Welcome to the latest Fantasy Alarm Bullpen Report. We’ve seen saves and holds recorded from unlikely sources over the past week. With the Royals transitioning to the dreaded “closer by committee” approach to managing their bullpen, and the return of a reliever with the potential to become the best closer in MLB 2026, we’ve adjusted our MLB closers rankings and refreshed our fantasy baseball closer grid. 

The Royals’ change in strategy provides some of their higher-performing late-inning high-leverage relievers with the opportunity to be used in save situations and possibly claw their way up  MLB closers rankings. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover this week, including the Yankees possibly grooming a top minor league prospect to be their potential closer of the future.  

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Saves Leaders Over The Past Week

Phillies closer Jhoan Duran led MLB with three saves over the past week. He’s saved nine games, pitched to a 0.90 ERA, and has a 17:2 K:BB ratio in 10 IP during that time span. Duran has 14 saves on the season, the fifth most among MLB closers in 2026, despite missing more than two weeks on the IL. 

Guardians closer Cade Smith is still at the top of the MLB closers rankings and leads MLB closers with 21 saves this season. Padres reliever Mason Miller remains among the best closers in MLB 2026 and is second with 17 saves. Rays closer Bryan Baker is next up with 16, and Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien and Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald each have  15 saves this season. 

Ten other MLB closers saved two games, and 23 late-inning high-leverage relievers recorded one save last week, including Astros’ closer Josh Hader, who was finally removed from the IL. As expected, the Astros confirmed that Hader will be their closer moving forward. He earned a save in his first appearance, pitching a shutout inning while yielding a walk and striking out a batter. The Astros’ bullpen had been fluid with Hader on the IL and Bryan King, and Enyel De Los Santos will be used as setup men and are a good resource for holds.

 

 

 

Holds Leaders Over The Past Week

Phillies reliever Brad Keller tied MLB late-inning high-leverage relievers for a second week in a row with three holds. He now has 10 on the season. Tim Herrin and Hunter Gaddis, a pair of Guardians relievers, also had three holds last week and have nine on the season.

Eighteen other relievers recorded two holds last week, including Cubs reliever Jacob Webb, who is one of the setup men behind closer Daniel Palencia. Webb hasn’t given up a run in his last nine outings (9.1 IP) and has a 14:2 K:BB ratio during that time span. 

Cardinals reliever JoJo Romero and Guardians reliever Erik Sabrowski lead MLB with 17 holds this season. Padres reliever Jason Adam, Blue Jays reliever Tyler Rogers, and Rays reliever Kevin Kelly have the second most holds in baseball with 12. 

Relievers on the Rise

Gregory Soto has solidified his spot within the MLB closers rankings, but Wilber Dotel is another Pirates reliever to take note of. Dotel spent much of his minor league career as a starting pitcher, but he seems to have found his niche as a multi-inning reliever for the Pirates this season. He’s appeared in seven games, thrown 16.2 innings and has a 1.08 ERA and 17 strikeouts. If you play in a league that forces you to start a minimum number of relief pitchers and the pickings on your league’s waiver wire are slim, Dotel could be just what you need.

The Reds’ bullpen is a complete mess, but there are a couple of relievers who have pitched well of late. Sam Moll picked up the team’s most recent save last Sunday, and the south paw has a 2.39 ERA and hasn’t yielded a run in his last 7.1 IP. Keep an eye on fellow lefty reliever Caleb Ferguson. Since being activated from the IL, Ferguson hasn’t given up a run in 6.1 IP and has a 7:0 K:BB ratio. He has six career saves.

 

 

 

Bullpens To Take Note Of

Kansas City Royals

After watching Lucas Erceg blow three straight save opportunities, Royals manager Matt Quatraro has opted to go with a matchup based approached to managing the ninth inning of close games. Alex Lange is moving up the 2026 MLB closers rankings after converting back-to-back saves on Wednesday and Thursday. Lange has logged 6.1 consecutive scoreless innings and is no stranger to closing out games, having recorded 26 saves for the Tigers back in 2023. The Royals bullpen is still very fluid, with left-handers Daniel Lynch IV and Matt Strahm likely also in the mix for save opportunities moving forward. Carlos Estevez, on the IL due to a rotator cuff strain, appears weeks away from potentially making his return to big league action. 

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers’ bullpen hierarchy seems a bit murky of late. Manager Pat Murphy doesn’t like to proclaim one late-inning high-leverage reliever as his exclusive closer. However, with former closer Trevor Megill slumping and dropping down the 2026 MLB closers rankings earlier in the season,  Abner Uribe was the reliever that Murphy used to close out the majority of games beginning in mid-April. Things have changed since then. Maybe the multiple WWE-style "DX" crotch-chop gestures that Uribe made towards the Cardinals dugout after an inning-ending strikeout against Alec Burleson on May 26th put Uribe in Murphy’s doghouse, because since then, Megill has converted the last three Brewers saves. Murphy is known to be flexible when it comes to managing his bullpen, so I wouldn’t drop Uribe just yet.

New York Yankees

This week, the Yankees announced that they were converting top pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange into a reliever. Yankees manager Aaron Boone suggested that the team still views Lagrange as a starting pitcher for the long term, but with a fastball that averages close to 99 mph and sometimes reaches triple digits, he has the skill set often found in relievers close to the top of MLB closer rankings. David Bednar is still the Yankees closer, and while he has pitched much better in his last four outings, prior to that, he had pitched to an 8.59 ERA in his previous seven appearances. Add Lagrange to your watch list.