SAGNOF: 2026 RP Rankings

What’s poppin’, Razzpimples?

Doing the same thing I did last year, except that I’ve streamlined the format a little bit. Blurbs per player instead of a chunky paragraph. I’ve got a lame neighborhood analogy for my tiers: Household Names (aka The Elite), Next-Door Neighbors (aka The Great), Cool Guys Across The Street (aka The Good), Guys You Always See Walking Their Dog (The Decent), and then the Weirdos With Junk Everywhere (aka The Last Resorts). There is no order whatsoever to each respective list, fyi. So yeah, this isn’t really a ranking, per se. I lied to you in the headline. I feel a little bad about it.

Don’t forget to keep that there Razzball Bullpen Chart bookmarked. It’s been updated with the latest, and I’m usually quick to get it touched up once any type of news drops. And if you’re not a subscriber, I do highly, highly, highly recommend it. If’n you’re of the mind to consider it, you can find all the info here. I’m partial to the Relievonator Game Log Tool.

Welp. That’s enough of that. Let’s do it to it, pardner.

Note: All injured players have been omitted. If you believe in them that much, draft and stash on the IL, amigo!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Test your RP drafting strategy in one of our RAZZBALL COMMENTER LEAGUES!  They are filling up fast!  12 team 5×5 roto leagues with daily moves, perfect for streaming all the RPs you can handle.

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Household Names

For SV-only:

Mason Miller — Consensus top fantasy RP. Only thing not to like is that ugly BB%, but he’s plenty good enough that it doesn’t matter.

Cade Smith — Honestly, this guy is Miller but much cheaper. Two seasons to his name and he’s eclipsed 100 K both times (207 K in 149 IP). Has every opportunity to lead the league in saves and will rival anyone’s ratios and K. He should be your #1 RP target everywhere.

Edwin Diaz — You know what you’re getting with him as long as he’s healthy.

Andres Munoz — Ditto. Last year was what we all have been waiting for.

Josh Hader — I’ve got him here even though there’s a good chance he misses a solid chunk of time. He’s not worth his ADP in my book, so just fade, but you can’t have a household name section without Hader.

For SVHD:

Bryan Abreu — If you’ve read my stuff for any amount of time, you know I love Abreu. The walks have become a problem, yet I just don’t care. Grab him late in SV-only.

Griffin Jax — Last year was a BABIP disaster. Bound to have better luck this year. The metrics were so good.

Matt Brash — Will set up Munoz. God, what a ding dang duo that is. If healthy, he should be elite.

Jason Adam — Injury ended his 2025 early, and there were concerns about his OD status this year. All signs are pointing to him being ready, which means he should go right back to being a top tier source of holds and ratios with good K.

 

My favorite value in SV-only: Cade Smith (and also Bryan Abreu for early-season SV)

My favorite value in SVHD: Griffin Jax

 

Next-Door Neighbors

For SV-only:

Raisel Iglesias — He just keeps doing it. Almost 30 SV last year and had a whole bunch of red on the Statcast. He’s not quite elite anymore, but he’s the next best thing.

Devin Williams — Can’t have a guy who lost high-leverage duties last year as a household name anymore, but I fully believe a bounce back to greatness is likelier than not. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s bumped up to the top tier in the 2027 version of this piece. 

Jhoan Duran — If he could rival the big dogs for K, he’d be up a tier. Reckon I’d love him on my team regardless, real life or fantasy. 

Aroldis Chapman — Chapman proved he can still close with the best of em. We’ll see if he can do it again. 

David Bednar — What a redemption arc! Guy got dumped into Triple-A for a spell and came back better than ever. It feels like he’s 37 years old but he’s still only 31. 

For SVHD:

Hunter Gaddis — Should be main setup man for Smith. That means mountains of holds. His 2024 was sensational, but the overall quality declined pretty sharply in 2025. He hasn’t earned household status yet in my book. Has the potential to get there.

Garrett Whitlock — Another year like last year and he’ll be a household setup man: 2.25 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 91 K. Some of the best stuff out there.

Fernando Cruz — You know you’re getting top tier K with Cruz. You just don’t know if you’re getting health or good ratios. Dude is 35 yet only has four MLB season to his name: 300 K in 195.1 IP. I’ve got him here because he’s in a position to chug holds and get you 100+ K.

