Tyler Skaggs

During the 2017 season, Skaggs took the hill on 16 occasions, posting a 4.55 ERA and 1.39 WHIP over the course of 85 innings. Most of the numbers were in line with the rest of his career, as the southpaw held a 76:28 K:BB. He finished strong, allowing just 12 earned runs (3.86 ERA) in five September outings. The problem with Skaggs is that he hasn't been able to stay healthy; this past year alone, he missed three months with an oblique injury. He previously missed the 2015 campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and hasn't made more than 18 starts in a season since breaking into the big leagues in 2012, which makes the 26-year-old a difficult player to trust in fantasy. He still holds potential as a middle-of-the-rotation type of guy for the Angels, with a 93-mph fastball and a couple of decent secondary pitches.

After undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2014, Skaggs returned last season to log 89 innings, including rehab appearances and a 10-start run in the big league rotation. His 22.8 percent strikeout rate was better than any such rate in three big league seasons before the elbow surgery, so his stuff rebounded nicely. However, as is often the case with pitchers returning from that procedure, Skaggs' control was not all the way back to its pre-surgery form, leading to a career-worst 10.5 percent walk rate. There were flashes of brilliance, including four starts where he allowed zero earned runs and struck out 27 over 24.1 innings. Then he dealt with forearm tightness that caused him to miss three weeks in September, but he was fortunately cleared of any UCL damage. A 6-foot-5 southpaw with a 93 mph fastball, plus curveball and solid changeup, Skaggs still has the ingredients to be a No. 3 or No. 4 starter. The recent elbow injury and the fact he has not yet put it all together could lead to a draft day bargain.

The Angels decided Skaggs would not attempt to pitch in 2015 after undergoing Tommy John surgery last August in order to give him as much time as possible to return healthy, and they remained true to their word, as he began a throwing program in February, and ramped up his intensity while in the club's instructional league in Arizona this winter. Skaggs suggested in November that he will be on an innings restriction on 2016, but there is no word on what the nature of that restriction will be. It's tough to know what to expect from a young pitcher after a long layoff, particularly after Skaggs seemed to change his skill set in 2014, recording a career-best 50 percent groundball rate while striking out batters at just a 6.9 K/9 clip. Barring a spring training meltdown, Skaggs likely will have a rotation spot, but a number of question marks make him a risky play heading into the season.

There were high expectations for Skaggs coming into the 2014 season, as he was placed in the starting rotation after being acquired from the Diamondbacks in November. Skaggs got off to a fast start, posting a 3.34 ERA in his first five starts, but ultimately had an up and down season with the Halos, notching a 4.30 ERA in 18 starts before having surgery to repair a torn UCL in his elbow in August. Prior to the elbow injury, he had previously missed a month of action due to a hamstring strain in June. Skaggs' velocity had made a comeback prior to the season-ending injury, as his average fastball was clocked at 92.1 miles per hour in 2014, but the 23-year-old actually showed a sharp decrease in his strikeout total from the previous season, tallying just 86 punchouts in 113 innings. Skaggs is expected to miss the entire 2015 season while he recovers from the injury.

Skaggs' second taste of the bigs was no sweeter than his first. In 38.2 innings in 2013, he allowed 22 earned runs and walked 15. He gave up seven home runs. It seemed as though the Diamondbacks were pushing Skaggs to become a part of the big-league rotation, despite some of the issues he's had with control. As part of the glut of young arms in Arizona's system, Skaggs was deemed expendable when the opportunity to acquire a power bat for the outfield arose during the offseason. Traded back to his original organization (Anaheim) in the Mark Trumbo deal, Skaggs now has a clearer path to secure a regular rotation spot.

Just 21, Skaggs pitched at three levels last season while earning six starts with the D-Backs before getting shut down in late September when his velocity dipped. Not surprisingly, his arrival in the big leagues was accompanied by a decline in his strikeout rate (6.4 K/9), but Skaggs should have an arsenal capable of missing bats at a much higher clip as he makes the necessary adjustments. Assuming that he's healthy this spring, Skaggs should be in the mix for a place in the back of the rotation to begin the season as the D-Backs have an extra slot available during the first half of the season with Dan Hudson working his way back from Tommy John surgery.

Skaggs celebrated his 20th birthday by earning a promotion to Double-A Mobile, where he maintained an excellent strikeout rate (11.49 K/9IP) and improved his control (2.36 BB/9IP) against advanced competition. Already boasting a strong three-pitch arsenal featuring a devastating curveball, Skaggs is knocking on the door for a big league promotion as one of the organization's four young aces. Like teammates Trevor Bauer and Patrick Corbin, Skaggs could finish the 2012 season as a regular member of the Arizona rotation if he continues to impress in the upper levels of the minors.

Skaggs was dominating the Midwest League last season even prior to turning 19 in July, carrying an impressive 9.3 K/9IP and striking out nearly four times as many batters as he walked. With a very projectable 6-foot-4 frame, Skaggs is considered the marquee prospect in the return that the D-Backs received from the Angels in the Dan Haren trade. He'll cut his teeth at High-A to open this season with an opportunity to get a look at Double-A if he continues to pitch well. Keeper league owners should be sure to invest now for the long run, though it could take until late 2012 or even early 2013 before he gets his first taste of the big leagues.