Last week I wrote about some top targets for those playing in Saves + Holds leagues. I have more for you this week, and this time we will dig a little bit deeper. Let's get into it.
Abner Uribe, Milwaukee Brewers 
Among pitchers who threw at least 30 innings last season, only five had an average fastball velocity better than Uribe's 99.5 mph mark. The overwhelming majority of those fastballs were sinkers, too, with the sinker having 13.9 inches of run in addition to the elite velocity. The crazy thing is that Uribe's sinker probably isn't even his best pitch. That honor goes to his slider, which garnered an absurd 58.1 percent whiff rate and microscopic .126 xwOBA. In large part because he threw a sinker more than 60 percent of the time, Uribe also induced ground balls at a 53 percent rate when the opposition did manage to make contact. The major negative with Uribe is his control, or lack thereof, as he sported a 15.7 percent walk rate in his 32 appearances with the Brew Crew following an even-worse 17.1 percent walk rate in the minors. The 23-year-old also has fewer than 100 professional appearances under his belt due to knee issues. He's not a finished product, but Uribe's upside is undeniable, and he could be in the saves mix in Milwaukee if Devin Williams is traded.
Jose Soriano, Los Angeles Angels 
Once a promising starting pitching prospect, Soriano has had his career interrupted by two
Last week I wrote about some top targets for those playing in Saves + Holds leagues. I have more for you this week, and this time we will dig a little bit deeper. Let's get into it.
Abner Uribe, Milwaukee Brewers
Among pitchers who threw at least 30 innings last season, only five had an average fastball velocity better than Uribe's 99.5 mph mark. The overwhelming majority of those fastballs were sinkers, too, with the sinker having 13.9 inches of run in addition to the elite velocity. The crazy thing is that Uribe's sinker probably isn't even his best pitch. That honor goes to his slider, which garnered an absurd 58.1 percent whiff rate and microscopic .126 xwOBA. In large part because he threw a sinker more than 60 percent of the time, Uribe also induced ground balls at a 53 percent rate when the opposition did manage to make contact. The major negative with Uribe is his control, or lack thereof, as he sported a 15.7 percent walk rate in his 32 appearances with the Brew Crew following an even-worse 17.1 percent walk rate in the minors. The 23-year-old also has fewer than 100 professional appearances under his belt due to knee issues. He's not a finished product, but Uribe's upside is undeniable, and he could be in the saves mix in Milwaukee if Devin Williams is traded.
Jose Soriano, Los Angeles Angels
Once a promising starting pitching prospect, Soriano has had his career interrupted by two Tommy John surgeries but has now blossomed in a full-time relief role. The 25-year-old came into the 2023 season having never pitched above A-ball, but the Angels elected to have him bypass Triple-A, summoning him to the big leagues in June. Soriano finished with an elevated 3.64 ERA and 1.33 WHIP over 42 innings with the Halos, but he fanned 56 and boasted a 36.2 percent whiff rate and 51 percent groundball rate. There are a couple things Soriano needs to work on. One is his control, as he's walked batters at a 12.4 percent clip with the big club and a 13.4 percent rate in the minors. He's pitched so little from 2020-22 and is new to relief, so I don't think we can automatically assume he's just not going to have good control, but he certainly hasn't shown it yet. Another area for improvement is Soriano's extreme reverse splits, as he yielded a .431 OPS to left-handed batters but an .853 OPS to righties. He'll need to find a better plan of attack versus right-handed hitters, but with his stuff I'm not terribly worried about it. The Angels signed Robert Stephenson and brought back Matt Moore, but Soriano notched 15 holds in barely over half a season in 2023 and should be used in high-leverage spots again.
Josh Sborz, Texas Rangers 
When we last saw Sborz, he was carving up the opposition during the Rangers' run to their first World Series title, allowing just one run on four hits and four walks while striking out 13 over 12 postseason innings. A 5.50 ERA across 52.1 frames suggests the sailing wasn't as smooth during the regular season, but Sborz's 3.35 xERA was a closer representation to his actual performance. The 30-year-old reliever boasted a 30.7 percent strikeout rate, which ranked in the 91st percentile, and a 36.9 percent whiff rate, which was in the 98th percentile. Sborz is your rare reliever who throws three pitches and uses them fairly equally, getting whiffs at at least a 33.8 percent rate with each offering. He also had virtually even splits in 2023, allowing manager Bruce Bochy to deploy him in most any late-inning situation. Jose Leclerc and David Robertson might be above Sborz on Texas' bullpen hierarchy, but he led the club with 14 holds last season and should be one of its most trusted relievers again in 2024.
Brock Stewart, Minnesota Twins 
Stewart didn't pitch at all from 2020-21 and threw only 14 innings in 2022 after completing his rehab from Tommy John surgery. However, the 32-year-old resurfaced in 2023 with the Twins and was a revelation out of their bullpen. In 27.2 innings, Stewart allowed just two runs, struck out 39 and walked 11. In 2019, Stewart averaged 91.7 mph with his four-seamer. In 2023 he averaged 97.3 mph and coupled that with a spin rate in the 99th percentile. The combination led to a whiff rate of 51.1 percent, which would be outstanding for any pitch and is otherworldly for a four-seamer. Stewart also boasted at least a 36.1 percent whiff rate on his cutter, sinker and sweeper. Unfortunately, the injury bug bit Stewart again, as he missed three months with right elbow tendinitis. He did come back to record three scoreless appearances late in the regular season before permitting two runs over three playoff outings. The track record of Stewart being a dominant reliever is very short, but there didn't look to be anything fluky about it. It's just whether he can stay healthy.
Alex Vesia, Los Angeles Dodgers 
Vesia has been one of manager Dave Roberts' best relievers over the last three seasons, collecting a 2.94 ERA and 197:63 K:BB over 144 innings. He did take a bit of a step back in 2023 in posting a 4.35 ERA and 1.39 WHIP, but Vesia still put up a nice 64:17 K:BB across 49.2 frames. While Vesia has been death to left-handed batters, holding them to just a .556 OPS in his career, the southpaw has limited righties to a .699 OPS, giving Roberts the confidence to use him in a variety of spots. The Dodgers traded fellow left-handed relievers Victor Gonzalez and Caleb Ferguson and replaced them only with 31-year-old Matt Gage, who has just 16 major-league appearances under his belt. It suggests a lot of confidence in Vesia, who should be in for plenty of high-leverage situations again in 2024 for a Dodgers team which figures to have plenty of late leads.
Jeff Hoffman, Philadelphia Phillies 
Hoffman was once a key prospect traded from the Blue Jays to the Rockies in a deal that sent Troy Tulowitzki to Toronto, which seems like a million years ago. He was a starting pitching prospect at the time, but things just never worked out in that role, though in fairness to Hoffman, his home parks when he was used as a starter were Coors Field and Great American Ball Park. Hoffman showed some flashes in relief in 2022 with Cincinnati before breaking out in 2023 with the Phillies in his age-30 campaign. In 52.1 innings of relief for Philly, Hoffman put up a 2.41 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 69:19 K:BB. His strikeout rate (33.2 percent), whiff rate (34.6 percent) and chase rate (34 percent) were all in the 95th percentile or higher. The velocity on his slider (87.8 mph), four-seamer (97.1 mph) and splitter (90.5 mph) all spiked and the spin rate on his heater ranked in the 99th percentile. Manager Rob Thomson might not have a set closer in 2024, but you can bet Hoffman will be one of the guys he'll turn to in pressurized spots.
