Codi Heuer

After making his major-league debut during the shortened 2020 campaign, Heuer used the 2021 season to prove he has a promising future as a high-leverage reliever. In 91 career innings, he's limited opposing hitters to 0.8 HR/9 and has also posted a respectable 8.6 BB%. Though his 19.9 K% across 67.1 innings was disappointing on the surface, his 13.5 percent swinging-strike rate suggests that he has plenty of strikeout upside beyond what he displayed in 2021. After being dealt to the Cubs at the trade deadline in exchange for Craig Kimbrel, Heuer earned a pair of saves, potentially auditioning for the closer role in 2022. Though he may not begin the season seeing the majority of save chances in Chicago, Heuer is a strong reliever to speculate on in the later rounds.

Heuer was one of several young White Sox relievers to shine in 2020, posting a sterling 1.52 ERA and 0.89 WHIP across 23.2 innings. He yielded three earned runs across his first five appearances before settling into a groove the remainder of the campaign, finishing the regular season by allowing just one earned run over his final 17.1 frames. The right-hander averaged nearly 98 mph on his fastball as a rookie, helping him boast a solid 27.2 K% and 14.4 SwStr%. The stuff is that of a closer, and Heuer proved capable of handling the stress of high-leverage situations, notching six holds and one save. There was some thought that Heuer could step into a ninth-inning role with the anticipated departure of Alex Colome, but that possibility went out the window when Liam Hendriks was brought aboard. Instead, Heuer should feature as a key setup man in one of the American League's top bullpens.