Everyone wants to lock down that star hitter or ace starting pitcher in fantasy baseball drafts, but don’t overlook those relief pitchers who can make the difference between winning or losing a league title. In this article, we’re going to break down the closer position and when it’s appropriate to start targeting them in drafts. 

Before we discuss how early or how late to grab closers in your fantasy baseball drafts, it’s important to understand something about in-season management surrounding the position. Working the waiver wire is crucial when it comes to closers/relievers. Whether it be due to injuries, role changes, trades or anything in between, you can inevitably find valuable fantasy closers on waivers throughout the long MLB season.

On draft day, though, most Opening Day closers will be taken if they have the clear ninth-inning role. That could also depend on the size of your league, but most fantasy baseball managers try to grab at least two relievers in the draft - whether it’s a Day 1 closer or a setup man waiting in the wings. 

Let’s look at all the strategies that go into targeting closers in your fantasy baseball drafts. 

Know Your League Settings

This goes without saying for any fantasy league you compete in, but there are some specific settings you’ll need to be aware of when it comes to drafting closers. The default pitching stats normally used in fantasy baseball leagues are ERA, strikeouts, wins, WHIP and saves. Some leagues, though, stray away from those traditional stat categories and go with quality starts instead of wins or saves + holds instead of just saves. Those two changes make a huge difference in closer/reliever draft strategy. 

Traditional closers can possibly contribute in the wins category if their team gets a walk-off win or takes the lead after they pitch in the later innings. It’s obviously not something you can bank on with closers, but there is a strategy to drafting middle-inning relievers or set up men with more opportunities at wins. Those guys could also keep your ERA or WHIP ratios lower than some top closers. If you’re in a league that counts quality starts instead of wins, then your closers and relievers won’t add any value to that stat. That is unless you have a closer who gets converted over to a starter - like the Phillies’ Ranger Suarez last year. 

If you’re in a saves + holds league, then those seventh and eighth-inning setup relievers are also lot more valuable than normal. There’s a chance some non-closer relievers can rack up more holds than some closers’ save totals. In fact, the Dodgers’ Blake Treinen led the MLB with 32 holds last year and only six closers finished with more saves - and Trienen also added in seven saves of his own. Then you have some teams - most notably the Rays - that don’t use a traditional closer and mix-and-match their relievers. 

Top Closers to Target

Go check out the relief pitcher draft rankings from the Fantasy Alarm team to see how Jim Bowden, Howard Bender and Adam Ronis rank the top closers. Sometimes it comes down to personal preference when choosing between one closer or the other. Other times you want to take injury history or job safety into account. Even still, you can target the guys who may be more valuable in one stat category over another - which could also depend on the rest of your pitching staff when it’s your turn to draft. 

The small differences in the draft rankings of Bowden, Bender and Ronis should give you a good idea of how some people value certain closers over others. However, they do agree on three names in the top five right now. Josh Hader, Liam Hendricks and Ryan Pressly all appear in each of our experts’ top five rankings and those three will undoubtedly go early in drafts. 

How Early is Too Early?

Don’t be the person that drafts a closer in the first round. Just don’t do it - even if you’re the biggest White Sox fan and want to lock in Hendricks. There’s reaching on a player and then there’s missing out on top-tier hitters or starting pitchers while everyone else in your league pounces on the mistake. In most 12 or 14-team fantasy baseball leagues where stats aren’t weighted one way or another, you can use your first and second-round picks on the studs to anchor your squad. 

Once we get into the third, fourth and fifth rounds, you can start thinking about how much you value the top closers. In deeper leagues, some of the top closers could start going off the board in the third round. For the most part, the fourth or fifth round is the sweet spot for the top-end relievers. Fantasy Alarm’s Top 300 rankings have Liam Hendricks (White Sox) and Josh Hader (Brewers) ranked at 52nd and 53rd overall, respectively. In a 12-team league, that would be in the middle of the fourth round. 

If you miss out on Hader or Hendricks, though, then you could wait until rounds 6-10 to take your first closer - especially if you wish to load up on hitters and/or starting pitchers early. Even the closers taken in this round range could end up being the top overall relief pitcher in fantasy baseball this season. You’ve got guys like Raisel Iglesias (Angels), Aroldis Chapman (Yankees), Edwin Diaz (Mets), Ryan Pressly (Astros) and Emmanuel Clase (Indians) all rank among the top 110 players of FA’s overall draft rankings. 

