Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies

Nola was impressive in his rookie 2015 campaign-- a 3.59 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 68 strikeouts in 77.2 innings pitched. He owns a 2.57 minor league career ERA, including a 3.58 ERA in Triple-A earlier in 2015, and was a top-50 prospect in baseball before cracking the big leagues last year. He posted league-average batted ball splits in 2015, and slightly above-average strikeout (21.4%) and walk (6.0%) rates. Nola has impeccable control of three above-average pitches, and should always find ways to work out of jams.

He is not the most exciting pitcher-- his fastball sits around 91 and he doesn't strike out a batter per inning. He's also on the Phillies, who would be ecstatic to win 70 games this year, so he isn't likely to load up on wins. However, you know what you're getting: a mid-3.00 ERA, about eight strikouts per nine innings, a strong WHIP and 10-12 wins in a full season. That kind of stability is appealing late in a mixed league draft, and it makes Nola deserving of being selected before his ADP of 250.3.

Matt Wisler, Atlanta Braves

Wisler spent three seasons in the Padres' farm system before being shipped off to play for the Atlanta Braves as a focal point in the Craig Kimbrel trade. On the surface, it's easy to doubt Wisler's potential -- he posted an ERA of 5.01 in 2014 and 4.29 in 2015 in Triple-A -- but his stuff projects to be Major League-caliber. Wisler throws five different pitches, each of which has improved since he was drafted by the Padres in 2011.

The 23-year-old right-hander threw 109 innings in his rookie campaign last year, finishing with a 4.71 ERA, a 1.46 WHIP and 72 strikeouts. His home/away splits were enormously different -- 2.93 ERA at home, 6.75 on the road -- but a rookie faltering here and there on the road shouldn't necessarily raise concerns. Three seven-run outings away from home really hurt his overall numbers, but those should be contributed to inexperience and growing pains more than lack of ability. Wisler has the potential to put it all together in 2016, and could be had late or for cheap in NL-Only leagues.

Marco Gonzales, St. Louis Cardinals

Gonzales has limited Major League experience -- 37.1 innings over two seasons -- and failed to prove himself in his brief stays with the Cardinals, but he has the talent to succeed in the bigs. In 122 innings pitched over three different levels in 2014 (he battled a should injury throughout 2015), Gonzales posted a 2.43 ERA with 117 strikeouts,  a 23.5% K%, and a 5.4% BB%. When healthy, he commands the zone incredibly well, mixing up an average fastball, an average curveball and a plus changeup-- perhaps the best of any pitcher in the minors.

As of now, the Cardinals' starting rotation is full, but Carlos Martinez could be on an innings limit and Jaime Garcia is essentially a lock to miss some chunk of time (he hasn't thrown 130 innings since 2011). Gonzales will likely find himself in the mix sooner rather than later for the Cards, and could make an impact in deep fantasy leagues.

Alex Wood, Los Angeles Dodgers

It wasn't long ago that Alex Wood was being crowned "the next best thing." In fact, just last year, Wood could be found in the top 20 for starting pitchers heading into the season. Now, with an ADP of 240.7, the 25-year-old pitcher who was so highly acclaimed 12 short months ago is in danger of going undrafted in some mixed leagues.

Wood took a major step back in 2015 -- 3.84 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 17.4% K%, 7.4 BB -- and it could be credited to several different factors. Maybe hitters figured him out (81.8% contact rate, 8.2% swinging strike rate). Maybe he was simply less lucky than he was in 2014 (72.9% LOB%, .313 BABIP). Maybe the bone bruise in his plant foot affected his fastball velocity and the movement on his secondary pitches. Or perhaps he even just went through a slump during which his mechanics got away from him.

Wood was actually pretty good for the Braves in 2015 before being dealt to the Dodgers. At the time of the trade, he owned a 3.54 ERA with 90 strikeouts in 119.2 innings pitched. His 3.45 FIP wasn't that far off from the 3.25 FIP he posted in 2014. Brett Anderson's back surgery means Wood's spot in the rotation is essentially guaranteed, and if he can fix the issues he had with his mechanics, Wood can return some nice value at the end of the draft. He can still be the pitcher everyone expected him to be a year ago.

Lucas Giolito, Washington Nationals

Giolito is the No. 3 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB.com, and should be ready to make the jump to the Major Leagues this year. With Jordan Zimmermann gone, the Nationals' rotation is nowhere near as strong as it had been a year or two ago. Tanner Roark is the most likely candidate to have his job threatened by Giolito. At age 27, Roark posted a 2.85 ERA over 198.2 innings in his first full season in the majors, but followed that up with a 4.38 ERA in 111 innings in 2015. Giolito has two plus pitches -- a high-90s fastball and a devastating curveball -- that he used to strike opposing batters out at a 26.5% clip between two levels in 2015. He also posted a 3.15 ERA and 1.28 WHIP.

In the event of an injury or general ineffectiveness for one of the current starters, Giolito appears ready to take over. That probably won't happen right away, but whenever he does make it to the big leagues, Giolito is as close to a sure thing as you will find, and should make an immediate impact. Owners in keeper and dynasty leagues, as well as NL-Only leagues, should take advantage of the opportunity to scoop up this young arm on draft day.

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