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Relief Pitchers - Updated March Rankings and Tiers

We rolled out our final update on 2017 rankings this past weekend. While there haven’t been seismic shifts, some players have naturally seen their stocks rise or fall since our initial valuations were made in December. We’re gathered here today to look at relief pitcher rankings, tiers, and auction values, which have seen a bit of movement.

As before, this round of rankings features picks from myself, Nick MarianoKyle BishopBill DubielBrad Johnson and Jeff Kahntroff.

Check out all of our updated rankings. Adjust your league size, and export your rankings. Tiers, auction values, prospects, news and more. It's all free.

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2017 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Relief Pitchers (March Updates)

Ranking Tier Player Position Brad Kyle Nick Bill Harris Jeff Auction $
1 1 Aroldis Chapman RP 57 64 60 68 68 55 19
2 1 Zach Britton RP 64 66 64 64 58 61 19
3 1 Kenley Jansen RP 60 62 63 74 67 53 19
4 2 Craig Kimbrel RP 88 101 122 91 84 88 16
5 2 Roberto Osuna RP 103 96 109 76 121 94 15
6 2 Seung-Hwan Oh RP 131 97 97 114 109 70 14
7 2 Edwin Diaz RP 113 90 101 120 110 89 14
8 2 Kelvin Herrera RP 96 106 126 97 123 96 13
9 2 Mark Melancon RP 138 105 123 129 83 93 13
10 2 Andrew Miller RP 129 120 174 104 115 132 11
11 3 Cody Allen RP 130 127 159 123 143 103 11
12 3 Alexander Colome RP 144 119 170 143 122 104 10
13 3 Wade Davis RP 182 131 167 138 82 110 10
14 3 Kenneth Giles RP 170 130 165 163 111 90 10
15 3 Dellin Betances RP 150 128 175 125 132 180 9
16 4 Jeurys Familia RP 190 166 172 145 144 130 9
17 4 David Robertson RP 163 142 213 171 177 128 8
18 4 Francisco Rodriguez RP 180 164 252 179 175 124 7
19 4 A.J. Ramos RP 205 193 182 288 176 129 6
20 5 Neftali Feliz RP #N/A #N/A 215 #N/A 267 135 5
21 5 Sam Dyson RP 230 199 283 214 217 156 4
22 5 Tony Watson RP 216 258 277 219 178 157 4
23 5 Cameron Bedrosian RP 249 190 288 218 218 155 4
24 5 Raisel Iglesias SP/RP 221 202 343 255 254 174 3
25 5 Shawn Kelley RP 236 251 229 316 265 182 3
26 5 Jim Johnson RP 275 267 331 285 268 181 3
27 6 Adam Ottavino RP 225 281 297 282 338 190 3
28 6 Addison Reed RP 184 219 341 322 337 222 2
29 6 Brandon Maurer RP 261 216 294 335 359 221 2
30 6 Greg Holland RP 338 289 258 254 326 2
31 6 Felipe Rivero RP 256 #N/A 350 291 2
32 6 Fernando Rodney RP 280 322 305 348 357 223 1
33 6 Ryan Madson RP 342 285 356 170 266 456 1
34 6 Jeanmar Gomez RP 379 337 303 360 225 1
35 6 Nate Jones RP 300 279 345 346 410 259 1
36 6 Brandon Kintzler RP 346 365 332 #N/A 358 224 1
37 6 C.J. Edwards RP #N/A 429 197 361 1
38 6 Glen Perkins RP 315 313 #N/A 358 377 297 1
39 6 Arodys Vizcaino RP 353 349 346 317 339 301 1
40 7 Hector Neris RP 345 378 351 310 375 260 1
41 7 Kyle Barraclough RP 361 288 370 307 411 290 1
42 7 Sean Doolittle RP 334 255 358 337 378 374 1
43 7 Joaquin Benoit RP 279 234 398 340 467 322 1
44 7 Carter Capps RP 329 311 359 392 395 258 1
45 7 Matt Bush RP 394 358 361 #N/A 412 289 1
46 7 Chris Devenski SP/RP 418 293 377 294 356 473 1
47 7 Matt Strahm RP #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A 370 1
48 7 Andrew Bailey RP 348 377 #N/A #N/A 409 1
49 7 Brian Flynn RP #N/A #N/A 381 1
50 7 Ryan Dull RP 347 380 #N/A 492 335 1
51 7 Tyler Thornburg RP 385 #N/A 247 468 458 1
52 7 Hector Rondon RP 372 338 416 #N/A 490 375 1
53 7 Darren O'Day RP #N/A #N/A 369 431 1
54 7 Ty Blach RP 496 373 281 469 1
55 7 Huston Street RP 387 415 #N/A 486 376 372 1
56 7 Corey Knebel RP 335 #N/A 444 490 396 384 1
57 7 Grant Dayton RP #N/A #N/A 383 436 1
58 7 Michael Lorenzen RP 481 476 371 #N/A 331 1
59 7 Jeff Hoffman RP #N/A #N/A #N/A 415 1
60 7 Cody Reed RP #N/A #N/A #N/A 417 1
61 7 Luke Gregerson RP 401 363 372 488 474 1
62 7 Keone Kela RP 384 #N/A #N/A 459 1
63 7 Derek Law RP #N/A 380 468 1
64 7 Chad Green RP 411 478 435 412 1
65 7 Jhoulys Chacin RP 469 463 421 406 1
66 7 Hyun-Jin Ryu RP 439 479 455 437 1
67 7 Trevor Rosenthal RP 450 481 486 #N/A 411 1
68 7 Daniel Hudson RP 462 #N/A #N/A 1
69 7 Steven Brault RP #N/A #N/A #N/A 467 1
70 7 Will Harris RP 471 481 #N/A 466 461 1
71 7 Brad Ziegler RP #N/A #N/A 487 491 1
72 7 Zach Eflin RP 500 484 1
73 7 Santiago Casilla RP #N/A #N/A #N/A 489 500 1
74 7 Brad Ziegler RP #N/A #N/A 490 491 1
75 7 Zach Eflin RP 500 487 1
75 7 Santiago Casilla RP #N/A #N/A #N/A 489 500 1

