March 14, 2022

Atlanta Braves pitcher Huascar Ynoa had an up-and-down season in 2021 as he saw his most extended run in the majors to date. At his best, he was dominant. His highlight performance came in mid-April when he struck out 10 Marlins over six innings while allowing just one earned run. However, he followed that outing up by allowing six earned runs over four innings to the Chicago Cubs. Over 91 innings last year, Ynoa had a 4.05 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP and a 26.9% strikeout rate. He was primarily a two-pitch pitcher, leading with an extremely effective slider that generated a 39.5% whiff rate. His other primary pitch, his four-seamer, had good velocity (96.5 mph on average), but batters hit .254 and slugged .571 against it. The 23-year-old has a shot at being part of the backend of the Braves' rotation out of the gate this year, but in order for sustained fantasy success, he'll either need to improve the effectiveness of his four-seamer or mix in another pitch or two more. His changeup, which he threw just 7% of the time last year, showed some promise (.133 batting average, 42.9% whiff rate), so there may be something to tap into there. Another concern is his workload. He threw just 91 innings last year, so the team likely won't extend him much past 120-or-so innings this year. If he starts to approach that number, we may see him moved to the bullpen. Despite these concerns, he is still worth consideration at the end of drafts in deep leagues if you're looking for a lottery ticket to fill out your rotation.--Andrew Ericksen - RotoBaller