Abner Uribe — Broke out last year. Just gotta see him do it again. I’ve said it all preseason: I give the edge to Megill to be the closer as things stand now, so Uribe is a great SVHD fella.

Robert Suarez — Suarez will set up Iglesias, and historically the Braves provide lots of holds to their 8th-inning guys. Good ratios and 70+ K are likely in the cards.

Brad Keller — Keller cooked with the Cubs last year. I expect him to cook as the main setup man in Philly.

Tony Santillan — Santillan has one of the worst Statcasts I’ve seen for a really good fantasy reliever: his only truly red area was FBvelo. Statcast is lazy analysis though, I just think it’s kinda funny. He’s got a long leash after last year’s 2.44 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 40 SVHD.

Garrett Cleavinger — Cleav feels super underrated to me. Maybe he’s not. Some of the best metrics among anyone in 2025: 33.7 K%, 7.4 BB%, 16.2 SwStr%, 34.3 CSW%. Absolute banger for SVHD formats.

Tyler Rogers — Boring but effective. Wasn’t great as a Met, but I wager he’s pretty great as a Jay. Should be primary setup to Hoffman, so lots of holds coming, just like in his San Fran days.

Jeremiah Estrada — 108 K in 2025. Only knock fantasy-wise is that guy Jason Adam in the mix.

 

My favorite value in SV-only: Raisel Iglesias

My favorite value in SVHD: Garrett Cleavinger

 

Cool Guys Across The Street

For SV-only:

Daniel Palencia — Had a nice breakout before injury. If he can pick up where he left off, he’ll at least be a Next Door Neighbor in 2027. He’s being drafted like a seasoned vet, though, so tread with caution.

Dennis Santana — In a position to be a full-time closer in Pittsburgh, so that’s plenty fantasy relevant as is. Last year’s ratios were stellar.

Pete Fairbanks — Closing for Miami now. You just can’t count on health. But if you could? Up a tier at least.

Emilio Pagan — One of the biggest surprises in fantasy baseball in 2025. Long leash to try to do it again.

Ryan Helsley — Ah, how the mighty have fallen. Sang Helsley praises for years. I like him quite a bit still, but his Mets tenure sure soured a lot of folks. The K upside isn’t what it was, either.

Jeff Hoffman — Potentially a great fantasy closer. He can’t give up 15 HR again, though.

Carlos Estevez — Velo concerns don’t really concern me in the early stages of Spring Training. Can’t say odds are great that he leads the league in SV again, but I won’t say they’re zero.

Trevor Megill — Still a mighty big fan of Megill’s…as long as he’s a closer. I mean, in SVHD I love him no matter what, cuz even if the trade rumors come to fruition, I find it hard to believe he goes somewhere that doesn’t utilize him in high leverage.

Kenley Jansen — Old Reliable put in a vintage year in 2025. I reckon he’s a full-time closer as long as he wants to be one, so Detroit gives him every opportunity.

For SVHD:

Luke Weaver — Given A.J. Minter’s injury, Weaver defaults to top setup man for Airbender.

Hunter Harvey — If healthy, he could be what Keller was last year to the Cubs. That’s one of the biggest “ifs” there is in baseball, though.

Lucas Erceg — Bad K% in 2025. Chalk it up to injury recovery, I suppose.

Matt Strahm — Realistically, think Strahm could leapfrog Erceg on the depth chart. If not, still probably gets plenty of hold chances.

Tanner Scott — Last year sucked. It’s just the previous years were so good I can’t quite shake him.

Alex Vesia — Vesia was a lot better than Scott last year. If Scott still can’t find his mojo early, Vesia will become the lefty of choice.

Dylan Lee — Speaking of a lefty of choice, I’m a big fan of what Lee brings to the table: a K-BB% north of 20, elite swing-and-miss stuff, and an upper-tier CSW%. Gonna get consistent high leverage innings with that.

 

My favorite value in SV-only: Dennis Santana

My favorite value in SVHD: Dylan Lee

 

Guys You Always See Walking Their Dog

For SV-only:

Ryan Walker — Crazy how good his 2024 was, only to be followed by that 2025. Giants have no better options right now, so you’ve got yourself a full-time closer if you draft him. A risky one.

Robert Garcia — Same deal with Garcia. Doesn’t excite me, but the save totals could lessen the sting of boringness.

