Marc Rzepczynski

Rzepczynski's numbers took a step back in 2017, as he put up a 4.02 ERA in 31.1 innings, leaving him as exactly a replacement-level player according to fWAR. He generated an exceptional groundball rate (70 percent), which ranked third among all pitchers who threw at least 30 innings, one spot behind Zach Britton and three spots ahead of Dallas Keuchel. His groundball rate needs to remain at a high level for him to be effective, as he doesn't strike out many batters (18.3 percent) and he walks far too many (14.6 percent). As a lefty, Rzepczynski should be able to hang around for a while yet unless the walks take another step back. His value in most traditional fantasy formats remains minimal -- he has just two career saves -- but Rzepczynski did record a career-high 20 holds last year.

A career-best 2.64 ERA in 2016 from Rzepczynski earned him a two-year, $11 million deal with the Mariners. Despite the improved run prevention, some of the veteran left-handed specialist's peripherals and splits actually took a step backwards last season. Rzepczynski walked 23 out of 102 right-handed batters in 2016, easily the worst walk rate in the majors among pitchers with as many innings as him last year. Of course, Rzepczynski is getting paid for his performance against lefties, but he allowed a .674 OPS against them last year compared to his .589 career mark. On the other hand, he benefited from several peripherals from his bad-luck 2015 coming back down to Earth. His .381 BABIP from 2015 lowered to .333, his 53 percent strand rate reached a healthy 79.9 percent and his 25 percent HR/FB cratered to 3.7 percent. The Mariners will slot him in comfortably as their top left-handed option out of the bullpen, but he remains a specialist aimed solely at left-handed batters without fantasy value.

At first glance, Rzepczynski's 2015 season looks like one to forget, but it was really one of his best from a peripherals standpoint. The 30-year-old lefty turned in a career-best 17.1% K-BB%, with his 14.3% swinging-strike rate representing the second-best mark of his career, and his groundball rate shot up to over 67 percent. Unfortunately for Rzepczynski, a quarter of his flyballs left the park, and that was only part of his bad luck. He also had a .381 opponents' BABIP (.310 for career) and a preposterously-low 53 percent strand rate, with his xFIP coming in almost three full runs lower than his ERA. Of course, it was the A's that decided to buy on Rzepcznski, acquiring him in early December to bolster their bullpen depth. A back-end assignment may not be in the cards if Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson are healthy to start the year, but Rzepczysnki should provide much better numbers in the ratio categories in 2016.

Rzepczynski has stabilized as a quality left-handed reliever, and he should remain a part of the late-inning arsenal for manager Terry Francona in 2015. During his first run as a big leaguer last season, Rzepczynski struck out a batter per inning, but he continues to give up a significant number of free passes. Fortunately, he's able to minimize the damage of the walks by getting a lot of outs on the ground (59.7% GB% last season, career 56.6%). While he's garnered more nicknames than the typical LOOGY, Rzepczynski (he prefers “Zep” to “Scrabble” and “Eye Chart”) should remain gainfully employed in the big leagues as long as he continues to dominate left-handed hitters, after he fanned them at a 28.7% rate and held them to a combined .180/.241/.200 line last season.

Rzepczynski spent most of the season with the Cardinals before joining the Indians in a deadline deal in July. He struggled with the Cardinals and spent some time at Triple-A Memphis, but served the Indians well down the stretch (0.89 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 8.9 K/9 in 20.1 innings) while carving up lefties (.179/.230/.250 in 62 plate appearances overall). He'll be back as one of the team's late-inning southpaws out of the bullpen, as at this stage of his career, the days of being a starter are officially over for Rzepczynski. That's 40 Scrabble points for the curious.

The man they call "Scrabble" has pitched in at least 70 games in both of the last two seasons, but as a LOOGY he's barely surpassed 100 IP during that timeframe. If your league counts holds, note that Rzepcynski had 18 in both 2011 and 2012, but there really isn't anything else to offer from a fantasy standpoint.

Before tiring a bit down the stretch, Rzepczynski pitched pretty well for the champs, but when you take a LOOGY and then suddenly pitch him two or three innings, those are the types of results you might get. He was active in the postseason, including four scoreless appearances in the World Series. It seems likely that new manager Mike Matheny will move him back to shorter appearances again this season. The full-time move to the NL might help, but even with improved rate stats he won't be in a role to help most in traditional roto formats.

Rzepczynski saw his chances to crack the starting rotation out of spring training last season end when a comebacker fractured a finger on his pitching hand, and he got off to a late start as a result. He bounced around Toronto and Triple-A Las Vegas, eventually making a dozen starts for the Jays. He continues to struggle with his control (4.3 BB/9 in 125 big-league innings), and he'll need to iron that out to take the next step forward. He offers some upside in formats that count strikeouts and figures to compete with Kyle Drabek and Jesse Litsch for one of two open spots at the back of the Jays' rotation.

Rzepczynski earned a promotion to Triple-A Las Vegas after a quick start at Double-A New Hampshire (7-5, 2.93 ERA and a league-leading 88 K at the time of his promotion). He was excellent in two starts at Triple-A and found himself thrust into the Toronto rotation in early July. He pitched pretty well for the Jays (3.67 ERA, 1.321 WHIP and 60 K in 61.1 innings) once he arrived. His ultimate success will hinge on his command as he's always struggled with his control. He'll battle for a rotation spot this spring.