Jake McGee

Where the? What the? How did Ol' Clockhands (nickname from his minor-league days due to his delivery) pull that 2020 stat line out of the air? Last we saw McGee, he was in decline in Colorado and the club cut him loose despite owing him a decent chunk of change. Andrew Friedman took on yet another former player from his days in Tampa Bay and watched him strike out 41.8% of the hitters he faced with a .184 BAA and amazing ratios in middle relief. The beauty of McGee, like with Kenley Jansen, is that you know exactly what is coming. McGee threw 322 fastballs and 10 sliders last season. He gained 1.5 mph of velocity back last year from 2019, which made his primary pitch deliver much better results in Chavez Ravine than it did in Coors Field. Given his work with the Dodgers, he could land in a higher-leverage role elsewhere this winter. He isn't done yet.

Ol' Clockhands McGee -- his delivery was once comped to a Grandfather Clock by a scout -- has seen his star fade in Denver. He has lost a full three mph off the fastball he used in Tampa Bay as their closer before he went to Colorado. His strikeout rate was below 20% for the second time in four seasons, which is bad for a reliever whose reputation is built upon missing bats. The past two years have been a huge struggle for him with homers as he has allowed 21 of them in just under 93 innings of work. He has pitched himself from high-leverage situations to mostly low-leverage situations and also out of nearly every fantasy conversation in 2020. There isn't a single redeeming quality in his profile that even hints toward a rebound for 2020, especially not to his glory years. His new path forward could be as a LOOGY, but even that role is being written out of the league.

McGee's bounce-back campaign was enough for him to land a new deal, keeping him with the Rockies for three more seasons. He missed more bats, walked fewer hitters and most importantly, kept the ball in the yard in 2017. Granted, the southpaw's numbers were better on the road, but that'll happen when you work in Coors Field half the time. Despite possessing a swing-and miss curve, McGee throws his four-seam fastball almost exclusively, getting it up there at 95 mph. Over his career, McGee has displayed reverse splits, helping his cause as a setup man and occasional closer. Durability is an issue, with visits to the disabled list in each of the last three seasons, including a short stint last season with a sore back right after the break. When healthy, he's a good source of holds with a decent number of strikeouts. He will occupy a setup role in front of Wade Davis.

After being regarded as one of the most dominant relievers in the game over the past two years, McGee took a step back in 2016. The left-hander's season started off auspiciously enough, as he collected 15 saves as the Rockies' closer prior to getting injured in early June. When he returned, the Rockies decided not to give the closer role back to McGee and instead ease him back into action as a setup man. The results were disastrous, as he finished the season with a 4.73 ERA and 1.58 WHIP, both career worsts. Additionally, the 30-year-old's strikeout rate fell below one per inning for the first time since 2011. Although the season was a wash for all intents and purposes, he did finish the season relatively strongly, sporting a 3.45 ERA and a 9.19 K/9 in 15.2 innings over the last two months of the season. If Adam Ottavino falters as the closer, continuing that decent finish could help McGee make a case to regain the role in 2017. He'll have to get back to his old dominant ways if he wants to have a sniff of fantasy relevance, though.

McGee got a late start to the season after coming back from offseason surgery, and missed another chunk in the middle of the season with a knee injury that happened while making a defensive play. When he was healthy, he was as dominant as he was in 2014 in terms of strikeouts but was a little more homer prone than he was the previous season. Despite his flyball tendencies, the Rockies made a play to acquire McGee in the Corey Dickerson deal, and while nothing's set in stone, McGee figures to secure the ninth-inning role in spring training. McGee has no discernible splits and is actually tougher on righties than lefties, so the lefty closer bias is not an issue for him, but the ratio projections have to be downgraded accordingly with the move to Coors Field.

Fantasy owners have wanted this fireballer as the closer since he was in the minors. That finally happened in 2014, after the Rays pulled the plug on Grant Balfour. McGee won 5 games and saved 19 others while striking out one of every three batters he faced. He increased his effectiveness by walking just 16 and allowing two home runs against 274 batters faced. McGee is a reverse splits reliever who is even more effective against righties (.192/.259/.288 career) than he is against lefties (.227/.270/.344 career). He will open 2015 on the DL after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his elbow in December, and how he will be used upon his return will be up to the Rays' new manager, Kevin Cash. Joe Maddon did not hesitate to use McGee in non-traditional situations, even when he was the actual closer. Cash may not be as open to that kind of utilization. Either way, this is still a stud to invest in.

