Fantasy Baseball Player Notes

Jansen signed a one-year deal with the Braves and will slide right into the cloer's role. There is a lot of mileage on his arm, but he had a strong rebound season last year, dropping his ERA to a 2.22 and his WHIP to 1.04, all while tallying 38 saves for the Dodgers. After losing velocity for several seasons, Jansen got it back last year, averaging 92.5 MPH with his cutter, which resulted in just a .176 batting average against, his best since 2016. Assuming he can sustain his gains, he should again be a top reliever, and his hefty contract should at least give him a decent leash in the ninth inning. He's plenty capable of being your anchor reliever.

Barnes was one of the best pitchers in baseball over the first half of the season, harnessing his control and dominating with his fastball/cuveball combination. But he fell apart in the second half, seeing his ERA rise by almost four points. There's speculation that his decline was related to MLB cracking down on foreign substances but, either way, the first half version of Barnes disappeared. His job security was in doubt heading into the year, but the Red Sox didn't bring anyone into challenge him and the biggest internal competitior for the job, Garrett Whitlock, has been stretched out for a starter or long-relief role. Expect Barnes to begin the year as the closer but whether he remains all year is anyone's guess. Draft him as a low-end second reliever and hope we say the first-half 2021 version of him.

Whitlock pitched out of the bullpen last year and many speculated that he might be a candidate to close this season after Matt Barnes struggled down the stretch. But instead he's being stretched out and is battling it out for a rotation spot. If he fails, he'll likely be a long-reliever and have little fantasy value. But, if he does lock down a starting spot, he has a great deal of upside. His fastball sits at 95 miles per hour and both his changeup and slider are above average. Monitor the reports as we head into the season but keep him on your radar in case he does land in the rotation.

Houck will begin the year in the rotation despite an uneven spring, and he showed a lot of upside last year. His strikeout rate sat at 30.5% while his walk rate was just 7.4%, and his 3.52 ERA was inflated according to all metrics. He's got an outstanding slider, which is what really propels his success, but his lack of other pitches in his arsenal often forces him to go deep into counts and shortens his outings. He should be on your sleeper list because he has huge potential, but understand that if he struggles, he could be moved to the bullpen, even with Chris Sale currently on the shelf.