Of course, closer draft strategy could change at any given time depending on the flow of the draft. If you find yourself in a closer position run in the 6th or 7th round and don’t want to be left with a second-tier guy, then you might pivot your pre-planned strategy. At the same time, you might find yourself in the 7th or 8th round and most of the league has waited on closers - then feel free to grab two with back-to-back picks and force a run on the position yourself. Then you might have multiple closers go earlier than expected - and it allows you to zig when others zag as you grab more top hitters or starting pitchers. 

Strategies for Different League Types

When considering when to draft closers or relievers in your fantasy baseball drafts, it’s important to understand how important the position is for whatever type of league your’re competing in. Whether it be a rotisserie, head-to-head points or head-to-head categories leagues, the closer draft strategy can be vastly different. 

In H2H categories leagues, you must make the roster decision of whether or not you want to compete/win the saves category every matchup. If you do, then drafting closers obviously becomes a top priority to ensure you can rack up enough saves to lock down that stat category. Usually that would also help you keep the ERA and WHIP ratios lower - though volatile closers can make that an adventure. 

In H2H points leagues, you can really opt to punt on the closer position if you have a strong roster elsewhere. If you want to target top hitters or starting pitchers - go for it. If you want to draft a balanced team - that’s fine too. Or you can go heavier on closers if others in your league choose a different strategy on draft day. 

In roto leagues, it’s more about building an entire pitching staff that can hold up for the season-long run. You can afford to mix-and-match starting pitchers and closers on your squad if it means you’re competing all year - especially if your collection of hitters is among the league’s best. Some teams like to go pitching-heavy, though, and elite closers or relievers can keep your ERA, WHIP and saves among the top of the league standings. 

Should You Draft Non-Closer Relievers?

We discussed this a bit earlier, but there’s a strategy behind drafting setup relievers when all the top 20-25 closers are off the board. It’s a different story if you’re in a holds league where the seventh and eighth inning guys are much more valuable in general. In regular saves leagues, though, managers may draft some of the top setup men in the later rounds as upside picks. Injuries happen all the time to big-league pitchers - especially the hard throwers - and a normal eighth-inning guy could suddenly emerge as a top saves contributor for however long the closer is out. 

Setup relievers are also prime candidates to eventually become closers due to role changes. Guess what? Baseball is hard and even the best shutdown relievers can hit a slump. There are plenty of closer job changes every season as setup men get promoted and vice versa for closers. The trade deadline could also open the door for late-inning relief pitchers to step into the closer role if their teammate gets moved - or if they wind up on a team needing a ninth-inning man.  

If you draft a non-closer reliever in the later rounds, you must be patient until his opportunity arises. That may take a week, or it may be four months into the season. If you’re willing to hold on, though, it could pay off if you eventually have the guy that emerges as one of the league’s best closers. Remember when Giovanny Gallegos took until August to emerge as the Cardinals’ closer last season? While you roster these guys and wait, they can also help keep your ERA or WHIP ratios low despite not contributing much to the number of the saves. 

It’s a risk to draft setup relievers who aren’t guaranteed a closer job or even fantasy relevance. But it could be worth it in deeper or high-stakes leagues. It’s like drafting a rookie or eventual minor-league call-up who could help you win later in the season. 

Conclusion

So, there you have it. Who would’ve thought the closer position could involve so many draft strategies for fantasy baseball?

As outlined above, your approach to the closer position can rely heavily on league settings, league type or draft flow. It could also simply come down the personal preference and whether you want to lock in a top closer or two to get ahead of your fellow league mates. There are several different directions you can go when it comes to closers - but it may also just come down to personal preference. Some people go into a draft knowing they want a top-end reliever to trust throughout the season, barring injury. Others like to find the underrated closers or setup men who can emerge later in the year. 

Either way, you need to manage and draft the closer position with a clear strategy in mind. That strategy could change a month or three months into the season depending on injuries, job changes or anyting else. Still, you need to be more prepared than the rest of your league to have an advantage at the closer position. Good luck!