 

Relief Pitcher Rankings Analysis: March Risers and Fallers

Tier 1

Yeah, yeah. Everybody has Aroldis Chapman, Zach Britton and Kenley Jansen as their top three, in some order. This hasn’t changed, and there's no reason to debate it. Moving along...

Tier 2

Lots and lots of strikeouts here. Those who are unwilling to pay up for any of the big three can find a ton of value in rounds 8-12 with any of these arms.

Andrew Miller, the league’s top non-closer, snuck into the end of the tier, largely as a result of jumping a whopping 72 spots in Bill’s rankings. Among qualified relievers, Miller finished the 2016 season ranked second in ERA (1.45), third in FIP (1.68), first in SIERA (1.10), first in strikeout rate (44.7 percent), second in walk rate (3.3 percent), fifth in batting average against (.159), second in WHIP (0.69) and eighth in swinging strike rate (16.4 percent).

Tier 3

If you take a look at the individual rankings for the tier three players, something jumps out here. Not only is my ranking of Wade Davis at No. 82 his sole ranking in the top 100, but Brad has ranked Davis a full 100 spots lower. The 31-year-old managed a 1.87 ERA — actually his highest since becoming a full-time reliever — across 43.1 innings last year, and while his overall numbers weren’t what they had been over the previous two seasons, Davis remains one of the most lethal late-inning arms in the game. He owns the best ERA and the fourth-best FIP among relievers over the last three years, and at 31 years old, he should continue to dominate while closing out games for the defending world champions.

Tier 4

Jeurys Familia hasn’t moved since our last set of rankings, but that could change in the coming days with a possible suspension looming. Anything less than 30 could mean a leap into the third tier, while 50 games or more would likely push him back even further.

David Robertson, Francisco Rodriguez and A.J. Ramos are all veterans with extended closing experience, and while they won’t post the most impressive numbers, they should all be on relatively long leashes.

Tier 5

This is the range where I no longer fully trust the current closers. It’s not that you should expect them to lose their jobs, but the confidence is lacking for me. Jim Johnson’s stock has risen since it became clear he would begin the year as Atlanta’s closer, but even he is not a sure thing to hold the job all year. He could easily be trade bait as bullpen depth for a contender, which would limit his time closing games to the first half.

Raisel Iglesias is my favorite pick here. Everybody’s starting pitcher sleeper from a year ago is now a popular sleeper as a reliever, and the electric stuff that had everyone excited last year hasn’t gone away. The Reds don’t offer too many save situations, but a strong ERA, above-average strikeout numbers and at least 20 saves could be very valuable this late in the draft.

Tier 6

In this group, you can find some of the lower-level closers. While guys like Brandon Maurer, Fernando Rodney, Ryan Madson, Jeanmar Gomez and Brandon Kintzler aren’t appealing, saves are still saves. At their current draft positions (all outside the top 230), each of these five pitchers could be worth taking a flier on for those unable or unwilling to spend on saves earlier. Of that group, Rodney appears to be the most likely to hold onto the role, considering his experience and lack of competition.

Also, Bill has C.J. Edwards — who probably isn’t even next in line for Chicago’s closer role — at 197, despite an ADP of 465 (per NFBC). Huh?

Tier 7

Nothing to see here, really. Unless you participate in a rather deep AL/NL-only league or one that counts holds as a separate category, you have no business worrying about middle relievers — for the most part. There are a few names, however, deserving of both recognition and, potentially, a roster spot.

Hector Neris served as Philadelphia’s closer for part of last year, but the job was awarded to Jeanmar Gomez this offseason. Regardless, Neris is the far superior talent, and it would not come as a shock if he were to re-take the role some point down the line.

Kyle Barraclough posted the seventh-highest strikeout rate and eighth-best FIP among qualified relievers in 2016, and even if he doesn’t earn any saves, his elite strikeout numbers make him worthy of a roster spot in all NL-Only leagues.

Carter Capps may need to change his entire delivery, but operating under the assumption that he will be effective either way, he is an interesting option in deep leagues. The 33-year-old struck out 16.84 batters per nine innings last season (albeit over just 31 frames). Plus, Maurer posted the third-highest hard hit rate last season, and is far from a lock to maintain ninth-inning duties.

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