Top 15 Relief Pitchers for the 2026 Fantasy Baseball Season

If there’s one thing we all know, it’s that relief pitchers often have up and down seasons, making this position a difficult one to draft. Of course, the proven and stable options will go early, while the later options might not come with the same job security.

Teams are starting to lean more heavily into a “close by committee” approach and using their closer in high-leverage situations before the ninth. Understanding team tendencies makes selecting your closer much more important.

On talent alone, this list runs deep. Heck, you have a guy nearing 500 saves rounding out the list.

The top four could be heavily debated, and six through 12 contain legends who have been closing out games for quite some time.

A fun group that could see a lot of list movement over the next 12 months.

These rankings were pulled from Just Baseball’s ranking of the top 200 players in fantasy baseball for the 2026 season. There were 18 relievers who cracked the top 200, giving us three honorable mentions who fell just outside the top 15.

Honorable Mentions:

Emilio Pagan No. 162, Dennis Santana No. 174, Pete Fairbanks No. 178

Top 15 Relief Pitchers in Fantasy Baseball for 2026

Rank	Player	Team
1	Jhoan Duran	Philadelphia Phillies
2	Edwin Diaz	Los Angeles Dodgers
3	Mason Miller	San Diego Padres
4	Andrés Muñoz	Seattle Mariners
5	Cade Smith	Cleveland Guardians
6	Josh Hader	Houston Astros
7	David Bednar	New York Yankees
8	Devin Williams	New York Mets
9	Ryan Helsley	Baltimore Orioles
10	Jeff Hoffman	Toronto Blue Jays
11	Trevor Megill	Milwaukee Brewers
12	Aroldis Chapman	Boston Red Sox
13	Daniel Palencia	Chicago Cubs
14	Calos Estevez	Kansas City Royals
15	Kenley Jansen	Detroit Tigers

1. Jhoan Duran – RP – Philadelphia Phillies

Age in 2026: 28
2025 Stats: 7-6, 61, 70 IP, 2.06 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 32 SV, 10.29 K/9, 2.44 BB/9

Jhoan Duran just keeps getting better. Last year he fixed one of his bigger problems – allowing home runs. A trend that has lasted a few years, now. The strikeouts will always be there and now on the Phillies, save opportunities will be plenty. We believe Duran is still ascending as a player.

2. Edwin Diaz – RP – Los Angeles Dodgers

Age in 2026: 32
2025 Stats: 4-5, 61 G, 60.1 IP, 2.83 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 27 SV, 8.80 K/9, 2.69 BB/9

Edwin Diaz has been a marquee closer for years and now will be saving games for the back-to-back World Series champions. After an elite 2025 season, it’s hard not to dream on 40+ save potential here.

3. Mason Miller – RP – San Diego Padres

Age in 2026: 27
2025 Stats: 1-2, 60 G, 61.2 IP, 2.63 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 22 SV, 15.18 K/9, 4.09 BB/9

The trade to the Padres bumped Mason Miller’s fantasy value simply off save opportunities alone. He’s still going to walk more batters than you would like, but he more than makes up for it with his strikeouts. Back to back years with a sub-2.70 ERA and I’d be willing to bet he surpasses 30, no 35, saves this season.

4. Andrés Muñoz – RP – Seattle Mariners

Age in 2026: 32
2025 Stats: 3-3, 64 G, 62.1 IP, 1.73 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 38 SV, 11.98 K/9, 4.04 BB/9

Andrés Muñoz comes with a 12 K/9 and a groundball rate over 50%, a combination we always like to target in fantasy.

Last season was his best to date and the continued improvements year over year lead us to believe 2026 will be his best yet. Seattle will once again be in World Series contention giving him plenty of save opportunities.

5. Cade Smith – RP – Cleveland Guardians

Age in 2026: 27
2025 Stats: 8-5, 70 G, 73.2 IP, 2.93 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 16 SV, 12.71 K/9, 2.32 BB/9

Cade Smith is an elite reliever who became the Guardians’ de facto closer after Emmanuel Clase got suspended. His 28.4% K-BB% was outstanding and evidences just how effectively he can pitch in the strike zone.

There’s no news about Clase being able to return anytime soon, so Smith is worthy of going as a top-100 pick in drafts.

6. Josh Hader – RP – Houston Astros

Age in 2026: 32
2025 Stats: 6-2, 48 G, 52.2 IP, 2.05 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 28 SV, 12.99 K/9, 2.73 BB/9

By now you know what to expect from Josh Hader. High strikeout numbers, 30-35 saves, and left wishing he threw more innings (from a fantasy perspective).

Houston is not taking a step back and should give Hader a lot of opportunity to accumulate saves. If you aren’t willing to draft a closer higher than this range than Hader will be one of the last reliable and consistent track record options left. Choose wisely.

