Alec Mills

The September 2020 no-hitter for Mills was very likely the apex of his career. The 30-year-old soft-tosser gets by on guile and location, consistently walking a fine line between survival and disaster. His overall numbers were made ugly by an unsightly 6.41 ERA in 19.2 innings of relief. He had a 4.80 ERA in his 20 starts of which just four were the quality variety. The most positive thing we can say about him is he has a lot of movement to his pitches which keeps hitters off balance, but he is dependent upon batted-ball outcomes and his defense for any level of success. Simply put, there are better options out there for you unless you are in deep NL-only leagues.

Mills saw his most run yet with the Cubs in 2020, making 11 starts and logging 62.1 innings. The 29-year-old was solid if not spectacular as a rotation mainstay, recording a 4.48 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 6.6 K/9. The strikeout rate was a bit disappointing after Mills had posted a 10.0 K/9 or better in each of his first three MLB seasons, though he never pitched more than 36 innings in any of those campaigns. While Mills generally didn't dazzle on the mound, he certainly did on Sept. 13, when he tossed the 16th no-hitter in franchise history by shutting down the Brewers. Mills is unlikely to recapture that form if he can't miss more bats, but the righty did at least show that he can be a solid MLB starter across a full season. He figures to again occupy a spot at the back of the Cubs' rotation in 2021.

Mills made four starts and five relief appearances in the second half of the season for the Cubs, looking big-league ready with a 2.75 ERA in 36 innings. It did take a 90.5% strand rate to get him to that number, but his peripherals were nevertheless strong. His 27.6 K%, 7.2 BB% and 48.9 GB% were all better than average. If Mills were a high-pedigree pitching prospect with a 3.77 ERA and a 28.5% strikeout rate in the first 57.1 innings of his big-league career, there would be far more hype about his future. However, as a former fringe prospect entering his age-28 season, he has flown under the radar to this point. Still, he showed enough last season that he looks capable of being a quality back-end rotation option. Whether or not he fills that role right away depends on the Cubs' offseason moves, but at worst he'll be an injury or two away from starting.

After starting the season in Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Mills pitched well enough to earn himself a spot as a Texas league midseason All-Star along with a promotion to Triple-A Omaha. While in Omaha, Mills continued to post numbers similar to his Double-A numbers and earned himself a callup to Kansas City. After earning a spot with the Royals, Mills struggled in the limited time that he saw, walking 5.0 batters and giving up 5.0 runs in just 3.1 major league innings. Despite his struggles in the majors, Mills is still just 25-years-old and his inflated numbers shouldn't be overanalyzed due to the small sample size. It was the first time the righty was deployed in the bullpen, pitching as a starter throughout the minors. After being traded to the Cubs, a bullpen assignment or more time in the minors seems to be in the cards for Mills.