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MLB starting pitcher Cal Quantrill is a potential 2022 fantasy baseball sleeper and ADP draft value. Target him as an undervalued SP and late-round sleeper.
BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~240 pick
CURRENT ADP: ~264 overall
ANALYSIS: Quantrill is a former first-round pick of the Padres back in 2016 at age 21. He moved quickly through low-A ball but stalled out in Triple-A and didn't have the type of minor league success that you'd expect from a top prospect. In 2019, he made his major league debut for San Diego and ended up throwing 103 innings, making 18 starts and five relief appearances. That rookie year wasn't great as he pitched to a 5.16 ERA and was barely a replacement-level player, striking out just 21% of opposing hitters and allowing a 41.5% hard contact rate.
He broke camp in 2021 as a reliever and pitched exclusively in relief until June when the Indians started to stretch him out from long relief and put him into the rotation. Cleveland's rotation was decimated by injuries with Shane Bieber and others going down, which gave Quantrill a chance to start and he never looked back. Quantrill went on to start 22 games for the Guardians (well, they weren't the Guardians then) and finished the season with an 8-3 record and a 2.89 ERA. As a starter, he didn't whiff too many hitters with only a 20% strikeout rate, but he pitched effectively by limiting walks and hard contact.
He made a major change in his pitch mix in 2021 by de-emphasizing his slider and adding a cutter. His slider is his best out pitch, but by throwing it less often, he was able to throw strikes more often. He also threw his sinker less often though it was still his primary pitch at 36%. The cutter really helped keep hitters off balance and was easily his most effective pitch. His sinker/cutter combo was paired with a changeup to lefties and a curveball to righties and he was able to get hitters out without being an overly hard thrower as his two-seamer and four-seamer sat right around 94 MPH.
He's not a sexy pick by any means, but he's certainly a guy who could build upon his success this season and give you some reliable innings. If you'd rather not gamble on a riskier pick like Mitch Keller and want a safer arm in your rotation, then I think Quantrill is a guy you should consider late in your drafts.
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