Yusei Kikuchi

Kikuchi had a mixed debut with the Angels in 2025. He made all his scheduled starts for a third consecutive season and worked over 165 innings for a third consecutive season as well. He did continue to lean into his newfound love of his slider that Houston encouraged after acquiring him in 2024, but Kikuchi also embraced the Los Angeles Angels' culture of mediocrity and did little else to help fantasy managers. He won just 21% of his starts because a 1.42 WHIP led to too much traffic that the bullpen often could not keep on the bases when he came out of games. The 174 strikeouts were helpful, but the 3.99 ERA not so much. It is apparent the Angels are not going to be any better any time soon, so fantasy managers would be wise to consider Kikuchi for his strikeouts in the end game of drafts if they are looking to bolster that category because recent history ovvers little confidence the wins or the ratios will be of much help. Read Past Outlooks