7. David Bednar – RP – New York Yankees

Age in 2026: 31
2025 Stats: 6-5, 64 G, 62.2 IP, 2.30 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 27 SV, 12.35 K/9, 2.73 BB/9

I think it’s fair to say 2024 was simply an off year for David Bednar. He returned to form pitching to a 2.30 ERA, 2.18 FIP, and striking out 12.35 K/9.

The Yankees have less cooks in the closers kitchen and Bednar will once again get most save situation opportunities. If you are willing to dismiss 2024 you are looking at one of the more consistent arms out of any bullpen.

8. Devin Williams – RP – New York Mets

Age in 2026: 31
2025 Stats: 4-6, 70 G, 62 IP, 4.79 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 18 SV, 13.06 K/9, 3.63 BB/9

Devin Williams was a victim of Yankees fans simply being mad. Yes, he was not perfect, but he still posted a 2.68 FIP with 13 K/9 and a 44% groundball rate. He hasn’t posted a FIP over 3.00 since his rookie year where he pitched 13 innings. Everything looks good under the hood and I expect a much better ERA number in 2026.

9. Ryan Helsley – RP – Baltimore Orioles

Age in 2026: 31
2025 Stats: 3-4, 58 G, 56 IP, 4.50 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 21 SV, 10.13 K/9, 4.02 BB/9

Ryan Helsley was great in 2024, solid in the first half of 2025, and then completely collapsed down the stretch last season. He ended up in a great spot in free agency: Baltimore is aiming to win now and will be without Felix Bautista this season. Helsley is likely to have a long leash in the Orioles’ closer role.

10. Jeff Hoffman – RP – Toronto Blue Jays

Age in 2026: 33
2025 Stats: 9-7, 71 G, 68 IP, 4.37 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 33 SV, 11.12 K/9, 3.57 BB/9

Jeff Hoffman’s 4.37 ERA and 4.90 FIP were alarming but mostly due to an uncharacteristic 20% home run to fly ball rate. The strikeouts were still there, but command was less than previous years.

There’s enough track record and underlying data to assume 2026 will be a better fantasy data and considering he’s closing games for one of the best teams he should have plenty of opportunity.

11. Trevor Megill – RP – Milwaukee Brewers

Age in 2026: 32
2025 Stats: 6-3, 50 G, 47 IP, 2.49 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 30 SV, 11.49 K/9, 3.26 BB/9

Trevor Megill has only a two-pitch arsenal, but can dial up his fastball to 99 mph and gets a lot of swings-and-misses. The Brewers have another effective reliever in Abner Uribe, but Megill nailed down 30 saves last season and will likely get the first crack at closing again in 2026.

12. Aroldis Chapman – RP – Boston Red Sox

Age in 2026: 38
2025 Stats: 5-3, 67 G, 61.1 IP, 1.17 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, 32 SV, 12.47 K/9, 2.20 BB/9

Just when it seemed like he might be on the decline, Aroldis Chapman had one of the best seasons of his career last year at 37 years of age. His fastball velocity and strikeout rate are among the game’s elite and should be a reliable fantasy closer, unless father time hits this season.

13. Daniel Palencia – RP – Chicago Cubs

Age in 2026: 26
2025 Stats: 1-6, 54 G, 57.2 IP, 2.79 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 22 SV, 10.42 K/9, 2.73 BB/9

Daniel Palencia broke out in 2025 during his first full season with the Cubs. H bounced in and out of the closers role but will have the inside track of claiming that role in 2026. A few veterans have been brought into the Cubs bullpen that could take the role if Palencia struggles, but his 2.91 ERA and 3.08 FIP last season was not luck. He has the stuff it takes to close out games for the Cubs.

14. Calos Estevez – RP – Kansas City Royals

Age in 2026: 33
2025 Stats: 4-5, 67 G, 66 IP, 2.45 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 42 SV, 7.36 K/9, 3.00 BB/9

Carlos Estevez led all of baseball in saves last season (42), but the underlying metrics weren’t pretty. His 11.9% K-BB% looks more like that of a contact-oriented starting pitcher than a dominant closer.

On top of that, he had one of the lowest ground ball rates in the league last season, meaning that most contact is going in the air. We’ll give last year’s saves leader the benefit of the doubt on name-recognition, but he could be someone to fade this year.

15. Kenley Jansen – RP – Detroit Tigers

Age in 2026: 38
2025 Stats: 5-4, 62 G, 59 IP, 2.59 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 29 SV, 8.69 K/9, 2.90 BB/9

Kenley Jansen comes to Detroit, sitting on 476 career saves. A decorated career and track record that is topped by really no other relief pitcher currently in the game.

He’s in the twilight of his career, and it’s starting to show with his velocity decreasing along with his strikeout numbers. We still see Jansen as a useful option, but he shouldn’t be your number one relief pitcher.

Honorable Mentions:

Top 15 Relief Pitchers in Fantasy Baseball for 2026

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