Trae Young has missed the past two games, and the Washington Wizards announced Saturday that the four-time All-Star point guard is recovering from quad and back injuries that won’t require surgery but are being “treated conservatively.”

Young re-injured his right quad, sustaining a contusion during the third quarter of Washington’s loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday, according to the Wizards, who also noted in their news release that related imaging revealed lower-back irritation that Young has been dealing with.

“Further updates will be provided as appropriate,” the release reads.

Young, 27, has played in just 15 games this season, including only five with the Wizards, who acquired him in a January trade that sent CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert to the Atlanta Hawks.

The Wizards dropped all five of those games Young played. His debut in Washington didn’t put a stop to a losing streak that has now stretched to 14 games. The Wizards also lost 14 consecutive games this fall when they trudged to a 1-15 start.

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Washington is two games away from tying a franchise-record 16-game skid. The Wizards most recently suffered that kind of slide in March 2024.

At 16-53, Washington currently has the second-worst record in the NBA. Only the Indiana Pacers have a worse record than the Wizards this season.

Will Anthony Davis return this season?

Washington hasn’t yet reaped the benefits of dealing for a pair of league icons. The other, 10-time All-Star big man Anthony Davis, hasn’t appeared in a game for the Wizards since they traded for him as part of an eight-player deal ahead of the deadline last month.

Davis last played on Jan. 8, when he injured his left hand while defending Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen on a baseline drive. He was with the Dallas Mavericks at the time of that setback.

The 33-year-old has been sidelined with ligament damage in that hand, but the Wizards stated earlier this month that he had been cleared to begin limited individual on-court basketball activities.

Washington has just 13 games remaining in its season. 

As for Young, his 15 games played are by far the fewest he’s logged in a single season of his eight-year NBA career. Before the 2025-26 campaign, he had appeared in at least 54 games every season.

When the Wizards struck the deal to bring him over from Atlanta, he was sidelined with another right quad contusion. And before that, he sat out 23 games with an MCL sprain in his right knee.

While this season hasn’t gone according to plan for Young, and his Wizards era is off to a rocky start, he’s reportedly expected to sign a long-term extension with the franchise.

Jasson Domínguez had a strong spring training performance for the New York Yankees. However, the team announced that the outfielder is being optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after he lost out in a tight roster crunch.

Domínguez, 23, did all he could to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster, batting .325/.378/.600 with three home runs, 10 RBI and three stolen bases in 40 at-bats. However, he also struck out 11 times, tied for the second-most on the Yankees’ Grapefruit League roster, which likely didn’t help his case.

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Going into the spring, there didn’t seem to be an opening for Domínguez in the lineup with Cody Bellinger set for left field, Trent Grisham in center and Aaron Judge in right field. Even the designated hitter role was spoken for with Giancarlo Stanton, in addition to Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt likely getting at-bats there.

Domínguez’s place on the roster may have been decided when the Yankees signed outfielder Randal Grichuk just over a week into the Grapefruit League schedule. Grichuk hasn’t yet won a major-league roster spot, but is a better fit for the bench as a .268/.318/.500 hitter versus left-handed pitching.

Meanwhile, Domínguez has a .530 career OPS against lefties. But even if he hit them well, the Yankees prefer that Domínguez play every day in Triple-A rather than platoon in the majors.

As a rookie in 2025, Domínguez hit .257/.331/.388 with 10 homers, 18 doubles, 47 RBI and 23 steals in 429 plate appearances.

That apparently wasn’t enough for the Yankees to feel confident with him as their starting left fielder, and the team re-signed Bellinger to a five-year, $162.5 million contract. Domínguez also wasn’t a realistic defensive option in center field and a qualifying offer was extended to Grisham.

It’s official. No player in NBA history has played in more regular-season games than LeBron James.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ star tied a three-decade-old record on Thursday with his appearance in a game against the Miami Heat. It was his 1,611th career game, matching Boston Celtics great Robert Parish atop the NBA leaderboard. James started in all but two of those games. He was already the record-holder when factoring in his 292 playoff appearances, which bring his total up to 1,903 games.

