Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Pirates' Dennis Santana Poised For Save Opportunities
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David Bednar struggled to end 2024, and his spring struggles (nine runs, 14 baserunners, one home run in eight innings, 10 strikeouts) gave fantasy drafters plenty of reasons to avoid his this year. Over his first three appearances this year, he allowed three runs, six runs, and a home run in one inning, with one strikeout, earning him a ticket out of town. His fastball (96.7 mph) in 2025 aligned with his career path.
The Pirates kick David Bednar to the AAA curb, creating a save opportunity for Dennis Santana.
With Paul Skenes looking for his first win of the season after pitching seven shutout innings with three hits and six strikeouts today, Pittsburgh handed Santana the ball in a closing situation. He finished the job by tossing a shutout inning, allowing a walk and no hits.
Dennis Santana in for the ninth today for the Pirates with a 4-2 lead over the Rays and gets the 2-3 batter out, walks Aranda and then gets Morel to pop out for the save. FB at 95 but not in the zone, slider got bites, but induced weak contact.
— The Welsh (@IsItTheWelsh) April 2, 2025
Santana’s seven-year MLB stats (4.76 ERA, 1.319 WHIP, four saves) don’t scream closer, but a career-best season in 2024 (2.44 ERA, 50 strikeouts in 44.1 innings) and spring success (two runs, four baserunners, one home run in 7.2 innings, three strikeouts) moved him on to fantasy radar as the next closing option for the Pirates. This year, he has given up one run and five baserunners over 3.1 innings, with three strikeouts and one save.
I don’t know his long-term viability for closing, but Santana has the job for now, giving the fantasy market a bridge-closing option until a better option emerges. He should added in all formats this week.
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With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
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