Tyson Ross

Ross making 23 starts was an achievement considering his injury struggles in recent years. Since 2014, he has dealt with shoulder issues, thoracic outlet syndrome and blisters. The TOS in particular is difficult to overcome. Ross spun a 3.32 ERA over his first 16 outings but melted with an 8.87 ERA and 5.8 BB/9 in July. After joining the Cardinals via waivers, the righty worked primarily in relief. His K/9 -- while an improvement from 2017 -- disappointed as did his lowly 8.5% swinging-strike rate. If he's to return to a starting role and remain a starter, Ross will have to rely heavily on groundballs and limiting walks. Given his success from 2013 to 2015, and the Tigers' lack of quality MLB-ready options, Ross should get a look in the rotation early this season. However, he was only signed to a one-year, $5.75 million deal, so the Tigers won't hesitate to give his spot to someone else if he is not reasonably serviceable.

Ross struggled in his bid to return from surgery to treat thoracic outlet syndrome in 2017, logging just 49 innings over 12 appearances -- 10 starts -- with the Rangers following a 2016 that was nearly lost entirely to the aforementioned injury. Now two full seasons removed from posting a 3.26 ERA over 196 innings with the Padres, Ross appears to be a likely member of the starting staff in San Diego again after he re-signed with the club on a minor-league deal during the offseason and pitched his way toward the 25-man roster in Cactus League action. In addition to maintaining the fastball velocity and ability to induce grounders at a steady clip, Ross needs to regain the effectiveness of his slider in order to reprise his role as an effective big-league starter again.

A blowup on Opening Day foreshadowed the doom and gloom that followed for Ross. He landed on the DL on Apr. 9 with what was labeled shoulder inflammation, but the move was initially described as "precautionary." As the days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, Ross remained on the shelf, as he was continuously set back when he tried to ramp up his throwing. Doctors were ultimately able to pinpoint the route of the problem -- thoracic outlet syndrome -- and Ross underwent surgery to address the issue in mid-October. A $10 million price tag for 2017 was deemed too much coming off the lost season and Ross was non-tendered by the Padres over the winter. Ross is a former All-Star who averaged better than a strikeout per inning from 2013-2015, but he's about to turn 30 and the strikeouts have always come with a high walk rate. Factor in the uncertainty regarding his health along with his new hitter-friendly home park in Texas, and this is an arm best left for the endgame in mixed leagues.

Ross wasn’t quite as good as 2013 or 2014, but he offered a measure of consistency that was nearly unmatched. He tied with Jake Arrieta as the only starters who didn’t have a single outing of five-plus earned runs and at least 30 starts. His strikeout and groundball rates both jumped again, but so did his already bad walk rate as he issued nearly four free passes per nine innings. Ross has almost exclusively become a sinker-slider pitcher and the pitches classified as cutters are probably just super-fast sliders anyway. No one uses their slider more than Ross and while that does increase his injury risk, it’s hard to blame him because it’s really good (just behind Kershaw in OPS since ’13 – .478 to .508). With the right defense behind turning that elite groundball rate into tons of outs, he can overcome the walks and still post a usable WHIP. With an average or worse defense, it’s more of the same: big Ks, solid ERA and weak WHIP.

Since landing a starting gig in late July of 2013, Ross has been fantastic, to say the least, posting a 2.84 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 280:95 K:BB in 275.2 innings. During that span, he tallied 32 quality starts among 44 appearances, including 14 in a row in the second half of 2014, and earned the first All-Star bid of his career. Although he was shut down in September due to a flexor strain in his right forearm, the malady has already healed and won’t affect his status once spring training commences. Meanwhile, his recent success likely won’t result in a bargain for the Padres once arbitration talks arise in the offseason, but as he enters his age-28 season, he’s cemented himself next to Andrew Cashner and Ian Kennedy to establish a formidable trio at the top of the rotation.

Finding the correct home can be a difficult prospect for any starting pitcher, and Ross was less-than-cozy in parts of three seasons with the Athletics. After his trade to the Padres in the offseason, he emerged from a muddled mass to nab the final rotation spot, only to land on the DL just three starts into the year. He then toiled in relief and was even sent to Triple-A Tucson, but when a starting role opened in late July, the suddenly steady Ross was given the opportunity he required. In 13 nods to complete the year, he threw 10 quality starts, while supplying a spectacular 2.93 ERA and 85:23 K:BB ratio in 80 innings. He'll enter spring training coming off arthroscopic surgery on his left, non-throwing shoulder but is in line to hold onto the job he's rightfully earned.

Ross has been an enigma for the A's since he was drafted out of California in 2008. On sight, he appears to have good stuff despite his funky delivery, however, he just can't seem to put it all together. His main issue is that he just walks too many guys. In addition, while being pushed into duty for 73.1 innings in Oakland this year, his strikeout rate fell to 5.6 K/9. A November trade to spacious Petco Park may be just the remedy that Ross needed. If he wins a rotation spot in the spring, he would certainly be someone to speculate on late in a draft or a reserve round just for home starts. Petco has done wonders for plenty of less-than-stellar arms.

Ross took over for an injured Dallas Braden in the A's rotation early in the season but an oblique injury sidelined him after that to just six starts of his own, and a few poor rehab appearances kept him in the minors once healthy. He had a nice run of four straight quality starts before getting injured. He wasn't the same upon his return, allowing 52 hits and 22 walks in 36.2 innings in nine starts at Triple-A Sacramento, and he didn't fare much better in the AFL (16.2 innings, 24 hits, 13:5 K:BB). He deserves a mulligan based on his early-season form and some bat-missing ability, so watch those early spring starts. The A's have managed to get solid seasons from lesser arms (Brandon McCarthy, Guillermo Moscoso, etc.) with their forgiving home park, so there's still upside with Ross if he earns a rotation spot.

Ross began last season in the A's bullpen following a solid spring training but was returned to Triple-A Sacramento to transition back to the rotation. A strained elbow ligament ended his season in early August after just six starts in the minors. He could get a crack as the fifth starter this spring, and his past K/9IP rates (including 30 strikeouts in 25.1 innings in his six starts in the minors) show some promise.