James honored the occasion by posting a 19-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in

James’ place in history is obviously secure. The question now is how many games he has left in him. There is rampant speculation about what he’ll do this offseason, with his choices including retirement, a return to the Lakers or perhaps a reunion with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

This season has seen James post some of the lowest numbers of his career and miss more than a few games to injury, including a 14-game stretch to open the season due to sciatica. He has already ended his All-Star starting streak, his All-NBA streak and his 10-point streak, all unprecedented in league history.

Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. will be out for two to three weeks after being diagnosed with a left hamstring strain, the team announced on Thursday. He will be reevaluated after that period.

By then, however, the Nets’ season could be over. Only 13 games remain on the regular-season schedule for Brooklyn and the team has been playing for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. The Nets currently hold the third-worst record in the NBA at 17-52.

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Traded to the Nets from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Cam Johnson, Porter was putting up the best numbers of his career. The seven-year veteran averaged 24.2 points (tied for 14th among NBA scorers), 7.1 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.1 steals, while shooting 36% on 485 3-point attempts this season.

However, Porter appeared in only 52 games due to ankle injuries and a chronic nerve condition (called “foot drop”) in his left foot. He had missed the Nets’ past four games with his left hamstring issue.

If Porter is able to return in two weeks, that would leave five or six games in the Nets’ season. However, both the Nets and Porter might question if there’s any point in him playing those games — especially if the team is playing for the No. 1 overall pick. Right now, the Nets share the best chance to win that selection with the Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards at 14%.

Porter, 27, also has one year remaining on his contract and both he and the Nets may want to show that he’s healthy for a possible offseason trade. He’s set to be paid $40.8 million next season, a salary slot that non-contending teams would love to open on their caps. Of course, that could apply to the Nets as well.

Terry Rozier hasn’t appeared in a game for the Miami Heat this season. In October, he was arrested and indicted as a result of an expansive federal gambling investigation that unearthed two separate cases that altogether feature 34 total defendants.

But the 32-year-old guard is still on the Heat’s roster with just 13 games remaining in the regular season. He reportedly won’t be for much longer, however.

The Heat are expected to waive Rozier before the end of the regular season, in order to make room for a playoff roster spot, according to reports from the Miami Herald and ESPN on Thursday.

Rozier was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. He pleaded not guilty in December.

Prior to a March 2023 game, in which he played a mere nine minutes and change for the Charlotte Hornets due to a foot injury, Rozier is alleged to have shared inside information about his early exit, allegedly leading to his co-conspirator bettors wagering more than $200,000 on his under prop bets.

Rozier is one of six defendants, along with former NBA guard and Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Damon Jones, in the illegal gambling case, which is centered around the trading of non-public information about the health and availability of NBA players.

The other case, which focuses on a rigged poker ring backed by the Mafia, also includes Jones as a defendant as well as several others, most notably Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups.

The NBA placed both Billups and Rozier on leave, but Rozier won his salary dispute with the league in February. While his $26.6 million salary for the 2025-26 season was initially placed in escrow, it was reportedly released to him. That change came when an arbitrator determined that, under the terms of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, players can’t be placed on unpaid leave, unless they are involved in cases of domestic or child abuse, per a Feb. 2 ESPN report. 

Rozier is in the final year of a four-year, $96.2 million deal. Since that contract is expiring, he has to be waived by 5 p.m. on April 9 to clear waivers prior to the end of the regular season on April 12, as reported Thursday by both the Herald and ESPN.

The Heat acquired Rozier in January 2024, before it learned about the unusual betting activity involving Rozier. The NBA, which eventually cleared Rozier in its own investigation of him, didn’t give the Heat a heads-up, and reportedly neither did the Charlotte Hornets, who declined to comment in October when faced with questions about if they knew of the NBA’s investigation at the time of the transaction, per the Herald.

