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Apologies to Cade Smith and Hunter Gaddis, but we’re finest ranking the closers right here in reputation of all reduction pitchers, so this portion gained’t be a Cleveland takeover. Even with that caveat, despite the incontrovertible fact that, there are rather more proficient closers than spots on hand below.
To be clear, these don’t look like myth baseball rankings, and the replace of saves each and each player on this list will tally is finest share of the equation. Swing-and-omit stuff, consistency, reliability, availability and a be aware epic of ninth-inning success all resolve on to be taken into epic, mad by how unstable relievers can even be from year to year.
Additionally, while you happen to correct about gained the Cy Younger Award as a reliever final season, that would now not damage a player’s case, either.
Our eight-share reputation player series continues with the pinnacle 10 closers coming into the 2025 season.
10. Andres Muñoz , Seattle Mariners 2024 stats: 3-7, 2.12 ERA, 59.1 IP, 77 K, 0.7 fWAR
2025 ZiPS projections: 7-3, 2.62 ERA, 58.1 IP, Seventy nine K, 1.0 fWAR
Among relievers with now now not lower than 20 saves final season, the finest pitcher who held opponents to a decrease batting reasonable than Muñoz (.153) used to be Kirby Yates (.113). Muñoz ranked in the 90th percentile or better in dash rate, whiff rate, strikeout rate and ground-ball share. Opponents hit worse than .200 against all three of his offerings, but his slider is what devices him apart. He held hitters to a .138 batting reasonable and struck out 49 batters with the pitch. If he is wholesome, he is a top-10 nearer.
9. Felix Bautista , Baltimore Orioles 2024 stats: (Injured – DNP)
2025 ZiPS: 5-2, 2.56 ERA, 52.2 IP, 73 K, 26 SV, 1.0 fWAR
Bautista used to be, somewhat merely, the most overpowering pitcher in baseball the final time we saw him. In 2023, his fastball averaged Ninety nine.5 mph and his strikeout rate used to be an absurd league-leading 46.4%. After missing all of final year getting better from Tommy John surgical operation, can he fetch that crawl relieve? And if he would now not, can he restful be a dominant force? We’re about to search out out.
8. Tanner Scott , Los Angeles Dodgers 2024 stats: 9-6, 1.75 ERA, 72 IP, 84 K, 22 SV, 1.6 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: 9-4, 2.92 ERA, 67.2 IP, 83 K, 25 SV, 1.1 fWAR
All for the replace of Dodgers relievers who might well well perchance additionally work into the ninth inning feature, Scott might well well even unbiased now now not kill up with the saves complete as diverse gamers in these rankings. When it involves expertise, despite the incontrovertible fact that, he is deserving of this placement — if now now not even bigger — which is why he earned a four-year, $72 million commitment from the Dodgers this chilly weather. The left-hander ranked 2nd in bWAR leisurely finest Emmanuel Clase final year and leads all relievers in fWAR over the final two years.
7. Raisel Iglesias , Atlanta Braves 2024 stats: 6-2, 1.95 ERA, 69.1 IP, 68 K, 34 SV, 1.6 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: 5-3, 2.83 ERA, 57.1 IP, 65 K, 33 SV, 0.8 fWAR
He is 35 now but appears to be increasing outdated take care of fine wine. Of the six pitchers who recorded now now not lower than 34 saves final season, Iglesias and Emmanuel Clase had been the finest ones with an ERA below 2.00. Iglesias’ strikeout rate has step by step declined from the 37.7% tag he posted four years ago, but his production hasn’t waned. His 1.95 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and .160 opponents’ batting reasonable had been all profession-finest marks final season, and he did.
6. Edwin Diaz , New York Mets 2024 stats: 6-4, 3.52 ERA, fifty three.2 IP, 84 K, 20 SV, 1.1 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: 6-3, 2.95 ERA, 55 IP, 81 K, 36 SV, 1.1 fWAR
In his first year relieve from a torn patellar tendon, he didn’t omit bats the same formula he did in 2022. Nonetheless, Díaz used to be restful an elite nearer down the stretch following a disastrous month of Also can unbiased, a stint on the injured list and a sticky-stuff ban in June. In the 2nd half, Diaz held opponents to a .158 batting reasonable and a .509 OPS while registering the finest strikeout rate amongst qualified relievers (44.3%).
