Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Advice: Planning Ahead for Future Saves
It’s early in the season, but it’s never too early to prepare for the future. Closers are tricky beasts; their roles are rarely safe, and even the supposedly stable ones are a bad stretch from losing their jobs. Don’t forget, even the great Aroldis Chapman was demoted at one point last year. So while people are letting their rosters settle, see if these relief pitchers are available in your league. They won’t get you precious saves now, but they can assist in other ways until their time comes.
All ownership percentages are based on Yahoo's numbers.
Archie Bradley, Diamondbacks (66% Owned)
Bradley was widely presumed to be the Diamondbacks’ closer until the end of Spring Training, so he’s not as available as the other pitchers on this list. Bradley is, however, the best reliever on this list. 2017 was the first year Bradley spent as a full-time reliever, and he whiffed 9.74 batters per nine while walking fewer than three per nine. He also posted a sterling 1.73 ERA, and although his FIP was significantly higher (2.61), that would still qualify as a very good number. Bradley lost out on the closer job this year to Brad Boxberger, not because of his ability, but because of his value as a multi-inning fireman. That’s fine, but Boxberger always struggles with walks, and has battled injury for two years running. If Boxberger’s control issues crop up, or he gets hurt, it’s not hard to see Bradley sliding right into the closer job and operating much like Raisel Iglesias did last season in Cincinnati.
Addison Reed, Twins (38% Owned)
Reed is an up-and-down kind of reliever, looking elite some seasons and completely unworthy of trust in others. More often than not, though, Reed is a trusty source of strikeouts and a positive in the WHIP category. The better argument for rostering Reed now, however, is that he’s currently behind Fernando Rodney on the depth chart. Yes, 41-year-old, Fernando Rodney, who posted a 4.23 ERA last season and has already given up a home run in 2018. The Twins have designs on contention, and they’ll get tired of Rodney blowing games real quick. Reed is the best bet of any current non-closer to work his way into lots of save opportunities.
Ryan Madson, Nationals (24% Owned)
Unlike in Reed’s case, I believe Madson is behind a highly competent closer in Sean Doolittle. That doesn’t change the fact that Madson is a big time reliever, and if he got the opportunity to close he’d be in the upper echelon at the position because of the team he’s on. I’d be surprised if Doolittle lost this gig based on performance, but his health has been extremely unreliable until last season. Prior to 2017, Doolittle had pitched 52.2 innings combined over the previous two seasons. Madson is next in line on a World Series contender, behind a very injury-prone closer. He’s a must-own for Doolittle owners, and he has value to other owners independent of Doolittle provided the league is deep enough.
Kyle Barraclough, Marlins (30% Owned)
Barraclough has problems with walks, and he plays for possibly the worst team in MLB. With that out of the way, he could be more valuable than you think. For one, he has posted a K/9 of 10 or more in all of his seasons in the big leagues, and never posted a FIP higher than 3.66 despite his control issues. This guy is a strikeout monster, and if he can rein in his stuff, he has the makings of a dominant reliever.
But, in most leagues, saves are king and without them a relief pitcher has very limited appeal. In Miami, Brad Ziegler stands in front of Barraclough. Not only is Ziegler among the worst closers in baseball, the Marlins are so bad that they’re nearly guaranteed to be sellers at the trade deadline. Should Ziegler actually pitch well, he’s a near certainty to be dealt to a contender. If he stinks, he’ll simply lose the job outright to the younger, more exciting Barraclough. Even if he gets the role, the Marlins themselves will put a cap on his save opportunities, but his contributions elsewhere will still make him useful.
Darren O’Day, Orioles (7% Owned)
O’Day has been a high-level middle reliever for a long time, only occasionally getting chances to get saves. This year he has his best chance. Zach Britton is out until at least the All-Star break if everything goes well with his rehab, and all that’s standing in his way is Brad Brach. While Brach is also a very solid reliever, with similar numbers, he did blow his first save opportunity of 2018. That doesn’t mean he’s headed for a collapse, but if he struggles out of the gate he doesn’t have a lengthy track record to hold off O’Day from taking the job from him.