With the regular season in the rearview mirror, it's time for a look back. First, we examined the position players who provided the most value relative to their draft slot. Then we looked at starting pitchers. This week, we're moving on to relievers. I'll be using RotoWire's preseason ADP numbers and earned auction values.
Relief Pitchers
Ryan Helsley, 
St. Louis Cardinals
ADP: 152.42, 13th among relief pitchers
EAV: 2nd among relief pitchers
Helsley was coming off a very good 2023 season but one which limited him to just 36.2 innings due to a forearm injury. He also shared the closer job with Giovanny Gallegos at times that year prior to getting hurt. Going into 2024, however, the Cardinals had a new plan for Helsley, and it would involve using him almost exclusively in the ninth inning and to get just three outs. When you combine that usage plan with St. Louis playing so many close games, it led to fantasy gold. Helsley led baseball and set a new franchise record with 49 saves, and for all but two of those he got exactly three outs in the ninth inning. We did see Helsley's strikeout rate drop below 30 percent for the first time in three seasons, but at 29.7 percent it still ranked in the 90th percentile. His velocity was also as good as ever. Helsley is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility this offseason, and if he's still with the Cardinals, similar usage should be
With the regular season in the rearview mirror, it's time for a look back. First, we examined the position players who provided the most value relative to their draft slot. Then we looked at starting pitchers. This week, we're moving on to relievers. I'll be using RotoWire's preseason ADP numbers and earned auction values.
Relief Pitchers
Ryan Helsley, St. Louis Cardinals
ADP: 152.42, 13th among relief pitchers
EAV: 2nd among relief pitchers
Helsley was coming off a very good 2023 season but one which limited him to just 36.2 innings due to a forearm injury. He also shared the closer job with Giovanny Gallegos at times that year prior to getting hurt. Going into 2024, however, the Cardinals had a new plan for Helsley, and it would involve using him almost exclusively in the ninth inning and to get just three outs. When you combine that usage plan with St. Louis playing so many close games, it led to fantasy gold. Helsley led baseball and set a new franchise record with 49 saves, and for all but two of those he got exactly three outs in the ninth inning. We did see Helsley's strikeout rate drop below 30 percent for the first time in three seasons, but at 29.7 percent it still ranked in the 90th percentile. His velocity was also as good as ever. Helsley is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility this offseason, and if he's still with the Cardinals, similar usage should be expected. However, with St. Louis saying it will cut the major-league payroll while investing more in player development, there would seem to be a good chance Helsley is traded this winter. Regardless of which uniform he dons in 2025, Helsley's draft price in the spring will be much heftier than it was the year prior.
Kirby Yates, 
Texas Rangers
ADP: 551.78, 69th among relief pitchers
EAV: 3rd among relief pitchers
Those who subscribe to the "never pay for saves" philosophy have Yates to point to as Exhibit A this season. Not only did he go undrafted in the majority of leagues last spring, he was the fourth reliever off the board on his own team in terms of ADP, trailing Jose Leclerc, David Robertson and Josh Sborz. You couldn't really blame fantasy managers for that pecking order, either. Leclerc was the closer during the Rangers' World Series run, Sborz was the team's best reliever during those playoffs and actually closed out the clincher and Robertson had the most closing experience and was handed an $11.5 million contract last winter. Yates, meanwhile, settled for a more modest $4.5 million deal following a good year with the Braves but one which featured control problems. While Leclerc notched the Rangers' first save of the 2024 season, it wound up being the only one he tallied all year. Yates was clearly the guy by the end of April and wound up saving 33 games in 34 chances, posting a microscopic 1.17 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 85:28 K:BB over 61.2 frames along the way. The control issues (11.8 percent walk rate) were still there, but Yates has always been incredibly difficult to hit and that was particularly the case in 2024, as he surrendered just 23 hits over his 61.2 innings. He's a free agent this offseason and will be 38 on Opening Day, but Yates shouldn't have trouble landing a closer job somewhere.
