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While holds are even tougher to predict than saves, the players we’ll highlight today include some elite setup men. The more likely an MLB team is to win, the more likely these pitchers will be eligible to earn the holds that could be the difference between winning or losing in your fantasy league.
If you play in a holds league, check out these relief pitcher waiver wire options for Week 11 of the fantasy baseball season.
Editor’s Note: to read about even more waiver wire options for relief pitchers, be sure to check out our famous waiver wire pickups list which is a running list that is updated daily.
Week 11 Holds League Waiver Wire Adds
Arquimedes Caminero, Pittsburgh Pirates
8 holds, 3.42 ERA, 26.1 innings, 31 strikeouts, 1.03 WHIP
The 27-year-old fireballer Arquimedes Caminero is not only eye-catching for his unique name. The power pitcher is primarily a two-pitch guy and they go fast. Caminero relies on a 98 mph fastball. His other pitch is a 91 mph cutter that he uses 20% of the time. Unsurprisingly, opponents have a .174 batting average against Caminero. The Pirates are in a highly competitive division, so pitchers like Caminero could be crucial in important wins that decide the division winner.
Matt Thornton, Washington Nationals
9 holds, 2.35 ERA, 15.1 innings, 9 strikeouts, 1.04 WHIP
Despite the Nationals struggles of late, left-handed reliever Matt Thornton is finding success this year. Pitching like a left-handed specialist, Thornton has a .161 opponent batting average from the left-handed batters. Impressively, right-handed batters are hitting .214 against Thornton. Even at age 38, Matt Thornton is primarily a fastball pitcher. He throws his 94 mph fastball about 76% of the time. He keeps the ball on the ground with 42% of batted balls on the ground. The Nationals will likely find success this year, and the veteran Thornton will make a strong impact on games.
Blaine Boyer, Minnesota Twins
11 holds, 2.40 ERA, 30.0 innings, 13 strikeouts, 1.10 WHIP
For Twins reliever Blaine Boyer, sometimes lucky can be better than good. The 33-year-old right-handed reliever is finding success with the Twins in the competitive AL Central division. Opponents are hitting .245 against Boyer, but the results on batted balls defies this statistic. On batted balls, Boyer generates 48.0% ground ball and 29.6% fly ball so the quick explanation is the balls put in play are simply going where the infielders are not. Boyer throws a fastball, slider, and curve. With less than a strikeout per inning and an ERA in the lower 2.00, Boyer has managed to find success.
Justin Wilson, New York Yankees
8 holds, 3.86 ERA, 21.0 innings, 15 strikeouts, 1.19 WHIP
The hard-throwing Justin Wilson is a part of one of the stronger bullpens in the league. At 27 years old, Justin Wilson is making the idea of a majority left-handed bullpen seem an over-examined fact. Despite being a left-handed pitcher, the opponent batting average is low regardless of handedness. Right-handed batters are hitting .195 and similarly, left-handed batters are hitting .194. In the hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium, Wilson generates 51.8% ground balls. He relies on a 95 mph fastball about 75.8% of the time and also uses a cutter 16.4% of the time. While there is a case to make that an excess of left-handed pitchers in a bullpen makes the team vulnerable to right-handed bats, Wilson is silencing the doubt with very effective pitching.
Yimi Garcia, Los Angeles Dodgers
7 holds, 3.86 ERA, 25.2 innings, 37 strikeouts, 1.09 WHIP
The rookie Yimi Garcia has been a relative bright spot in the Dodgers bullpen. With a 93.3 mph fastball that he turns to 71.1% of the time, Garcia has had a great season to this point. The right-handed Garcia has kept opponents to a .202 batting average while generating more than a strikeout per inning. Garcia's batted ball profile is a slight concern. Through nearly 26.0 innings, Yimi Garcia is getting 56.1% fly balls on batted balls and just 26.3% ground balls. Regardless of the direction of the batted balls, Garcia find success and will continue to be used in important spots in many winning situations for the Dodgers.
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