To resolve that issue, the Hornets agreed earlier this month to send a 2026 second-round pick to the Heat. More than two years ago now, Miami traded Charlotte veteran guard Kyle Lowry and a first-round pick in exchange for Rozier.

Rozier appeared in 31 games for the Heat after being dealt ahead of the deadline during the 2023-24 season. Last season, he played in 64 games, starting 23 of them, and averaged 10.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest.

With Rozier currently still on the roster, the Heat have a maximum 15 players on standard contracts. Although Miami won’t eclipse the luxury tax threshold if it waives Rozier and signs a replacement player right now, waiting to do so allows the Heat to remain flexible if a player is lost to injury down the stretch, as reported by the Herald, which noted another benefit of keeping Rozier in that 15th spot. Teams with fewer than 15 players on standard contracts can have two-way contract players on the active list for only 90 total NBA games in the regular season, 60 fewer than if a team is at that 15-player standard contract mark.

Regardless, Miami is reportedly expected to waive Rozier in the lead-up to the postseason and, in effect, will be able to fill his roster spot with either a signee or a promoted two-way player.

Just like targets and sleepers, fades are a part of fantasy life during the draft season. Often it’s the ADP that cools us to a candidate, or surrounding factors. Sometimes it’s more directly tied to the player himself.

Let’s examine a few players I’m unlikely to write tickets on this month. And if these are your favorite guys, no worries — that’s why we have a game. It’s a marketplace of opinions.

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Plenty of name players are listed in this column, and that’s also standard for a useful fades piece. What’s the point of telling you not to draft someone outside the top 200?

The ground rules set, let’s steer into some fades.

3B José Ramírez, Guardians (7.3 ADP)

Ramírez has been remarkably consistent into his 30s, and he’s coming off his two busiest seasons with respect to stealing bases. He also plays a thin fantasy position, so what’s not to like? Well, his supporting cast, for one. The Guardians ranked 28th in runs per game last year and Ramírez is the only top-150 player in the current Cleveland batting order. You want your early picks to be insulated by their lineups.

3B Junior Caminero, Rays (16.3 ADP)

Although Caminero’s homer output was evenly split home and away last year, we can’t ignore that he slashed .313/.358/.595 at stand-in Steinbrenner Field, but just .218/.266/.477 at home. The Rays are returning to their refurbished dome for 2026, generally a poor park for offense, and Tampa Bay’s lineup around Caminero is also underwhelming. Regression feels likely, but the ADP remains in a lofty area.

OF Corbin Carroll, Diamondbacks (17.9 ADP)

Carroll was a first-round staple in early drafts before suffering a broken bone in his right hand a month ago. It’s possible he could be ready for Opening Day, but does the power return right away? Will the hand issue discourage Carroll from stealing bases? I never want to be the injury optimist in my leagues, and it’s not like Carroll’s draft price has fallen that far anyway.

OF Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs (37.3 ADP)

PCA was a god in the first half last year (.847 OPS, 25 homers, 27 steals) and a slump-ridden player in the second half (.216 average, six homers, eight steals). Left-handed pitching was a problem all year, too (.188/.217/.376). While Crow-Armstrong’s outstanding defense should keep him in the lineup every day, it’s possible he could downshift to the bottom third of a deep Chicago lineup. And given how poor his plate discipline metrics are (high strikeout count, low walk rate, poor chase rate), you worry about collapse risk with his batting average.

SS Mookie Betts, Dodgers (38.5 ADP)

Betts already has a Hall of Fame resume punched and the depth of the LAD lineup will buoy his run production. But Betts is also coming off a pedestrian offensive season (104 OPS+, an eyelash over league average) and his stolen-base rate was the lowest in 11 seasons. Betts shows signs of decline entering his age-33 season, and I’d like most of my early picks to be on front-nine players.

