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Joey Pollizze deep dives into four fantasy baseball starting pitchers to decide if their surprisingly good form merits a roster spot or staying on the waiver wire for Week 16 (2025).
Welcome, RotoBallers, to our weekly unlikely aces piece looking at several underrated pitchers in fantasy baseball. Each week, we go through four players who should be on fantasy managers' radars. We will then determine if these unlikely aces are worth a roster spot on your fantasy team.
In this article, we will look at whether Joe Boyle, Janson Junk, Landen Roupp, and Edward Cabrera are worth grabbing in Week 16 of the fantasy baseball season. These pitchers have been throwing the ball well in recent weeks and could emerge as a fantasy baseball league winner.
So, should fantasy managers pick up Boyle, Junk, Roupp, and Cabrera in fantasy leagues? Are these unlikely aces worth a roster spot? Let's dive in and find out.
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Joe Boyle, Tampa Bay Rays
Fantasy managers have waited all season for Boyle to get another shot in the majors. After allowing zero earned runs across five innings with seven strikeouts in a spot start against the Atlanta Braves on April 13, Boyle spent the next two months down at Triple-A Durham. There, the right-hander continued to show his upside with a 1.85 ERA across 15 games (14 starts).
The Rays then decided to call up Boyle on July 6, but in a non-traditional starter role. The 25-year-old has been a bulk reliever out of Tampa Bay's bullpen in each of his past two appearances. He allowed zero earned runs across five innings with seven strikeouts against the Minnesota Twins on July 6 and threw four innings of two-run ball with one strikeout against the Boston Red Sox on July 11.
Joe Boyle made his return to MLB today and kept his ERA at a perfect 0.00 with 5.0 Ip today
The stuff is bonkers! pic.twitter.com/xnQUCwYUXJ
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) July 6, 2025
Boyle's stuff has played well in both the starter role and the bulk reliever role, as he has allowed just two earned runs across 14 innings pitched (1.29 ERA) this season. Although the Rays pitcher has a limited arsenal that features a four-seam fastball, slider, and split-finger, he has been getting batters out at a high level in his first three appearances.
Opposing hitters are batting .148 against his four-seam fastball, .077 against his slider, and have yet to tally a hit against his splitter (0-for-7). Those two off-speed pitches have led to a lot of early success for Boyle, considering his slider has a 50% whiff rate and his splitter has a 42.9% whiff rate.
Verdict: There's no doubt that Boyle has looked solid with the Rays this season. He has a .169 expected batting average against, a 33.3% whiff rate, and a 6.9% barrel rate through his first three appearances. However, the right-hander isn't necessarily a must-add in Week 16 because there might not be a spot for him in this rotation this year.
With Ryan Pepiot, Zack Littell, Taj Bradley, Shane Baz, and Drew Rasmussen occupying the five-man rotation, Boyle is the odd man out. To make matters worse, Rasmussen is expected to have a normal workload after the All-Star break, and Shane McClanahan (triceps) could return sometime in August from his injury. So, Boyle is only worth an add in deeper leagues right now.
Janson Junk, Miami Marlins
Junk spent the first few weeks of the season in the Marlins' minor league system before being called up toward the end of May to join their bullpen. In his first five appearances, the right-hander allowed seven earned runs across 22 2/3 innings pitched (2.78 ERA) and completed at least four innings in all five of those bullpen appearances.
The 29-year-old then joined Miami's rotation toward the end of June as the team dealt with injuries to Ryan Weathers and Max Meyer. Although he allowed five earned runs across 3 2/3 innings in a start on June 26 against the San Francisco Giants, Junk has been dominant on the mound in the month of July.
He threw six innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts against the Twins on July 2, six innings of one-run ball with three strikeouts against the Reds on July 7, and seven shutout innings against the Orioles in his most recent start on July 12. This recent stretch has seen Junk's rostership rise in a bunch of leagues heading into the All-Star break.
Janson Junk may just be the best pitcher you’ve never heard of
7 IP
5 H
0 R
0 BB
2 KHe’s got a 2.68 ERA and 0.99 WHIP on the season! pic.twitter.com/4fSPtrzPhS
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) July 12, 2025
A large reason for his success on the mound this season has been due to his increased sweeper usage. Junk threw that pitch only 6.9% of the time last year, but that usage is up to 15.2% in 2025. Opposing hitters are batting just .172 against that pitch across the first half to go with a .172 slugging percentage.
