With the regular season in the rearview mirror, it's time for a look back. So far, we've examined the position players, starting pitchers and relief pitchers who provided the most value relative to their draft slot, as well as the position players and starting pitchers who disappointed. Lastly, we're taking a look at the relief pitcher busts. I'll be using the non-auction NFBC leagues for ADP and RotoWire's earned auction values.
Disclaimer: You won't find guys who had their seasons derailed by a major injury (i.e. UCL, ACL) in this space. We know what went wrong there.
Emmanuel Clase, 
Cleveland Guardians
ADP: 42.3, 1st among relief pitchers
EAV: 25th among relief pitchers
Clase was often the first reliever off the board in fantasy drafts this spring following a 2024 campaign which saw him post a microscopic 0.61 ERA while finishing third in the American League Cy Young voting. He had an unceremonious end to his 2025 season in late July when he was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of Major League Baseball's sports-betting investigation. Prior to Clase being placed on the restricted list, the 27-year-old had posted a 3.23 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 47:12 K:BB over 47.1 innings while notching 24 saves. It was certainly a step back from what he did in 2024, though it was mostly a result of his luck evening out after he was fortunate the season prior. We're still awaiting word on Clase's status for the 2026 season and beyond,
With the regular season in the rearview mirror, it's time for a look back. So far, we've examined the position players, starting pitchers and relief pitchers who provided the most value relative to their draft slot, as well as the position players and starting pitchers who disappointed. Lastly, we're taking a look at the relief pitcher busts. I'll be using the non-auction NFBC leagues for ADP and RotoWire's earned auction values.
Disclaimer: You won't find guys who had their seasons derailed by a major injury (i.e. UCL, ACL) in this space. We know what went wrong there.
Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland Guardians
ADP: 42.3, 1st among relief pitchers
EAV: 25th among relief pitchers
Clase was often the first reliever off the board in fantasy drafts this spring following a 2024 campaign which saw him post a microscopic 0.61 ERA while finishing third in the American League Cy Young voting. He had an unceremonious end to his 2025 season in late July when he was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of Major League Baseball's sports-betting investigation. Prior to Clase being placed on the restricted list, the 27-year-old had posted a 3.23 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 47:12 K:BB over 47.1 innings while notching 24 saves. It was certainly a step back from what he did in 2024, though it was mostly a result of his luck evening out after he was fortunate the season prior. We're still awaiting word on Clase's status for the 2026 season and beyond, but there's a chance he doesn't toe a major-league rubber again. If cleared, he'll likely return to being among the elite closers in the game, which would make him a massive bargain if you used a late-round pick on him in an early Draft Champions league. Don't get your hopes up, though.
Devin Williams, 
New York Yankees
ADP: 51.6, 2nd among relief pitchers
EAV: 32nd among relief pitchers
The Yankees traded for Williams last offseason with the idea that he would stabilize the ninth inning for them as they came off a pennant-winning season. Instead, he lost the closer job before the end of April and never regained it on a permanent basis. Williams wound up finishing the season with 18 saves and a 4.79 ERA, and the 33 earned runs he surrendered were more than twice as many as he'd ever given up in a season before. The 31-year-old did still strike out 90 batters over 62 frames, putting up a 34.7 percent strikeout rate along with a 9.7 percent walk rate which was easily his lowest over a full season. Williams' 2.67 SIERA was more indicative of how he pitched than his 4.79 ERA, and it seems likely he will land a pretty lucrative contract in free agency this winter to be a closer again. He could wind up being a nice value in 2026 fantasy drafts.
Ryan Helsley, 
St. Louis Cardinals/
New York Mets
ADP: 67, 6th among relief pitchers
EAV: 78th among relief pitchers
Helsley led all of baseball and set a Cardinals franchise record with 49 saves in 2024, which meant he came off the board well within the top-100 picks in fantasy drafts this past spring. The 31-year-old saved 21 games for the Cardinals in the first four months of this season, but he had shown some chinks in the armor, with just a 26.1 percent strikeout rate and 1.39 WHIP. Helsley was traded to the Mets at the deadline, which was a worst-case scenario for his fantasy value since it meant he would serve in a setup role ahead of closer Edwin Diaz. He then went on to pitch terribly down the stretch for New York, putting up a 7.20 ERA, 1.80 WHIP and 22:11 K:BB across 20 frames. Helsley remained among the game's hardest throwers in 2025 with a four-seamer that came in at 99.3 mph on average, but the opposition hit an almost-unfathomable .422 with a .667 slugging percentage against the pitch. It led to speculation that he might be tipping pitches, and if that was in fact the case, Helsley seems like a solid bet to bounce back in 2026 if he can get that corrected. He's a free agent and will likely be looking to sign with a team that will offer him a chance to close again.
Ryan Walker, 
San Francisco Giants
ADP: 109.1, 11th among relief pitchers
EAV: 45th among relief pitchers
After unexpectedly turning into one of baseball's best relievers in 2024, Walker entered the 2025 season as the unquestioned closer for the Giants. However, he was demoted from the role before the end of May after collecting a 4.95 ERA across his first 22 appearances. A trade of Camilo Doval and an injury to Randy Rodriguez (elbow) meant Walker got the closer job back for the last several weeks of the season, though he struggled down the stretch with a 7.88 ERA in September. Walker's strikeout rate dipped nearly 10 percentage points year over year, going from 32.1 percent to 22.6 percent, but he did still boast a 6.8 percent walk rate and 48.3 percent groundball rate. The soon-to-be 30-year-old is tentatively penciled in as the Giants' closer right now, but that doesn't mean much given that the hot stove is yet to heat up and San Francisco recently hired a new manager in Tony Vitello.
Lucas Erceg, 
Kansas City Royals
ADP: 200.6, 19th among relief pitchers
EAV: 51st among relief pitchers
It was Erceg, not Carlos Estevez, who was the first Royals reliever off the draft board this past spring in your average NFBC league (though Estevez was close behind with an ADP of 228.3). While Estevez went on to record a major-league leading 42 saves, Erceg notched just two saves while accruing 22 holds. The 30-year-old Erceg managed a 2.64 ERA over 61 appearances out of the Royals' bullpen, but his strikeout rate mysteriously bottomed out, going from 28.5 percent in 2024 to just 19.3 percent in 2025. Erceg still threw hard (92nd percentile in fastball velocity) and got lots of groundballs (88th percentile), but he wasn't getting whiffs and was also giving up harder contact. He went down with a right shoulder impingement late in the season, but Erceg was scheduled for imaging in early November in hopes of being cleared to begin throwing. Assuming health, Erceg seems likely to miss more bats in 2026, and he could be a threat to eventually challenge Estevez for the closer job. Estevez, though, will head into the year as the clear top option.
Runners-up: Alexis Diaz, Cincinnati Reds/Los Angeles Dodgers/Atlanta Braves; Jordan Romano, Philadelphia Phillies; Kirby Yates, Los Angeles Dodgers; Ryan Pressly, Chicago Cubs; Liam Hendriks, Boston Red Sox
