Chase Whitley

Whitley enjoyed a successful late-season cameo in his return from May 2015 Tommy John surgery, giving up just two earned runs over 10.1 innings in four relief appearances, before doing the same over four frames in his sole start on the final day of the regular season against the Rangers. The 27-year-old posted an impressive 9.4 K/9 rate on the strength of 15 whiffs over his five trips to the mound and saw his fastball get back up to just over 90 mph. The former Yankees prospect makes for an intriguing candidate for a bottom-of-the-rotation spot this coming spring, and should be that much stronger after his first healthy offseason in two years. Given his past body of work at the minor league level in the Yankees organization, the right-hander could prove to be a solid source in the categories of wins, strikeouts and ERA at a minimum if he can secure a starting spot. More likely, he'll work in relief with the Rays and serve as an insurance policy if injuries deplete the team's rotation depth.

Whitley began the season in the minors, but was quickly pressed into the big league starting rotation after a rash of injuries. The 26-year-old put together a pair of strong starts, working to a 0.75 ERA with 11 strikeouts and one walk through his first two starts, but regressed back in his next two starts before ultimately needing Tommy John surgery in May. Manager Joe Girardi indicated that the righty suffered an almost complete tear, so it would appear that the earliest return date would come around the All Star break. From there, Whitley has no guarantee of working his way back to the big leagues in 2016, but if he did, it would likely be in a bullpen capacity. Given the uncertainty and low ceiling for the upcoming season, Whitley likely won't be a factor in most fantasy formats.

Whitley is a good example of why you need to be leery of small samples at all time, even when the skills are enticing enough to believe what you’re seeing is real. Whitley reeled off seven starts of a 2.56 ERA to start his MLB career and paired it with an impressive 6.5 K:BB ratio in 39 innings. Never a prospect coming up through the system, Whitley doesn’t have overpowering stuff. He works 90-92 mph from the right side while neither his slider nor his changeup grade as a plus pitch. These facts became readily apparent over his next seven appearances as his ERA ballooned to 4.87 as he managed just a 2.3 K:BB ratio in 22 innings of work. He finished the season in the bullpen and didn’t find any more success leaving him with a 5.23 ERA when it was all said and done. The 26-year-old could find himself with a few spot starts if the Yankees are once again hit with a rash of injuries, but you can safely ignore him even if that situation comes to pass.