After a season as fantastic as his 2012 slate, it was difficult to improve for McGee. He took a relatively significant step back, posting a 4.02 ERA over 71 games and he sometimes had to be used in lower-leverage situations. His fastball remained strong, but he also threw more of the two-seam variety and steered away from his slider in order to work more quickly on the mound. He still had a solid 10.8 K/9 rate out of the bullpen and mostly worked as the seventh-inning lefty for the Rays. With some potential changes in personnel at the back end of the bullpen, McGee could step into a higher-leverage role at some point in the season.

McGee was an important piece of a stellar Rays bullpen in 2012. The flame-throwing lefty finished the season with an astounding 1.95 ERA and 0.80 WHIP to go along with 73 strikeouts in 55.1 innings. He primarily worked the sixth through eighth innings and totaled 20 holds on the season. His fastball is consistently in the mid-90s and is primarily mixed with a slider. He may someday have a future as a big-league closer, but for now will maintain his spot towards the back of the Rays' bullpen in 2013 behind setup man Joel Peralta and closer Fernando Rodney.

McGee headed into 2011 as a possible darkhorse for the closer's role but early season struggles not only kept him out of that picture it led to a demotion to Triple-A Durham. There he struggled during May before righting the ship in June and earning a recall in mid-July. While he pitched better after the recall (25:9 K:BB ratio over 21 innings) he continued to have problems as a flyball pitcher (48.8 percent) and ended up giving up four home runs during that stretch. Not surprisingly, McGee had some pretty drastic splits in the majors, owning a 9.35 K/9IP and holding right-handed batters to a .510 OPS while left-handed batters had a 1.143 OPS and had a 6.75 BB/9IP mark. While there is still room for growth with the youngster, a role as a lefty specialist out of the bullpen looks to be the likely scenario to start out the season.

McGee returned in 2010 after losing the entire 2009 season to Tommy John surgery. He opened last season at Double-A Montgomery where he started 19 games. After posting a 3.57 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 88.1 innings, he was promoted to Triple-A Durham where he was used as a reliever. There, he allowed only one run over 17.1 innings while striking out 27. This season, McGee should lock up a spot in the bullpen, with so many key pieces (Rafael Soriano, Joaquin Benoit) gone. He's got some nice upside and while it's rare to find a left-handed closer, he could be a dark horse for the spot.

McGee was lost for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in July of 2008. He should be 100 percent come spring training and claims to be throwing around 95 mph. With the glut of starting pitching, he's expected to get a look in the bullpen. Although it's gone unmentioned thus far, he's a good dark-horse candidate for the closer's job somewhere down the line. He could earn a spot in the bullpen to start the season, but he'll likely start at Triple-A Durham to get some work in.

McGee will miss most of the 2009 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in July, but he's still one of Tampa Bay's most promising pitching prospects. Presuming a normal recovery cycle, the Rays will hope that McGee can make a few rehab appearances somewhere at Class A late this season, and the organization will then re-set his development clock in earnest starting in the spring of 2010.

While McGee got in just five starts at Double-A before yearend, that's not a bad transition from a High-A level where McGee dominated, and he still averaged more than 11 strikeouts per nine innings in a small sample size at the next level up. McGee is one of the better pitching prospects in a deep pool of talent in the Rays' organization. McGee, just 21, will probably start 2008 back at Double-A; while he could reach the majors next season, 2009 is a more likely ETA. He's good enough for the Rays to wait on.

McGee, Wade Davis and Jeremy Hellickson combined to make up perhaps the best low-A rotation in baseball last season. The lefty certainly impressed, holding hitters to a .211 average with a 92-94 mph fastball and a plus curve. He still has three more levels to go before the bigs, and the new Rays won't make McGee whiz through all three in one season. Still, lefties with heat are the best type of pitchers to have at Tropicana Field, so McGee is one to watch.