Verdict: Junk has been a nice story for the Marlins this season. However, some regression is likely coming his way in the next few weeks. His expected ERA (3.70) is 102 points higher than his actual ERA (2.68), and his expected batting average against (.283), average exit velocity (92 mph), whiff rate (18.7%), and hard-hit rate (48.1%) all rank in the bottom 12% of the league.
Therefore, Junk is only an add in 15-plus team leagues right now. The Marlins pitcher has gotten a bit lucky on the mound in the early going, as opposing hitters have a .275 expected batting average against his four-seam fastball and a .302 expected batting average against his slider. He isn't necessarily worth an add in shallow leagues heading into Week 16.
Landen Roupp, San Francisco Giants
Roupp has really been a consistent pitcher in San Francisco's rotation this season. He currently owns a 3.27 ERA and 89 strikeouts across 19 starts in the first half. Some of his best outings in 2025 have included three different six-shutout inning performances against the Athletics (May 17), Nationals (May 23), and Red Sox (June 21).
The right-hander has no doubt shown his potential all throughout the 2025 campaign. He has allowed two runs or fewer in 13 of his 16 starts and just recently allowed one earned run with eight strikeouts against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 12. This type of success against elite offenses is nothing new for Roupp this season.
When diving deeper into Roupp's success on the mound so far, it's his off-speed stuff that continues to be at the forefront of his breakout campaign. The 26-year-old has really leaned on his curveball and changeup this year, and his changeup usage is up 7.6% from last year. Those two pitches have been unhittable through the first few months of the season.
Landen Roupp, Wicked Changeups. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/H6rh4VMZSi
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 12, 2025
Opposing hitters are batting just .187 against his curveball and .206 against his changeup this season. Those two off-speed pitches have also accounted for 64 of his 89 strikeouts in 2025. In that start against the Dodgers last week, most of his success came on those two pitches. He generated 16 total whiffs in that outing, 11 of which came on the curveball and changeup.
Verdict: It has been awesome to watch Roupp throw the ball this season. He has been a reliable fantasy option for most of the year and continues to limit hard contact on the mound. His 88.3 average exit velocity and 35.5% hard-hit rate both rank in the 70th percentile or better in the first half.
Now, if Roupp wants to be an even better pitcher the rest of the way, he has to limit damage against his sinker. Opposing hitters are batting a whopping .347 against that pitch, and the right-hander only has a 9.5% whiff rate on that sinker. Nevertheless, the 26-year-old has pitched well enough this season to make him an add in most 12-plus team leagues.
Edward Cabrera, Miami Marlins
The tools were always there for Cabrera to succeed in the big leagues. Although it has taken him a couple of years for the right-hander to find his way in the majors, we are starting to see why he was once a top-50 prospect in baseball. The Marlins pitcher has a 3.61 ERA and 86 strikeouts across 82 1/3 innings pitched this season.
There has been a noticeable difference in Cabrera's pitch usage from last year, which could be a reason for his early-season success. He is relying less on his changeup (23.8%) and four-seam fastball (14%) and more on his curveball (22.8%) and slider (17.2%). Both his curveball and slider have been major weapons for him on the mound.
Another thing that has helped Cabrera this season is that he is mixing up his pitches really well from start to start. He has a five-pitch mix and doesn't throw any one pitch more than 24% of the time. Being able to mix up his pitches has been on display all season, like when he threw seven shutout innings against the Twins back on July 1.
Even though Cabrera left his last start early due to an elbow injury, the expectation is that he will be fine moving forward. Marlins manager Clayton McCullough anticipates the right-hander being ready to go for the second half once play resumes on Friday.
Verdict: Cabrera has definitely shown signs of breaking out this season. While the 27-year-old is not a finished product just yet, he continues to show growth on the mound. With a 29.6% chase rate, 27.3% whiff rate, 24.8% strikeout rate, and a 7.5% barrel rate, the Marlins pitcher is worth an add in most 12-plus team leagues.
There's also a strong chance that Cabrera gets moved at the trade deadline. That would certainly increase his fantasy value, considering we should see more wins from him moving forward. If he doesn't get traded within the next few weeks, the right-hander has still done enough to make him an add in most formats.
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