2020 Fantasy Baseball Draft Prep: Top 16 relief pitchers who aren't closers
Relief pitcher discussions in Fantasy Baseball mostly focus on saves, but relievers can serve other purposes. Scott White reveals the 15 best who aren't in line for closing duties.
By
Scott White
•
1 min read
Generally speaking, the only relief pitchers who matter in Fantasy Baseball are the ones in line for saves.
But in certain cases, you might feel compelled to use a non-closer. Maybe you're just looking for a prospective saves source. Maybe your league rewards holds, in which case you'd also be looking for a prospective saves source. The relievers next in line to close are usually the ones setting up, after all.
Then again, maybe you just need good ratios — an easy way to pad your team's ERA and WHIP without falling too far behind in strikeouts. Those guys often turn out to be good holds sources as well even if they don't have a clear path to saves.
Each of the following relievers should meet one or more of those needs. They're the 16 non-closers most worthy of rostering in Fantasy Baseball.
Top 16 non-closer relief pitchers
Mark Melancon is expected to begin the year as the Braves closer, but Will Smith is the better pitcher and has the requisite experience, having saved 34 games for the Giants last year. A switcheroo could happen sooner than later, but Smith's ratios should give him some value regardless.
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If Edwin Diaz can't get a grip on his slider again, Seth Lugo, who actually finished last season as the Mets closer, would be the obvious choice to replace him. He's also equipped to throw multiple innings, making him one of the better bets among all relievers to eclipse 100 strikeouts.
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Scott Oberg's base numbers were fine last year, albeit not particularly supported by the ratios, and of course, pitching half his games at Coors Field brings its own challenges. He's here then mostly because Wade Davis' chances of retaining the closer role are so low. If Oberg wasn't shut down last August with a blood clot in his arm, it might not even be a contest.
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You may recall that Corey Knebel's 2018 was an up-and-down season that ended with an absurdly dominant September. You may also recall that he had a 1.78 ERA and 14.9 K/9 as the Brewers' closer in 2017. He'll have had all the time he needs to recover from Tommy John surgery by the time the season gets started again, which may be all the excuse Craig Counsell needs to move Josh Hader back to a setup role.
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A former starting pitcher prospect forced into a lesser role by injury, Hunter Harvey showed a big fastball in a late-season look last year, becoming sort of a trendy sleeper pick given the Orioles' reluctance to commit to Mychal Givens in the closer role. It's a risky call given his minimal track record, but you should take your shot at the saves when there is one.
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Though no longer a saves source now that he's out of Tampa Bay, Emilio Pagan nonetheless offers a closer profile with the sort of strikeout-to-walk ratio that should make him a ratio darling. The one knock on him is a vulnerability to the long ball, but pitching half his games at Petco Park should keep his ERA low.
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Ryan Pressly struggled while attempting to pitch through a sore knee in the middle portion of last season, but he was so thoroughly dominant both before and after that his final numbers still look amazing. Combine them with what he did after joining the Astros in a midseason trade two years ago and it's clear he's an ace reliever.
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Ignore the season-long numbers for Drew Pomeranz, who wasted much of his 2019 in a starting role for the Giants. The way his fastball played up in relief, yielding a 2.39 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 15.4 K/9 in 25 appearances with the Brewers, earned him a four-year deal with the Padres this offseason, and we should be buying in just as hard.
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Part of an early-season saves committee last year, Diego Castillo got sidetracked by a shoulder impingement midseason but came back strong with a 1.23 ERA, 0.68 WHIP and 11.7 K/9 in 12 September appearances. If the always unconventional Rays prefer to use their best reliever, Nick Anderson, in a more flexible role, Castillo could again be part of the saves mix.
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Sean Doolittle is still listed as the Nationals closer, but Daniel Hudson was the one earning saves in September and maintained a 50/50 split into the playoffs. Doolittle isn't known for his durability, and now there's an established alternative.
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After struggling to convert to a bullpen role in previous years, Tyler Duffey finally committed himself to the cause last year, ditching his entire secondary arsenal except for the curveball, and the results were stellar. He got better as he went, too, delivering a 0.81 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 15.7 K/9 in 25 appearances over the final two months.
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Already a reliever who delivers strikeouts in bulk, offering no fewer than 94 in any of the past three seasons, Chad Green has added a curveball this year that should contrast with his slider. Not like he needs it after the way he finished last season, striking out 34 over his final 17 2/3 innings for a 0.51 ERA.
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Brad Boxberger's velocity was reportedly up in spring training -- the highest it's been since his best years with the Rays, when he was an All-Star closer -- which is notable since his new team, the Marlins, doesn't have a surefire closer. Brandon Kintzler is supposed to get the first crack at the role, but his high-contact approach makes him highly vulnerable in it.
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Jose Leclerc was in and out of the closer role for the Rangers last year, struggling to find the strike zone for long stretches, which would make their setup man a pitcher of note. It would appear to be Rafael Montero, the former Mets starter who found success last year by pounding the strike zone with an impressive fastball/changeup combo.
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Yusmeiro Petit doesn't have a path to saves and isn't some expert bat-misser, but his workload is so consistently high, with him averaging 89 innings over the past three years, that his ratios hit harder than most relievers'. And they hit well, too -- particularly the WHIP, which is bolstered both by his excellent control and a venue well-suited for his fly-ball tendencies.
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Like teammate Tyler Duffey, Trevor May originally had trouble figuring out the right pitch mix for a relief role, but he took off with the development of a wipeout slider over the final two months, delivering a 1.38 ERA, 0.65 WHIP and 11.8 K/9.
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