Jose Suarez

Suarez showed plenty of flashes that suggested he can be an effective starter during the 2021 and 2022 campaigns while forging a 3.86 ERA and 188/69 K/BB over 207.1 innings during that time frame. Those flashes were miniscule in 2023 with an 8.29 ERA and 1.96 WHIP over 11 appearances -- seven of those starts -- and also dealing with a shoulder injury. The 26-year-old southpaw has a below-average fastball that rarely gets above 93 mph, and he wasn't able to command that pitch well as seen in a 12.1 percent walk rate along with an 11.2 percent barrel rate. He was able to get hitters to swing and miss at 28.5 percent of his offerings, so there was a smidgen of bad luck in his well below-average 17 percent strikeout mark. Suarez could make starts for the Angels in 2024, but his most likely role for Los Angeles will be a multi-inning relief that provides no fantasy help.

Suarez began 2022 in the big-league rotation and was demoted after he gave up 12 earned runs over 17 innings through his first four starts, but he rejoined the rotation in June and delivered a 3.55 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 87:21 K:BB across 91.1 frames the rest of the way. The left-hander slightly improved upon his strikeout and walk rates (22.3 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively), and a 3.86 xFIP indicates his production was well earned. Suarez bounced between the rotation and bullpen in 2021 and worked better as a reliever, so his consistency in the rotation last season was an encouraging development. His groundball rate dropped nearly seven percentage points to 41.3 percent, but his HR/FB rate remained steady at 11.8 percent. Suarez's numbers don't jump off the page, but he should be a solid piece at the back end of the Angels' rotation in 2023 and should at least have some streaming appeal.

Suarez has spent parts of the last three seasons in the majors, but he has been shuttled between Los Angeles and Triple-A Salt Lake. Even when with the big-league club, he has yet to see a consistent role in the rotation as only 31 of his 44 appearances have come as a starter. In that role, he's posted a 6.16 ERA for his career, though his sample in 2021 offered hope that there is room for that mark to improve. Still only 24 years old, Suarez posted a 4.44 ERA as a starter despite only a 66.6% left on base rate. A 10.5 K-BB% is a clear indication that his upside remains capped without an uptick in swing-and-miss stuff, something that hasn't regularly been present since he reached the highest levels of the minor leagues. Even so, Suarez limits home runs and hard contact effectively (6.3% barrel rate, 1.0 HR/9 in 2021), so expect solid ratios without much strikeout upside if he can stick in the rotation in 2022.