In this week’s Closer Report, Raisel Iglesias extends his scoreless streak with a dominant start to the season. Devin Williams is turning the page on a terrible April. And a Ryan Walker demotion opens the door for Caleb Kilian in San Francisco. All that and more as we break down the last week in saves.
⚾️ Baseball is back! MLB returns to NBC and Peacock in 2026! In addition to becoming the exclusive home of Sunday Night Baseball, NBC Sports will broadcast MLB Sunday Leadoff, “Opening Day” and Labor Day primetime games, the first round of the MLB Draft, the entire Wild Card round of the postseason, and much more.
MLB: Detroit Tigers at New York Mets
Fantasy Baseball Steals Report: A.J. Ewing arrives in style, Travis Bazzana runs wild
Who is stealing bases, who isn’t, why, and how?
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 recorded a four-out save against the Cardinals on Saturday, working around two walks and striking out four batters. He then struck out two for his 13th save on Wednesday against the Brewers. The 27-year-old right-hander sports a 0.92 ERA, 0.66 WHIP, and 40 strikeouts over 19 2/3 innings.
Smith is making fantasy managers forget about his slow start. He locked down four more saves this week, giving him 13 with a 3.05 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 29 strikeouts over 20 2/3 innings. He should continue to work down those ratios and be one of the league’s top closers with a 4.8% walk rate and 34.9% strikeout rate.
Duran had a good week on the mound after giving up a run in his first game back from injury. He made three scoreless appearances, striking out two batters in each, and picked up his sixth save against the Red Sox on Tuesday.
Chapman made two appearances this week. He struck out two in a clean inning against the Rays on Friday for a save, then worked around two walks and struck out the side against the Phillies on Wednesday for his ninth save. The 38-year-old left-hander has picked up where he left off last year, posting a 0.66 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and 19 strikeouts over 13 2/3 innings.
Muñoz picked up his eighth save of the season with a scoreless inning against the Astros on Monday. It hasn’t been the best start to the season, with a 5.29 ERA and 1.35 WHIP over 17 innings, but his top-notch skills should overcome some bad luck (23.1% HR/FB, .371 BABIP).
There’s no reason to keep Iglesias from the top tier. The 36-year-old right-hander has been dominant, tossing 12 2/3 scoreless innings with a 15/2 K/BB ratio. He’s made four scoreless appearances since coming off the injured list, including three this week, with his eighth save against the Cubs on Wednesday.
▶ Tier 2
Riley O’Brien – St. Louis Cardinals
Bryan Baker – Tampa Bay Rays
David Bednar – New York Yankees
Daniel Palencia – Chicago Cubs
Tanner Scott – Los Angeles Dodgers
Devin Williams – New York Mets
O’Brien went 2-for-3 in save chances this week. He worked a clean inning against the Padres on Thursday, surrendered two runs to blow a save on Sunday, then bounced back with a scoreless frame against the Athletics on Tuesday. The 31-year-old right-hander has been one of the best overall values among relievers, posting a 2.70 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 23 strikeouts over 20 innings.
Baker has been another incredible value, emerging as the Rays’ top closing option with a 2.60 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 20 strikeouts over 17 1/3 innings. He’s converted 11 of the team’s 17 saves, with no other reliever converting more than two.
Bednar worked three appearances in non-save situations this week. After tossing a clean inning against the Brewers on Saturday, he gave up one run to take the loss on Sunday before bouncing back with a scoreless frame against the Orioles on Tuesday.
Palencia recorded the final out against the Reds on Thursday to pick up just his second save of the season. He then gave up two runs in a non-save situation against the Rangers on Sunday. Between his two-week absence with an oblique strain and the Cubs not producing many save chances, it’s been a slow start for the 26-year-old right-hander.
Scott converted a save with a clean inning against the Braves on Friday, striking out one batter for his third save of the season. With a 1.56 ERA, 0.63 WHIP, and a 16/2 K/BB ratio across 17 1/3 innings, this is the Scott the Dodgers believed they were getting when they made him one of the highest-paid relievers before the 2025 season.
Williams made his fourth straight clean outing on Friday, picking up a win against the Diamondbacks. He then tossed a scoreless frame in a tie game against the Tigers on Wednesday. With strong underlying skills, he continues to work down his ratios and could reward patient fantasy managers.
