Fantasy rankings: Hader, Hendriks lead deep relief pool

The unsung heroes of baseball, relievers are as important to a fantasy team as they are to their real-life counterparts. This year’s crop is incredibly deep with closers and setup men galore.

Here are the top fantasy bullpen options headed into the 2022 season.

Tier 1: Josh Hader, Liam Hendriks

When it comes to shutdown closers, it’s hard to find any two better than Hader and Hendriks. Both are coming off a couple of 30-save, 100-strikeout seasons (not counting 2020) and were named the Reliever of the Year in their respective leagues. Hendriks led the AL in saves with 38, while Hader wasn’t far behind with 34 in the NL.

Over the past three seasons, Hendriks has a 2.08 ERA with 274 strikeouts and 31 walks in 181 1/3 innings pitched. He tallied 77 saves in that span after recording just one in his first eight years in MLB. With the White Sox looking like strong contenders once again, Hendriks will have plenty of opportunities to close out games, even with Craig Kimbrel and Kendall Graveman also in the Sox ‘pen.

Hader had perhaps the finest season of his career in 2021, posting a measly 1.23 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 58 2/3 innings. He allowed eight runs all season, which matched the total number of runs he gave up during the shortened 2020 season. He could become even more dangerous in 2022 also, as he's working on making his changeup even better.

Tier 2: Raisel Iglesias, Aroldis Chapman, Emmanuel Clase, Edwin Díaz, Ryan Pressly

While they might not be the marquee names, this group of five is not far behind the top two. All five had 20 or more saves in 2021, with Iglesias pacing them with 34.

Iglesias is perhaps the safest bet of the five, as the 32-year-old has had 30 or more saves in each of the past three full seasons, not counting an eight-save campaign during the shortened 2020 season. Iglesias posted an ERA under 2.75 in five of his six seasons as a full-time reliever. He came one strikeout shy of his career best in 2021, sitting down 103 batters in 70 innings pitched.

Chapman had an up-and-down season in 2021, but that didn’t stop him from recording the eighth 30-save season of his career. His strikeout numbers are still elite, even with his highest walk rate in a season since his rookie year.

The latter three are steady options as well. Díaz and Pressly are the clear-cut closers in their respective bullpens. Clase is the most inexperienced of the group, but he struck out 74 and held a 1.29 ERA last season, which is more than enough to leapfrog some of the more established closers below.

Tier 3: Kenley Jansen, Giovanny Gallegos, Will Smith, Jordan Romano, Mark Melancon, Blake Treinen, Camilo Doval, Corey Knebel, Craig Kimbrel

The penultimate tier offers a good mix of veteran names and up-and-coming players. Melancon, Treinen and Knebel are all in position to see plenty of save opportunities this season, while Kimbrel should spend a lot of time in the seventh or eighth innings.

Smith and Jansen will form one of the best duos in any bullpen this season in Atlanta. Jansen had a resurgent year in 2021 with a 2.22 ERA, his lowest since 2017, and 38 saves, earning him a one-year, $16 million contract with the defending champs. Smith struck out 87 and closed out one fewer game than Jansen as the Braves' closer last year, but his work will mainly come in the eighth inning this season. On days where Jansen is unavailable, though, Smith will be the go-to guy in the ninth.

Gallegos may be in a closer-by-committee situation in St. Louis, but that should be no problem for him. Last season, he struck out 95 and recorded 14 saves in 80 1/3 innings pitched. He’s a multi-inning option for the Cardinals as well, meaning he’ll have more opportunities to tally stats.

Doval and Romano are the most interesting options, as both are fairly new to the late innings. Doval only appeared in 29 games last season, but an impressive stretch in September earned the rookie save opportunities in the playoffs for San Francisco. With a 12.3 K/9 in his first taste of MLB action, he’s already looking like a vet.

After an impressive 2020 campaign, Romano only got better for Toronto in 2021. The 28-year-old righty had a 2.14 ERA and racked up 23 saves in 24 opportunities with his only blown save coming in his third appearance of the season.

Tier 4: Scott Barlow, David Bednar, Taylor Rogers, Gregory Soto, Garrett Whitlock, Matt Barnes, Alex Reyes, Joe Barlow, Dylan Floro, Devin Williams, Paul Sewald, Jake McGee, Lucas Sims, Andrew Kittredge, Lou Trivino

The final tier might not have the recognizable names of the previous three, but there’s still plenty of value here. Most likely won’t top the saves leaderboard, but may sneak a couple in here and there while limiting runs and tallying a good number of strikeouts.

Devin Williams is the headliner of the group, as the 2020 NL Rookie of the Year had a 2.50 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 58 appearances last season. He had just three saves with the aforementioned Hader locking down the ninth for the Brewers, which lowers Williams’ fantasy value quite a bit despite his incredible stats.

Scott Barlow, Soto, Barnes, Reyes, Floro and Trivino are all solid options in the save category, as all six had at least 15 saves last season. Reyes led the group in saves with 29 and strikeouts with 95, but walked 52 in his 72 1/3 innings pitched. He will be an early-season stash, as a frayed right labrum may sideline him for a few months.