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Player Outlook
David Bednar established career-highs across multiple categories last season, including games played (66), innings pitched (67.1), ERA (2.00) and strikeouts (80). He more than doubled his previous career-high with 39 saves (T-2nd in the majors) and made his second straight All-Star team. Bednar was also top 8 among qualified relievers in both WPA (3.51) and gmLI (1.87). Perhaps most importantly, he stayed healthy all season. The combination of these factors should pay off for Bednar as his arbitration window begins and the Pirates become more competitive in the National League. Bednar's 83% team save share was 3rd-highest among closers last season and he enters 2024 with very high security due to the lack of competition within his own bullpen. His consistency from year to year makes him a bonafide top 10 closer with the ceiling to be top 5. The only thing holding him back is his strikeout and walk rates are above average, not quite elite.

Fantasy Stats

Year fpts
Fantasy Points
fpts/g
Fantasy Points per Game
ip
Innings Pitched
w
Wins
l
Losses
sv
Saves
so
Strikeouts
bb
Base on Balls (Walk)
era
Earned Run Average
whip
Walks and Hits Allowed Per Inning
2024 0.00 0.00
2023 4296.5 67.3 3 3 39 80 21 2.01 1.10
2022 249.55.5 51.7 3 4 19 69 16 2.61 1.12
3y Avg. 282.55 60.0 3 3 20 75 19 2.25 1.07
Projections Powered by
Fantasy Performance by Week
91%
Roster
82%
Start
#8
RP Rank

Fantasy News

  • Pirates' David Bednar: Unavailable on Opening Day

    Bednar was unavailable to pitch Thursday against the Marlins due to ongoing rehab from a lat injury, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Bednar was sidelined for much of spring training with a lat issue, though he managed to make his Grapefruit League debut March 21 while making an additional appearance on March 24. He hasn't been placed on the injured list, so Pittsburgh presumably expects him to be game ready soon.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Makes spring debut

    Bednar (lat) allowed two hits and struck out one across a scoreless inning in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays. Bednar has been sidelined by lat tightness for just over two weeks, though he has downplayed the seriousness of the injury. Per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Bednar's pitches looked sharp and his fastball sat consistently at 97 mph. It's expected that he will be ready for Opening Day.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Ready for spring debut

    Bednar (lat) will make his Grapefruit League debut Thursday against the Blue Jays, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports. Bednar first developed some right lat tightness in early March but has been progressing nicely since then. The closer has said previously that he was optimistic about ramping up in time for Opening Day, and his return to game action certainly helps his case.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Optimistic for Opening Day

    Bednar (lat) said Thursday he is tracking toward being available for Opening Day, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Bednar has yet to appear in a Grapefruit League game after developing some early-camp right lat tightness, but he threw a live batting practice session Monday and is slated for a game appearance next. Even if the closer is indeed ready for Opening Day, it's possible the Pirates will avoid using him on back-to-back days initially. That could allow for some early-season save chances for Aroldis Chapman, as well.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Throwing bullpen session Friday

    Bednar (lat) will throw a bullpen session Friday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. It will be his first time throwing from the bump since some right lat tightness cropped up at the beginning of the month. Bednar has not made an appearance in a Grapefruit League game this spring, but that seemingly should come soon if things go well Friday. He could still have time to ramp up for Opening Day, but it will be close.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Nearing mound work

    Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Bednar (lat) will throw off a mound in the coming days, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Bednar has progressed to 120 feet with his flat-ground throwing and is almost ready to get back on the mound as he works his way back from right lat tightness. He doesn't have much time to get ready for Opening Day, but working in his favor is the fact that as a one-inning reliever, he requires a shorter ramp-up period than others. If Bednar needs time on the injured list to begin the season, Aroldis Chapman would fill in as the Pirates' closer.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Progressing through lat tightness

    Manager Derek Shelton said Sunday that Bednar (lat) played catch for the second straight day and that everything felt good, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports. Bednar was shut down from throwing activities March 4 after feeling tightness in his lats, but the right-hander appears to be on the right track in his rehab. If Bednar is forced to miss time to start the season, Aroldis Chapman figures to fill the closer role while the former progresses through his recovery.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Not overly worried about lat

    Bednar (lat) is currently shut down from throwing but hopes to be back soon, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports. Bednar is dealing with some tightness in his right lat but seems optimistic he won't need a long-term absence. Injury optimism from players should be taken with a grain of salt, of course, and those that have already rostered Bednar in fantasy leagues might want to consider late-round insurance of Aroldis Chapman just in case.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Managing lat tightness

    Manager Derek Shelton said Sunday that Bednar is dealing with right lat tightness, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports. The right-hander apparently felt the tightness while throwing recently and is now being monitored by the training staff. It remains to be seen if the issue will affect Bednar's availability for the start of the regular season, but for now he should be considered day-to-day.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Remaining closer