▶ Tier 3
Paul Sewald – Arizona Diamondbacks
Pete Fairbanks – Miami Marlins
Louis Varland – Toronto Blue Jays
Seranthony Domínguez – Chicago White Sox
Kenley Jansen – Detroit Tigers
Abner Uribe – Milwaukee Brewers
Lucas Erceg – Kansas City Royals
Jacob Latz – Texas Rangers
Gregory Soto – Pittsburgh Pirates
Sewald locked down two more saves this week before blowing a two-run lead against the Rangers on Wednesday. The three-run outing raised his ERA from 3.07 to 4.70. He’s been prone to these occasional blowups, with all of his earned runs coming in three of his 18 outings. Both A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez are aiming for mid-season returns. Still, Sewald has likely earned the chance to operate as the closer as long as he’s effective.
Fairbanks was reinstated from the 15-day injured list on Wednesday after a bout of nerve irritation in his right hand. He steps right back into the closer role. Meanwhile, Varland has held the job in Toronto. He made four appearances this week, picking up a save against the Angels on Friday. Jeff Hoffman has continued to get his work in the seventh and eighth innings. It doesn’t seem like the team will be turning back to him in the ninth anytime soon.
Domíguez was on a solid run, stringing together six straight scoreless appearances before giving up two against the Royals on Wednesday. He held on for his tenth save to go with a 4.08 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and 21 strikeouts over 17 2/3 innings.
In Detroit, Jansen made two appearances. He struck out two in a clean outing against the Royals on Sunday for his seventh save, then struck out the side in a tie game against the Mets on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Uribe added a win and a save this week before blowing the save chance against the Padres on Wednesday. He’s up to four saves since taking over the ninth inning in Milwaukee. Trevor Megill had made seven straight scoreless appearances, but has allowed a run in two of his last three. It remains a situation that feels like it can flip at a moment’s notice.
Erceg made his eighth straight scoreless appearance, picking up a win against the Tigers on Friday. While he figures to get extra leash on the closer role with Carlos Estévez shut down with shoulder discomfort, a 14/12 K/BB ratio across 16 1/3 innings fortells some regression coming for Erceg, and not the good kind. Should he stumble at any point, Daniel Lynch IV could be a name to watch. He’s posted a 2.08 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, and 23 strikeouts over 17 1/3 innings.
Latz seems to be settling in as the team’s closer. He collected two more saves this week to give him five on the season. He had a rare bad outing on Wednesday, giving up three runs to blow the save against the Diamondbacks without recording an out. Still, the 30-year-old left-hander has undoubtedly been their best option, posting a 2.08 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, and a 17/5 K/BB ratio across 21 2/3 innings.
In Pittsburgh, Soto picked up two saves for the Pirates. He’s been dominant, recording a 1.69 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, and 26 strikeouts over 21 1/3 frames. He’s been exceptionally better than Dennis Santana, more than doubling his strikeout rate.
▶ Tier 4
Rico Garcia/Anthony Nunez – Baltimore Orioles
Kaleb Killian – San Francisco Giants
Gus Varland – Washington Nationals
Graham Ashcraft – Cincinnati Reds
Garcia and Nunez alternated save chances this week, with Garcia locking down a save against the Athletics on Sunday before Nunez closed it out on Monday against the Yankees. Ryan Helsley has yet to resume throwing, but still hopes to return in late May after landing on the injured list with right elbow inflammation.
Kilian picked up the lone save for the Giants this week, recording four outs against the Dodgers on Tuesday. Manager Tony Vitello will likely play the matchups, but could lean on Kilian for the majority of save chances, especially since the team optioned Ryan Walker to Triple-A.
Varland converted a four-out save against the Twins on Thursday, then took a loss against the Marlins on Sunday before bouncing back with a scoreless ninth on Wednesday against the Reds to fall in line for a win.
It’s been tough to read the situation in Cincinnati since Emilio Pagán landed on the injured list with a hamstring injury. Pierce Johnson had picked up a save on Sunday, then pitched the ninth with the team down by six runs on Tuesday. Ashcraft took the ninth in a tie game against the Nationals on Wednesday. He seems to be the favorite at the moment, with a 1.66 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 25 strikeouts over 21 2/3 innings.
▶ Tier 5
Bryan King – Houston Astros
Jack Perkins – Athletics
Victor Vodnik – Colorado Rockies
Eric Orze/Justin Topa – Minnesota Twins
Sam Bachman/Ryan Zeferjahn – Los Angeles Angels
Read the full article here
