December 29, 2021

Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Gregory Soto enjoyed a breakout campaign as the team's closer during the 2021 season. The hard-throwing left-hander pitched to a 3.39 ERA and a 4.14 FIP in 63.2 innings while registering 76 strikeouts and 40 walks. He also tallied 18 saves while generating plenty of swings and misses with his power arsenal. The left-hander's pitch mix includes a potentially devastating slider that generated a 43% whiff rate last season, not to mention a sinker and a four-seam fastball that both averaged north of 98 miles per hour. Soto sometimes ceded save work to Michael Fulmer, but Fulmer generally operated as the team's top high-leverage reliever, working in the most crucial situations. Sometimes those happened to be in the ninth inning. Still, Soto should see the bulk of the saves in Detroit, and there should be considerably more of them this coming season. You can make the argument that few closers have seen their fantasy stock rise more since the postseason ended than Soto. The Tigers front office was active early in the winter, bringing in catcher Tucker Barnhart, starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez and shortstop Javier Baez to bolster a team looking to make the playoffs next season. That should lead to more save chances for Soto. Barnhart, who is an above-average pitch framer, should be particularly helpful to Soto given the reliever can sometimes be a bit wild. His ADP, per NFBC, is 195, though that number might end up being a bit low if Detroit is a playoff contender.--Ben Rosener - RotoBaller