Seeking Saves: fantasy baseball closer targets for the late rounds of drafts

Major League Baseball reversed a multi-year trend in 2023 when most teams opted to have a consistent closer. A dozen men blew past the 30-save plateau, with another 11 hurlers accumulating more than 20 saves. The closer stability from last season has impacted ’24 drafts, as managers have a greater pool of reliable options than in recent years.

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Of course, having a wealth of appealing closer options (in the opinion of this writer, there are 17 of them) doesn’t detract from the need to speculate on saves in the late rounds of drafts. More than players at other positions, relievers can have their fantasy value skyrocket overnight due to a role change. Here are several men who have the potential to accumulate plenty of saves and can be acquired in the range of pick 200.

José Alvarado, Philadelphia Phillies (ADP 196.2)

Alvarado is my favorite option in this article. The southpaw was outstanding last year (1.74 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 13.9 K/9 rate) and is clearly the best reliever on a Phillies team that has not named a closer. Although Alvarado will never be a control artist, he has made improvements in limiting walks during the past two years after struggling in that area during his initial five MLB seasons. He has the swing-and-miss skills to be an excellent closer, and the Phillies have two other southpaws to cover lefty-on-lefty matchups in earlier innings.

José Leclerc, Texas Rangers (ADP 189.2)

Fantasy managers are giving Leclerc very little credit for a solid 2023 season. First off, the right-hander pitched well when it mattered most, posting solid ratios (3.29 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) and collecting four saves in 13.2 innings of postseason work. And his 2.68 ERA and 1.14 WHIP were impressive regular-season ratios. Like Alvarado, Leclerc will never have a low walk rate but has made enough improvements in that area to survive as a closer. Wise managers could use late-round picks on Leclerc and David Robertson, with a plan to cut the man who fails to get the first ’24 save for the defending World Series champs.

Kyle Finnegan, Washington Nationals (ADP 223.7)

Finnegan is a great example of the old saying that the best ability is availability. The right-hander has shown excellent durability during his four seasons, as his only IL trip was a two-week stint due to a hamstring injury in 2021. Although Finnegan struggles to keep the bases clean (career 1.31 WHIP), he has largely limited the damage (3.53 ERA) over his 226.2 career innings. Teammate Hunter Harvey has been more effective than Finnegan across the past two seasons but is much less durable. And after Harvey briefly stole the ninth-inning role from Finnegan in the first half of ’23, it was Finnegan who earned 17 saves to Harvey’s two in the second half of the campaign.

Robert Stephenson, Los Angeles Angels (ADP 210.6)

Stephenson joins a long list of pitchers who figured things out during a stop in Tampa Bay. The right-hander had disappointed throughout his career before the Rays pulled him off the scrap heap last June and helped him post a 2.35 ERA and a 0.68 WHIP across 42 appearances with the club. Stephenson’s revival earned him a three-year contract with the Angels, where he should be the best reliever in a bullpen that currently has Carlos Estévez (career 4.47 ERA, 1.42 WHIP) slated to work the ninth inning. Managers with a bit of patience can grab Stephenson in the final rounds of their draft.

Yuki Matsui, San Diego Padres (ADP 223.2)

Matsui joins an unsettled Padres bullpen after establishing himself as a dominant closer during a 10-year professional career in Japan. The diminutive reliever flashed plenty of strikeout skills while overseas (career 12.0 K/9 rate) and could immediately anchor San Diego’s relief corps. Robert Suárez is perhaps the early favorite to earn saves, but he is older than Matsui and has struggled to stay healthy since arriving to the majors in 2022.

Will Smith, Kansas City Royals (ADP 221.9)

Smith will enter 2024 as the leading closer candidate after signing a $5 million contract with a Royals organization that rarely invests in their bullpen. With 113 career saves, the left-hander is the only Kansas City reliever with notable closer experience. Having logged a 3.97 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP across the past two seasons, the 34-year-old may not have the skills to hold his current role for six months but can be a source of saves in the first half of the campaign.

[2024 Fantasy Baseball Draft Rankings: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP]

Mason Miller, Oakland A’s (ADP 246.0)

A notable prospect, Miller projects to eventually become a frontline starter. But the A’s have him pegged for the bullpen in 2024 in an effort to limit his innings after he missed four months of last season due to a UCL sprain in his right elbow. Miller is expected to compete with Dany Jiménez and Lucas Erceg for ninth-inning opportunities, and the guess here is that the A’s will use the closer’s role as a way to have Miller throw meaningful innings without being stretched out.