David Phelps

After serving as a swingman type for several years, Phelps worked primarily as a one-inning reliever last season between Miami and Seattle before going down with an elbow injury. He left his seventh appearance with the Mariners with elbow soreness and eventually had surgery to remove a bone spur. The right-hander performed at a high level when healthy, striking batters out at a 26.1 percent clip while limiting opposing hitters to a 29.5 percent flyball rate. Walks have held him back some in recent years (4.0 BB/9 last year), but he's been able to mask that flaw for the most part with the whiffs, and with another uptick in velocity, Phelps is looking like a setup weapon capable of getting more than three outs. Of course, everything will depend on his health in 2018. Phelps resumed a throwing program in mid-December.

Phelps had established himself as a solid but unspectacular swingman through his first four years. However, more work out of the pen (only five of 64 appearances were starts, compared to 59 of 110 before 2016) yielded career bests in strikeout and groundball rates, which fueled his best ERA and WHIP to date. He found 3.3 mph on his four-seam fastball, which spurred his surge. In fact, his .166 opponents' average and 33 percent strikeout rate off the fastball were tied for the best in the majors (minimum 900 heaters thrown). He stood alone at the top with a .521 OPS. The fastball was even better in his five starts (.130 AVG, .463 OPS, 32 percent strikeout rate), so it wasn't just pitching out the pen that helped him. Despite a rotation influx, the early plan is to keep Phelps in the bullpen. Still, Jeff Locke is hardly an immovable object, and Phelps could be the first replacement option if someone in the rotation suffers an injury. He is an interesting low-dollar gamble, especially in NL-only leagues.

Phelps was in Miami's starting rotation from the beginning of the 2015 season until a stress fracture of the radius bone in his right forearm ended his season in early August. In his first year with the Marlins, Phelps saw a significant improvement in his control (2.6 BB/9 from 3.6 BB/9), but it was offset by a declining strikeout rate (6.2 K/9 from 7.3 K/9). While he doesn't have great velocity (90.2 mph average fastball), he keeps the ball in the park and has a decent strikeout rate. If he can maintain his improved control and stay healthy, he could be productive if he wins a spot in the Miami rotation this spring.

The injury-ravaged rotation of the Yankees left Phelps with more innings than he or they expected him to receive in 2014. He wound up with 17 starts and 113 innings, both career highs, and he did a decent enough job answering the bell. He could’ve been a real fantasy asset in leagues with specific pitcher designations because he was a reliever-eligible arm logging starts every fifth day, but he managed just a 4.28 ERA in that time. Phelps remains a solid-but-unspectacular swingman capable of short bursts of usefulness, but his fantasy value is extremely limited and often confined to league types that pay the biggest dividends for those relievers who start (usually H2H leagues). He could start the 2015 season with a role in the Marlins' rotation following a December trade, but there is no guarantee he holds onto one all season.

After a fine 2012 season as a swingman, Phelps missed a big chunk of 2013 with forearm trouble, and it's unclear how much the injury contributed to his relative ineffectiveness even before he went on the disabled list. Phelps had a .324 BABIP against him in 2013, after putting up a .262 mark in 2012. His overall baseline is likely somewhere in between his 2012 and 2013 performances. Depending on how the Yankees' offseason goes, Phelps could get a shot at the rotation for 2014. While he could have some value with wins and strikeouts if he does get to start, don't expect a ton of growth from him.

Phelps was an unsung hero for the Yankees last season, putting up excellent numbers in 11 starts and 22 relief appearances. Phelps doesn't have dominant stuff, but he can get his four-seamer up to 95 mph when he needs to, and he mixes in a good curve and a decent changeup. He may have tried to be a little too fine in his starts last season, walking nearly 3.5 BB/9 after keeping that rate around 2.0 BB/9 in the minors, but he balanced that out by being harder to hit than he had shown previously. Phelps has definitely earned a spot on the Yankees' roster for 2013, but it's unclear if he'll be in the rotation or the bullpen. Whatever role he finds, he's an interesting sleeper for 2013.

Phelps doesn't have the upside of fellow Yankees prospects Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances, but his command and control may allow him to beat them to the majors should the Yankees need rotation help.  The 25-year-old has just average velocity on his fastball, but he put up good numbers in Triple-A in 2011, going 6-6 with a 3.19 ERA and 1.317 WHIP last season.  He's far too hittable to achieve much success in the AL East without additional progress with his secondary pitches, but Phelps would become more intriguing if he landed in a situation with a more pitcher-friendly home park.