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David Bednar 2022 Outlook: Solid Closer at an Affordable Price
3 years agoYou would be forgiven if you didn't pay too much attention to the Pirates last season, but 27-year-old David Bednar put up numbers that warrant fantasy consideration. He posted a 2.23 ERA and 3.19 xFIP over 60⅔ IP, notching three saves in the process. Part of the reason for his success was an uptick in fastball velocity to 97 mph, helping Bednar strikeout 32.5% of the batters who faced him against a BB% of just 8%. The sterling strikeout totals weren't a shock though as Bednar consistently bested 30% on the farm. He combines his excellent heater (14.4 SwStr%, 60 Zone%) with two solid secondaries that are effective in the zone: a splitter (19.7 SwStr%, 50.8 Zone%) and a curve (15.5 SwStr%, 49.1 Zone%). Bednar is widely expected to enter the 2022 season as the club's closer, with his only real competition in camp Chris Stratton. Stratton notched eight saves last year, but he doesn't have Bednar's strikeout pedigree and posted a 3.63 ERA and 4.09 xFIP in 79⅓ IP last season. Those numbers don't scream "ninth-inning," so take Bednar at his current ADP of 205.92 and enjoy having a solid closer for a fraction of the cost of bigger names.
