Nick Mariano's Updated Saves+Holds Rankings for Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitchers

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2. Saves+Holds Tiered Rankings Analysis Notes

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It's high time for a June update to hit the summer months strong with a powerful bullpen in our sails. I am back with an updated top-150 Saves+Holds (Solds) rankings with two months of baseball on the scoresheet. Time is precious but so are those of you who play in formats with SV+HLD/Solds or leagues where Saves and Holds are separate categories. Perhaps you're just a fantasy baseball bullpens fiend like me and can't help yourself from reading relief pitcher content!

While the closer's role is important, an increasing number of managers are moving their best arm into a flexible role while shuffling who gets the ninth. 2022 has been no exception as we see some more focus on Saves+Holds (or Solds, or SV+HLD) leagues, which allow for fantasy leagues to reward the best arms regardless of the inning, though it still favors closers in a vacuum. Be sure to also check out our constantly updated fantasy baseball closers and saves depth charts.

Reminder: A hold is recorded when a relief pitcher enters with a lead of three runs or less, or with the tying run on deck, at the plate, or on base, and maintains that lead while recording at least one out. While I look for pitchers used in high-leverage situations, this is also about how good the arm is and how efficient their K/9 works for many of you. I present you with my top-150 RP ranks, with tiers, their respective rank within the bullpen on their team, and some notes, followed by a trade-deadline preview. Currently, injured players are left off for this edition.

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Updated Saves+Holds Rankings - Mixed Leagues

