Bold truth: building a strong bullpen in fantasy baseball Roto leagues hinges on flexibility, smart bargains, and a clear three-tier plan. On draft day, the key is staying adaptable and knowing where to strike for value. Grouping relievers into tiers helps you evaluate options quickly and pivot as the board shifts. Since reliever roles and top names swing dramatically year to year, it’s smart to be looser with tiers for relievers than for other positions. If you need a reminder of how volatile this area can be, recall that just a couple of years ago Emmanuel Clase, Kirby Yates, Ryan Helsley, and Ryan Walker were among the top five relievers in Roto value, and Félix Bautista and Evan Phillips sat in the top five only a few years later.
At other positions, you might use five or more tiers in a 12- or 15-team league. For relievers, I’ll keep it simple with three tiers. Relievers can wander far from their projected value due to role changes, injuries, or the small-sample randomness of innings. Three tiers help limit overestimation without getting bogged down in minutiae.
Top tier overview
Because relievers carry more uncertainty, the top tier should include closers with a proven track record of strong indicators and a clear path to regular saves. I’d categorize eight relievers here:
- Mason Miller, SDP
- Edwin Díaz, LAD
- Andrés Muñoz, SEA
- Jhoan Duran, PHI
- Cade Smith, CLE
- David Bednar, NYY
- Devin Williams, NYM
- Josh Hader, HOU
Hader’s spot in the top tier is tentative due to his ongoing biceps inflammation and opening-day status. If you’re confident about his health, you can consider him securely in the top tier.
If you believe Aroldis Chapman’s improved first-pitch-strike approach will carry over from 2025, you could add him to the top tier. Depending on Hader’s recovery, Chapman might even outrank the Astros’ closer. Likewise, if you’re unconcerned about Raisel Iglesias posting career-high fly-ball rates and exit velocity on those balls last year, you could place him as the 10th reliever in the elite group. However, prioritizing consistency leads me to keep Chapman and Iglesias in the second tier for now.
Projection systems tend to line up most of the top eight relievers fairly close, with one standout exception: Mason Miller appears in a class by himself. That’s understandable given back-to-back seasons with a strikeout rate over 40%. Last year, no qualified reliever reached Miller’s 44.4% strikeout rate within six percentage points. Should Miller anchor your bullpen even a round earlier or for a bit more, it could be worth it. Díaz (CSW 33.6%), Hader (34.0%), and Williams (73.7% Z-Contact, the best in the group for avoiding contact) are all strong, and Miller edges them in swing-and-miss and strike-inducing ability. If adding Miller lets you shore up another position, it’s reasonable to settle for one of the other top closers as your RP1.
In practice, snagging one of the elite eight early is often essential to compete for saves. That said, you might gain more overall value by waiting a bit and filling RP1 later—perhaps with Bednar, Williams, or Hader—so you can prioritize other scarce positions. For example, waiting could help you land Freddie Freeman instead of Tyler Soderstrom, Austin Riley instead of Eugenio Suárez, or Logan Webb instead of Nick Pivetta.
Second tier landscape
Fifteen-team leagues often feature closer situations with real risk—unclear save distributions or lacking elite closer profiles. Eight teams already have their elite closers in tier one, so the remaining seven closer roles form the second tier:
- Aroldis Chapman, BOS
- Raisel Iglesias, ATL
- Ryan Helsley, BAL
- Jeff Hoffman, TOR
- Pete Fairbanks, MIA
- Emilio Pagán, CIN
- Daniel Palencia, CHC
Your RP2 should come from this group, and you can likely wait until pick No. 120 or later to secure that slot. It’s unlikely you’ll land Chapman here, but Iglesias is worth monitoring if he slides that far.
The rest of the field
Carlos Estévez stands out as notably absent from the first two tiers. He’s coming off 42 saves in 2025, leading the majors, which may entice managers to believe in job security. Yet deeper analysis suggests Estévez benefited from luck more than dominant skills: his 24.3% CSW, 24.9% chase, and 10.6% barrel avoidance don’t scream reliability. He excels at inducing popups and limiting pulled fly balls, but HR risk could rise with ballpark changes. You’ll likely not get him before the second tier is gone, and chasing him earlier isn’t wise.
Trevor Megill typically lands around the second tier, sometimes edging higher, but Milwaukee’s manager Pat Murphy has emphasized matchups and health in late-game roles. That hints that Abner Uribe—who covered Megill well when he was injured—could claim a share of the saves.
A few Rays relievers, Griffin Jax and Edwin Uceta, are intriguing as RP2 candidates if they secure a primary closer role (Jax could even be an RP1). However, with Kevin Cash naming four potential save candidates, it’s prudent to temper expectations for these two.
Pursuing high-skill relievers like Megill and Jax as an RP3 can pay off, especially if they deliver double-digit saves. If you’d rather chase big saves, consider a third-tier option like Ryan Walker. While his strikeout rate dipped, he still flashed a strong 30.2% CSW and 5.0% barrel avoidance, and there isn’t a clear closer waiting in the Giants’ system.
If you’re waiting to draft a third reliever, a non-closer with strikeout upside and solid ratios can be a smart bet. Bryan Abreu stands out here, especially with Hader dealing with injury questions. Other viable fallback RP3 options include Garrett Whitlock, Braydon Fisher, Phil Maton, Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, Grant Taylor, and Will Vest.
Fourth tier: is it worth it?
As you near the back end of the draft and face a thinner pool of hitters and starters, it can make sense to grab a fourth reliever. The goal is to cover all bases with a closer committee or a late-blooming closer. If Megill and Jax are gone, you might still find Robert Garcia, Riley O’Brien, and Taylor Rogers. Seranthony Domínguez and Victor Vodnik could also be on the board if you prefer a closer option at the end of the draft.
Bottom line: this three- (or four-) tier approach to relievers isn’t a guaranteed shield against chasing saves via the season-long free-agent bidding process. It’s nearly inevitable to chase saves at some point. But this structure positions you to assemble a solid bullpen without sacrificing precious picks or auction dollars needed to shore up the rest of your roster.
Sources: FanGraphs, Baseball Savant, Baseball-Reference, FantasyPros.
