RADIO
Kenneth Giles 2019 Outlook: Avoid Streaky Reliever on Draft Day
6 years agoDuring his time with the Philadelphia Phillies, Kenneth Giles was one of the most dominant relief pitchers in the game. Since his trade to the Houston Astros though, it’s been a bag of mixed results which finally ended in another trade north of the border to the Toronto Blue Jays. Detroit Tigers fans used to refer to Todd Jones as Roller Coaster, but Giles may be more deserving of that title now. The strikeouts have always been there for Giles, having averaged double-digit strikeouts per nine innings every year but 2018, which was still a hefty 9.5 K/9. The issue in recent years has been limiting walks that are allowed to score. Giles has always walked a lot of hitters as seen by his career 2.7 walks per nine innings, but in 2018, he offered up a career-high 9.7 hits per nine innings. We already know Giles is going to walk hitters, but if he can limit the number of hits he gives up, he will see his ERA start to drop again. We currently have Giles settled in as the 13th-ranked reliever in RotoBaller rankings, but you should just ignore him on draft day. The Blue Jays should finish in the bottom part of the AL East limiting his save opportunities, and his other numbers could be enough to destroy your ratios in weekly leagues.
