By Drew Wheeler

Welcome to the wasteland.

Our Prospects Live Dynasty team has done a wonderful job analyzing the various positions we must fill to achieve supremacy in our dynasty baseball leagues, but with every journey, there must come an end.

This is the end, my friends, and we’ll find ourselves finished by taking a closer look at the lawless wasteland known as relief pitching.

For years, a few players drafted highly return appropriate value in your garden variety redraft leagues. Still, these reliable closer types are almost even more valuable in a dynasty setting. Still – the flameouts hurt significantly when the two circles overlap.

Heading into 2025, there are certainly relievers worth trusting, though there are not as many ‘sure things’ as you may imagine. However, this might reflect more of the ‘old guard’ shifting into set-up or secondary closer roles while the new class of dominant relievers emerge.

No matter – we have plenty of saves to go around with all the lovely sleepers you’re looking for, too.

2025 Positional Previews - Prospects Live
Prospects LiveGreg Hoogkamp

Top 60 Dynasty Relief Pitchers

1.  Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland Guardians, RHP Age: 26 (Overall dynasty rank #87)

2024: 4-2 74.1 IP 0.61 ERA 0.65 WHIP 47 SV 24.4 K 3.7 BB

Emmanuel Clase is the top Dynasty closer option by a relatively large margin. Consider a three-year stretch of 40+ saves – Clase’s experience and effectiveness at the back-end of a bullpen is worthy of being the first reliever off the board. There are some curiosities surrounding what some would call pedestrian strikeout numbers. Still, so long as you are not expecting another sub-1.00 ERA and modest (60-65) strikeouts, you won’t be disappointed with Clase and his 100 MPH cutter.

2. Mason Miller, Athletics, RHP Age: 26 (#88)

2024: 2-2 65.0 IP 2.49 ERA 0.87 WHIP 28 SV 41.8 K 8.4 BB

Forever a Jordan Rosenblum darling, Mason Miller has marked his permanent shift to the bullpen a successful one following a 28-save 2024. Miller’s arsenal features three pitches that netted 20-plus percent swinging-strike rates (including a big-time, 100 MPH fastball) and will pile up plenty of strikeouts – in 2025, Miller may not amass 100 punchouts again, but you’ll happily take 95 or so with about 30 saves. So long as his injury bug has been swatted, Miller will likely shuffle back and forth with Clase as the top RP options in Dynasty for the next few seasons. If you’re short on strikeouts, Miller’s your guy, but of course, the Oaklamento Vegas Athletics will struggle to win as many games as the Guardians will, so Clase gets the edge there.

3. Ryan Helsley, St. Louis Cardinals, RHP Age: 30 (#101)

2024: 7-4 66.1 IP 2.04 ERA 1.10 WHIP 49 SV 29.7 K 8.6 BB

Helsley finally has the lion’s share of the saves for the questionable Cardinals. With his opportunity firmly in hand, the 30-year-old hopes to turn in another successful season by working in the ninth frame. Helsley is a fair way to project Mason Miller’s future, as the 100 MPH fastball and two-pitch approach are shared qualities among the two. Helsley does not amass the insane level of strikeouts Miller will but gets more than enough to warrant this investment. The only outstanding question about Helsley’s value is the Cardinals chances for him to earn saves – Helsley will certainly not push 50 again, but the mid-30s seems doable.

4. Edwin Diaz, New York Mets, RHP Age: 30 (#102)

2024: 6-4 53.2 IP 3.52 ERA 1.04 WHIP 20 SV 38.9 K 9.3 BB

Diaz’ triumphant return from a knee injury was a bit lackluster, as the 30-year-old posted his lowest saves total since his debut 2016 campaign, likely due to a first-half shoulder impingement and an uptick in HR/FB. As the season waned on, the velocity, strikeouts, and swing-and-miss metrics returned to form, and as such, Diaz finished strong. The Mets closer’s track record speaks for itself, and with his second-half gains, Diaz could flirt with 35 saves and 90+ strikeouts. Against my Mets bias, it may be wise to cue the trumpets and enjoy a slight discount on a player who could end 2025 as the top closer in the game.

5. Devin Williams, New York Yankees, RHP Age: 30 (#103)

2024: 1-0 21.2 IP 1.25 ERA 0.96 WHIP 14 SV 43.2 K 12.5 BB

The Airbender, with his mythical pitch of the same nickname, has arrived in the Big Apple to anchor the Yankees’ bullpen after long-time saves-man Clay Holmes and Luke Weaver cobbled through an inconsistent 2024. Unfortunately, their new closer, D-Will, also struggled with back injuries across a pair of seasons, limiting him to 21 innings in ‘24 and only 14 saves for the Brewers. Again, it is the health that Williams will need to prove he has bested to return to his mid-30s saves form. He’s comfortably among the elite options in relief, but not without his question marks moving forward.