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Fantasy Baseball Closer Report: David Bednar on the rise with excellent June

In this week's Closer Report, David Bednar extended his scoreless streak as he's put together an excellent month of June. Meanwhile, regression has hit around the league. Relievers like Cade Smith and Gregory Soto had one of their worst weeks. And the White Sox are struggling to find answers in the ninth inning. All that and more as we break down the last week in saves.

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2026 Fantasy Baseball Closer Rankings

▶ Tier 1

Mason Miller - San Diego Padres
Jhoan Duran - Philadelphia Phillies
Cade Smith - Cleveland Guardians
Louis Varland - Toronto Blue Jays
Josh Hader - Houston Astros

Miller converted a save against the Rangers on Saturday, then locked down his 21st of the season with two strikeouts against the Braves on Monday. He then pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts to fall in line for a win in extra innings on Tuesday. With just three runs allowed all season, the 27-year-old right-hander has posted a 0.79 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, and 66 strikeouts over 34 innings.

Duran made two scoreless appearances against the Mets over the weekend, striking out five over his two innings of work. He then tossed a clean ninth against the Nationals on Wednesday, striking out the side for his 19th save. His strikeout rate of 42% remains a career-high by a wide margin. It's helped propel him to a dominant season so far, posting a 1.69 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and 43 strikeouts over 26 2/3 innings.

Smith converted a four-out save against the Brewers on Thursday, then wasn't able to finish out a five-out save attempt on Monday against the White Sox, giving up two runs to blow the lead. It was his fourth multi-inning save attempt in his last five outings. He then stumbled again on Wednesday against Chicago, giving up two runs to blow a save. While Smith is one of the best in the game, it's been quite a lot to ask from any reliever to go multiple innings over this stretch. Still, he leads baseball with 24 saves while posting a strong 3.22 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 55 strikeouts over 36 1/3 innings.

Varland enters Tier 1 territory after an absolute gutsy performance on Saturday against the Cubs in which he entered in the bottom of the eighth inning with the bases loaded to protect a three-run lead. He escaped the jam with one run in on a groundout, then shut the Cubs down in the ninth to convert a two-inning save. Two days later, he pitched a scoreless ninth against the Astros for his 16th save to go with a 0.84 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 58 strikeouts over 43 innings.

Hader struck out two in a perfect inning for a save against the Guardians, then tossed a clean inning in a non-save situation against the Blue Jays on Tuesday. He followed that with a scoreless ninth against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, striking out two batters for his sixth save. Hader has allowed one run with a 16/2 K/BB ratio across 10 innings since returning. With that strong start off the injured list, there are only a few relievers I'd take over Hader the rest of the way.

▶ Tier 2

Aroldis Chapman - Boston Red Sox
Raisel Iglesias- Atlanta Braves
Bryan Baker - Tampa Bay Rays
Andrés Muñoz - Seattle Mariners
Tanner Scott - Los Angeles Dodgers
David Bednar - New York Yankees
Jacob Latz - Texas Rangers

It wasn't the best week for Chapman. He gave up a run on two hits to take a loss against the Blue Jays on Thursday, then blew a save on Monday in Colorado with three runs allowed without recording an out. We'll give him a pass for the Coors Field outing. Still, he remains one of the top closing options with a 2.08 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 29 strikeouts over 21 2/3 innings.

Iglesias gave up a run against the Brewers on Friday before holding on for his 15th save. He then allowed the winning run to score in extra innings to take the loss on Tuesday. All four earned runs he's allowed this season have come over his last nine outings. Despite the down stretch, he holds a 1.42 ERA over 25 1/3 innings. Robert Suarez has been outstanding in a setup role, but was reportedly unavailable on Tuesday due to some forearm tightness.

Baker worked a clean inning against the Nationals on Friday for his 19th save, then pitched the eighth against the heart of the order on Sunday while Kevin Kelly got the ninth. He got back on the mound in the ninth against the Royals on Wednesday to lock down another save. Despite the occasional matchup usage before the ninth inning, Baker's 20 saves rank third in baseball.