Rankings updated on June 6th

Rank	Tier	Player	Team	Lg	Team Rank	Notes
1	1	Josh Hader	MIL	NL	1	Damn near perfect '22 until Phils got to him
2	1	Liam Hendriks	CWS	AL	1	Early injury/tipping issues look clear
3	1	Edwin Diaz	NYM	NL	1	Nearly an 18.0 K/9, whew!
4	1	Jordan Romano	TOR	AL	1	16 saves already
5	1	Raisel Iglesias	LAA	AL	1	Barely used as Halos continue skid
6	2	Taylor Rogers	SD	NL	1	Early stud still safe in role
7	2	Kenley Jansen	ATL	NL	1
8	2	Craig Kimbrel	LAD	NL	1	Flashes of old CK, but loses command too often
9	2	Devin Williams	MIL	NL	2	Airbender firing on all cylinders
10	2	Emmanuel Clase	CLE	AL	1	Doing what he can with few opps
11	2	David Bednar	PIT	NL	1	Glad PIT gave up on sharing 9th
12	2	Clay Holmes	NYY	AL	1	Breakout star should be NYY closer RoS
13	2	Ryan Pressly	HOU	AL	1	SwStr% still 14%, Ks should tick up
14	3	Ryan Helsley	STL	NL	1	Fireballer stepping up for STL
15	3	Jhoan Duran	MIN	AL	1	SVHLD rewards Duran, love it
16	3	Paul Sewald	SEA	AL	1	2 saves in past week
17	2	Giovanny Gallegos	STL	NL	2	Still STL's No. 2 RP, used as a fireman
18	3	Scott Barlow	KC	AL	1
19	3	Kendall Graveman	CWS	AL	2	BABIP 30 pts above career norm, should settle
20	3	Joe Barlow	TEX	AL	1	TEX finally committed to him in 9th
21	3	Corey Knebel	PHI	NL	1	No Girardi may mean the seat is heating
22	3	Andrew Kittredge	TB	AL	1	Should resume high-leverage role
23	3	Camilo Doval	SF	NL	1	Recent scuffles but still late-inning K guy
24	3	Gregory Soto	DET	AL	1	Lesser Ks but also BBs, trade-off working
25	4	Dany Jimenez	OAK	AL	1	Next cheap OAK option to ascend
26	4	Hector Neris	HOU	AL	3	Little more trust than Montero for me
27	4	Jorge Lopez	BAL	AL	1
28	4	Tanner Rainey	WAS	NL	1
29	4	Ryan Tepera	LAA	AL	2	Used often, racking up SVHLDs
30	4	David Robertson	CHC	NL	1
31	4	Daniel Hudson	LAD	NL	2	Looking crisp, may press Kimbrel for 9th
32	5	Seth Lugo	NYM	NL	2
33	5	Rafael Montero	HOU	AL	2
34	5	Michael King	NYY	AL	2	Dominant ceiling, better now after recent slide
35	5	Diego Castillo	SEA	AL	2
36	5	Daniel Bard	COL	NL	1
37	5	A.J. Minter	ATL	NL	3
38	5	Andrew Chafin	DET	AL	3
39	5	Adam Cimber	TOR	AL	3
40	5	Aaron Bummer	CWS	AL	4
41	6	Michael Fulmer	DET	AL	2
42	6	Brooks Raley	TB	AL	4
43	6	Andres Munoz	SEA	AL	3	High-ceiling fastball but inconsistent command
44	6	Alexis Diaz	CIN	NL	3	Could be CIN's best RP
45	6	Drew Smith	NYM	NL	3
46	6	Brad Boxberger	MIL	NL	3
47	6	Josh Staumont	KC	AL	2
48	6	William Smith	ATL	NL	2
49	6	Emilio Pagan	MIN	AL	2	Gets late opps but it's a tightrope act
50	6	Matt Wisler	TB	AL	6
51	6	Phil Maton	HOU	AL	4
52	6	Jake Diekman	BOS	AL	1	Late opps if you can eat high WHIP
53	6	Tyler Rogers	SF	NL	3
54	6	Aaron Loup	LAA	AL	3
55	6	Mychal Givens	CHC	NL	3
56	7	John Brebbia	SF	NL	6
57	7	Jake McGee	SF	NL	4
58	7	Alex Vesia	LAD	NL	4
59	7	Mark Melancon	ARI	NL	1	Near .400 BABIP, he's not THIS bad
60	7	Seranthony Dominguez	PHI	NL	2	My fav to challenge Knebel
61	7	Art Warren	CIN	NL	2
62	7	Luis Garcia	SD	NL	2
63	7	Genesis Cabrera	STL	NL	3
64	7	Yimi Garcia	TOR	AL	2
65	7	Brusdar Graterol	LAD	NL	3
66	8	Colin Poche	TB	AL	3	Has TB trust for late work
67	8	Cole Sulser	MIA	NL	2	Can't string together enough good
68	8	Ian Kennedy	ARI	NL	2
69	8	Zach Jackson	OAK	AL	3
70	8	Anthony Bass	MIA	NL	1
71	8	Alex Lange	DET	AL	4
72	8	Griffin Jax	MIN	AL	5
73	8	Felix Bautista	BAL	AL	2	Look out if Lopez is dealt
74	8	Ryne Stanek	HOU	AL	5
75	8	Tyler Kinley	COL	NL	2	Strong slider has earned COL setup role
76	8	Wil Crowe	PIT	NL	3
77	8	Collin McHugh	ATL	NL	4
78	8	Trevor Stephan	CLE	AL	5
79	8	John Schreiber	BOS	AL	2	BOS most consistent RP in '22
80	8	Tanner Houck	BOS	AL	3	Was warming for save last weekend
81	8	Jason Adam	TB	AL	5
82	8	Brock Burke	TEX	AL	3
83	8	Kyle Nelson	ARI	NL	5
84	8	Tyler Duffey	MIN	AL	3
85	8	Matt Foster	CWS	AL	3
86	8	Scott Effross	CHC	NL	4
87	8	Joe Mantiply	ARI	NL	3	ARI's best behind tradeable vets
88	8	Tanner Scott	MIA	NL	3
89	9	John King	TEX	AL	5
90	9	Brad Hand	PHI	NL	3
91	8	Will Vest	DET	AL	5	Electric but below the Chafin/Fulmer/Soto trio
92	9	Matt Strahm	BOS	AL	4
93	9	Eli Morgan	CLE	AL	4	Looks great in the 'pen, opps may grow
94	9	Dillon Tate	BAL	AL	3
95	9	Dennis Santana	TEX	AL	4
96	9	Cionel Perez	BAL	AL	4
97	9	Nick Sandlin	CLE	AL	6
98	9	Joe Smith	MIN	AL	4	Low Ks but steady Holds play
99	9	Steven Wilson	SD	NL	5
100	9	Joely Rodriguez	NYM	NL	5
101	9	Jose Ruiz	CWS	AL	5
102	9	Tony Santillan	CIN	NL	1
103	9	Evan Phillips	LAD	NL	5
104	9	Noe Ramirez	ARI	NL	4
105	9	A.J. Puk	OAK	AL	2	Nice to see health holding up
106	9	Robert Suarez	SD	NL	3	Has recovered well after early woes
107	9	Trevor Gott	MIL	NL	4
108	9	David Phelps	TOR	AL	4
109	9	Chris Stratton	PIT	NL	2
110	9	Adam Ottavino	NYM	NL	4	Frisbee slider Ks and BBs, as is tradition
111	9	Dominic Leone	SF	NL	2
112	9	Ryan Thompson	TB	AL	7
113	9	Domingo Acevedo	OAK	AL	5
114	9	Matt Bush	TEX	AL	2
115	9	Steven Okert	MIA	NL	5
116	9	Kyle Finnegan	WAS	NL	2
117	9	Miguel Castro	NYY	AL	3
118	9	Rowan Wick	CHC	NL	2
119	9	Penn Murfee	SEA	AL	4	Love him, Holds should come soon
120	9	Jalen Beeks	TB	AL	8
121	10	Alex Colome	COL	NL	3	Low Ks & Coors = not worth it
122	10	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	AL	7
123	10	Jackson Stephens	ATL	NL	5	Earning more leverage for ATL
124	10	Nabil Crismatt	SD	NL	4
125	10	Bryan Shaw	CLE	AL	2
126	10	Andre Pallante	STL	NL	5
127	10	Craig Stammen	SD	NL	7
128	10	Justin Bruihl	LAD	NL	6
129	10	Victor Arano	WAS	NL	3
130	10	Sam Hentges	CLE	AL	3
131	10	Luis Cessa	CIN	NL	4
132	10	Oliver Ortega	LAA	AL	4
133	10	Dylan Floro	MIA	NL	4
134	10	Jimmy Herget	LAA	AL	5
135	10	Collin Snider	KC	AL	3
136	10	Nick Wittgren	STL	NL	4
137	10	Blake Taylor	HOU	AL	6
138	10	Jeurys Familia	PHI	NL	4
139	10	Trevor Richards	TOR	AL	5
140	10	Lou Trivino	OAK	AL	4
141	10	Dillon Peters	PIT	NL	4
142	10	Phil Bickford	LAD	NL	7
143	10	Wandy Peralta	NYY	AL	5
144	10	Joe Jimenez	DET	AL	6
145	10	Ryan Brasier	BOS	AL	5
146	10	Louis Head	MIA	NL	7
147	10	Jarlin Garcia	SF	NL	5
148	10	Brandon Hughes	CHC	NL	5
149	10	Carl Edwards Jr.	WAS	NL	4
150	10	Arodys Vizcaino	KC	AL	4