OF Yordan Alvarez, Astros (36.9 ADP)

He has the batting eye of an angel but the knees of an old man, costing him chunks of time for five straight years. The current Houston lineup is probably its weakest in a decade, especially with Jeremy Peña now hurt.

SP Chris Sale, Braves (38.9 ADP)

He’s rebuilt his career nicely since joining Atlanta, but he’s also moving into his age-37 season, which makes me nervous. And although starting pitchers are asked to work less throughout baseball, Sale in particular is difficult to trust for a full season. He’s qualified for the ERA title (162 innings or more) just once in the past seven years (excluding the pandemic year). I need more workload upside if I’m drafting an early pitcher. 

SP Dylan Cease, Blue Jays (70.8 ADP)

His last three seasons are remarkably similar — tons of strikeouts, and an ERA that’s significantly above what the ERA-estimators suggest. When a pitcher does that ERA trick once, we call it bad luck. For three straight years, maybe it’s simply part of Cease’s profile. His walk and homer rates were also moving in the wrong direction last year, and he no longer has Petco Park to hide some of his mistakes (although Toronto should support him with a plus defense).

There were 24 relief pitchers who saw an increase by five or more save opportunities while converting five or more saves in 2025 compared to 2024. When we filter down to which relievers had 15 or more saves in 2025 than in 2024, the list shrinks to eight players. Relievers that met those thresholds include Andrés Muñoz, Aroldis Chapman, Cade Smith, Carlos Estévez, Daniel Palencia, Emilio Pagán, Jeff Hoffman and Will Vest. We have a mixture of relievers with closer experience seeing a higher workload and pitchers who consistently earned save chances with success in 2025.

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The visual below shows the relievers who met the previous threshold of five or more save opportunities and five or more saves in 2025 than in 2024:

On the flip side, the list of relievers who saw their save opportunities and conversions drop by five or more includes Camilo Doval, Emmanuel Clase, José Alvarado, Josh Hader, Kyle Finnegan, Mason Miller and Ryan Helsley. Alvarado was the only reliever with single-digit saves. Doval was leading the Giants in saves (15), though Ryan Walker ate into his save chances, with 10 in the first half of the season before Doval was traded to the Yankees.

Meanwhile, Clase missed the final two months after being investigated for alleged gambling charges, so Cade Smith took on a heftier load. Similar to Doval, Helsley was traded to another team (Mets), and he didn’t convert a save in the second half out of four chances. Helsley signed with the Orioles and should slide into the primary closer for the new team (more on him below). Similarly, Finnegan was traded from the Nationals to the Tigers. Finnegan logged four saves out of five chances in the second half of the season with the Tigers. 

This data reminds us that the closer market can have consistent players to target while understanding there can be volatility with trades, injuries and player struggles. We have several potential reliever targets, fades and sleepers to consider during draft season. 

More positional previews

• Catcher

• First Base

• Second Base

• Third Base

• Shortstop

• Outfield

• Starting Pitcher

• Relief Pitcher

Proactive Picks

Ryan Helsley, Orioles (Yahoo ADP 140.5)

Ryan Helsley signed with the Orioles, filling a void with Félix Bautista undergoing shoulder surgery in August 2025. After a career season of 49 saves in 2024, the Cardinals traded Helsley to the Mets, leading to a significant role change. The 2025 ratios were awful for Helsley, though his 4.03 xERA and 15% swinging-strike suggested the skills still existed, with poor luck. Regression was expected for Helsley, though, after a 2.04 ERA, 3.52 xERA and an 18% swinging-strike rate in 2024.

Helsley’s slider was nasty, eliciting a 23.1% swinging-strike rate, as a pitch he throws often to right-handed hitters (52.7%) and lefties (41.8%). He throws a high-velocity, gyro-like slider that makes hitters chase it outside the zone, with a career 40.3% chase rate. We want at least one dominant pitch for a closer, which Helsley possesses. 

