Fantasy Baseball Closer Report: Brewers turn to Abner Uribe, Kenley Jansen moves to third in all-time saves

In this week’s Closer Report, the Brewers are moving off of Trevor Megill in the ninth inning and giving Abner Uribe a chance to close out games. Meanwhile, other closers could be on the hot seat as many struggled on the mound, including Jeff Hoffman, who blew his third save in five chances. Let’s dive in as we cover the last week in saves around baseball with an updated closer rankings.

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2026 Fantasy Baseball Closer Rankings

▶ Tier 1

Mason Miller – San Diego Padres
Jhoan Duran – Philadelphia Phillies
Andrés Muñoz – Seattle Mariners
Edwin Díaz – Los Angeles Dodgers
Ryan Helsley – Baltimore Orioles

Miller struck out the side on back-to-back days against the Rockies last week, picking up a win on Friday. He then tossed a scoreless inning with one strikeout on Tuesday for his fifth save of the season. It was the first outing in which he did not record multiple strikeouts. Must have been an off night. The 27-year-old right-hander has retired 20 of the 27 batters he has faced for a 74.1% strikeout rate. For reference, Devin Williams holds the highest strikeout rate in a single season at 53% percent during the abbreviated 2020 season.

Duran has been lights out and the easy number two closer through three weeks. He struck out one batter in a clean inning against the Diamondbacks on Saturday for his fifth save. Duran has yet to walk a batter this season while generating an 18.8% swinging-strike rate and a 62.5% ground ball rate. Duran and Miller probably deserve to be in a tier of their own, as they’ve been the true dominant top closers so far, but we have to keep in mind we’re still only three weeks into the season. There’s a long way to go.

After not walking any batters across his first four outings, Muñoz worked around a pair of walks in his first two appearances this week, picking up his first save before falling in line for a win against the Astros. But Wednesday night was one to forget. Muñoz came in with a four-run lead in the ninth, a non-save situation, and gave up three runs on four hits and a walk before he was relieved with two outs. The two runners he left on would come in to score, leaving Muñoz with the loss. The 27-year-old right-hander will likely put this one behind him, and there are still very few closers I’d feel better about, but the five earned runs in a non-save outing are tough.

It was a weird week for Díaz as the Dodgers sent mixed signals around his status following his three-run blown save on Friday against the Rangers. There was concern regarding his reduced velocity in the early going, averaging 95.5 mph on the fastball. Díaz stated he felt fine and has generally been a slow starter. Through the first month of 2025, he averaged 96.3 mph. By May, he was throwing 97, and only increased as the season progressed. The team wanted to see Díaz throw a bullpen session before Tuesday’s game against the Mets, making him unavailable for the save chance. It was Alex Vesia closing it out by striking out the side to end the game. After, manager Dave Roberts said Díaz checked out fine after the bullpen and should be good to go. Díaz was in fact warming up for the ninth on Wednesday before the Dodgers extended their lead to seven runs in the eighth.

The bounce-back season for Helsley appears to be in effect, as he has been outstanding in the early going. He made three scoreless appearances this week, picking up his fifth save against the Diamondbacks on Monday. He’s allowed two runs with an 11/4 K/BB ratio across 7 1/3 innings.

▶ Tier 2

Cade Smith – Cleveland Guardians
Devin Williams – New York Mets
Daniel Palencia – Chicago Cubs
Raisel Iglesias – Atlanta Braves
David Bednar – New York Yankees
Aroldis Chapman – Boston Red Sox

It hasn’t been the smoothest start for Smith. After a scoreless appearance on Monday, he gave up one unearned run and was charged with a blown save against the Cardinals. He holds a 5.00 ERA while going 3-for-5 in save chances, but an 11/3 K/BB ratio and solid underlying skills suggest he’ll settle in. Still, his lack of track record in the ninth inning, combined with his slow start, doesn’t make fantasy managers comfortable early on after taking him as a top-five closer, sometimes as high as top-three.

