4 years agoAt this point, the fascination of Oakland Athletics relief pitcher A.J. Puk in fantasy is far greater than the reality. The Athletics No. 1 prospect recovered from 2018 Tommy John surgery to throw 25 1/3 innings in the minor leagues in 2019 before reaching the majors, where he threw 11.0 innings in 10 relief appearances. Puk did well in his short MLB stint with a 3.18 ERA, 4.35 xFIP and 3.95 SIERA to go with his 13 strikeouts. Puk was unable to pitch in 2020 as he battled through shoulder issues before succumbing to surgery in September. With Mike Fiers expected to open the season on the IL, the club is looking at Puk to fill the hole in the rotation although his velocity was down from 97 mph to 92-93 mph in his first spring start. You need to go back to 2017 for the last time Puk pitched more than two innings in a game. There's no doubting his pedigree with 262 strikeouts in 183 frames in his minor league career along with a 3.98 ERA. Puk has a career 4.35 ERA at Double-A (72 1/3 innings) and a 4.91 ERA at Triple-A (11 innings), so despite being lined up for a spot in the A's rotation, he could probably use some more development in the minors. Puk currently has an ADP of 343, so he's only being taken as a late-round flier. If he's healthy, Puk could be a star in 2021, but right now, that's a huge if.--Jamie Steed - RotoBaller