Seranthony Dominguez — Sir Anthony has flirted in and out of fantasy relevancy since his Philly days. As the likely full-time closer for the White Sox, he could be a very cheap source of solid SV.

For SVHD:

Camilo Doval — Probably still a solid amount of holds chances coming Doval’s way, though I think he’s a clear rung or two underneath Cruz in the quality department, hence the drop in tier.

Robert Stephenson — Not sure when he’ll be ready to pitch. Has the potential to provide similar value to guys a couple tiers above him if he can give us a mostly full season.

Bryan King — Broke out last year, I just wanna see it again before I bump him higher. Lots of safer names to go with first.

Justin Sterner — Ditto. Plus is the A’s so not as many HLD opps.

Jose Ferrer — Could earn himself a higher tier next year. Seattle usually has holds to share.

Gabe Speier — Said it before: quietly cooked in 2025. Ferrer coming to town kind of throws a wrench in his fantasy value. Both could be nice, but it also kinda feels like it might be a back-and-forth hot hand kind of situation, cuz neither is getting ahead of Brash and Munoz of course.

Shawn Armstrong — Very strong 2025. Even behind Gaddis, there should be enough to go around for Armstrong in Cleveland.

Keegan Akin — Think he’s got a leg up over Cano for top setup in Baltimore (Andrew Kittredge is out).

Matt Svanson — Huge year last year: 1.94 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 68 K. Might could bump both Romero and O’Brien down the depth chart.

Jared Koenig — Snagged 6 W and 29 SVHD last year. Not flashy, but good enough.

Jose Alvarado — Alvarado doesn’t do a lot for me anymore, but as a 7th or 8th inning guy with some streaks of utter dominance in recent years, I’ll at least give him this tier.

Gregory Soto — Don’t love him at all, but he’s an 8th-inning guy most likely, and he’s at least better than the names in the tier below.

Chris Martin — Ditto.

 

My favorite value in SV-only: Robert Garcia

My favorite value in SVHD: Matt Svanson

 

Weirdos With Junk Everywhere

For SV-only:

Kirby Yates — Injuries mean he probably closes early on. I don’t know how long that lasts.

Hogan Harris — Have said before the A’s situation is best avoided when saves are concerned. But he’s in the mix.

Justin Sterner — Ditto.

Scott Barlow — Ditto again…maybe.

Mark Leiter Jr. — Ditto again…maybe…

Taylor Rogers — Don’t really know what the Twins are gonna do. He could close full time, he could timeshare, or he could just not even sniff the ninth. But my heart tells me he gets the chance to be the guy.

Kevin Ginkel — Probably battles it out with Sewald for closing rights.

Paul Sewald — As a former borderline elite closer, I gotta think he gets another chance. I just don’t know how much I believe in him despite that.

Victor Vodnik — Probably closes for Colorado, if you care.

JoJo Romero — In the mix for saves for St. Louis. Don’t know if Marmol will give the job to the hottest hand or if he plans a committee.

Riley O’Brien — Ditto.

Clayton Beeter — In the saves mix for Washington, and I’ve said before I like his upside best given the strikeouts. Competing with Cole Henry, who is less sexy and also has a terrible BB%.

For SVHD:

Juan Mejia — Would barely consider him in an NL West-only SVHD league.

Seth Halvorsen — Ditto.

Phil Maton — Was kind of a stud with St. Louis, then got traded to Texas and was meh. Has upside to move up a tier or even two if Harvey sucks and/or can’t stay healthy.

Mason Montgomery — Showed flashes of true excellence in Tampa. Then fell off in a big way. Could right the ship in a new locale but will have some depth chart climbing to do.

Calvin Faucher — He’s an 8th-inning guy. One of the most boring of them all. In the right format there’s a modicum of value here.

Brooks Raley — Might be completely irrelevant or might run with the opportunity Minter’s injury affords. Not that Raley’s injury history is uplifting, either.

Graham Ashcraft — Would only consider in really deep SVHD formats.

Grant Taylor — Ditto.

Erik Sabrowski — Ditto again. If not for Armstrong, I’d probably bump him up a tier for that K upside.

 

My favorite value in SV-only: Clayton Beeter

My favorite value in SVHD: Phil Maton

 

That’s all for this week! Thanks for reading. Leave me a comment below so I feel all warm and fuzzy.

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