20 Non-Closing Relievers For Your Consideration

In shallower formats, it’s true that non-closing relievers typically hold minimal fantasy value, assuming your league isn’t counting Holds. But in deeper leagues, especially mono formats, I would prefer to start a middle reliever over a slew of starting pitchers in order to preserve my ratios. Every day relievers are being recalled from the minors so it’s very difficult to keep up with the entire landscape. Since they usually fly under the radar, you should be able to catch newly dominant ones early when no one else is even looking.

So let’s take a look at 20 non-closing relievers you might want to consider. There were a number of metrics I could have sorted by to get my list. Originally I had sorted by K%-BB%, but remembering that I filtered for relivers with as few as 10 innings pitched, I wanted a more skills-based metric less prone to random variance. So I settled on sorting by SwStr% in descending order as it’s really hard to luck into a high mark.

Did you know that Dylan Lee owns a 2.40 ERA with a 30.9% strikeout rate since 2024? I didn’t! That’s because he also has just two saves and nine wins, so he’s been firmly off the radar for a lot of fantasy owners. It’s not even like he’s been lucky, as his career SIERA sits at just 2.77 and xERA at 2.89. His SwStr% is an insane 18.9% this year, and that’s actually lower than his 2024 mark of 20.2%! I’m actually surprised his Stuff+ isn’t higher and this is the first year it’s been over 110. There must be something else he’s doing not being captured. What’s cool is that even though he’s a lefty, he has still been good against righties, though not nearly as dominant.

Kyle Hurt is yet another strong Dodgers reliever and has posted a perplexing combo of an elite SwStr% with a below average Stuff+ mark. It’s not often you see those two numbers describing the same pitcher! Even his Location+ is right at league average, so you can’t argue he’s putting it in a perfect spot to increase his strikeout rate. He must be doing something not being captured because you can’t fake a SwStr% that high. Perhaps it’s a deceptive delivery making middling stuff play wayyyyy up. That would make me a bit more hesitant to gamble on him the rest of the season, but I’m only speculating about what the driver is.

Yuki Matsui came over from NPB in 2024 and has been decent enough, but hasn’t quite lived up to the dominance he displayed there. This year, he has continued to walk double digit batters, but his SwStr% has surged, driving a jump in strikeout rate. Given the elevated walk rate, he really needed that. His Stuff+ has been pretty stable though, with just a one point increase each year, while his Location+ is actually the worst of his career so far, so like Hurt, it’s a wonder how he’s managed to induce so many swings and misses. His ERA is due for some serious regression even if he maintained that strikeout rate, so now might not be a great time to use in him your lineup.

Adrian Morejon has been excellent since 2025, but his SwStr% has skyrocketed this season and he has even paired that with a career best walk rate. In typical fashion, his luck has turned, and so despite an elite SIERA/xERA combo, his ERA is at its highest over the three seasons. His velocity is up, as both his four-seamer and sinker have averaged over 99 MPH, while his Stuff+ remains above 120, en route to a crazy 135 Pitching+. That’s by far the highest value out of my relief pitcher pool. It would be nice if the strikeout rate was a bit higher to match the Stuff+, but he’s still a top tier non-closing reliever target.

Luck has simply not been in Jeff Hoffman’s corner this year. Despite a sub-3.00 SIERA and xERA, an absurd .436 BABIP and 19% HR/FB have pushed up his ERA above 5.00 and conspired to take away his closer role earlier in the season. If he was consistently giving up hard contact and was deserving of such high figures, xERA would capture it, but a 2.99 mark suggests this is nearly all just bad fortune. What’s crazy is looking at his Statcast profile and seeing just a 6.1% Barrel% and low 26.8% HardHit%. The Barrel% is his second lowest ever and HardHit% a career best! So it’s baffling how he has allowed the BABIP and HR/FB rate he has. The underlying skills remain strong here and I would bet that he’ll deliver positive value the rest of the way in leagues where non-closing relievers are worthwhile.

Fernando Cruz’s strikeout rate is down from his norms, while he continues to post a high walk rate, and the high FB% makes for a scary combo. He’s also doing this with his lowest Stuff+ and is overperforming both his SIERA and xERA. I would pass on him in favor of other names.

Rico Garcia made for a nice add when Ryan Helsley was on the IL, but he now loses much of his value with the latter’s return. He has somehow managed to post a microscopic .136 BABIP, driving a 92% LOB%, neither of which are going to last so owners adding him now should know that ERA will rise. The skills are good, though, but he has also posted a below average Stuff+ that makes his strikeout rate quite surprising.

What’s a Brandan Bidois?! This is precisely the type of name I wanted to uncover with this exercise. The rookie has recorded just 14 innings so far, so I’m guessing the vast majority of fantasy owners are asking the same question as I did. But a 111 Stuff+ and 16.2% SwStr% are not to be ignored. Then again, neither should his 15.7% walk rate! He’s not going to last very long in the Majors if his control doesn’t improve.