Meanwhile, Helsley’s four-seamer has been crushed against right-handed hitters (.526 wOBA, .455 xwOBA) and left-handed hitters (.471 wOBA, .375 xwOBA). That’s concerning because Helsley’s four-seam generates above-average induced vertical break while paired with above-average extension that comes from a high arm slot (62 degrees). He might be trying to pound the heater in the zone, expecting to find success, though he may benefit from lowering the zone rates. For context, Helsley threw the four-seamer in the zone 60 to 61% of the time over the past two seasons. 

If Helsley makes a small tweak to the four-seam locations, we will have more confidence in his dominance. Regardless, Helsley should be the leading closer option for the Orioles after they relied on Keegan Akin (8 saves), Dietrich Enns (2 saves), and Corbin Martin (2) with Bautista sidelined. 

Ryan Walker, Giants (Yahoo ADP 192.3)

Once Doval was traded, Ryan Walker had seven saves with Spencer Bivens (3) and Tristan Beck (2) being the other relievers with save conversions in the second half of the season. Walker comes at hitters from a low arm and cross-body approach, which likely involves volatility in his command. Interestingly, Walker’s swinging-strike rate fell to 9% in 2025 after being around 12-13% in the previous two seasons. That’s slightly concerning to have a reliever earning save chances with below-average stuff from a whiff standpoint.

Walker’s slider typically had been filthy, inducing an 18% swinging-strike rate throughout his career. Unfortunately, Walker’s slider swinging-strike rate fell to 12.8% in 2025. The slider’s pitch movement profiles hadn’t changed much, with 14-15 inches of glove-side sweep. There’s a good chance that the slider’s whiffs and results regressed based on the pitch locations.

When Walker left the slider in the zone, right-handed hitters were crushing it in 2025. That’s evident by Walker’s slider allowing a .294 wOBA (.307 xwOBA) in 2025 and a .256 wOBA (.271 xwOBA) in 2024 against right-handed hitters when thrown in the zone.

Nonetheless, with Doval gone, Walker should eat up the majority of the Giants’ save chances.

The one wild card involves the Giants having a new manager in Tony Vitello, who comes from the college ranks formerly as the coach at the University of Tennessee. Will Vitello rely on Walker or make it somewhat of a closer committee in San Francisco? Walker’s draft price is somewhat discounted, making him an interesting mid-round second closer to target.

Fades

Daniel Palencia, Cubs (Yahoo ADP 171.1)

The Cubs tried to lean on veteran Ryan Pressly as their closer in 2025, but he struggled and they turned to Daniel Palencia, who was one of the waiver-wire gems at the closer position in 2025. He dealt with a shoulder strain in early September, then returned later that month. There’s a chance Palencia could take another step forward in 2026, given the above-average 13.6% swinging-strike rate. Like other relievers, Palencia struggled with control, though his ball rate improved to 34% after being around 39-40% in the previous two seasons.

Palencia’s slider continues to headline his arsenal, with a 19.6% swinging-strike rate in 2025, compared to a career average of 21.5%. The slider added nearly three inches of downward movement in 2025, as a breaking ball that he throws low and away to right-handed hitters. Palencia’s slider generates whiffs and weak contact (.231 wOBA, .175 xwOBA) against right-handed hitters in 2025.

Unfortunately, left-handed hitters crushed Palencia’s slider (.383 wOBA, .313 xwOBA) and four-seamer (.352 wOBA, .366 xwOBA). That suggests Palencia needs an offering to suppress left-handed hitters or they’ll continue to do damage. He sprinkled in a splitter 38 times (8.6%) that allowed a .147 wOBA (.225 xwOBA) against lefties in 2025. It’s easier said than done, but it would benefit Palencia to work on developing a splitter to attack lefties.

That said, if Palencia struggles to find another pitch to address the issues against left-handed hitters, we could see the Cubs turn toward Phil Maton or Hunter Harvey. 

