The midpoint of MLB's 2025 regular season has already passed, with the All-Star Game pending next week. That's why now seems like a fine time to examine what has been a mostly typical campaign for relief pitching in fantasy baseball. While some of the more reliable relievers have disappointed, others who were barely considered on draft day have become valuable assets. Let's take a closer look at some of the relief pitchers that have defined the 2025 season so far.
The good
Josh Hader/Bryan Abreu, Houston Astros: Hader, annually among the top relief pitchers in ESPN average live drafts, enters the final week before the break dominating scoring among his relief peers. So valuable in roto/categories formats is he that the lone pitchers ahead of him are Detroit Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal and Philadelphia Phillies RHP Zack Wheeler. Hader not only is trending toward his first season with 40 saves and his fifth with more than 100 strikeouts, but he has five wins and a microscopic 0.73 WHIP, with nary a blown save. He is one of the few top relievers from draft day returning high investment.
With holds being a factor in ESPN formats, Abreu joins Hader as a top 10-worthy reliever in ESPN scoring, pacing toward perhaps his first 40-hold campaign and his third consecutive season with more than 100 strikeouts. Holds matter. San Diego Padres RHP Jason Adam, performing considerably better than his team's closer Robert Suarez, warrants far more attention in standard leagues than many save leaders, as does Milwaukee Brewers RHP Abner Uribe, Tigers RHP Tommy Kahnle and San Francisco Giants RHPs Tyler Rogers and surprise All-Star Randy Rodriguez.
Aroldis Chapman, Boston Red Sox: The 37-year-old left-hander, playing with his seventh franchise, has seized Boston's closer role. He is among the fantasy relief leaders in scoring, with his 1.25 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and (yet again) a high strikeout rate. Chapman already boasts his most saves (15) since the 2021 season, but the most recent season that his ERA ended up below 3.00 was back in 2019. Fantasy managers mostly faded Chapman on draft day, and he remains available in more than 30% of standard leagues well into July.
Emilio Pagan, Cincinnati Reds: Pagan, 34, saved one Reds win in 2024, but opportunity arose this season and he may be on his way to 35 saves, which would surpass his prior career total. Pagan represents one of the best in-season fantasy free agent additions for saves, as he is among the leaders and showing little sign of regression, yet he remains available in more than 50% of standard leagues. Other savers overlooked on draft day (and still readily available) include Brewers RHP Trevor Megill, Tigers RHP Will Vest, Giants RHP Camilo Doval, Los Angeles Angels RHP Kenley Jansen and Washington Nationals RHP Kyle Finnegan.
The bad
Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland Guardians: Clase is a bit below pace for what would be an MLB-record fourth consecutive season reaching 40 saves, but the real problem is his bloated 3.20 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. Last season, Clase posted an 0.61 ERA and an 0.66 WHIP. Clase has recovered well after a rough April when he permitted 10 earned runs (allowing only four since then), but fantasy managers expected better from one of the first relievers off the draft board -- especially since Clase is not known for piling up high strikeout totals. Volatility is often the word for relief pitchers and, while Clase is a victim of an unlucky .372 BABIP, there are no guarantees things normalize soon.
Devin Williams, New York Yankees: If Clase was not the first drafted closer in your league, chances are it was Williams, acquired by New York during the offseason from the Brewers. As with Clase, Williams has pitched considerably better after a disturbing April, and perhaps few will remember those struggles. Still, when a top relief pitcher enters June having already reached a career high in earned runs allowed for a season, everyone notices. Williams had a 1.25 ERA last season. Today, that ERA sits at 5.01. That's not good.
Raisel Iglesias, Atlanta Braves: Iglesias, 35, seems unlikely to reach 30 saves for the sixth time in his career, as he lost the closer role among of torrent of home runs, permitting seven of them over the first two months. While he has pitched better of late and hasn't allowed a run in more than a month (lowering his ERA to 4.81), it seems relevant that the sputtering Braves recently underwent a five-week stretch with nobody earning a save. It's possible that Iglesias finishes July playing for another franchise.
The ugly
Jordan Romano, Philadelphia Phillies: Signed to a one-year contract, Romano struggled during his early appearances with the Phillies and hasn't really recovered, showcased by his 6.82 ERA and 1.48 WHIP. Romano saved 36 games for the Toronto Blue Jays during each of the 2022 and 2023 campaigns and still leads the first-place Phillies with eight saves, but LHP Matt Strahm and RHP Orion Kerkering seem more likely to earn saves moving forward. Count this as the ninth consecutive season (and the last since journeyman Jeanmar Gomez in 2016) wherein no Phillies pitcher earns 30 saves.
Ryan Pressly, Chicago Cubs: Pressly, 36, the longtime closer in Houston until Hader arrived there last season, seemed likely to handle closing duties for the Cubs following his January trade. It has not gone well. Pressly boasts one of the lowest strikeout rates among qualified relief pitchers at 15%, and the Cubs have moved on to RHP Daniel Palencia as their closer, with RHP Porter Hodge likely next in line. Pressly and his 1.47 WHIP can claim one save over the past two months. Move on, fantasy managers. It's not 2022.
Ryan Walker, San Francisco Giants: Arguably the biggest surprise among relievers when he posted a 1.91 ERA with 10 wins, 10 saves and 99 strikeouts in 2024, Walker earned a top-100 spot in ESPN average live drafts, ranking him sixth among relief pitchers. These days he is a fantasy afterthought and a solid reminder about how quickly things change. Watch out for the "next Ryan Walker" in 2026 drafts. There's always someone. And that someone should be avoided at all costs.