Brandon Pfaadt

Many will point to Pfaadt's postseason and ignore the regular season. While those five starts can't be ignored, Pfaadt foreshadowed his playoff success with a strong second half. After his first six outings, Pfaadt recorded an ugly 9.82 ERA and 1.87 WHIP, with only 21 strikeouts in 25.2 frames. His issue was a 3.2 HR/9 mark. Pfaadt was recalled after the All-Star break and posted a 4.22 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with 73 punchouts in 70.1 innings, with a still high but improved 1.7 HR/9. Pfaadt is a fly ball pitcher, so he'll continue to be homer-prone, but his BABIP should be below average, especially with strong defenders chasing down fly balls in the desert. However, Pfaadt threw fewer four-seamers and more sinkers in the postseason, with a 1.23 HR/9. If he carries this over to his sophomore season, Pfaadt could keep more balls in the yard. The concern in redraft leagues is someone may chase last season's postseason exploits. Expecting a full season of what Pfaadt did over the second half is the sage approach.

Perhaps a sleeper in shallower redraft leagues, Pfaadt is now an in-demand pitching prospect in dynasty and draft and hold formats after he built up to 167 innings and had a very strong showing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Among PCL pitchers with at least 50 innings, Pfaadt ranked third in ERA (2.63) and first in WHIP (0.99) and K-BB% (24.8%). Nobody was all that close to him in WHIP or K-BB%, so it's safe to say that Pfaadt was the best pitcher in the league. The 6-foot-4 righty has a well-rounded pitch mix, featuring a mid-90s fastball with good ride, a plus slider with sharp bite and a solid changeup. Most scouts have him pegged as a No. 3 or No. 4 starter in real life, but the stats suggest there might be a little more here. He won't have any workload restrictions in 2023 and could crack the big-league rotation out of spring training.