Cade Smith Fantasy Stats

Cleveland Guardians closer Cade Smith has been one of the best closers in baseball so far in 2026, recording a 3.22 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 55 strikeouts, and 24 saves across 36 1/3 innings (34 games). However, the 27-year-old has run into some issues in June, pitching to a 5.19 ERA across 8 2/3 innings. Command has been an issue for Smith, whose walk rate has leaped to 13.2% this month. Still, Smith's underlying metrics for the season as a whole remain elite. The hard-throwing right-hander owns a 36.9% strikeout rate and a 30.2% K-BB rate. He's also been victimized by an unusually high opponent batting average on balls in play of .370, which suggests that Smith has experienced some poor luck. In any league where Smith's value may have dipped due to his rough June, fantasy managers should look to buy low.

Cleveland Guardians right-handed reliever Cade Smith hasn't been perfect, but he has quickly become one of the best options for saves in fantasy baseball in 2026. The 27-year-old Canadian pitcher is currently tied for the American League lead in saves with 11 and has gone 2-0 with a 3.44 ERA (1.86 FIP), 1.25 WHIP, and 24:4 K:BB in 18 1/3 innings pitched for the Guards. He gave up a run in his last appearance on Friday against the Minnesota Twins, but Smith still managed to hold on for the save in his inning of work, and he's been successful in each of his last eight save opportunities, allowing two earned runs on 10 hits while walking one and striking out 13 in 9 1/3 innings. Under the hood, Smith is in the 93rd percentile in strikeout rate, the 91st percentile in walk rate, and the 92nd percentile in whiff rate while posting an 11.8 K/9 in his third year in the big leagues. There's a reason why he's rostered in 98% of Yahoo leagues.

Cleveland Guardians closer Cade Smith has gotten off to a bit of a slow start to the 2026 season, as he's pitched to a 4.50 ERA and 1.42 WHIP across his first 12 appearances (12 innings). Smith's strikeout rate is down from 34.7% to 28.3%, while his walk rate is up from 6.3% to 7.5%. However, Smith still has five saves and does not appear to be in danger of losing the ninth-inning role in Cleveland. The 26-year-old was one of the best relievers in baseball in 2025, when he posted an 8-5 record with a 2.93 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 104 strikeouts, 16 saves, and 19 holds across 73 2/3 innings. His struggles so far in 2026 might be attributable to poor luck, as opponents currently own an elevated .364 batting average on balls in play against him. Given Smith's history of dominance, he could be a worthy buy-low candidate for fantasy managers to target.

Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Cade Smith allowed a solo home run during Wednesday's outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The home run was the only run Smith allowed during his inning of work. However, he has now allowed at least one run in each of his last three appearances. Through four innings of relief work this year, he has allowed four earned runs, five hits, and one walk. He also has three strikeouts and one save. Smith's 3.09 xERA suggests his 9.00 ERA could be a product of bad luck, but the 5.67 FIP and 4.24 xFIP still point to some underlying issues. Loud contact has been a big problem for Smith, who has a mere 28.6% ground ball rate this year (albeit over a small sample size). The 26-year-old righty still ranks as RotoBaller's #3 relief pitcher in fantasy baseball for now, but he'll presumably fall down the rankings if he continues to struggle over a larger sample size.

Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Cade Smith was tasked with shutting the door on Opening Day. Smith was called upon with a two-run lead in the ninth inning of Thursday's game versus the Seattle Mariners. He retired the side on 13 pitches while striking out one batter to earn his first save of the season. Smith took over the closer role last season following the departure of Emmanuel Clase due to legal troubles. The right-hander recorded a career-high 16 saves during the 2025 campaign. He should easily surpass that number as the clear-cut favorite for saves in Cleveland.

