Jaime Barria

Barria had a winning record and a 3.41 ERA across 26 starts as a 22-year-old rookie in 2018, but the juiced ball was not kind to flyball pitchers. His HR/FB rate essentially doubled and his HR/9 shot from 1.18 to 2.61, one of the 10 worst home-run rates in the majors (min. 50 IP). His Barrel%, xSLG, wOBA and xwOBA on contact all ranked in the bottom 10% in the league. While his K and BB rates both went in the right direction (20.6 K%, 7.4 BB%), it didn't matter given all the home runs against him. Barria ended up riding the shuttle for most of the year and spent some time in the bullpen. His numbers at home were actually pretty good (3.06 ERA, .210 BAA) and he's still very young, but until he shows more consistency in games that matter, Barria can't be trusted as a regular starter. At best, he's a low-end streamer in deep leagues.

Barria enjoyed quite a bit of success in the starting rotation as a 22-year-old rookie, but the peripherals were underwhelming. The righty barely managed two strikeouts for every walk he issued, finishing with a 9.5 K-BB% over 129.1 innings. That was a bottom-20 mark among 116 pitchers with at least 120 innings. Meanwhile, he gave up home runs at a 1.18 HR/9 clip. He had a dramatic reverse platoon split, with same-handed hitters combining for a .268/.358/.466 line against Barria (compared to .216/.275/.339 for lefties). That leaves him little margin for error against lefties. His minor-league track record suggests the control numbers could get better, though a 55.3% first-pitch strike rate and 39.5 Zone% don't portend significant improvement. The one major thing Barria has going for him is opportunity -- the Angels aren't exactly teeming with viable alternatives. We suggest going quality over quantity unless you're desperate for volume.