Kevin Gausman

Kevin Gausman is an interesting case study of how surface and underlying stats can do weird things. In 2021, he had a 2.81 ERA but a 3.28 xFIP; in 2022, it was a 3.35 ERA and 2.75 xFIP. The difference lay entirely in his BABIP, which did its expected jump from an impossible .274 to an outrageous .363. Gausman throws his split-finger fastball almost 35% of the time, which is his best pitch but also the one that can lead to this type of BABIP jump. All of that is to say that the 31-year-old cannot be counted on for exceptional, ace-like numbers. Still, he will be a solid SP2 in any fantasy team rotation, giving you strikeouts and protecting your ratios, but the variance will always play into his overall numbers.

Kevin Gausman re-working delivery to avoid balk calls

Amid MLB's announcement that umpires will be cracking down on balks this season, Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman is planning on making changes to his delivery.

Fantasy Impact

Gausman, in the past, tapped the ground a couple of times before beginning his leg kick from the stretch. That is no longer going to be allowed, leaving the Jays starter having to make adjustments. "It’s something that I will have to change, and the good thing is I have six weeks to mess with my delivery and figure out what’s going to be new and comfortable to me," Gausman said Thursday. The 6-foot-2 righty is coming off another solid season that saw him strike out 205 batters with a 3.35 ERA. With drafts quickly approaching, this change could potentially increase a bit of risk for fantasy managers looking to draft Gasuman in the early to mid rounds.