David Bednar’s 2025 season opened on uneven ground (four runs allowed, including three earned, on four hits over one inning in three appearances against the Miami Marlins), even leading to a brief minor league stint before he returned in mid-April and reclaimed the Pittsburgh Pirates’ closer job.
Once back in the majors, the two-time All-Star quickly stabilized his performance, delivering a dominant 1.70 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 50-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) across 37 innings for the Pirates before being dealt to the New York Yankees at the trade deadline.
David Bednar Fantasy Outlook: Strengths, Weaknesses, and 2026 Projections
Bednar’s profile continues to be built on swing-and-miss stuff and late-inning reliability. After the early turbulence, he looked fully back in form, generating strikeouts with all three of his primary pitches in 2025. He punched out 32 hitters with his upper-90s fastball, 27 with his curveball, and another 27 with his splitter, helping him reach a new career high with 86 total strikeouts.
That balanced arsenal makes him difficult to game plan against and supports his strong underlying metrics. His 26.7% strikeout-minus-walk percentage (K-BB%) ranked ninth among qualified relievers, while his 2.47 Skill-Interactive ERA (SIERA) placed 10th, both indicators of sustainable high-end performance.
The main concern is the brief early-season volatility, which serves as a reminder that relievers can run into short command lapses. Bednar does not always have the same margin for error as the very top tier of elite closers, so occasional bumps in ratios remain possible.
Even so, his body of work is convincing. He has delivered standout results in four of his last five seasons, and his finish in New York reinforced his stability in high-leverage spots. Bednar converted 10 of 13 save opportunities for the Yankees over the final two months, good for a 77% conversion rate.
For Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues, Bednar projects as a dependable upper-tier closer capable of strong weekly production. His strikeout ability, improving command, and firm grip on ninth-inning duties give him a realistic path to another 30-plus save season in 2026. While he sits just below the very top names at the position, the overall floor and role security keep him firmly in the Tier 2 conversation.
Regarding the relief pitcher hierarchy for Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues, I rank him in Tier 2 behind Edwin Díaz, Mason Miller, and Jhoan Duran, among others, and higher than Aroldis Chapman, Devin Williams, and Josh Hader.
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