While holds are even tougher to predict than saves, the players we’ll highlight today include some elite setup men that have proven to be closer candidates to target off the waiver wire for Week 12 of the fantasy baseball season.
The more likely a team is to win, the more likely a pitcher will be eligible to earn the holds that could be the difference between winning or losing in your fantasy league. Bear in mind, an effective relief pitcher highlighted today could find himself in a closer's role if the everyday closer is unavailable or recently ineffective.
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Week 12 Bullpen Targets
Seung-Hwan Oh, St. Louis Cardinals
0 Saves, 13 Holds, 1.70 ERA, 37.0 IP, 50 K, 0.81 WHIP
St. Louis Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal has been struggling. Despite 14 saves this year, Rosenthal has nearly doubled his BB/9 this year (7.5) compared to his career (3.9) and that has been the cause for concern. While this has only resulted in two blown saves, another candidate for saves looms in Seung-Hwan Oh. The appropriately named Final Boss is a former closer and is having a fantastic rookie season with the Cardinals. Using a 92.3 MPH fastball and a 85.3 MPH slider, Oh has held opponents to a .164 batting average. He finds himself pitching in the seventh or eighth inning and he has been near All-Star worthy. For fantasy, he is a viable option for holds and potentially saves if the uneasy ninth innings that Rosenthal pitches are alarming enough that the Cardinals need to give him time to figure out where his control has gone.
Daniel Hudson, Arizona Diamondbacks
1 Save, 12 Holds, 1.55 ERA, 29.0 IP, 24 K, 0.76 WHIP
The Arizona Diamondbacks are secure in the closer's role with Brad Ziegler. But there is another candidate for saves, even if it may not end up in a Diamondbacks uniform. Reliever Daniel Hudson is holding opponents to a .130 batting average this year. The eighth inning reliever just saw his first save opportunity this week and converted it. He is a strong candidate for save opportunities when given the chance. With June coming to an end and July approaching, Hudson can be an affordable candidate for teams that need a reliable end of the game pitcher to save games.
Sean Doolittle, Oakland Athletics
3 Saves, 8 Holds, 2.51 ERA, 28.2 IP, 35 K, 0.94 WHIP
Ryan Madson has done a fine job as the Oakland Athletics' closer. Former closer Sean Doolittle has seen a handful of save opportunities this year and he has done well. The lefty has opponents hitting .192 against him this year. Despite a 51.6% fly ball rate, Doolittle benefits from having a pitcher-friendly home ballpark. After seeing limited work last year, it appears he found what made him a top-tier closer in 2014. Primarily relying on his 94.7 MPH fastball, Doolittle regularly sees work in the eighth inning and will even find himself closing out more games if Madson is unavailable due to consecutive days of work.
Shawn Kelley, Washington Nationals
2 Saves, 5 Holds, 2.39 ERA, 26.1 IP, 37 K, 0.87 WHIP
The Washington Nationals are always putting themselves in situations to win so Shawn Kelley, standing in for the injured Jonathan Papelbon, continues to be a very viable option for saves in your fantasy league. Kelley is having a career year in his first year with the Nationals as he is allowing less hits (5.8) than his career average (7.9) while striking out a career-high 12.6 K/9. Opponents are hitting .185 against Kelley. The fastball, slider right-hander will have plenty of opportunities for saves while Papelbon is sidelined. Papelbon has a long resume to support his job when he returns but if he returns inefficient, Kelley may see occasional opportunities over the course of the year too.
Fernando Salas, Los Angeles Angels
2 Saves, 10 Holds, 3.90 ERA, 32.1 IP, 25 K, 1.08 WHIP
While Los Angeles Angels closer Huston Street has a long record of success, the 2016 campaign has not gone well for the 32-year-old. He has a career-worst 5.7 BB/9 and career-worst 4.3 K/9. With that in mind, Joe Smith is currently on the disabled list so Fernando Salas deserves some consideration for potential save opportunities. Salas has not been a definitively better option over Street but he does have better numbers. If he can be more consistent, he may be given a try as Street tries to find what made him successful over his career.
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