Fantasy Baseball’s Sneaky-Best Non-Closing Relievers

Most of the fantasy baseball coverage you see is on hitters, starting pitchers and closers. That leaves out relievers, which we are going to cover here.

For those of you in deeper leagues, or looking for some sneaky-good non-closing relievers, this one's for you! We are using stats from FanGraphs. Let's get right to it!

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Tyler Samaniego - Boston Red Sox

Samaniego has still not allowed a run this season. He's pitched in 12 games, working 14 1/3 innings.

He's allowed eight hits and six walks, but has struck out 11 batters to work out of any trouble. He has no wins or losses, and he doesn't even have a hold.

Without any decisions, he's not getting much fantasy attention, but he's still worth discussing since he hasn't allowed a run. He's a player to keep in mind in case he starts getting high-leverage innings, which is definitely possible as the Red Sox might start selling off assets soon.

Louis Varland - Toronto Blue Jays

I said I was focused more on relievers, not closers, but Varland hasn't been the season-long closer, so I'm going to include him here.

He is 1-1 with a 0.46 earned run average over 19 2/3 innings pitched so far. Varland has three holds and five saves, so he's on the fantasy radar. He's allowed five runs (just one earned) on 14 hits and seven walks, while striking out 29 batters.

Varland is rostered in 83% of fantasy leagues right now. As long as he's the team's closer, his fantasy outlook is higher, and I'd be happy to add and utilize him in most leagues.

Even if he loses the closer role eventually, if Varland is still sporting a lower ERA and good strikeout marks, he's a decent deep-league fantasy asset.

Rico Garcia - Baltimore Orioles

Garcia is 3-0 and has three saves, but the saves are up with Ryan Helsley on the injured list. Garcia has been good all season, and is pitching in high-leverage innings, as he has seven holds.

He has one blown save over his 20 appearances. Garcia has allowed a run on one hit and seven walks in his 19 innings. He's struck out 22 along the way.

Garcia was a decent fantasy asset before getting some save chances of late. He is rostered in 57% of leagues right now, and he should remain owned in most deeper leagues even after he loses hold of the closer role.

Garcia is pitching well enough to hold in deeper leagues, and stream in standard leagues any time he's serving as the top closer.

Robert Suarez - Atlanta Braves

Suarez served as the Braves' closer for a short time earlier this season, but has mostly been the setup man for Raisel Iglesias.

In 17 appearances, Suarez is 3-0 with a 0.53 ERA over 17 innings. He's allowed a run on 12 hits and three walks, while striking out 16 batters.

Suarez is at 84% rostered right now, and was near 90% when serving as the closer. His fantasy value is down a bit as a setup man, but if your league rewards relievers for holds and wins, Suarez is still a very good fantasy asset.

Don't sleep on Suarez just because he isn't closing games. Wins and holds, plus stellar run prevention still makes Suarez a really good deep-league asset, and even worth utilizing in standard leagues.

John King - Miami Marlins

King is 1-0 with a 0.54 ERA over 19 appearances and 16 2/3 innings this season. He has one save and three holds.

King has allowed a run on three hits and six walks, while striking out 15 batters along the way. He's been stellar so far.

King is gaining a little fantasy traction, but is still only owned in 4% of leagues right now. He's worth adding and utilizing in some deep redraft leagues.

His path to saves isn't great, but some wins and holds could help him still be a decent fantasy asset. If he keeps limiting runs, then he's worth trying in some leagues.

Dylan Lee - Atlanta Braves

Lee is another Atlanta reliever who is excelling early on. He's 1-0 with a 0.96 ERA over 18 2/3 innings. 

Lee has five holds and one blown save over his 19 appearances. He's allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out 23 along the way.

Lee's path to saves is really low with Iglesias and Suarez around. Lee is still rostered in 27% of fantasy leagues thanks to his stellar pitching early on for Atlanta. Give him some consideration in deeper redraft leagues.

Aaron Ashby - Milwaukee Brewers

Ashby is the league leader in wins with seven. He's pitched in 18 games for Milwaukee so far, and has a 1.52 ERA.

Over 23 2/3 innings, Ashby has allowed five runs (four earned) on 16 hits and 15 walks. He has 37 strikeouts as well. Despite the 7-0 record, Ashby doesn't have a save or hold.

His path to saves is pretty low, but his role in the bullpen is valuable in some fantasy leagues. Ashby is at 42% rostered, which is his highest mark of the season - it will only continue to rise if he keeps picking up wins and pitching well.

Don't sleep on Ashby, and give him some consideration in deeper redraft leagues.

Erik Sabrowski - Cleveland Guardians

Sabrowski leads the MLB with 14 holds already. He's pitched in 20 games, and has a 1-1 record and no blown saves.

Sabrowski has allowed four runs on seven hits and seven walks over 17 1/3 innings. He's struck out 29 batters along the way.

Sabrowski is rostered in 49% of leagues, which is really high for a non-closer. He deserves high ownership with how he's pitched so far, so look into possibly adding him if you are in a deeper league.

He could be worth tracking in case the closer role in Cleveland ever becomes available.

JoJo Romero - St. Louis Cardinals

Romero is the only other reliever with double-digit holds - he has 13 holds over 19 appearances.

Romero is 0-1 and has not blown a save yet. He's allowed seven runs on 15 hits and seven walks over his 19 1/3 innings. Romero has 16 strikeouts to his name.

Romero sits at 30% rostered, and is rising of late. Even while not closing games, he's racking up holds and posting a good enough ERA to have some fantasy relevance.

He's a sneaky-good fantasy asset in deeper leagues, so consider adding him in those leagues.

Brant Hurter - Detroit Tigers

Detroit has some big names at the end of the bullpen, and Hurter usually is a forgotten guy as a result. He has four wins and a hold over 17 appearances, plus a stellar 1.66 ERA.

Hurter has allowed five runs (four earned) on 12 hits and six walks over 21 2/3 innings. He has struck out 15 batters so far.

He's rostered in just 5% of fantasy leagues, although he's risen of late. Hurter is worth adding in some deep redraft leagues, so look into doing just that.

Matt Gage - San Francisco Giants

Gage has three wins and four holds over 20 appearances so far this season. He has one loss, no blown saves and a 1.02 ERA over 17 2/3 innings.

He's given up just three runs (two earned) on nine hits and 10 walks. Gage has only 11 strikeouts to his name though.

With not too many strikeouts, it's not a huge surprise to see him barely owned in fantasy leagues. Gage is worth looking into with those wins and holds though, because he's certainly not allowing too many runs.

He's just a very deep league option, but worth diving into a bit more.