Robert Suarez, 
San Diego Padres
ADP: 267.88, 28th among relief pitchers
EAV: 6th among relief pitchers
Suarez was tops among San Diego relievers in ADP, but Yuki Matsui (328.16, 30th among relief pitchers) wasn't far behind. Padres manager Mike Shildt did not name a closer prior to the start of the season, but it was Suarez who earned the team's first save during the series in Korea against the Dodgers, and he also notched the save during the club's domestic opener. By the end of April there was no debating who the Padres' closer was, as Suarez racked up a whopping 10 saves in March/April to tie for the major-league lead with the aforementioned Ryan Helsley. Through the end of July, Suarez had posted a 1.48 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 42:8 K:BB across 42.2 innings while converting 23 of 26 save opportunities. Things didn't go as smoothly after that, as Suarez held a 5.24 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 17:8 K:BB over 22.1 frames from August on, blowing three of 16 save chances. It's possible he was tiring after being limited to just 27.2 innings due to injury in 2023, although Suarez's velocity down the stretch was fine and he bounced back with three scoreless outings and two saves in the playoffs. Suarez will likely be drafted as a premium closer next spring, but between the poor finish and lackluster strikeout rate for a reliever, there could be some bust potential here.
Ryan Walker, 
San Francisco Giants
ADP: 963.47, 150th-ish among relief pitchers
EAV: 7th among relief pitchers
I should note that, once you get deep enough into RotoWire's preseason ADP data, things start to get a little funky, so take the numbers above with a grain of salt. The takeaway is that Walker wasn't being drafted. Like, virtually anywhere. You certainly could understand it. Walker had a nice season in 2023, but he was also a 27-year-old rookie who wasn't being used in high-leverage situations. Also, Camilo Doval entered the 2024 campaign seemingly with plenty of job security after an All-Star season the year prior which featured 39 saves. Doval was the fourth closer off the board this spring behind Josh Hader, Edwin Diaz and Emmanuel Clase. Walker didn't earn his first save of the 2024 season until Aug. 10, one day after Doval was sent to the minors amidst his struggles. He was able to rack up a total of 10 saves over the final seven weeks, though, matching his total of 10 wins. Walker and Hector Neris were the only two full-time relievers to reach double digits in both categories, and Walker, of course, had a far superior season of the two, posting a 1.91 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 99:18 K:BB over 80 innings. The soon-to-be 29-year-old certainly looks capable of heading into the 2025 season as the Giants' closer again, but it's too early to lock him into that role, especially given the club's front-office shakeup.
Mason Miller, 
Oakland Athletics
ADP: 247.79, 22nd among relief pitchers
EAV: 9th among relief pitchers
There was little questioning Miller's ability heading into the season, but there were a few reasons why he was drafted as late as he was this spring. For one, Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said early on in spring training that he didn't anticipate using Miller as his closer at the beginning of the season, preferring to ease him into such a role. Additionally, Miller represented a huge injury risk after missing a large chunk of the 2023 season with a sprained UCL and having thrown a total of just 72.2 pro innings due to various arm-related problems. However, Miller looked so dominant during spring training that it was obvious he was going to be the closer sooner rather than later and his ADP did begin to tick up as a result. Oakland didn't generate its first save chance until April 9, but it went to Miller and he wound up collecting a total of 28 saves in 31 opportunities. Miller finished with an utterly ridiculous 41.8 percent strikeout rate to easily lead all of baseball, and his 2.49 ERA was actually considerably worse than his 1.76 xERA. Given both his own personal injury history and also the injury histories of pitchers with the kind of velocity Miller has, the 26-year-old has to still be considered a risk in that regard for 2025. However, the fact that he was able to log 65 innings over 55 appearances in 2024 and avoid any pitching-arm related absences (his only IL stint came after he fractured the pinkie finger on his non-throwing hand after he punched a table) was a big win.
Runners-up: Tanner Scott, Miami Marlins/San Diego Padres; Tyler Holton, Detroit Tigers; Griffin Jax, Minnesota Twins; Carlos Estevez, Los Angeles Angels/Philadelphia Phillies; Cade Smith, Cleveland Guardians
