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Yuki Matsui is a fantasy baseball closer draft sleeper, and potential ADP draft value for saves. Target Matsui as an undervalued relief pitcher in 2024 fantasy drafts.
ANALYSIS: San Diego Padres reliever Yuki Matsui is a 28-year-old relief pitcher signed from Rakuten in the Japan Central League. The lefty has 236 career saves in the JPPL and is now in the rebuilt San Diego bullpen.
Last season, Matsui had a career-high 39 saves with a tidy 1.57 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 72 strikeouts in 57 1/3 innings. Matsui features a good fastball, but his best pitch is a wicked splitter that generated a 56% whiff rate last year for Rakuten. The splitter is used mainly against right-handed hitters. He throws a slider to left-handed hitters that gets good results down and away.
Matsui’s introduction to MLB came with a trio of strikeouts over his perfect 1-2-3 inning. He then was forced to the medical ward with back tightness, though it shouldn’t jeopardize his April availability.
Robert Suarez may open as SD’s closer with a healthy 2.99 ERA/1.00 WHIP in 75 MLB frames, but a .157 BABIP helped cover up a slip in strikeouts (31.9% to 22.2%) despite more grounders and a higher hard-hit rate. Do not be surprised if Matsui wrestles the job from him at some point.
The ATC projections give him 12 saves and a helpful 3.54 ERA. This is a good value late in drafts.
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