In this week’s Closer Report, Cade Smith is proving himself as one of the top closers in baseball in his first full season in the role. Grant Taylor may be giving the White Sox something to think about in the ninth inning. And consistency continues to elude David Bednar. All that and more as we break down the last week in saves.
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2026 Fantasy Baseball Closer Rankings
▶ Tier 1
Mason Miller – San Diego Padres
Cade Smith – Cleveland Guardians
Jhoan Duran – Philadelphia Phillies
Aroldis Chapman – Boston Red Sox
Andrés Muñoz – Seattle Mariners
Raisel Iglesias – Atlanta Braves
Miller has worked through some traffic in each of his last several outings. He stranded two runners while converting a four-out save against the Mariners on Friday, recording all four outs via strikeout. He then worked around a pair of walks on Monday against the Dodgers to convert his 15th save. Miller then gave up an unearned run to break a tie in the top of the ninth on Tuesday and took his first loss as a Padre. Still, he’s a perfect 15-for-15 in save chances with a 0.79 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and 45 strikeouts over 22 2/3 innings.
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There’s no closer pitching better than Smith right now. He made three more scoreless appearances this week, picking up his ninth save in May and 16th on the year to lead baseball. After struggling a bit over the first week, he’s got his ERA down to 2.66 with a 1.14 WHIP and 35 strikeouts over 23 2/3 innings.
Duran also worked two scoreless outings for a pair of saves. He’s up to eight with just two runs allowed and a 21/5 K/BB ratio over 12 2/3 innings. The 28-year-old right-hander has struck out 42% of the batters he’s faced, the highest mark in any 13-game stretch of his career.
Chapman made four scoreless appearances this week, picking up three saves against the Braves and Royals. The 38-year-old left-hander continues to get things done, with a 0.51 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and 23 strikeouts over 17 2/3 innings. Should the Red Sox fall out of contention over the next two months, Chapman should have plenty of suitors vying for his services at the trade deadline.
Muñoz pitched a clean inning against the White Sox on Monday, then was put in a tough spot on Tuesday. Luis Castillo was left out for the top of the ninth with a one-run lead to get his third inning of work, following Bryce Miller. Though he’s no closer. Castillo left two runners in scoring position with one out for Muñoz, who gave up a pair of infield hits to blow the lead. The 27-year-old right-hander has been incredibly unlucky so far, but the underlying numbers still say he’s one of the best. Meanwhile, Iglesias didn’t get a save chance this week, but did toss two scoreless innings. He still has a spotless ERA, with no runs allowed over 14 2/3 innings.
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▶ Tier 2
Riley O’Brien – St. Louis Cardinals
Bryan Baker – Tampa Bay Rays
Devin Williams – New York Mets
Daniel Palencia – Chicago Cubs
Tanner Scott – Los Angeles Dodgers
Louis Varland – Toronto Blue Jays
O’Brien picked up his 13th save against the Athletics last Thursday, then surrendered two runs against the Pirates to suffer his fourth blown save on Tuesday. His May hasn’t been quite as good as his first month, with two runs allowed in three of his eight appearances.
Baker scuffled a bit, giving up a run in back-to-back outings, then recovered with two scoreless appearances for a pair of saves. The Rays have fully trusted him with the closer role. He’s come through for the team with 13 saves, a 2.66 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts over 20 1/3 innings.
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Williams worked two scoreless appearances, extending his scoreless streak to nine outings as he continues to turn his season around after a rough start. He converted his sixth save on Saturday against the Yankees, then earned a win on Sunday.
In Chicago, Palencia struck out two for just his third save of the season last Thursday against the Braves. He followed with a scoreless outing against the White Sox on Sunday.
Scott struck out two in a clean inning against the Giants last Thursday, then recorded the final out in the seventh and pitched a scoreless eighth against the heart of the Padres order on Tuesday. Will Klein was used in the ninth for his first save. Scott is up to four saves with a 1.37 ERA, 0.61 WHIP, and 20 strikeouts over 19 2/3 innings.
Varland has been lights out in any situation for the Blue Jays this season. He pitched two scoreless innings against the Tigers on Saturday to fall in line for a win, then struck out two to record his sixth save on Wednesday against the Yankees. The 28-year-old right-hander has posted a 0.70 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 37 strikeouts over 25 2/3 innings.
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▶ Tier 3
Paul Sewald – Arizona Diamondbacks
Kenley Jansen – Detroit Tigers
Pete Fairbanks – Miami Marlins
David Bednar – New York Yankees
Seranthony Domínguez – Chicago White Sox
Trevor Megill/Abner Uribe – Milwaukee Brewers
Jacob Latz – Texas Rangers
Sewald worked a scoreless inning in Colorado on Sunday to pick up a save against the Rockies, then worked a clean frame for his 11th save on Tuesday against the Giants. He’s had three blowup outings that have led to a 4.15 ERA, but has otherwise been effective in the closer role for the Diamondbacks.
