Fantasy baseball waiver wire: 5 sneaky relief pitcher adds

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 20: Dylan Floro #36 of the Miami Marlins pitches against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the ninth inning at Oracle Park on May 20, 2023 in San Francisco, California. The Marlins won the game 1-0. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

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4. Michael King, New York Yankees

The Yankees have a full-blown closer committee, with Clay Holmes (five saves), Wandy Peralta (three saves), King (three saves) and a few others who’ve picked up one save so far this season.

Among the top three mentioned, King arguably has the best combination of fostering enough swings and misses (9.5 K/9) and control/command (2.5 BB/9). Via Baseball Savant, he is 90th percentile or higher in xSLG, barrel rate, average exit velocity and hard hit rate.

One hold thus far is less than ideal for fantasy leagues that use that category. But King is on the fantasy radar in leagues with 12 or more teams.

ESPN Ownership: 9.6%
Yahoo! Ownership: 40%

3. Bryan Abreu, Houston Astros

Abreu is the clear setup man for closer Ryan Pressly in Houston, having pitched earlier than the eighth inning once in his last 17 appearances. He has picked up two saves, six holds and two wins over that span, albeit with one of those credited wins coming after a blown save. Over his last 15 outings (15.2 innings), he has 24 strikeouts and three walks.

Abreu has closer-type stuff (14.5 K/9, 0.85 WHIP this season), albeit with some red flags (42nd percentile hard hit rate and 32nd percentile average exit velocity, per Baseball Savant), without the primary role. He is an absolute asset in leagues that count holds (eight this season), and even only picking up stray saves in Pressly’s stead he could push toward double-digits there this season.

ESPN Ownership: 20.7%
Yahoo! Ownership: 52%

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