Trevor Megill, Brewers (Yahoo ADP 158.1)

Trevor Megill (6) and Abner Uribe (5) shared save chances in the second half of the 2025 season. Megill dealt with an elbow strain in late August, causing him to miss over one month before returning in late September. It’s concerning when a pitcher ends the season injured; hard to have injury optimism heading into the following season. That’s especially true with Megill, who averaged over one month on the injured list in four of the past five seasons.

Megill has been successful, compiling 51 saves over the past two seasons. The skills support Megill’s save chances, evidenced by a 32% ball rate and a nearly 15% swinging-strike rate over the past two seasons. Megill saw the ratios improve late in the 2025 season, with a slight uptick in his swinging-strike rate. We’re not denying Megill’s skills and recent track record, but there’s a good chance Megill misses time again in 2026, opening the door for Uribe. 

Uribe’s stuff finally led to save chances in 2025, though there should be some ratio regression, since he had a 2.80 xERA, over one run higher than his actual ERA (1.67). With Uribe’s sinker and slider mix, he provides that optimal groundball and strikeout approach. That’s evident in Uribe’s sinker generating a 64% groundball rate and the slider inducing a 19% swinging-strike rate. 

The draft market has been torn on Megill and Uribe, but we prefer to take a chance on Uribe since he possesses the stuff to generate whiffs and weak contact, without the injury history of Megill. 

Sleepers

Dennis Santana, Pirates (Yahoo ADP 181.9)

In the second half of the season, Dennis Santana had 10 of the 12 saves for the Pirates. They traded David Bednar to the Yankees, aligning with Santana earning save chances. Bednar struggled in 2024, and Aroldis Chapman stole save opportunities. Santana has been waiting for his chance, and he performed relatively well in 2025. 

He might be due for regression since he outperformed his expected ERA (3.96), with an actual ERA of 2.18. Santana showed better control, with a 30% ball rate in 2025 compared to a career ball rate at 34%. Meanwhile, Santana’s swinging-strike rate was above 13% again in 2025, suggesting there’s above-average stuff, but not near-elite. However, Santana does have one near-elite pitch for whiffs via the slider, given a 20.1% swinging-strike rate. 

As Santana should, he increased his slider usage to 46.4% in 2025, up from 32.3% in 2024. Santana made a 10 percentage point increase in usage to right-handed hitters (49.3%) with a 20-point jump to lefties (42.5%). Interestingly, Santana’s slider doesn’t have an above-average movement profile, yet it generates weak contact against righties (.207 wOBA, .222 xwOBA) and lefties (.225 wOBA, .270 xwOBA). 

That could suggest Santana commands his slider well since it doesn’t have a filthy movement profile. Or Santana’s slider keeps hitters guessing with another pitch having a similar profile, which can be seen via the induced movement profiles above. It’s probably a mixture of both factors, with the cutter being a harder-thrown version of the slider. Santana’s cutter elicits weak contact (.265 wOBA, .322 xwOBA) to right-handed hitters. However, Santana’s cutters tend to be less effective against lefties (.313 wOBA, .317 xwOBA) in 2025. 

Besides Bednar, Santana had the highest game leverage index on the Pirates, showing the team trusts him in high-leverage situations. Santana fits nicely as an RP2 for around 25 saves at a cheaper draft cost.

Pete Fairbanks, Marlins (Yahoo ADP 163.7)

Pete Fairbanks logged 20 or more saves for three consecutive seasons, though he earned 77% of the team’s saves in 2025, which was unusual. For context, Fairbanks had 45% of the team’s saves in 2024 and 60% of the team’s saves in 2023. It’s worth noting that Fairbanks has dealt with his fair share of injuries in 2023 and 2024, causing him to miss over one month in both seasons. Meanwhile, Fairbanks was healthy in 2025.

He signed with the Marlins in December on a one-year deal worth $13 million, so it’s a low-risk investment for the Marlins that they could move at the trade deadline. When healthy, Fairbanks typically performed well with the strikeout skills to support the outcomes. Fairbanks had a 12.8% swinging-strike rate in 2025, with a career low in 2024 (9.5%). However, Fairbanks boasted a swinging-strike rate north of 13% throughout his career. 

