Welcome back to the Fantasy Baseball Closer Report. The first week of baseball provided us with some early saves targets to go after, including Lucas Erceg, Jordan Romano, and Paul Sewald. Other ambiguous situations, like the Rangers and Rays, gave us more questions than answers. We’ll break it all down as we run through my weekly closer rankings and end with some middle relievers making an early impression.
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2026 Fantasy Baseball Closer Rankings
▶ Tier 1
Mason Miller – San Diego Padres
Edwin Díaz – Los Angeles Dodgers
Cade Smith – Cleveland Guardians
Andrés Muñoz – Seattle Mariners
Jhoan Duran – Philadelphia Phillies
There’s not much movement in the top two tiers as it’s far too early to overreact to anything. Miller worked around a walk while striking out two batters to earn his first save against the Tigers on Saturday. He then recorded the final out of the eighth against the Giants on Wednesday and finished out the game with three strikeouts for a four-out save. That’s five strikeouts to one hit and one walk over 2 1/3.
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Díaz struck out two and worked around a walk for his first save as a Dodger on Friday against the Diamondbacks, then converted his second on Saturday with a clean frame. He then pitched the ninth with a four-run lead on a rainy night in Los Angeles on Tuesday and surrendered a run before closing it out.
Smith converted his first save of the season on Opening Day, striking out one in a clean inning against the Mariners. His next two outings didn’t go as well, giving up a run to blow a save and earn the win on Saturday before giving up two runs with a four-run lead in a non-save situation against the Dodgers on Monday.
Muñoz pitched on back-to-back days against the Guardians over the weekend, both in non-save situations. He worked a scoreless inning with a four-run lead in his first outing, then gave up three runs, two earned, in extras to take the loss on Saturday.
In Philadelphia, Duran recorded the final two outs to record his first save of the season on Opening Day, then gave up two runs, one earned, in extra innings to take the loss on Saturday against the Rangers. He bounced back with a pair of scoreless innings on Tuesday and Wednesday for a win and a save. Duran has thrown eight sweepers and six knuckle curves and induced a whiff on all 14 pitches so far.
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▶ Tier 2
Devin Williams – New York Mets
David Bednar – New York Yankees
Aroldis Chapman – Boston Red Sox
Daniel Palencia – Chicago Cubs
Ryan Helsley – Baltimore Orioles
Williams struck out two in a non-save situation on Saturday against the Pirates, then converted his first save chance against the Cardinals on Monday, tossing a scoreless frame with a strikeout. With another scoreless appearance on Wednesday, he’s struck out four with one hit and two walks through three innings. And for the Yankees, Bednar worked back-to-back saves in the team’s opening series against the Giants with a pair of scoreless outings, then battled through some trouble on Wednesday, giving up one run before holding on for a four-out save.
Chapman also has two appearances under his belt, working two scoreless innings against the Reds with one save. In Chicago, Palencia is still waiting for his first save opportunity. He’s made two scoreless appearances, collecting two strikeouts over two innings in non-save situations. And Helsley has looked great so far. He struck out the side on Opening Day for a save against the Twins, then picked up his second save with a scoreless inning on Sunday. He’s struck out four with no walks through two outings.
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▶ Tier 3
Jeff Hoffman – Toronto Blue Jays
Raisel Iglesias – Atlanta Braves
Pete Fairbanks – Miami Marlins
Trevor Megill – Milwaukee Brewers
Emilio Pagán – Cincinnati Reds
Ryan Walker – San Francisco Giants
Kenley Jansen – Detroit Tigers
Hoffman is looking great in the early going. He collected four strikeouts while giving up one run and falling in line for a win on Opening Day, then worked three scoreless outings, including his first save against the Athletics on Sunday. Hoffman has struck out ten batters with zero walks across four innings of work.
Iglesias has made two scoreless appearances, though both have come with a four-run lead in non-save situations. He’s still clearly ahead of Robert Suarez, who has made all three of his scoreless outings in the eighth inning.
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The first mover in the rankings, Fairbanks, jumps a few spots with his solid start on the mound. He’s made three scoreless appearances, converting two saves with five strikeouts and no walks. Megill also moves up a bit. He converted a save on Sunday, then gave up one run to take the loss against the Rays on Monday. His movement here is based on the early usage, as it appears manager Pat Murphy has saved Megill for save situations while using Abner Uribe in the eighth inning in both of his outings. That can change, but early indications suggest Megill will be used as the primary closer.
Pagán recorded four outs and gave up a solo homer with two strikeouts in a non-save situation on Saturday, then locked down a save on Sunday against the Red Sox. He was then roughed up a bit in a non-save situation on Tuesday, giving up four runs against the Pirates.
Walker got some work in on Friday, recording one out while working around a hit and a walk against the Yankees. He pitched the next day again in a non-save situation, tossing a clean inning with a strikeout. Walker got his first save chance on Monday and gave up two runs before holding on for the save. Meanwhile, Jansen struck out the side to lock down his first save on Friday against the Padres before giving up the lead on a solo homer Tuesday in Arizona.
▶ Tier 4
Paul Sewald – Arizona Diamondbacks
Josh Hader/Bryan Abreu – Houston Astros
Seranthony Domínguez – Chicago White Sox
Dennis Santana – Pittsburgh Pirates
Riley O’Brien/JoJo Romero – St. Louis Cardinals
Jordan Romano – Los Angeles Angels
Lucas Erceg – Kansas City Royals
Griffin Jax/Garrett Cleavinger/Bryan Baker – Tampa Bay Rays
Robert García/Chris Martin – Texas Rangers
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Now we’re getting into the committee and questionable situations. Though Sewald makes a jump to the top of this tier with his early performance. Manager Torey Lovullo indicated that Sewald could be the reliever he leans on in the ninth out of the gate. So far, he’s held true to that. Sewald has made three scoreless appearances, including striking out the side against the Tigers on Tuesday for his second save.