    Bednar remains the Pirates' closer after the team signed Aroldis Chapman this offseason, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. Bednar has posted three consecutive excellent seasons with the Pirates, and he's served as the closer for the latter two. It therefore hardly comes as a surprise that he's locked into the role in 2024, but manager Derek Shelton went out of his way early in camp to make clear that Bednar is first in line for saves.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Avoids arbitration with Pittsburgh

    The Pirates and Bednar avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $4.51 million contract Thursday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. It's a sizable, well-earned raise for Bednar in what was his first year of arbitration eligibility. He's collected 61 saves while posting a 2.25 ERA and 226:56 K:BB over 179.2 innings during his time in Pittsburgh, blossoming into one of the best closers in baseball.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Locks down 38th save

    Bednar pitched a scoreless inning with one walk and two strikeouts to close out the save in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Phillies. Bednar continues to roll as one of the top closers this season, placing second on the saves leaderboard as of the end of Thursday's game. Notably nine of his 38 saves have come in September while pitching to a 1.62 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with 15 strikeouts across 11.1 innings in that span.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Picks up 37th save

    Bednar picked up the save in Friday's 7-5 victory over the Reds. He allowed zero hits and two walks while striking out one over a scoreless inning. The 28-year-old right-hander is now up to 37 saves on the year, which is tied for the NL lead and trails only Emmanuel Clase (42) on the overall MLB leaderboard. Bednar has delivered a terrific 2.08 ERA with 75 strikeouts across 65 innings this season for the Pirates.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Strikes out three for 36th save

    Bednar picked up the save in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Yankees. He allowed one hit while striking out three in a scoreless inning. Bednar's now gone nine consecutive innings without allowing an earned run, striking out 10 in that span, while converting his last 14 save opportunities. The 28-year-old right-hander is now 36-for-39 in save chances this season with a pristine 1.86 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 72:4 K:BB across 63 innings.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Hurls perfect inning for save

    Bednar picked up the save Thursday against the Nationals, pitching a perfect inning while not recording any strikeouts. Bednar needed just 10 pitches to get through the top of the Nationals' lineup and secure his 35th save of the season. The 28-year-old reliever has now converted his last 12 save opportunities and has yet to allow an earned run in September. It was also the fourth time this month he didn't allow any hits or walks in an appearance.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Nails down 33rd save

    Bednar picked up the save Wednesday against the Brewers, allowing one hit while striking out two over a scoreless inning. He did not walk a batter. Bednar gave up a leadoff single to Andruw Monasterio in the top of the ninth but was able to retire the next three batters to nail down his 33rd save of the season. The right-hander has now converted each of his last 10 save opportunities and has not allowed a run through five September appearances. He also has not walked a batter since Aug. 19 against the Twins (spanning eight appearances).
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Breezes in 32nd save

    Bednar earned a save Monday with a perfect inning against the Brewers. Bednar had no trouble protecting a two-run ninth-inning lead, retiring the side in order on 13 pitches. The right-hander has successfully converted nine straight save opportunities, allowing just two earned runs over 10.1 innings while posting a 7:1 K:BB during that span. Bednar is 32-for-35 in save chances on the campaign, compiling a 2.02 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 64:16 K:BB across 58 frames.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Converts another save

    Bednar tossed a scoreless inning to earn a save against St. Louis on Saturday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter. Bednar came on in the ninth frame with the Pirates up one run and gave up a leadoff single to Tommy Edman before hitting Jordan Walker with a pitch. The All-Star closer then saw the tying and winning runs move into scoring position on a Masyn Winn sacrifice but was able to notch a huge strikeout of Lars Nootbaar before getting Paul Goldschmidt to ground out to end the game. Bednar has collected three saves over the past four days, allowing just an unearned run and two hits over three innings during that span. He's tied for sixth in the majors with 31 saves on the season.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Snags 30th save

    Bednar tossed one inning Friday, allowing an unearned run on his way to a save in a 4-2 extra-inning win over the Cardinals. Bednar was called upon to protect a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the 10th and retired all three batters he faced, though the phantom runner on second base came around to score after a couple sacrifice flies. The save was the right-hander's 30th of the season and he has now converted seven straight save chances since suffering a blown save Aug. 8 versus Atlanta. Since that miscue, Bednar has posted a 2.16 ERA and 1.08 WHIP with six punchouts in eight appearances out of Pittsburgh's bullpen.
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  • Pirates' David Bednar: Notches 29th save

    Bednar allowed a hit and struck out one over one scoreless inning to earn the save in Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Royals. Bednar has converted six saves over his last seven outings, though he's given up two runs over 7.1 innings in that span. The right-hander looks to have moved past his shakiness from earlier in August to return to high-end form in the ninth inning. For the year, he's maintained a 2.13 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 63:16 K:BB with 29 saves in 32 chances over 55 innings.
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