting a dominant 35.5% K% (98th percentile) and totaling over 100 punchouts (108) for the first time in his career. Under the hood, Estrada generated a 2.76 xERA with a .182 xBA, suggesting he should see some significant positive regression in 2026.
He posted a career-low 15.7% Pull AIR%, a 2.2% drop from the previous season. Additionally, his primary whiff pitch, his split-finger, posted a stellar 47.5% whiff rate this past season, a sizable jump from the 32.8% it held back in 2024. This pitch also generated a .146 xwOBA, compared to the .272 xwOBA it held two summers ago.
Jeremiah Estrada, K'ing the Side in the 7th pic.twitter.com/4wWzpyno7A
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 3, 2025
ATC projects Estrada to finish the 2026 season with 23 holds, the most in the sport, tying him alongside the next name on our list. Estrada is projected to post an elite 11.9 K/9, making him not only a top target for holds but also a high-end strikeout contributor, as he should eclipse the 100-K mark once again. Estrada is worth reaching for in these specific formats.
Tyler Rogers, Toronto Blue Jays
Sitting alongside Estrada at the top of the holds leaderboard in the ATC projections is Tyler Rogers of the Blue Jays. While Rogers does not have the elite strikeout upside of Estrada and Brash, he has been a staple in holds leagues and consistently delivers high-end ratios.
The 35-year-old has been a high source of holds for nearly all of his career and remains a top target for that category heading into 2026.
Since 2021, Rogers has tallied at least 30 holds in all but one season. During this stretch, the right-hander has held a solid 2.71 ERA with a 1.09 WHIP. Last summer, Rogers posted a stellar 1.98 ERA with a 0.94 WHIP across 77 1/3 innings. With the Giants and Mets, Rogers only struck out 48 hitters, but allowed a mere seven free passes (2.3% BB% while generating a 2.1% barrel tate (100th percentile) with a 61.6% ground-ball rate (98th percentile).
While Rogers is not the high-upside target for punchouts like Estrada or Brash, he will likely produce the strongest ratios and take on a large workload. Even though the Blue Jays have some question marks in the ninth inning, given Jeff Hoffman's inconsistency in 2025, Rogers will likely remain in the eighth inning, given his low strikeout totals.
Once again, Rogers is projected to finish at the top of the hold leaderboard as ATC projects him to tally the most holds (23), tying him with Estrada. Estrada may possess more upside, but Rogers provides the safest flavor among receivers when looking for holds.
The Toronto Blue Jays signed submariner Tyler Rogers to a 3-year, $37 million contract. Maybe you can see why. pic.twitter.com/vMyor8jBVM
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) December 13, 2025
Bryan Abreu, Houston Astros
While Abreu has likely been moving up draft boards in standard leagues due to Josh Hader's (bicep) current injury, Abreu remains an elite target in holds leagues. Even if Abreu were to begin the season as the temporary closer, once Hader returns, Abreu will revert to the eighth-inning role and carry must-start value in holds leagues.
The right-hander has been among the top relievers when looking for holds since his 2023 breakout season. During that campaign, Abreu emerged as one of the most dominant levers in the sport, tossing 72 innings to the tune of a 1.75 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, with 24 holds. While Abreu began to flash upside in 2022, the 2023 season marked his first true season as a full-time high-leverage reliever.
The following summer, Abreu took a bit of a step back, posting a 3.10 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP but totaling an eye-catching 38 holds pitching behind Hader. This past season, Abreu enjoyed some positive regression, logging a much lower 2.28 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, with 25 holds and seven saves. He would have likely hit the 30-hold mark once again, but served as the closer for most of the second half with Hader on the shelf.
Under the hood, Abreu generated a 98th percentile K% (35.5 K%) with a 99th percentile whiff% (41.2%). This marked the fourth-straight in which Abreu posted a K% above 31.0%, and the third of the last four in which he saw it eclipse 34.0%.
While Abreu's early-season "hold" value may be limited due to Hader's absence, once he returns, he will carry immense strikeout upside while being in a great position to push for 25+ holds once again. Managers in saves+holds leagues should push Abreu up their draft board as he is a safe bet to see high-leverage opportunities on a daily basis, given Houston's current bullpen.
Garrett Cleavinger, Tampa Bay Rays
The southpaw tallied only 22 holds in 2025 but appears poised to emerge as Tampa Bay's primary left-handed high-leverage option. Last summer, Cleavinger turned in a career season, posting a 2.35 ERA with a stellar 0.95 WHIP. Across 61 1/3 innings of work, the lefty struck out 82 hitters at a 33.7% K%, placing himself in the 95th percentile among qualified pitchers. This K% was a massive jump from the 26.7% he posted the previous season.
Cleavinger made major progress, lowering his barrel rate from 9.6% to a career-low 5.9%, placing him in the 85th percentile. Cleavinger also generated an elite .281 xwOBA, also making the lowest mark of his career.
The driving force for his breakthrough season was the optimization of his pitch-mix. After being a primary four-seamer, cutter, and slider pitcher in 2024, Cleavinger leaned heavily on his slider and sinker in 2025, throwing these pitches for a combined 75.8% of the time. His slider posted an eye-catching 36.7% whiff rate with a .292 xwOBA.
Massive strikeout with the bases loaded for Garrett Cleavinger pic.twitter.com/PeHqfcUGqf
— Jake (@TBRaysCentral) July 9, 2025
His sinker was not as effective, but it made his four-seamer far more deceptive to hitters, posting an elite .154 xwOBA (12.2% usage), compared to the .291 xwOBA it posted back in 2024 as his primary pitch.
Cleavinger is slated to operate as the go-to high-leverage option behind their committee of closers, Griffin Jax, and Edwin Uceta. While Cleavinger may occasionally mix in for saves against a left-handed heavy lineup, ATC projects the southpaw to tally the fourth-most holds this coming season (21).
Alex Vesia, Los Angeles Dodgers
Rounding out our list will be a high-end relief option on the reigning two-time World Series Champions. With Edwin Diaz locked into the closer role, Alex Vesia is projected to be the season as Los Angeles' primary setup option.
Last season, Vesia logged a career-best 25 holds with a 3.02 ERA and a strong 0.99 WHIP. Across 59 2/3 innings, he struck out 33.8% of the batters he saw (97th percentile) and added five saves. However, with Diaz now on the roster, those save opportunities will likely convert into holds in the seventh and eighth frames, making him far more valuable in this scoring format.
Under the hood, Vesia generated an elite 87th-percentile xERA with a 97th-percentile xBA. While his walk rate has been above 9.0% in each of the last two seasons, his ability to generate weak contact should keep his WHIP low, as it has remained under 1.00 in back-to-back campaigns.
While his 25.4% Pull AIR% may inflate his ERA at times during the season, Vesia should be in a prime position to earn the most holds in the sport. ATC projects him to tally the third-most in the sport this season while providing high-end strikeout totals, as evidenced in the projected 11.2 K/9.
Other Holds League Targets
- Luke Weaver - NYM
- Phil Maton - CHC
- Hunter Gaddis - CLE
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