By Joe Browne

*To clarify, while 2024 is absolutely baked into these lists, they are far from the sole factor. These lists are meant to be a projection of how I believe these players will perform in 2025.

1. Mason Miller, Athletics

Miller was nothing short of lights out in his first full season in the bigs. Ranking in the 100th percentile in the following stats: xERA, xBA, Fastball Velo, Whiff % and K%. On top of that his baseline numbers were also exceptional. Posting a 2.49 ERA and locking down twenty eight saves for A’s. Miller was able to finish with those numbers despite his subpar September, posting a 4.15 ERA in that month. Miller’s dominance will continue next year, particularly because of the expectation that the A’s will be in a position to win more games with their improved roster. More opportunities for saves and more high leverage innings will be able to fully display Millers dominance for everyone to see.  

2. Emmanuel Clase, Guardians

Clase comes off a 2024 campaign where he made an American Cy Young argument as a reliever. Posting a sparkling 0.66 ERA while locking down forty seven saves, Clase looked better than ever a season ago. However, his poor playoff performance left a bad taste in everyone’s mouths. Clase surrendered three homers en route to posting a 9.00 ERA in October. Do not be fooled by his poor showing in the postseason, Clase put together one of the most remarkable seasons by a closer ever in 2024. He comes in at second on the list for the sheer fact that it will be virtually impossible for him to post another sub-1 ERA season in 2025. 

3. Felix Bautista, Orioles

Unfortunately, Bautista missed all of 2024 due to a severe elbow injury but he is on track to be Opening Day ready for 2025. Due to Craig Kimbrel ultimately failing as their closer, Baltimore missed him dearly. Bautista and his electric fastball will be back in action next season locking down W’s for the Orioles. Looking back at the last season he pitched in 2023, Bautista posted a MLB best 44.3% Whiff% along with an MLB best 46.4% K%. He racked up 110 punchouts in just 61 innings to the tune of an elite 277 ERA+. Bautitsa is primed to reintroduce himself to baseball fans with a dominant 2025 on tap. 

4. Ryan Helsley, Cardinals

Helsley was quietly an elite closer for the Cardinals in 2024. Due to St. Louis never really being in the playoff hunt, Helsley’s phenomenal season generally went unnoticed. Locking down 49 saves on a team that only won 83 games is impressive. The strikeout numbers took a slight dip from previous seasons in 2024. This should not be a major worry, his elite stuff paired with his ability of limiting hard contact is a key. Expect for the strikeout totals to climb back to where they have been in prior years for Helsley in 2025 en route to another great year.  

5. Edwin Diaz, Mets

Diaz had an up and down 2024 following missing all of 2023 with a knee injury. He started off the season relatively strong but about two months in really began to struggle. Following a brief IL stint Diaz returned and looked dominant before getting popped with a ten game suspension in mid-June for alleged sticky substance use. Once he returned Diaz was dominant the rest of the way and pitched big innings down the stretch when the Mets seemingly could not lose. Do not let the 3.52 ERA fool you, the peripherals were once again elite. Posting a 2.49 xERA, .166 xBA and a MLB best 38.9% K%. Another key was when Diaz went away from his slider and began throwing more fastballs. This was key in his late season and postseason success in 2024. 

6. Andres Munoz, Mariners

Munoz had his best season yet in 2024 and it is a sign of what is to come in 2025. Posting a 173 ERA + paired with a 2.12 ERA. Both career bests thus far for the twenty six year old Munoz. An area of potential for Munoz is the rate at which he issued free passes in 2024. An 11.2% BB% and 3.9 BB/9 are both subpar marks. If he can manage to cut down the walks in 25, Munoz could easily be even higher up in this list entering 2026.  

7. Devin Williams, Yankees

The first name on this list that will be on a different team in 2025 as Williams was dealt to the Yankees in December. Williams only appeared in 22 games a season ago due to a major injury keeping him out for the first half of the season. When he was back healthy he was absolutely dominant posting a 341 ERA+ and 1.25 ERA. Despite surrendering a massive home run to Pete Alonso in game three of the Wild Card Series, Williams is still an elite closer. An argument could be made for him to be higher up on this list but he, like Munoz, has a walk problem and the change of scenery may hurt him. Yankee Stadium is a very hitter friendly park especially in the summer months when the ball is going to fly. Williams has a tall task ahead of him, going from the closer in Milwaukee to the closer in New York is a big jump. 

8. Josh Hader, Astros

Hader’s first year in Houston was just fine. He showed flashes but was not the lockdown southpaw all the time that we have become accustomed to. Still managing to post an elite .173 xBA and 2.72 xERA suggesting that Hader ran into some bad luck in 2024. Also, he is still punching out hitters at an elite clip. However, he did get hit harder last year than usual. Year two in Houston will be better than year one, do not lose faith in Hader yet his track record is too strong to doubt. 

9. Cade Smith, Gaurdians

Cleveland had far and away the best bullpen in baseball in 2024 so they deservedly have two guys in this top ten. Cade Smith burst into the scene and was flat out dominant in 2024. Smith was a workhorse appearing in seventy four games and posting a 1.91 ERA. Smith had a MLB best +28 run value on his fastball. He is not the hardest thrower but his big frame is able to give that heater some extra life. Just like every other guy on this list Smith is an elite strikeout pitcher. The Guardians could not ask for a much better set-up to Emmanuel Clase in the ninth than Cade Smith in the eighth. 

10. Trevor Megill, Brewers

Rounding out this list is a guy that most casual fans have probably never heard of. Trevor Megill stepped up big time in Devin Williams’ aforementioned absence in the first half of 2024. Megill is an absolute flamethrower averaging 98.8 MPH on his heater a year ago. Paired with his 6 ‘8 frame and high arm angle, it’s not easy to see the ball coming out of Megill’s hand. Those factors translated into some success in 2024, posting a 2.72 ERA and fifty punchouts across 46.1 innings. Megill’s main problem is that he lacks a secondary pitch. He only threw his curve 28% of the time last season. With Williams shipped off to the Bronx, Megill will get the nod as the Brewers closer to start the year. If he can tap into a secondary pitch to play off his elite heater, sky’s the limit for Megill in 2025. 

Sources:

Baseball Reference

Baseball Savant

FanGraphs

StatMuse