Interestingly, Fairbanks’s slider took a slight step back from a whiff standpoint, with a 13% swinging-strike rate in 2025 and 10.3% in 2024. That aligns with the overall dip in swinging-strike rate during the past two seasons. The slider’s movement profile suggests more whiffs on breaking pitch that generates 6.5 inches more downward movement than the average slider. Typically, we find pitches that possess more vertical movement tend to elicit more whiffs.

My guess would be slider locations might be an issue, though a reliever’s pitches can be volatile in smaller samples. Based on the slider heatmaps, it looks like he might be throwing it too often in the heart of the zone, which leads opposing hitters to wait on the slider. We’ve heard rumors that the Rays’ pitchers have been instructed to throw their best pitches in the heart of the zone, to see whether opposing hitters can hit them. Fairbanks may want to focus on a location adjustment for the slider if the high-end downward movement isn’t generating the expected whiffs.

The other concern involves Fairbanks having potential left-handed hitter problems. Left-handed hitters have been doing damage and making loud contact against the four-seamer over the past two seasons, with the slider being decent, but not dominant. That’s especially true since left-handed hitters have been crushing the heater, evidenced by a .341 wOBA (.376 xwOBA) in 2025 and a .379 wOBA (.369 xwOBA) in 2024. Fairbanks may want to develop the changeup that he hardly uses, with a career 18% swinging-strike rate. Furthermore, Fairbanks’s changeup allowed a .204 wOBA (.232 xwOBA) against left-handed hitters in a small sample of 40 pitches in 2025. 

The Marlins have been rotating relievers as their primary closer. A.J. Puk (15), Tanner Scott (12) and Dylan Floro (7) led the Marlins in saves in 2023. Scott (18) and Calvin Faucher (6) were the only two Marlins’ relievers with five or more saves in 2024. Then Faucher (15) led the team in saves with Ronny Henriquez (7) sneaking into the mix in 2025. Faucher still remains on the Marlins, but Fairbanks showed he can handle the majority of the team’s save opportunities with the Rays across multiple seasons. 

Griffin Jax/Edwin Uceta, Rays (Yahoo ADPs: 204, 203.3)

The Rays value stuff, as they rank second in Stuff+ behind the Phillies. Griffin Jax possesses near-elite stuff, evidenced by two primary pitches eliciting a swinging-strike rate above 21% via the slider (21.1%) and changeup (27%). Jax’s sweeper is nasty against right-handed hitters, allowing a .149 wOBA (.168 xwOBA). On the flip side, Jax’s changeup serves as a deadly option to lefties, with a .146 wOBA (.150 xwOBA).

Edwin Uceta could be in the mix for saves with Jax, making this a muddy reliever room to figure out. Uceta’s arsenal doesn’t grade well in Stuff models, likely because he throws from a lower arm angle (14 degrees), giving him a Luis Castillo-type arm slot. He throws two pitches with an above-average swinging-strike rate, including the four-seam (17.6%) and changeup (19.1%). 

With the lower armslot, Uceta’s changeup and four-seam seem to have reverse splits, where the changeup performs better against right-handed hitters (.191 wOBA, .258 xwOBA) and four-seam is better against lefties (.221 wOBA, .227 xwOBA).

Uceta’s draft price has been slightly lower than Jax’s. We’ll want to take shots at the Rays’ closer options, but don’t over-invest in either one.

Top-12 RP rankings

1. Mason Miller, Padres

2. Edwin Díaz, Dodgers

3. Cade Smith, Guardians

4. Andrés Muñoz, Mariners

5. Jhoan Duran, Phillies

6. Devin Williams, Mets

7. David Bednar, Yankees

8. Aroldis Chapman, Red Sox

9. Jeff Hoffman, Blue Jays

10. Ryan Helsley, Orioles

11. Raisel Iglesias, Braves

12. Ryan Walker, Giants