In the world of wacky fantasy baseball leagues – and believe me, this is my wheelhouse – few reach the levels of ludicrity of the Webb Albers league.
Let’s put it this way: you only draft five players, and last year Tony Santillan and Ryne Stanek contrived to prevent me from challenging for the title.
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Cast your mind back to Effectively Wild Episode 406. On the off chance that you can’t recall the exact details, a listener wrote in with the following question:
“Ryan Webb has finished 74 of his 266 career games, but he has zero saves. That seems very strange to me in the modern era of bullpen usage. Play Index request: what’s the record for games finished, let’s say since 1990, without a save? I imagine it blows Webb away, but I’m interested.”
Sam Miller answered the question with the revelation that Matt Albers is the leader with 82 games completed without a save. This is the longest such streak for any pitcher since 1990.
Over the following years, the Webb Albers battle became a recurring feature of the podcast.
| Appearances | Games finished | Saves | |
| Ryan Webb | 375 | 105 | 0 |
| Matt Albers | 616 | 145 | 7 |
Ryan Webb is the current record holder, ending his major league career with 105 career games finished without a save. Matt Albers fell three games short of Webb’s record, recording his first career save on 5 May 2017 after 102 games finished without a save. He called time on his MLB career with seven saves.
Any guesses as to the current leader among active players with 45 games finished without recording a save? The answer is at the end of the article.
WEBB ALBERS FANTASY BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
The brainchild of Darius Austin – arguably Britain’s most-knowledgable baseball nerd – this league has one simple, sadistic goal: draft pitchers who finish the game without recording a save. Easy, right?
The unpredictability of relief pitchers makes this league so challenging. Let’s be honest, the Los Angeles Dodgers probably know more about baseball than you or I, yet they spaffed $29 million on Kirby Yates and Tanner Scott last year. The pair combined for a 4.94 ERA with 12 blown saves. If the Dodgers can’t crack the mysteries of the bullpen, what hope is there for us?
The first player off the draft board was Shohei Ohtani, but I suspect that participant had not fully grasped the rules. The second pick was Tanner Rainey, who was the highest scorer in 2024. Now we were up and running.
Rainey’s 2025 did not pan out as expected. He was not promoted to the majors by the Pirates until May and then struggled mightily. He latched on with the Tigers but only scored 10 points in this league.
WEBB ALBERS FANTASY BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: MY TEAM
Who knew that Jimmy Herget would become the Rockies’ best reliever? I drafted him on the basis that Colorado wouldn’t win many games, and players like Victor Vodnik, Tyler Kinley, and Seth Halvorsen were all above him in the pecking order. Herget was also out of options, so as long as he was half-decent, he would stay on the roster.
The 31-year-old’s 83 innings for 2.48 ERA was a remarkable return for the “Human Glitch” – the nickname bestowed upon him by Pitching Ninja. His 3.0 WAR season was a better return than his previous six major-league seasons combined.
Daylight robbery in Cincinnati during the offseason as the Reds signed their best reliever of 2025 to a $1.8 million one-year deal to remain in the bullpen this season.
Santillan made 80 relief appearances – second only to Tyler Rogers’ 81 – striking out 75 batters at a rate of 9.16 K/9. And like Herget, the Reds’ second-rounder was worth 3.0 WAR last season.
With Alexis Diaz, Emilio Pagan, Scott Barlow, and possibly Graham Ashcraft ahead of Santillan in the saves hierarchy, it felt like a safe pick for me. However, Diaz’s capitulation, Pagan’s promotion to closer, and Santillan’s dominance meant he was pushed into high-leverage situations. Santillan entered 2025 with four career saves; he finished with 11, costing my Webb Albers team 140 points (7 x -20).
With 60 game finishes without a save, the left-hander was exactly the type of reliever I wanted to target. He was looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2024 and had signed with the Pirates to slot in behind their higher-leverage guys of David Bednar, Colin Holderman, and Dennis Santana.
Unfortunately, a lat strain kicked him onto the 60-day IL and limited his season to just 16⅔ innings. He did, however, score 50 points for me in those brief appearances
With three straight seasons of 60+ relief appearances for an average of 3.12 ERA (3.30 FIP), Perez looked like a solid option in this league. His skills fell off a cliff in 2025 with an 8.31 ERA and 2.12 WHIP, ensuring he was DFA’d in May.
I guess his 60-point contribution was far better than I could have expected from such a disappointing campaign.
Coincidentally, the Red Sox are looking at both Mayza and Perez as additions to their bullpen.
The Rays’ former first-rounder was buried in the Mets bullpen, and with star closer Edwin Diaz unlikely to lose his job, there was no chance of Stanek ever getting save chances.
Well, that was the plan. Stanek made 65 appearances and had eight save opportunities. Fortunately for me, he only secured three of them, but that still cost me 60 fantasy baseball points.
WEBB ALBERS FANTASY BASEBALL: 2025 TOP POINT SCORERS
Look how many undrafted players scored highly. What odds can I get on Rafael Montero being the first player taken in the 2026 draft?
LOOK INSIDE A FANTASY BASEBALL CHAMPION’S MIND
The 2025 Webb Albers Fantasy Baseball champion was Russell Eassom. He offered this view into his thought process.
You roughly need 500 points to win this league, and usually, you need three guys to get over 100 and a few points off your other pair. I’ve been in it for a few years now, and I’ve tried a different method each season, from picking Rule 5 relievers who are almost guaranteed game time, to trying to work out who is the third-worst reliever on each team.
I’ve possibly over-analysed this in the past because last year’s method was a lot simpler. I simply chose the guys who scored the most points in the league last season, who are still on the same team and manager as last year, assuming they will probably be deployed the same way.
In 2024, 83 players scored more than 100 point. In 2025, just 18 did, which is 22.5% (when we exclude the three who didn’t play in 2025). But if you split it by whether they stayed on the same team, you see a drastic difference. There were 36 players who moved, and just five of them (14%) made the 100 mark again. For players who stayed at the same team, 30% of them (13 out of 44) made the 100 mark.
So, in the end, the hypothesis played out as I expected. However, as I got three hits out of five picks – 60% success, which is quite a bit higher than the overall 30% rate – I probably got a little lucky.
Want to get involved in 2026? This is not a Bat Flips & Nerds fantasy baseball league, but if you’re keen to participate, we might be able to get you an invite. Message me on Insta or email me.
Oh, and the current leader with 45 games finished without a save is John King. The 1.88M lefty is the go-to guy in the Cardinals’ bullpen. He is closely followed by Carson Fulmer, Nabil Crismatt, and Eduard Bazardo. However, Darius advises that Tim Collins appears to be attempting a comeback after years as a coach, so he would be the leader if he makes it back, with 52 games finished.
Featured image of Ryan Webb by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images
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Anonymous
Finally! a fantasy league I’d do well in!
I can’t draft relievers who pick up saves worth a damn.