Saves+Holds League Targets

Saves+Holds leagues seem to be on the up and up because of the volatility of the saves category. We all are aware of the shift in team philosophies when it comes to the ninth inning. Many use committees, some use specific pitchers in high leverage situations (could be the 7th, 8th, or 9th inning), and few use one pitcher. This is where Saves+Holds leagues come into play, eliminates the headache of chasing the ever-elusive saves category. Here are the 2020 Saves+Holds leaders.

Sergio Romo is an interesting name here. He has been a Saves+Holds master the last three seasons, both with the Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins. Currently a free agent we of course have to see where he signs, but he will likely hold a similar role. The tradeoff with Romo is he produces just an average WHIP and ERA making him a solid option if you have a stellar rotation to offset those ratios. Either way, he is and always has been a great option for this format.

At age 33 Jake Diekman saw somewhat of a breakout season. This late breakout comes from riddling injuries Jake has experienced due to his autoimmune disease. Something he started a charity for which you can check out here.

Jake keeps hitters off-balance with his four-seam fastball and slider combination. Both pitches hold insane horizontal movement and both come in at the same angle making them a tunneling match made in heaven. They are virtually unhittable with above-average whiff rates and extremely low ISO’s against.

There have been several quotes from the Athletics front office stating Diekman will be the likely closer unless they sign someone. They also said they will be mixing in Lou Trivino and J.B Wendelken. Whether he is pitching in the eighth inning or the ninth inning Jake will be a tremendous asset for Holds+Saves leagues because if he isn’t getting a save he is likely getting a hold.

We have to give a ton of credit to the Milwaukee Brewers for what they did with Drew Pomeranz. Taking him out of the starter role literally revived his career. As a reliever in his career Drew has pitched 134.1 innings with a 2.55 ERA, 2.94 FIP, and 31.4 K%. That is astounding.

As you can see the San Diego Padres used Drew in multiple roles letting him acquire both a handful of saves and holds. Much like Diekman he currently is in the closer role but don’t be surprised if they use him in multiple situations, especially with Emilio Pagan there. This makes Drew a no-brainer because either way, you will be getting something from him.

While I think Jordan Romano holds down the Blue Jays closer role, Rafael Dolis will be just as valuable in Holds+Saves leagues. Dolis is the next man up and will be sitting there if Romano falls. But in the meantime, Romano will likely get a lot of work which leads to time off, which then leads to Dolis gathering both saves and holds.

Dolis transformed by dropping his four-seam fastball and utilizing his sinker and slider. He also started to throw a splitter giving him two breaking balls to induce whiffs. By doing so he brought his career average 7.3 SwStr% and nearly doubled it in 2020. With strikeout upside, playing for a great team, and locked into the eighth inning role he is a solid option in this format.

I have written about Josh Staumont being a late-round option before and this still holds true. They recently resigned Greg Holland, and while he did make a pitch mix change the four seasons prior were nothing but average. To me, Staumont has the makings to be that high strikeout bullpen arm they want and I don’t see anyone else in the bullpen taking over his high leverage position.