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A trio of relief pitchers entered Monday’s games with 223 ESPN fantasy points, tops for the position. Two of them — San Diego Padres RHP Mason Miller and Cleveland Guardians RHP Cade Smith — were among the first several closers selected in ESPN average live drafts, thus expected to provide significant fantasy numbers. They have done so and perhaps even exceeded expectations. Only nine starting pitchers boast more points.
Toronto Blue Jays RHP Louis Varland, however, was mostly ignored by fantasy managers, and for good reason. Varland, 28, was a struggling starting pitcher with the Minnesota Twins as recently as 2023. His role adjusted to relief, where he added velocity and command, and the Blue Jays acquired him last summer. He posted a 2.97 ERA and 23 holds, but he was not among the top 65 relief pitchers in fantasy points. This season, with a 0.86 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 35.4% strikeout rate and 15 saves, no reliever has more points.
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It is then of little surprise that Varland earns our early nod for MVP relief pitcher of the first half of the season, and he might be the overall free agent pickup of the season, as well. Miller and Smith were supposed to be awesome, and they have been. Varland, entering this season with a career 4.66 ERA and nary a save, was not. ESPN fantasy managers have made Varland the No. 9 closer in roster percentage, but only at 77.3%. Keep adding this fellow!
Varland should be among the AL All-Stars, and there is little in his peripheral numbers to scare us. He is holding left- and right-handed hitters to a sub-.200 batting average, and he has permitted only one home run. The Blue Jays have not been shy about utilizing him, either. Only seven relievers have thrown more innings, none of them closers. Varland ranks second to Miller in fWAR (1.9), third in strikeouts, ninth in four-seam fastball velocity (98.6 MPH) and sixth in FIP (1.49). He is the most surprising success story among relief pitchers this season.
Other first-half top relief pitchers
Ignoring the top rostered options (Miller, Smith, Jhoan Duran, Aroldis Chapman) and starting pitchers with relief eligibility (Braxton Ashcraft, Reid Detmers, Ben Brown), Tampa Bay Rays RHP Bryan Baker and Texas Rangers LHP Jacob Latz rank fourth and fifth, respectively, among closers in ESPN fantasy points. Similar to Varland, neither earned much consideration for draft day.
Arizona Diamondbacks RHP Paul Sewald, St. Louis Cardinals RHP Riley O’Brien and Pittsburgh Pirates LHP Gregory Soto, each quite available in ESPN standard leagues as well, are also among the top 10 closers in fantasy points. This is a reminder to fantasy managers that it isn’t too difficult to find saves off the waiver wire in April. Sewald and O’Brien are among the save leaders with 18 each, while Soto, a former AL All-Star with the Detroit Tigers, might get the nod in the NL, as well.
Not all of the most valuable relief pitchers in ESPN standard leagues pile on the saves. Holds, strikeouts and run prevention matter, too, and few setup men have shined more than Atlanta Braves LHP Dylan Lee. Lee is among the holds leaders with 15, and he entered this week with a 1.08 ERA, 0.66 WHIP and 34.4% strikeout rate. Lee permitted 13 home runs last season. That’s bad. This season, he has allowed one home run. That is good. He is 10th among current relievers in fantasy points, yet available in 83% of ESPN leagues.
Other surprisingly valuable setup men include Washington Nationals RHP Brad Lord, Baltimore Orioles RHP Rico Garcia, Chicago White Sox RHP Grant Taylor and Milwaukee Brewers LHP Aaron Ashby. Lord leads all relief pitchers with 51 innings, and they are good innings (2.29 ERA). Garcia boasts a 1.72 ERA and 15 saves-plus-holds. Taylor probably should be Chicago’s closer over wild Seranthony Dominguez. Ashby leads baseball with 10 wins, as he challenges baseball’s record for relief wins of 18, set by Pirates RHP Roy Face in 1959.
First-half relief pitcher Least Valuable Players
Los Angeles Dodgers RHP Edwin Diaz was the No. 2 relief pitcher (after Miller) in most ESPN preseason drafts, a sensible honor. Diaz, 32, saved 28 games last season for the New York Mets, with a 1.63 ERA and 98 strikeouts, and the two-time defending champion Dodgers secured him with a three-year contract. However, Diaz began the regular season with diminished fastball velocity, though he could record outs. It didn’t last long. Diaz permitted six earned runs over two stretched-out outings in mid-April and then hit the injured list, needing elbow surgery to remove loose bodies. The team hopes he returns in July. Diaz has scored 22 fantasy points. He remains rostered in 63.3% of ESPN leagues. Perhaps a big second half is pending!
Perhaps it feels unfair to attack Houston Astros LHP Josh Hader because he missed months because of left biceps tendinitis, but players cannot help fantasy managers while on the injured list! Hader has pitched well in his eight outings. Fantasy managers knew Hader would not be ready for Opening Day, but perhaps they assumed he wouldn’t make his season debut as late as June. Hader was an eighth-round pick in ESPN ADP, fourth among relief pitchers. He remains a solid investment for the rest of the season.
Each of New York’s respective closers was among the first 10 relief pitchers on draft day. New York Yankees RHP David Bednar has a 3.52 ERA along with 14 saves, but he hasn’t permitted an earned run over the past 30 days, and many saves are likely pending for a first-place team. New York Mets RHP Devin Williams, however, has a 4.81 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 11 saves as he performs sporadically for a last-place club. Williams had a 4.79 ERA for last season’s Yankees. Perhaps we should not be so surprised.
Other expected closers who have struggled with performance or injury include Baltimore Orioles RHP Ryan Helsley, Kansas City Royals RHP Carlos Estevez, Blue Jays RHP Jeff Hoffman and Chicago Cubs RHP Daniel Palencia. Helsley missed six weeks because of elbow inflammation, and he has permitted five runs in two appearances since his return. Estevez saved a league-best 42 games last season. He allowed six runs on Opening Day and went to the IL because of a shoulder strain. Hoffman, who saved 33 games last season, has five saves and ceded the role to Varland. Palencia is on the IL for the second time this season. He has three more saves than you and I. Consider this another wild season for relief pitchers!
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