Cleveland Guardians right-handed reliever Cade Smith threw another scoreless inning in his Cactus League outing on Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers and has not allowed a run or a hit with no walks and four strikeouts in his three innings of work in spring training. Smith needed just seven pitches to retire the side in the fifth inning on Thursday. With Emmanuel Clase now out of the picture in Cleveland for the closing role, Smith is the Guardians' go-to guy in the ninth inning, and he's quickly become a top-five closing target for fantasy managers. The 26-year-old Canadian hurler went 8-5 last year with a 2.93 ERA (1.95 FIP), 1.00 WHIP, a career-high 16 saves, 104 strikeouts, and 19 walks in 73 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. Smith was one of only five relief pitchers to have 100-plus strikeouts in 2025. He's one of the best emerging high-leverage bullpen arms in baseball.

Cleveland Guardians closer Cade Smith has emerged as an elite source of saves in 2026, now sitting as the fourth-highest ranked reliever for the upcoming 2026 fantasy season at RotoBaller, just ahead of Andres Munoz, who registered 38 saves for Seattle a season ago. The right-hander has had a phenomenal first two seasons in the big leagues, amassing 103 strikeouts in 75 1/3 innings as a reliever in 2024 with a 1.91 ERA and 0.90 WHIP, then followed it up with 104 strikeouts in 73 2/3 innings with a 2.93 ERA (1.95 FIP) and 1.00 WHIP in 2025 while racking up 16 saves for the Guardians, 13 of which came after August 5 on the heels of the suspension of former closer Emmanuel Clase. Stepping in as the full-time closer in 2026, the 6-foot-5 Smith brings a 96.4 average fastball velocity with a 95th percentile whiff rate and 97th percentile strikeout rate to the role, on a team that won 88 games in '25 and should compete for a division crown once again. He won't be cheap on draft day, but with no indications of a slowdown on the horizon, the 26-year-old is rightfully not only one of the top relievers for fantasy, but he's also one of the top pitchers for fantasy regardless of role (starter or reliever).

With right-hander Emmanuel Clase out of the saves picture in Cleveland, Guardians right-handed reliever heads into the 2026 season as the team's likely closer. Smith took over for Clase in the middle of last season and finished out the year with a 2.93 ERA (1.95 FIP), 1.00 WHIP, a career-high 16 saves, 104 strikeouts, and 19 walks in 73 2/3 innings pitched out of the bullpen. He had earned 76.4% of the team's save share, and he was one of just five relievers in major-league baseball to strike out 100-plus batters. The 26-year-old has proven pretty dominant in high-leverage situations in his two MLB seasons in Cleveland, striking out 207 batters and walking 36 in 149 innings pitched. Smith relied mostly on his fastball to post a 28.3 K-BB percentage, which ranked sixth among all qualified relievers. His fantasy value has skyrocketed from last year to this year, and RotoBaller has him ranked as the No. 5 fantasy reliever.

Cleveland Guardians closer Cade Smith (8-5) earned the win in a 3-2 nail-biter over the Texas Rangers on Saturday and helped his team clinch an improbable playoff berth. Smith entered in the top of the eighth and threw 1 2/3 perfect innings with one strikeout before the Guardians won on a walk-off hit by pitch in the bottom of the ninth. The Guardians were a seemingly insurmountable 15 1/2 games back of Detroit in the AL Central on July 6, but almost four months later, they'll have a chance to take the division on Sunday with a win or a Tigers loss. Cleveland is in this position thanks in part to Smith, who took over as its closer in late July after Major League Baseball placed two-time AL Reliever of the Year Emmanuel Clase on leave for a sports betting investigation. Smith has tallied 16 saves this season, including seven in September, and logged a 2.93 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP, 103 strikeouts, and 19 walks in 73 2/3 innings.

Cleveland Guardians reliever Cade Smith notched his 12th save of the season in his team's 2-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. Smith pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing a hit and striking out two. In 64 2/3 innings this season, Smith has converted 12 out of 17 save chances while pitching to a 3.20 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with 90 strikeouts. The hard-throwing right-hander has been prone to the occasional blowup outing since taking over as Cleveland's closer, but he remains one of the better strikeout-generating relievers in baseball.