Hunter Strickland

Following a five-year stint in San Francisco, Strickland signed with Seattle following the 2018 campaign. His tenure there sputtered as an early-season lat injury limited him to four games before he was traded to Washington in July. The change of scenery did little to quell a gradual decline in his effectiveness as the right-hander's 2019 ERA (5.55) and FIP (6.30) were each the worst of his career. Although Strickland increased his fastball velocity a tick over the previous campaign and lowered his walk rate to a respectable 7.6%, his strikeout rate continued a three-year drop, falling to a meager 17.1%. He also posted a career-worst 2.2 HR/9, more than doubling his previous high mark. The sample size (24.1 innings) is small, and Washington re-signed Strickland with the belief that he can turn things around. He could still challenge for a setup role, but he figures to have a short leash heading into 2020.

An injury to Mark Melancon opened the door for Strickland to break camp as the Giants' closer in 2018. The right-hander was doing just fine in the role until he punched a wall in mid-June following a blown save opportunity, resulting in a broken pinkie finger on his pitching hand which required surgery. Strickland ended up missing 50 games as a result and wasn't quite himself upon his return; he experienced a dip in velocity and struggled to a 6.59 ERA and 8:8 K:BB across 13.2 innings following his activation, never regaining control of the ninth inning. When it was all said and done, he posted a career-worst ERA (3.97), FIP (4.42) and K/9 (7.3), while his BB/9 stayed put at an unsightly 4.2. Strickland was non-tendered by San Francisco, but he should have little trouble finding work in a big-league bullpen.

While Strickland has proven himself to be a quality big-league bullpen arm, he's not any closer to taking over the closer role in San Francisco. Mark Melancon was signed to a lucrative deal last offseason to solidify the ninth inning, and when Melancon went down with an injury in 2017, the Giants brought in Sam Dyson to handle closer duties. Confined to a setup role, Strickland posted strikeout and home-run rates nearly identical to his 2016 marks (8.5 K/9, 0.59 HR/9), but his walk rate exploded, going from 2.8 BB/9 to 4.3. The estimators suggest Strickland overachieved a great deal with a 2.64 ERA, and the team's reluctance to use him to close games speaks volumes. He is averaging nearly 20 holds per year over the past three seasons, but if your league doesn't count holds, Strickland is a tough sell. He's risky as merely a ratios play.

Strickland built off his strong 2015 campaign with another solid season in 2016. While his ERA rose from 2.45 to 3.10, he induced more groundballs (47.3 percent groundball rate) and lowered his home run rate (0.6 HR/9) . He also incorporated his breaking ball more often to keep opposing hitters from sitting on his high-90s fastball. The lone criticism of his performance last season was his inability to take hold of the vacant closer role after Santiago Casilla was demoted in the second half of the season. The Giants went out and signed closer Mark Melancon in free agency, meaning Strickland may not even sniff the closer role again in the foreseeable future barring injury.

Strickland finally put it all together and had a stellar rookie campaign with the Giants in 2015. At 27 years old, he is not your typical rookie arm, battling injury and control issues to finally make it to the majors. Strickland throws straight gas, averaging a tick under 97 mph on his fastball. The knock on him coming into the season was his lack of secondary pitches, which made him too predictable and susceptible to the longball (he gave up six home runs in eight postseason appearances in 2014). He appears to have fixed that flaw in his game, mixing in a breaking ball 24.2% of the time in 2015, which led to a modest 0.70 HR/9 allowed. With his overpowering fastball and improved control, Strickland has been labeled the Giants' closer of the future by some. While that opportunity may not come in 2016, he looks to have locked up a late-inning role in San Francisco's bullpen.

The Giants trusted Strickland to handle critical spots in their bullpen during the playoffs, and he was tagged for a handful of key home runs while serving up six long balls in just 8.1 October innings. His story is one of perseverance, as Strickland has overcome shoulder and elbow injuries in his development to reach the big leagues for the first time just before turning 26 in September. Of course, his performance will largely be forgotten as the organization brought home a World Series title for the third time in five seasons anyway, but it will be interesting to see how he rebounds in 2015. Working with a high-90s fastball and slider, Strickland has the tools to be a dominant late-inning reliever, but he'll need to command his offerings more effectively to fully realize his potential.