5. Josh Hader , Houston Astros 2024 stats: 8-8, 3.80 ERA, 71 IP, 105 K, 34 SV, 0.9 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: 8-4, 3.03 ERA, 62.1 IP, 90 K, 33 SV, 0.9 fWAR
It might well possibly perchance well perchance’ve been easy to omit after his inauspicious delivery to the year, but Hader led all relievers in strikeouts in 2024. While his laborious-hit rate and 12 home runs surrendered had been rather relating to, his unseemly 3.80 ERA used to be additionally rather misleading, as his expected ERA used to be bigger than a fleshy plug better and his WHIP used to be even decrease than it used to be the season prior, when he had a 1.28 ERA as an All-Superstar in San Diego.
4. Ryan Helsley , St. Louis Cardinals 2024 stats: 7-4, 2.04 ERA, 66.1 IP, Seventy nine K, 49 SV, 2.3 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: 7-3, 2.77 ERA, 61.2 IP, 75 K, 35 SV, 1.0 fWAR
Or now now not it’s somewhat straightforward: When he is wholesome, he is one among the finest relievers in baseball. Final year, he led the majors with a franchise-epic 49 saves. At one point, he converted 31 consecutive saves in a row. While his strikeout rate dipped from prior years, finest two relievers (Bryan Abreu and Tyler Kinley) recorded more strikeouts on their slider final season. Plus, it clearly didn’t prevent him from doing his job.
3. Mason Miller , Athletics 2024 stats: 2-2, 2.49 ERA, 65 IP, 104 K, 28 SV, 2.3 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: 3-1, 2.81 ERA, 64 IP, 93 K, 30 SV, 1.2 fWAR
It feels silly now now not striking a city title subsequent to “Athletics.” Anyway, it be one part to throw absolute cheddar the procedure in which Miller does; it be one other to flip that into a 41.8% strikeout rate, by far the finest amongst all relievers final season. His absurd delivery to the season — he had a 0.89 ERA and a unfavorable FIP (-0.13) by his first 16 outings — used to be unsustainable in his first year as the A’s nearer, but he restful ended the year with the lowest expected ERA in MLB (1.77).
2. Devin Williams , New York Yankees 2024 stats: 1-0, 1.25 ERA, 21.2 IP, 38 K, 14 SV, 0.8 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: 5-2, 2.64 ERA, 44.1 IP, 61 K, 31 SV, 0.8 fWAR
OK, so the season didn’t kill the procedure in which either of the pinnacle two gamers on this list would’ve loved. For Williams, it didn’t delivery the procedure in which he would’ve most widespread, either. Nonetheless in between the relieve damage that tag him the predominant four months of the season and the shapely four-plug implosion in the wild-card series against the Mets, Williams and his “Airbender” changeup had been in identical outdated dominant assassinate. From the time he returned to motion on July 28 till the pinnacle of the conventional season, he ranked 2nd amongst relievers in strikeout rate. And earlier to the Mets’ playoff outburst, Williams had allowed correct three runs and one home plug all year.
1. Emmanuel Clase , Cleveland Guardians 2024 stats: 4-2, 0.61 ERA, 74.1 IP, 66 K, 47 SV, 2.2 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: 6-1, 2.15 ERA, 71 IP, 70 K, 34 SV, 1.4 fWAR
I mean, correct search at that ERA. It takes an especially particular season from a reliever to bear out third in Cy Younger vote casting. After all, the eight runs and three home runs he surrendered in eight postseason innings made for a bitter kill to an otherworldly 2024 advertising and marketing campaign, but it would now not substitute the very fact that he had allowed correct five earned runs and two home runs all year in the conventional season. Final year used to be Clase’s third straight season with now now not lower than 40 saves. Over that three-year stretch, he has a league-leading 133 saves — 30 bigger than the next closest player on the list.
Honorable Mentions: Jhoan Duran, Jeff Hoffman, Ryan Walker, Robert Suarez
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan used to be born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved relieve to the West Wing in 2014. Practice him on X at @RowanKavner .
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