Saves+Holds Tiered Rankings Analysis Notes

The table and notes largely speak for themselves, but I'll quickly speak on a few situations to monitor as the Aug. 2 trade deadline draws ever closer:

-Baltimore should explore trades for Jorge López given his strong start to '22 as their stopper. Félix Bautista stands the gain the most by way of consistent late work as a result, though both Cionel Pérez and Dillon Tate would also see a bump. I'm sure López would see plenty of hold opportunities wherever he went, though stepping onto a contender as a closer is unlikely.

-Seattle could look into replicating last year's Kendall Graveman deal with Paul Sewald if their fortune doesn't turn around in the next month. Again, Sewald is good enough to earn high-leverage innings wherever he lands. Perhaps this would also hinge on how well Ken Giles looks upon his arrival with Seattle after his rehab work is all done. I'd imagine that Diego Castillo, Andrés Muñoz, Penn Murfee, and company can hold down the fort on their own though, even if Giles isn't 100% and Drew Steckenrider can't recover his form in the minors.

-Chicago's North Siders will be fielding many a call regarding Willson Contreras as his contract nears an end on a high note, but David Robertson has performed well and should get flipped as well. Rowan Wick has pitched well enough to earn another crack at the closer's role, while Mychal Givens can be the veteran fallback. Scott Effross continues to display swing-and-miss stuff while Brandon Hughes has emerged as a sneaky weapon too.

-Cincinnati could deal anyone at this point, with the best potential awaiting in Alexis Díaz. I doubt Lucas Sims will have enough time to establish any trade value (if he returns before the deadline at all), but Tony Santillan or Art Warren could certainly go.

-Kansas City will likely consider trading one or both of Scott Barlow and Josh Staumont, which leaves us speculating on Arodys Vizcaíno and Dylan Coleman types for KC's back-end. Perhaps Amir Garrett will be back by then, but he's done little to warrant much confidence in 2022 after the 2021 debacle.

-Pittsburgh may get overwhelmed for David Bednar and fall back into a mash of Chris Stratton, Wil Crowe, and Dillon Peters as the left-hander if Bednar is dealt. I can see the Red Sox overpaying for a true anchor at RP if they keep rising, or maybe the Yankees re-unite Bednar with Clay Holmes as a vicious one-two threat with the injuries they've sustained.

-Oakland is another team we can always count on to flip good performers for future, cheap assets. That said, I'd be surprised if Dany Jiménez was moved given the cheap team control Oakland has to flex with him.

This is a net-zero game and while it's fun to think about the pitchers that climb their respective bullpen totem poles instead of others being dealt, you have to be prepared for the third or fourth options on contending teams to be pushed out a bit. On the whole, I'd expect the Yankees, Cardinals, Padres, Giants, Twins, and Red Sox to be the strongest bullpen buyers. Luckily, I don't think many of you are leaning heavily on the Miguel Castro/Tyler Rogers/Tyler Duffey contingent.

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