Williams hadn’t made an appearance in a week before taking the mound down by two runs in the eighth inning against the Dodgers on Wednesday. These non-save situations after a long layoff could tend to end poorly, as it did for Williams. He gave up four runs on a grand slam and only recorded one out. All you can do is hold steady and practice patience. The same can be said for Palencia, who still has only one save on the year across five scoreless innings. He did pick up a win against the Pirates on Sunday.

Iglesias has silenced any preseason skeptics so far, tossing 6 2/3 scoreless innings with a 7/0 K/BB ratio, generating an impressive 17.2% swinging-strike rate. He struck out two in a scoreless inning against the Marlins on Tuesday for his third save of the season.

Bednar’s velocity is another one to watch. He’s made just one clean appearance while giving up one run in four of his seven outings. Bednar was charged with a blown save and a loss on Saturday against the Rays. He’s averaged 95.8 mph on the fastball so far, down from 97.1 mph. Unlike Díaz, Bednar’s velocity was flat across the entire 2025 season, starting and ending at 97 mph.

Chapman’s velocity was also down a tick early on. He had just three strikeouts over his first five innings of work. That was until Tuesday, when he sat 98.9 mph and struck out the side in a scoreless inning against the Twins.

▶ Tier 3

Riley O’Brien – St. Louis Cardinals
Jeff Hoffman – Toronto Blue Jays
Kenley Jansen – Detroit Tigers
Paul Sewald – Arizona Diamondbacks
Emilio Pagán – Cincinnati Reds
Abner Uribe – Milwaukee Brewers
Seranthony Domínguez – Chicago White Sox
Pete Fairbanks – Miami Marlins

O’Brien continued his strong start to the season, picking up two saves and a win. The 31-year-old right-hander has emerged as a reliable save source, tossing 10 1/3 scoreless innings with an 11/0 K/BB ratio with five saves. He’s generated an incredible 73.9% ground ball rate to go with the zero walks. That’ll work. I’m buying into this start for O’Brien.

This is where things get tough. Hoffman hasn’t had the best results, but the strikeout skills have been outstanding. He’s accumulated 18 strikeouts on a 23.1% swinging-strike rate. The problem has been a higher walk rate and an incredibly unlucky .529 BABIP. It’s led to three blown saves in five chances. Hoffman should get the opportunity to see his fortunes turn in the ninth inning, but if the team wanted to give him a break from closing, Louis Varland would be next in line. He hasn’t allowed an earned run over 10 1/3 innings while striking out 15 batters to just three walks.

Jansen worked four scoreless appearances this week, picking up three saves to give him 480 for his career, moving him ahead of Lee Smith for third all-time. He’s off to a good start with the Tigers, striking out seven with one run allowed over 4 2/3 innings. Jansen was sure to get every save chance until he moved ahead in the history books. It seems manager A.J. Hinch will be content keeping Jansen in the ninth, where he’s comfortable, even after surpassing Lee.

Sewald had a big week on the mound, locking down three saves for the Diamondbacks. The 35-year-old right-hander is up to six saves with a 2.45 ERA, 0.55 WHIP, and a 10/0 K/BB ratio across 7 1/3 innings. He’s doing it without conventional closer stuff, with a 91.7 mph fastball. It’s a profile that typically comes with volatility, though excellent control does help. You have to love the value and continue taking his production as long as he’s effective.

Pagán worked two scoreless outings, making that six scoreless since his four-run appearance on April 1. Yet, he still carries a 4.82 ERA. He locked down his fifth save with a clean inning against the Giants on Tuesday. Pagán seemed to hobble off the mound following his final pitch in that game. He reportedly felt his hamstring tighten up, but played catch with no issues on Wednesday, adding that he “dodged a bullet”. Still, it could be something to monitor over his next few outings. If Pagán were to reaggravate the hamstring issue, Tony Santillan would stand to see some save chances.

