2022 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Relief pitchers
There is intrigue surrounding the relief pitcher position for the 2022 fantasy baseball season.
How important is it now that it seems like fixed, undisputed closers are becoming more and more obsolete? Are they more valuable or less, especially when you can just fill your pitcher slots with non-ninth-inning relievers who possess lethal strikeout ability?
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Some sharps in the fantasy baseball industry seem to be leaning towards the former in recent early drafts, as elite closers are going early and often, drying up in the blink of an eye, according to Dalton Del Don. In fact, 10 closers were gone by Round 4 in one of his recent drafts, including the top-two consensus relievers, Josh Hader and Liam Hendriks — who went in Round 2!
Of course, it is a special thing to have a lockdown, trustworthy closer on your fantasy baseball lineup, someone who can give you all the saves you need on his own. Having a Hader or a Hendriks does make things easier than, say, having a collection of late-inning non-fixed-closers who can give you good ratios, but who might not always deliver save chances.
[Fantasy Baseball Draft Rankings: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF | SP | RP]
On the flip side, new closers emerge seemingly every season at some point. Whether it's because the incumbent ninth-inning guy struggles or a winner reveals himself in a closer-by-committee, there's a solid argument to be made for why you should either wait on the position or try to get lucky on the waiver with a reliever in position to make saves down the line.
Whatever route you take with the intriguing reliever position in 2022, our fantasy baseball rankings can help guide you for the draft season ahead.
Check out how all the relievers stack up in our analysts' rankings at the position:
2022 Fantasy Baseball Rankings powered by FantasyPros
