Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: Some Combustion, Some Relief

The midweek start of the baseball season threw me off considerably, and I do not know why. It felt like it kind of snuck up on us. There is no shortage of news, even though most teams have only played two games thus far through Sunday morning.

Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report

While these weekly recap articles are fun to write and hopefully helpful to you in your championship quests, let’s remember a key fact here: it’s early. We do not want to jump to any big conclusions based on two or three games. Most MLB managers will give their bullpens time to breathe and will not make rash judgments based on extremely limited data sizes.

That being said, those of you in FAAB leagues need to know those next guys up. Refer to the updated chart each week to see who we have tabbed for those roles.

Let’s do a quick recap of both leagues and see what is happening thus far.

AL East

David Bednar is off to a good start for the New York Yankees, notching two saves in two games this week. Bednar is the top choice in New York for saves. Here’s hoping for continued good health for the veteran right-hander.

It’s been a wonky start for Griffin Jax in Tampa Bay. He has blown both of his save chances and taken a loss to go with his bloated 18.00 ERA. It is two games, but the Rays have a bevy of other options they can look at, too, in Garrett Cleavinger and Bryan Baker. Jax is the most talented, but that does not mean he will close games, especially if he keeps imploding. Give it some time and space to breathe.

Jeff Hoffman has experienced an interesting week for Toronto. Hoffman earned a win in a game in which he blew the save but struck out four hitters…in one inning. Unfortunately, in between those punchouts, he had surrendered a game-tying home run to Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers. The Blue Jays came back to win in the bottom of the ninth. Hoffman has the job for now, although there is much thought that his leash is short. But writers and pundits do not make these choices; managers do. We will watch manager John Schneider over the coming days to see where his confidence lies with Hoffman.

AL Central

Cade Smith is expected to have a big season in Cleveland, but he got off to a rocky start in his first outing, giving up a run in the ninth to the Seattle Mariners. Connor Brogdon earned the save in the tenth when the Guardians scored three runs off Seattle’s relief ace, Andres Muñoz. Smith will be fine and is one of the top three closers in the game.

Kenley Jansen struck out the side in his debut for the Detroit Tigers this week, earning his 477th career save. Kyle Finnegan worked a scoreless eighth inning in front of him. Manager A.J. Hinch has talked of matchups, but Jansen should be the choice most nights.

Carlos Estevez had an outing to forget on Saturday night against the Atlanta Braves: six earned runs on four hits, two walks, and a walkoff grand slam by Dominic Smith. Estevez led the major leagues with 42 saves in 2025, but concerns over his velocity sprang up in early March, and regardless of velocity, this seat got hot in week one. Lucas Erceg and Matt Strahm could get chances if Estevez continues to falter in Kansas City.

Cole Sands earned his first save of the year on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles. He was able to work around a walk and nabbed two strikeouts. Taylor Rogers has the most experience closing in this bullpen, but manager Derek Shelton could mix and match daily in the Twin Cities.

AL West

Los Angeles: Could Jordan Romano be rising from the ashes? We are watching. And rooting for him this season. He might be the last man standing in the Los Angeles bullpen. He earned a save this week.

As mentioned above, the Seattle Mariners’ Andres Munoz blew his first save chance against the Cleveland Guardians this weekend. Not to worry. Munoz is the clear choice in Seattle.

After all the hand-wringing this winter and spring about the closer situation in Texas, who gets the first save? None other than lefty Tyler Alexander. Both Robert Garcia and Chris Martin had pitched in that game, both in the ninth inning of a game that went 10 innings. This will be an interesting bullpen to watch as usage could be tied to matchups for the foreseeable future.

NL East

Miami has wins in its first two games of 2026, and veteran closer and winter addition Pete Fairbanks has saves in both of those games. Miami could have a sneaky good bullpen this season, and Fairbanks should get the vast majority of the save chances.

NL Central

The St. Louis bullpen has some intrigue to it. Veteran Ryne Stanek earned a win on Saturday. This was seen as a committee, and it still looks that way. Riley O’Brien pitched the seventh, JoJo Romero the eighth, and Matt Svandson came on in the ninth but gave up three earned runs to tie the game. Stanek got the last out of the ninth before earning the win in the tenth inning.

NL West

Edwin Diaz earned his first save as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers this week. He worked around a walk with two strikeouts in his debut. Look for a big season from Diaz. The veteran closer earned a second save on Saturday.

Mason Miller, rated by many as the top closer to nab in fantasy baseball this spring, notched his first save in a 3-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers Saturday. Miller struck out two hitters and walked one in a scoreless ninth inning.

You can always directly message me with questions that are not answered here. Even though I largely dislike much of the content on Twitter/X, that is the best place to find me. I am @mdrc0508. Follow me for more information on bullpens and more musings on fantasy and real baseball there.