It's been one of the better stretches for Muñoz, with three saves over the last week. He struck out two in a scoreless inning against the Red Sox on Sunday, then punched out the side against Pittsburgh on Tuesday for his 14th save.

Scott tossed his fifth consecutive scoreless outing against the Twins on Wednesday, picking up his 11th save of the season to go with a 2.18 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, and 40 strikeouts over 33 innings. Edwin Díaz continues to make progress towards his return from elbow surgery, throwing bullpen sessions, but still isn't expected back until after the All-Star break.

Bednar pushed his scoreless streak to 11 games with three appearances this week, including a four-out save against the Tigers on Tuesday. He's up to 16 saves on the season with a 3.27 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 39 strikeouts over 33 innings. And in Texas, Latz continues to dominate the ninth inning with two more saves this week. He's at 14 with a 1.46 ERA, 0.62 WHIP, and 38 strikeouts over 37 innings.

▶ Tier 3

Trevor Megill - Milwaukee Brewers
Gregory Soto - Pittsburgh Pirates
Riley O'Brien - St. Louis Cardinals
Paul Sewald - Arizona Diamondbacks
Devin Williams - New York Mets
Ryan Helsley - Baltimore Orioles
Kenley Jansen - Detroit Tigers
Kaleb Kilian - San Francisco Giants
Pete Fairbanks - Miami Marlins
Alex Lange - Kansas City Royals

Megill is in a groove on the mound, making four straight perfect appearances. He recorded a hold, a win, and a save for the Brewers this week. He's up to 10 saves with a 3.72 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 38 strikeouts over 29 innings.

Soto is in the middle of a rough stretch, giving up six runs over his last five outings. He surrendered a run in a non-save situation against the Rockies on Sunday. O'Brien also hasn't been nearly as sharp of late, giving up two runs in a non-save situation against the Royals on Sunday. He bounced back with a clean inning against the Diamondbacks on Monday for his 19th save.

The week of regression continues with Sewald. After a scoreless inning of work against the Twins on Friday in a non-save situation, he surrendered three runs against the Cardinals on Tuesday, pushing his ERA to 4.03 over 29 innings. Meanwhile, Williams gave up an unearned run before holding on for a save against the Phillies last Thursday.

Helsley has had a rough time so far in his return from the injured list. He's given up two runs in each of his two appearances, blowing a save this week against the Dodgers. Yennier Cano stepped in to pick up a save against Los Angeles on Saturday.

Jansen locked down back-to-back saves against the White Sox over the weekend. The 38-year-old veteran is up to nine saves with a 4.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 22 strikeouts over 18 innings. He remains the team's top option for saves. Will Vest has pitched better of late. He added a win and a save behind Jansen this week.

Kilian worked around a hit and a walk on Tuesday against the A's, striking out one while converting his fifth save. He's expected to continue working as the Giants' primary closer, though it hasn't been a very fruitful situation so far.

Fairbanks worked two clean outings to pick up back-to-back saves against the Giants on Friday and Saturday. He then surrendered two runs in a non-save situation against the Rangers on Tuesday before bouncing back on Wednesday for a save against Texas. It's been that kind of up-and-down season for Fairbanks, who holds a 6.75 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and 32 strikeouts over 24 innings.

Lange stepped in for a one-out save against the Cardinals on Friday, then tossed a clean inning against the Rays on Monday for his sixth save. He's established himself as the primary closer in Kansas City this month with five saves in June.

▶ Tier 4

Grant Taylor/Seranthony Domínguez - Chicago White Sox
Clayton Beeter - Washington Nationals
Yoendrys Gómez/Eric Orze - Minnesota Twins
Jacob Webb/Caleb Thielbar - Chicago Cubs

The ninth inning has been rough for the White Sox, with Domínguez blowing back-to-back saves against the Tigers and Guardians. Taylor wasn't at his best, either. He surrendered three runs on Monday and has allowed six over his last three outings.

Beeter gave up a run before holding on for a save against the Rays on Saturday. He then locked down a save against the Phillies on Monday, tossing a scoreless inning on six pitches. He's up to six saves with a 3.42 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and 26 strikeouts across 23 2/3 innings.