Ubaldo Jimenez

Coming off two poor campaigns, Jimenez's 2016 season was a wild tale of two halves. The veteran righty was brutal prior to the All-Star break, posting a 7.38 ERA while allowing an .892 OPS to opposing hitters over 81.2 innings. He redeemed himself a bit during the second half of the season and was a key contributor to the Orioles' playoff push. In 60.2 innings after the break, Jimenez posted 2.82 ERA while allowing a much-improved .573 OPS. He finished the year with a cumulative 5.44 ERA, 19.6 percent strikeout rate and 11.3 percent walk rate. True to form, the 32-year-old reverted to his old ways by allowing three runs and getting tagged with the loss during the final inning of the dramatic AL Wild Card Game. Jimenez should again be a part of the team's starting rotation in 2017, and while he may best his full season ratios from 2016, he is too risky to be treated as anything more than an endgame play in deep mixers and AL-only leagues.

After signing a four-year deal prior to the 2014 season, Jimenez imploded and lost his rotation spot during his first season with the Orioles. Jimenez made a significant rebound in 2015 and managed to stick in the rotation all season. The source of Jimenez's comeback was a much improved walk rate, which he cut from 5.5 BB/9 in 2014 to 3.3 BB/9 in 2015. That 2015 number was actually a career best, even topping his glory years back with the Rockies. Despite his overall improvement, Jimenez had a 2.81 ERA in the first half of the season that ballooned his ERA to 5.63 in the second half. While the Orioles almost certainly regret signing him, the club has neither the money to sign big name arms nor the organizational depth among starters. That means Jimenez should be slotted into the middle of the rotation once again in 2016.

Sometimes you can see it coming. It wasn’t so much that Jimenez had some ERA indicators to be wary of, but rather the fact that his run of success with Cleveland was more fueled by his ability to strand runners as opposed to bankable skill changes. He almost needs an elite LOB rate to be really successful because he puts too many runners on base, both via the walk and hit. Miraculously, an essentially wasted $11 million dollars didn’t hurt the O’s at all last season. They won 96 games in spite of Jimenez. At 31 years old with nearly 1,400 career innings under his belt, it’s time to stop expecting any substantial skills change from Jimenez, namely with regard to his elevated walk rates. That makes it difficult to project even a 2013 repeat at any point, and let’s not pretend that was all that good as it still included a 1.33 WHIP. He isn’t even guaranteed a rotation spot to start 2015 and the name value has finally waned to nil. Pass.

Jimenez certainly picked a nice time for a rebound season as he caught fire in the second half (1.82 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 10.7 K/9 in his last 13 starts) in what turned out to be the final year of his contract, after he rejected the $14 million option on his contract for 2014 after the season ended. Although it was an impressive stretch in the second half, he certainly took advantage of some lesser teams down the stretch (4-0, 1.09 ERA in six September starts) so tread carefully before totally buying into the bounceback. One of the biggest differences for Jimenez came in the form of a rebound in his strand rate. After carrying mark above 70 percent in three consecutive seasons with the Rockies, he flipped to 65.0% and 68.6% in 2011 and 2012 before a jump to 76.5% during his final year in Cleveland. The story here is largely unchanged. Jimenez has the potential to miss a lot of bats, but still has subpar control and will almost certainly experience stretches where he simply cannot find the plate. After signing with the Orioles, he'll return to a hitter-friendly home park where the volatility in his skill set could be amplified.

The Indians picked up their contract option on Jimenez despite some continued struggles as the righty battled a dip in control and a decrease in his strikeout rate en route to a league-leading 17 losses in his first full season with the Tribe. He's struggled with the long ball since coming over to the AL despite escaping Coors Field, and he will need to reverse that trend if he is going to recapture the form he flashed back in 2010. Jimenez will be back as the team's No. 2 starter behind Justin Masterson, but his rapidly declining skill set makes him a very risky lottery ticket at this stage.

Jimenez came to the Indians in a deadline deal with the team's playoff chances on life support and his up-and-down season (1.402 WHIP, 4.68 ERA, 8.6 K/9IP) continued on the shores of Lake Erie. Jimenez is signed to a very club-friendly contract for the next few years, and the good news here is that there wasn't much that changed in his skill set last year apart from a huge uptick on the number of hits he allowed. The strikeouts are still there and his walk rate remained nearly unchanged, and while the Indians' infield defense may not be of much help, it's hard to imagine him not reverting to the form he flashed in 2009. He'll be back as the Indians' ace and is a good bet to improve from last year's effort.

With a little bit of help, Jimenez was able to turn a good season into a great one. He narrowly missed a 20-win campaign, finishing with Cy Young race numbers. While he did improve his strikeout rate (8.7 K/9IP) for the third consecutive season, the rest of his skills remained relatively stable. The "help" came in the form of a 5.1 percent HR/FB rate, .273 BABIP, and 76.5 percent strand rate. It's doubtful that Jimenez will be as fortunate in 2011 as he was in 2010, but with a solid groundball rate, electric fastball, and the ability to work deep into games, Jimenez should once again be an ace upon which fantasy owners can build their staff.

At the end of April, Jimenez owners looked like they had wasted their money. He sported a 7.58 ERA with opposing batters getting on base about half of the time. After that, however, he turned it on, holding batters to .222 with an ERA just above three, but the real treat was his 198:85 K:BB ratio. Jimenez induces enough groundballs to be effective when his command wavers, keeping his home-run rate down in the process. He enters 2010 as the staff ace and if improvements to his walk rate (3.51 BB/9IP) continue, Jimenez has the tools to be a top-10 pitcher in the National League.

His movement is almost too good, as he has trouble commanding his pitches, a bit like Justin Verlander at times. That leads to deep counts, walks, long innings and short starts. Even at that, he posted a sub-4.00 ERA with Coors Field as a home park, so there's reason to be excited. Look for a step forward this season, enough to make him a top-20 fantasy starter in the NL.

Jimenez is perhaps the most talented pitcher in the Rockies' organization. He can reach 99 mph with his fastball and has a devastating slider to go along with a big breaking curveball. He made 15 starts at the big league level in 2007 and went 4-4 with a 4.28 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 82 innings. More strikeouts will come once he matures, and the biggest concern is control with Jimenez. He tends to get wild at times and walked 4.06 batters per nine innings, but it appears that he will start the year in the Colorado rotation.

After struggling at Double-A to end 2005, Jimenez conquered it over the first half of 2006 and rode that success all the way to a September call-up. He stands a solid 6-4, 200 lbs., and with his stuff, projects as a top-of-the-rotation starter, though command issues have slowed his rise to the majors. With his Triple-A results being what they were (5.06 ERA in 13 starts), he needs another half season in the minors, but Jimenez should be part of the Colorado rotation by midsummer.

Jimenez got back on track last year after suffering a stress fracture in his shoulder in 2004. He moved from Single-A to Double-A with a 92–94 mph fastball, big-league curveball, and a developing change-up. He projects as a top-of-the-rotation pitcher, but struggles with inconsistency and control. He clearly needs more time to hone his skills. Expect Jimenez to pick up at Double-A in 2006 and end the season at Triple-A.

Jimenez has one of the top arms in Colorado's system. He's a power pitcher who demonstrated his accuracy last season before a shoulder injury put him out for the year. Just 20, Jimenez may need some time to adjust to Double-A hitters, but he's on the fast track to get a look in September.