January 25, 2020

2015 Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel signed a three-year deal this offseason to return to the AL and pitch on the Southside of Chicago for the White Sox. Keuchel is a mixed bag for fantasy managers as he doesn't offer a lot of upside, but his floor is not incredibly dangerous either. He is not going to overwhelm his opponents with his power (88 mph fastball) but can locate his pitches like some of the best arms in the game. The addition of Yasmani Grandal to the White Sox will help Keuchel steal strikes as he returns to the AL. In 2019, Keuchel threw a league-low 33.6% of his pitches in the strike zone. Coincidentally, Grandal ranked second in baseball in FanGraphs framing runs metric, and Keuchel's former teammate, Tyler Flowers, was third in framing runs. Keuchel had a 2.93 ERA and 8.7 K/9 in 61.1 IP with Flowers. Pitching in the AL Central will also grant him some favorable matchups. His new division foes, the Royals and Tigers, both ranked in the bottom five in terms of team wOBA and team ISO against left-handed pitchers in 2019. Watch out for Minnesota, though. They led MLB with 95 home runs off southpaws last year. Keuchel's ADP is 272, and that makes him a comfortable back-of-the-rotation arm for any owner that may have taken some big swings with their pitching in the earlier rounds of a draft. He won't be a must-start every outing, but if you deploy him appropriately, he can be a reliable option for you in 2020. With his new catcher, favorable division, and low ADP, Keuchel should be an excellent target for anyone looking to shore up their rotation this season.--Euan Leith