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While holds are even tougher to predict than saves, the players we’ll highlight today include some elite setup men. The more likely an MLB team is to win, the more likely these pitchers will be eligible to earn the holds that could be the difference between winning or losing in your fantasy league.
Based on current ownership percentages, all of these relief pitchers are probably still available on your league’s waiver wire as of May 30th, 2015.
Editor’s Note: to read about even more waiver wire options for relief pitchers, be sure to check out our famous waiver wire pickups list which is a running list that is updated daily.
Week 9 Holds League Waiver Wire Adds
Ross Ohlendorf, Texas Rangers
4 holds, 1.93 ERA, 4.2 innings, 5 strikeouts, 1.29 WHIP
Ohlendorf is back in the majors after more than a year away and has so far been very effective for the Rangers. In five appearances, he has four holds and a save, and he could eventually develop into a guy who sees some high-leverage situations. He boasts a 95-mph fastball and a plus slider that has generated a 21.43% whiff rate in his first five appearances. It’s too small a sample size to discuss most of his peripheral statistics, but all you need to know right now is he’s an effective reliever on a team that is finding itself with late leads.
Chad Qualls, Houston Astros
7 holds, 2.45 ERA, 18.1 innings, 21 strikeouts, 0.93 WHIP
You have to love Qualls' 10.31 K/9. He uses a sinker/slider combo and gets the kind of production you’d expect from both—an 86.21% ground ball rate on the sinker and a 23.93% whiff rate on the slider. Like Ohlendorf, Qualls is on a team that is doing plenty of winning, and he’s getting plenty of opportunities for holds (and occasionally saves if Luke Gregerson gets a night off). Qualls boasts a 2.36 FIP on the year, which means that his numbers are legit, and in my opinion sustainable. He’ll make for a nice cheap option for holds and the occasional save going forward.
Joba Chamberlain, Detroit Tigers
7 holds, 1.29 ERA, 14.0 innings, 9 strikeouts, 1.43 WHIP
Joba is no longer the fireball-slinging dynamo that he was in his first couple years in the bigs (damn those Cleveland midges!), but he’s been looking very solid in recent outings. He hasn’t given up a run in his last five appearances (3.1 innings), and allowed only one hit and one walk. He’s not striking anybody out, but an important factor to consider is that he’s keeping the ball down. He’s more of a righty specialist than a consistent middle reliever, but he’s got four holds in his last four appearances. Enjoy the holds and hope he continues to avoid fly balls.
Blaine Boyer, Minnesota Twins
9 holds, 2.28 ERA, 23.2 innings, 10 strikeouts, 1.23 WHIP
The Twins are surprising everyone in the early stages of 2015. With wins come holds. Boyer has been excellent so far, allowing only one run in his last 15 outings. He uses a four-pitch mix (four-seam, sinker, slider, curve) to get ahead of batters and force bad swings. His .269 BABIP suggests he doesn’t have a whole lot of room for regression, and his 84.0% strand rate is also encouraging when trying to pick a guy for holds. He’s not a setup man, but he pitches often enough to merit a look in any holds league.
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