Jansen has made five straight perfect appearances, picking up a win this week against the Blue Jays. The 38-year-old veteran right-hander has converted seven saves with a 3.38 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 19 strikeouts over 13 1/3 innings. Despite concerns that the Tigers would be utilizing a committee, Jansen has converted seven of the team’s nine saves.
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Fairbanks made his first appearance off the injured list on Saturday, giving up one unearned run to blow the save before falling in line for a win against the Rays.
Bednar has had a rough go on the mound of late, giving up runs in six of his last nine outings. He surrendered a run in a non-save situation against the Mets on Friday, then gave up three runs and blew a save on Sunday before holding on for a save against the Blue Jays on Monday despite giving up a run. With Bednar unavailable on Tuesday, Camilo Doval stepped in and picked up a save. He also allowed a run before closing it out.
Fantasy managers rostering Domínguez are on red alert this week after he blew a save, giving up three runs against the Cubs on Sunday. Two days later, it was Grant Taylor out for the ninth inning with a one-run lead against the Mariners. He struck out the side to lock down his first save. Taylor has the makings of a dominant closer, posting a 1.78 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 38 strikeouts over 25 1/3 innings. Tuesday might’ve been a way to give Domínguez an extra day off after expending 32 pitches on Sunday. Or it was a showcase for Taylor to show what he could do in the closer role if Domínguez continues to struggle.
Megill got the first save this week for the Brewers, pitching a clean inning against the Twins on Friday after Uribe completed a scoreless eighth. Uribe then got the next save with a scoreless frame against the Cubs on Tuesday. It seems the two could work in tandem to close out games.
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Latz had given up three runs without recording an out last Wednesday in a rare bad outing. After not pitching all week, he got the final two innings in Colorado on Wednesday, holding the Rockies scoreless with four strikeouts to fall in line for a win.
Tier 4
Gregory Soto – Pittsburgh Pirates
Rico Garcia – Baltimore Orioles
Lucas Erceg – Kansas City Royals
Bryan Abreu/Bryan King – Houston Astros
Gus Varland – Washington Nationals
Kaleb Killian – San Francisco Giants
Tony Santillan/Graham Ashcraft – Cincinnati Reds
Soto gave up three runs, two earned, to blow the save chance against the Phillies on Friday. He bounced back with a clean inning against the Cardinals, striking out the side in a non-save situation on Tuesday. The Pirates just haven’t been in a position to offer many save chances, but Soto remains the best option, even if he isn’t used for every opportunity.
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The Orioles didn’t see a save chance this week, but Garcia did make three scoreless appearances. The 32-year-old right-hander has stepped up for the injured Ryan Helsley, converting three saves with a 0.87 ERA, 0.58 WHIP, and 25 strikeouts over 20 2/3 innings. Helsley has been out of action since April 29 with right elbow inflammation. He’s making his way through his throwing progression, with a goal to return at the end of May.
Erceg blew a save with an unearned run allowed against the Cardinals on Friday, then bounced back with a save in St. Louis on Sunday. He’s up to 11 saves with a 3.26 ERA over 19 1/3 innings, but it’ll be tough to remain effective with a 17/13 K/BB ratio.
King converted a five-out save for the Astros on Friday against the Rangers. Abreu got the next two chances, converting back-to-back saves. He’s come around a bit, with no runs allowed in his last six outings. King, Abreu, and Enyel De Los Santos have split save chances through the season, with Josh Hader working his way back from a biceps injury. Hader needs a few more rehab outings before he’s activated from the injured list, but his return is near.
Varland didn’t see a save chance this week. He recorded two outs against the Orioles on Friday, then pitched two scoreless innings against the Mets on Monday. Richard Lovelady stepped in for two saves. He’s not someone to be trusted for saves going forward, with a 6.5% K-BB rate.
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It seemed Kilian would have the opportunity to step into the primary closer role in San Francisco when the team optioned Ryan Walker to Triple-A Sacramento. Kilian hasn’t exactly taken advantage of it, giving up runs in four of his last six outings. Manager Tony Vitello continues to play the matchup game in the ninth, with Matt Gage getting two save chances this week. He converted one, then surrendered a walk-off, three-run homer against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. It’s tough to trust any Giants reliever at the moment.
The same can be said for the Reds, where it seems like as many as five relievers are in the daily saves mix. Tejay Antone converted a save against the Guardians on Friday. Then it was Santillan pitching a scoreless ninth for a save on Tuesday for his second of the season. No one has been particularly effective. If anything, Pagán (hamstring) will be the clear choice once he returns from the injured list.
▶ Tier 5
Jack Perkins/Hogan Harris – Athletics
Juan Mejia/Antonio Senzatela – Colorado Rockies
Eric Orze/Justin Topa/Luis Garcia – Minnesota Twins
Sam Bachman/Ryan Zeferjahn – Los Angeles Angels
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Senzatela has been the best pitcher among this bottom tier and the only one really worth rostering for fantasy purposes, even if he’s not seeing traditional save chances. His save on Saturday against the Diamondbacks marked the first time he was asked to get just three outs. He then pitched two scoreless innings against the Rangers on Wednesday.
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