Trevor Megill surrendered four runs and failed to record an out against the Nationals on Friday. He then got a save chance against the Blue Jays on Tuesday and gave up three more runs. With that, manager Pat Murphy stated the team will need to move from Megill in the ninth for the time being. The team saw another save chance on Wednesday, and it was Uribe who got the nod. He struck out one in a clean inning to come away with his first save. Uribe hasn’t been off to the best start himself, but has the most upside after posting a 1.67 ERA and 90 strikeouts over 75 1/3 innings last season, ending the year with seven saves, filling in for an injured Megill. If Uribe is available, he should be a priority add for any teams looking for saves.

Domínguez worked two save chances this week, converting both while striking out two batters each time out. He’s yet to work a clean outing, giving up two runs and four hits with a 7/4 K/BB ratio across 5 2/3 innings. That’ll be the Domíguez experience all season as he generally runs high walk rates. But he has a decent leash on the closer role as long as he’s getting the job done.

Fairbanks made his first appearance since taking a few days off on the paternity list. He had given up three runs as the opener the last time out, then gave up another three runs in the eighth inning against the Braves on Tuesday to get charged with a blown save and a loss.

▶ Tier 4

Lucas Erceg – Kansas City Royals
Bryan Baker – Tampa Bay Rays
Jakob Junis – Texas Rangers
Jordan Romano – Los Angeles Angels
Ryan Walker/Keaton Winn – San Francisco Giants
Dennis Santana/Gregory Soto – Pittsburgh Pirates
Bryan King/Bryan Abreu/Enyel De Los Santos – Houston Astros

Erceg worked two clean innings this week to convert a pair of saves. He’s up to five since stepping in for Carlos Estévez. It’s come with just a 4/2 K/BB ratio across 6 2/3 innings and a 4.1% swinging-strike rate. That’s not exactly shutdown stuff.

Baker worked around two hits to convert a save against the Yankees on Friday, then surrendered the lead in the eighth with two runs allowed on Saturday. He then stepped in for the final out against the White Sox on Tuesday for his third save. Baker continues to be the preferred option in the ninth for the Rays, but Edwin Uceta could factor into the mix once he’s activated from the injured list.

Junis emerged from the Rangers’ situation last week with a pair of saves, then converted his third against the Dodgers on Sunday. He’s another one that I don’t really trust to hold the job all year with his current skillset, but he’s the current go-to option for manager Skip Schumaker.

Any one of these relievers could have a week like Romano just had, which brings their role into question. Romano blew two save chances against the Yankees over the last three days, giving up five total runs. He’s still likely to see the next save chance, but you have to wonder if Kirby Yates will be given a shot to claim the job once he’s ready to be activated.

The Giants have still only had one traditional save chance on the season, converted by Walker on March 30. Since then, he’s made his last four appearances before the ninth inning with mixed results. Meanwhile, Winn has impressed with a 32% strikeout rate behind an 18.2% swinging-strike rate. The next ninth-inning save chance should be telling.

Santana picked up two saves this week. He’s yet to allow a run over nine innings, but it’s come with an uninspiring 6/4 K/BB ratio. Soto, meanwhile, has collected 15 strikeouts over 9 2/3 innings of work and should remain in the mix for matchup-based save chances against a lefty-heavy lineup.

As Bryan Abreu works some middle relief as he figures things out, King got the chance to close out the game against the Rockies on Tuesday. Though he was asked to record five outs when he entered the game with two runners on and one out in the eighth. He got out of the jam and returned for the ninth before letting two runners on with two outs. De Los Santos then recorded the final out for the save. After a taxing day for King, De Los Santos got the ninth inning again on Wednesday and converted his second save, with Abreu recording four outs as the setup man in what was his best outing of the season. It seems this will be a committee until either Abreu returns to form or Josh Hader returns from the injured list, set for sometime in May.

▶ Tier 5

Cole Sands/Taylor Rogers/Justin Topa – Minnesota Twins
Victor Vodnik – Colorado Rockies
Clayton Beeter/Gus Varland – Washington Nationals
Hogan Harris/Mark Leiter Jr./Joel Kuhnel – Athletics

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