Fantasy baseball relief pitcher preview: Rankings, tiers, targets, top prospects and more

We’re almost there, everybody: After a long, cold, frustratingly slow offseason, MLB’s regular season begins on Wednesday, March 20, with the Dodgers and Padres squaring off in Seoul (the 28 other teams will get things started on Thursday, March 28). With precious little time to go until Opening Day, now is the time to start cranking up your fantasy baseball drafts — and we’re here to be your one-stop shop for all things draft prep. We just recently unveiled our top 300 overall for redraft leagues in 2024, as well as top prospects to know; now it’s time to start breaking things down position by position, giving you the lay of the land along with positional rankings, tiers, sleepers, busts and breakouts.

Next up: relief pitcher, which as a position feels healthier than it has in a long time. For all the talk about teams moving away from a traditional closer, this season features more seemingly stable situations than we’ve grown accustomed to. Of course, it won’t take long for that to be thrown into chaos once the regular season starts, and “just rank all 30 prospective closers by job security” is a trickier task than it sounds. More than just about any other position, relievers are dependent upon small-sample noise and team context, as well as a unique place in the 5×5 category landscape.

Relief pitcher tiers

Tier 1: Devin Williams, Edwin Diaz, Josh Hader
Tier 2: Camilo Doval, Jhoan Duran, Emmanuel Clase, Raisel Iglesias, David Bednar, Alexis Diaz, Jordan Romano
Tier 3: Ryan Helsley, Paul Sewald, Andres Munoz, Pete Fairbanks, Evan Phillips, Tanner Scott, Kenley Jansen, Adbert Alzolay, Clay Holmes
Tier 4: Craig Kimbrel, Jose Alvarado, Alex Lange, Jose Leclerc, Carlos Estevez
Tier 5: Kyle Finnegan, Will Smith, Robert Suarez, Robert Stephenson, Mason Miller, Justin Lawrence
Tier 6: David Robertson, Hunter Harvey, Yuki Matsui, Kevin Ginkel, Jason Adam, James McArthur, Ryan Pressly, Bryan Abreu, Hector Neris, Yennier Cano

Relief pitcher sleeper

Jose Alvarado, Philadelphia Phillies

We know that the Phillies are going to win their fair share of games, and we know manager Rob Thomson likes to have a guy in the ninth — just look at how he used Craig Kimbrel last season. We also know that Alvarado is the most talented guy in that bullpen, with a triple-digit fastball and wipeout cutter from the left side, and that he was about to run away with the closer’s role last summer before an elbow injury waylaid things. That injury, and the perceived murkiness around Philly’s bullpen depth chart, is keeping Alvarado’s price artificially low, but he seems like a natural fit for the job.

Relief pitcher breakout

Robert Stephenson, Los Angeles Angels

Really, this breakout happened last year; upon being traded from the Pirates to the Rays last summer, Stephenson posted a 2.35 ERA with a whopping 60 strikeouts in just 38.1 innings, largely thanks to a downright unhittable cutter. Carlos Estevez is technically the incumbent closer for the Angels, but he was a mess in the second half last season, and it won’t be long before Ron Washington is forced to make a change. L.A. won’t be great this year, but they’ll be better than you think despite losing Shohei Ohtani, and Stephenson is set for a monster year.

Relief pitcher bust

Alexis Diaz, Cincinnati Reds

The rebuild has borne fruit, and now the Reds are well and truly expecting to contend in 2024. That puts a lot of pressure on Diaz, especially considering the help Cincinnati has brought into the bullpen over the winter. All of which shortens the righty’s leash considerably, which is a troubling thought considering his extreme fly-ball tendencies and extreme hitter’s park. Diaz’s slider is legit, but his fastball is mediocre, and it’s not hard to see a rash of poor homer luck — and a couple conspicuous blown saves — putting his job in jeopardy.