Erik Sabrowski has now been fantastic since his 2024 debut, and his profile is fascinating. His strikeout and walk rates remind me of some of Aroldis Chapman’s years, and hey, both are southpaws as well. It’s crazy that he owns a career 15.4% walk rate and yet his ERA is sub-2.00. You really have to strike out as many batters as he does to offsets all those free passes. The extreme FB% helps reduce his BABIP and he hasn’t had home run issues thanks to a low HR/FB rate. He’s the rare pitcher with no control that is worth starting.

Just when Jacob Webb had the chance to prove himself worthy of stepping in for an injured Daniel Palencia, he allows three runs in 0.2 innings. Still, the underlying skills are pretty good with tons of swings and misses and an above average walk rate. He has suffered from a high BABIP and HR/FB rate, but an xERA higher than his ERA suggest it’s been deserved. Sure enough, his HardHit% is 48.4%, which would be near elite for a hitter. I still think he’s got the best skills to run with the closer job temporarily so he’s a worthy addition even with the recent hiccup.

Juan Morillo is another hard thrower who has taken his SwStr% and strikeout rate up a couple of notches. He’s even been the rare groundball pitcher who has generated a low LD% and lots of popups, a combo you don’t see very often. It could help keep his BABIP down despite grounders falling for hits more often than fly balls. He could become a saves candidate if incumbent Paul Sewald is traded.

Alex Vesia would make this list annually if I had published one and has been in the saves mix here and there for the Dodgers. This year, he’s walking a higher rate of batters than ever before, but his SwStr% is also up, even though it hasn’t led to an increased strikeout rate. Surprisingly, his four-seam velocity has trended downward, declining each season since 2023, which looks ominous, but hasn’t affected his strikeout rate or Stuff+ at all. It’s still something to watch though as a pitcher can’t maintain the same level of performance forever at consistently lower velocities.

Brent Headrick was excellent last year in 23 innings and has mostly carried it over this season. However, his strikeout rate is down and walk rate up, which ain’t a good combo. He has also handily overperformed both his SIERA and xERA, as he sports a 4.4% HR/FB rate and 87.7% LOB%, both of which are unlikely to be sustained, so he doesn’t look like a great add.

One-time starter Garrett Whitlock has been a full-time reliever since last year and has predictably been fantastic. He just returned from the IL after having posted strong skills as usual. His sinker velocity was actually up in his last two outings, so it doesn’t appear his injury has had any lingering effects. He’s a solid relief choice.

Every Sunday, I stare at the Royals relief options to figure out who might get the next chance to close games. Steven Cruz may have gotten an opportunity, but with a 6.55 ERA, it would be a surprise if it was anytime soon. He’s been crushed by a crazy 36.4% HR/FB rate, as he’s allowed eight homers already in just 22 innings. His 4.74 xERA suggests some of that high rate is deserved, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to remain that high. I don’t know if he’ll get a shot to close at any point over the remainder of the season, but he’s not a terrible speculation in a bullpen without a good arm, aside from Daniel Lynch IV, who that already passed over for Alex Lange to begin with.

Speaking of unsettled bullpens, Elvis Alvarado is apparently leading the Athletics committee by virtue of garnering the last save. Of course, then he promptly allowed runs in two of his last three outings. It was already surprising to see him get the save chance as he sported a ghastly 6.23 ERA when he saved his first game. But he does own a 2.82 SIERA and 3.87 xERA, so perhaps the Athletics were looking under the hood. Alvarado has struggled with his control at times, and his 27.6% CSW% does not support a strikeout rate over 30%. So I wouldn’t bet on him running away with the closer job, but since no one else has, he’s an acceptable speculation for those in need of saves. I would actually value him more on his saves potential than his chances of helping your ratios.

Gosh, David Morgan is the third Padres pitcher on this list and of course, they also have perhaps the game’s best reliever. The skills here aren’t great and even with the excellent 15.1% SwStr%, he has managed just a 25% strikeout rate thanks to a low CStr%. I do love the GB% though, but he needs to cut down on the walks to be worth a look.

Before he was bombed for four runs in 1.1 innings in his last outing, Justin Sterner was my dark horse to receive save chances for the A’s. But of course, I don’t care about results as much as underlying skills, and it’s clear that the Athletics are also valuing skills, which is how they determined Alvarado is ready for save opportunities with an ERA over 6.00 at the time. Sterner owns one of the best skill sets in that bullpen with a 3.32 SIERA and 2.55 xERA and was very good last year too. I still think he’ll see a bunch of save opps over the rest of the year and has a better chance of contributing to your ratios than Alvarado.

I didn’t know that Lake could be a first name, but Lake Bachar has now made that fairly obvious. He’s another inducing a high SwStr% with a below average Stuff+, and it even comes with below average Location+ and Pitching+ marks. So I’m not as confident he’ll be able to continue posting good ratios and strikeout rate, unless he’s also doing something not being captured, which is quite possible.

Kevin Ginkel was a closing candidate heading into the season before Sewald won the job, and has rebounded from last year’s 7.36 ERA disaster. His SwStr% stands at a career best mark and his strikeout rate is up along with it. He actually could be the choice to close over Morillo if Sewald is traded simply given his 16 career saves.