Filling in for the injured Josh Hader, Abreu hasn’t had the best start as the Astros’ closer. He got some work in with a five-run lead against the Angels on Saturday and surrendered three runs. Abreu then got the call for a save chance on Sunday and gave up one run and recorded one out before Bryan King stepped in to close it out. Abreu was summoned with another three-run lead on Wednesday. Hader continues to ramp up his throwing progression, but has yet to face live hitters, something he hopes to do by mid-April. He’ll likely remain out until at least May, meaning Abreu will have to get right, or the Astros may need to figure out a new plan for the ninth.
Domínguez pitched a scoreless inning in a non-save situation on Saturday, then came out for presumably a four-out save on Sunday before giving up two runs to blow the lead and take the loss. Still, Domíguez figures to have a fairly long leash when it comes to save chances.
Santana has yet to see a save opportunity despite making four scoreless appearances. He’s given up one hit and two walks with two strikeouts over four innings of work. With Santana unavailable after pitching three times in four days, Gregory Soto got the call for Wednesday’s save chance against the Reds, working a clean inning with two strikeouts.
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Stanek worked the Cardinals’ first save chance, loading the bases before holding on for the save on Opening Day. He blew the following opportunity two days later and has since worked the seventh inning in two straight appearances, while O’Brien picked up a save Tuesday and pitched the ninth in a tie game against the Mets on Wednesday. O’Brien has tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts and no walks. There’s a good chance he just takes hold of the closer role, with JoJo Romero working the occasional ninth if there’s a group of left-handed hitters up.
Romano is getting his chance to run with the closer role for the Angels. He’s made three appearances, picking up two saves with four strikeouts over 2 2/3 scoreless innings. It’s hard to trust Romano after two injury-riddled down seasons, but you take the saves while they’re there. That also applies to Erceg, who takes over as the Royals’ closer after Carlos Estévez was placed on the 15-day injured list with an ankle injury. Estévez might not have been long for the job, anyway. His velocity remained way down in his long outing in which he surrendered six runs in a loss. Erceg hasn’t exactly been overwhelming, but he will get the chance to earn some saves during Estévez’s absence, if not longer. He’s already 2-for-2 after locking down his second on Wednesday against the Twins.
Jax seemed due for a bounce-back season after a 4.23 ERA last year masked his elite skillset. That’s going to be hard to do given the start he’s off to in the early going. Jax surrendered five runs, three earned, without recording an out in the eighth inning of a tie game against the Brewers on Wednesday. He’s given up five earned runs with just one strikeout over four appearances. Cleavinger hasn’t been so sharp so far, either. He’s given up two runs with four walks and three strikeouts over 2 1/3 innings. Kevin Kelly has the team’s only save so far, while Bryan Baker has been sharp over his two outings. To put it simply, this is a mess and will likely remain that way for the entire season.
From one mess to another, neither García nor Martin has recorded a save for the Rangers yet. Instead, Tyler Alexander has converted the team’s first two saves of the season. García and Martin remain the favorites for saves, albeit in a matchup-based committee.
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▶ Tier 5
Clayton Beeter – Washington Nationals
Cole Sands/Taylor Rogers – Minnesota Twins
Hogan Harris/Mark Leiter Jr./Justin Sterner – Athletics
Victor Vodnik – Colorado Rockies
Beeter has the only save of the season for the Nationals. Manager Blake Butera hasn’t necessarily used him as a traditional closer, with his outings coming in the sixth, tenth, seventh, and eighth innings. He recorded the final two outs in the eighth on Wednesday against the Phillies with a two-run lead, then left with one out and a runner on in the ninth before PJ Poulin and Cole Henry combined to blow the save in the team’s extra-innings loss.
We really have just one data point to work with for the Twins situation. Sands got the team’s first and only save so far, striking out two batters in a scoreless inning against the Orioles on Saturday. He should earn more looks in the ninth inning if he continues to be effective, but it remains a fluid situation. Just as the Athletics and Rockies remain situations you’d rather have no part of.
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Relievers on the rise/Stash candidates
Erik Sabrowski (LHP) – Cleveland Guardians
Sabrowski has slotted in as the Guardians’ primary setup man behind Cade Smith. He’s already up to four holds after recording the final out of the eighth inning against the Dodgers on Wednesday, striking out Shohei Ohtani. The 28-year-old left-hander has struck out six over 3 2/3 innings after posting a 1.84 ERA with 42 strikeouts over 29 1/3 innings last season. He’ll issue a fair share of walks, but the strikeout stuff is impressive. And if he’s working directly behind Smith in a setup role, he’ll be in line to record plenty of holds.
Keaton Winn (RHP)/Caleb Kilian (RHP) – San Francisco Giants
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Winn and Kilian, former starting pitching prospects, have looked excellent pitching out of the Giants’ bullpen, working their way up the leverage ladder into setup roles. Winn is up to three scoreless innings with six strikeouts, one walk, and no hits allowed. Meanwhile, Kilian has opened some eyes with a big jump in velocity, averaging 98.6 mph, up from about 94 mph he’s previously exhibited as a starter. He’s pitched 2 2/3 clean innings with two strikeouts. The 28-year-old right-hander was once a highly touted starting pitching prospect who was traded from the Giants to the Cubs in the Kris Bryant deal that sent Bryant to San Francisco in 2021. Kilian was released by the Cubs a year ago and picked up by the Giants over the offseason. Ryan Walker is coming off a shaky season, and a new managerial regime is calling the shots for the Giants. So, Winn and Kilian could be names to watch over the season should Walker struggle to close out games.
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