2026 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers – Relief Pitchers

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  • By SportsEthos Staff

    Last Updated on January 27, 2026 3:40 pm by Paul Williamson | Published: January 27, 2026

    If there is a position in fantasy that has the highest chance of hitting on a sleeper, it is probably a closer, especially prior to spring training.

    Right now, there are teams with no set closer or have a closer that is on the hot seat headed into the campaign.

    There are closers who will get hurt or will get used prior to the ninth inning, adding more value for these late-round sleepers.

    So which bullpen arms do you need to target late for potential sneaky upside?

    Let’s dive into our choices.

    NOTE: ADP comes from NFBC Draft Champion leagues.

    Larry Vannozzi

    Robert Suarez -ADP – 138.84/P54

    Fantasy managers tend to overdraft closers so there aren’t many sleepers based on stats. So, I’ll go with a role-based sleeper in Suarez who the Braves signed to setup for Raisel Igelsias.

    Igelsias was so bad at one point last year that he temporarily lost his closer role. No one else in the bullpen replaced Igelsias effectively so he was given a second chance and, admittedly, he did well. However, the 36-year-old Igelsias will have far less room for error this year with Suarez waiting in the shadows.

    Matt Brash – ADP – 563.56/P183

    Here’s a sleeper based on a possible injury.

    Andrés Muñoz faltered somewhat in the second half with a 1.20 WHIP as his velocity dipped. Although there as no word of him being injured, if that trend continues in 2026, Brash could get an opportunity to close for the Mariners.

    He is nearly free in drafts (472 ADP on January 14), so consider Brash a sleeper at least until we see whether Muñoz returns to form in the spring.

    Jeff Clowers

    Tanner Scott – ADP – 373.23/P123

    Betting on reliever sleepers is often a fool’s errand. Whether you’re betting on skills or role, the most well-thought-out plans can still go awry if a team’s manager decides he’s sticking with a particular option in the ninth inning.

    Still, my personal MO is to bet on talent winning out in the end. When the Dodgers traded for Scott last year, he was coming off back-to-back seasons in which saved 20 or more games.

    Sure, he struggled with walks some but a lot of elite closers do so and remain successful. In the end, it wasn’t the walks that undid Scott’s first season in LA, it was instead home runs that caused him grief with 11 allowed in 2025 after allowing just 11 in the previous three seasons combined.

    After the season, reporting came out that Scott had hidden some nagging injuries from the Dodgers brass as the pressure of a joining a new organization caused him to battle through issues that should have sidelined him.

    He’ll now have to battle the newest big free agent reliever to don Dodger Blue in Edwin Diaz for saves but Los Angeles has shown the propsensity to mix their closing options depending on the matchup so Scott could find himself fantasy relevant even without the benefit of an injury to Diaz at some point.

    Kirby Yates – ADP – 581.91/P192

    If there’s any organization you can safely trust in to be regressive in their approach, it’s the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In this case, I’m banking on them relying on a closer with a proven track record in the ninth as opposed to the player with the best skillset.

    Though Drew Pomeranz enters the season as the presumptive favorite for the role given he’s posted 1.91 ERA over his last 94 innings pitched, he’s only saved 10 games across his 15-year career whereas Yates has 98 on his ledger, including a 33 save season with a 1.17 ERA just one year back in 2024.

    He’s coming off a disaster year in which he allowed a 5.23 ERA but he remained elite in his ability to rack up strikeouts and actually shaved off 2.2% from his walk rate from the year prior.

    The ERA was likely a byproduct of a major balloon in his HR/FB rate, going from 5.9% in 2024 to 17% in 2025. I think there’s a good chance that Yates works his way to 20-25 saves by season’s end, which would be a solid return on investment for a pick near 600.

    Nathan Baker

    Daniel Palencia – ADP – 146.60/P58

    The best position to shoot for sleepers on is always in the bullpen, where volatility is never more prevalent, and Daniel Palencia’s stuff makes a rise to elite closer status more than possible.

    Having a monopoly on the closer’s role is important, which he does, but he’s also got a triple digits fastball with good movement, and a razor blade slider to go along with it.

    Both his walk and strikeout rates were well above average in 2025, as was his minuscule 4.4% barrel rate against, making it fair to hedge your bets on Palencia as a low risk, high upside option as long as he’s healthy going into the season.

    Will Vest – ADP – 269.98/P100

    The Tigers didn’t have an established closer in 2025, and don’t project to have one again in ‘26, but if the history of their bullpen usage is anything to go by, Vest stands to receive the bulk of the save opportunities on a competitive Detroit team.

    For a team that projects to win a lot of close games, Vest should be in a solid spot even if he misses out on the odd save chance, and his all-around plus stuff, elite damage control and neutral splits should make him the go to guy.

    Finnegan and others will provide competition, but the recipe of Vest in the ninth should be the norm, enough to take him as a late round flyer.


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    January 27, 2026, 2:48 pm