January 27, 2019

Mychal Givens is a converted shortstop who quickly rose through the Orioles’ ranks once converting to pitcher. He has a unique delivery, which could be described as something between sidearm and three-quarters. Despite this delivery, he routinely throws in the mid-90s and hits the upper 90s. One disturbing fact with Givens is his declining strikeout rate, which has gone from 11.57 K/9 in his first full season, to 10.07 in his second full season, to 9.27 in his third full season (2018). His swinging strike rate has, unsurprisingly, declined, which explains the decreasing K/9. Part of the cause could be the change in roles. When Givens is on, as is the case with most late-inning relievers, he is dominant. He should be the Orioles’ primary closer next year, although it is possible that the Orioles groom Tanner Scott for that role or choose to share the load. That risk, combined with his concerning decline in strikeout totals and the likely lack of save opportunities, makes him a risky closing option. Our rankers put him just outside the top 200, while he is being drafted about 20-30 picks behind that. In leagues that allow you to use more than two relievers at a time, I'd follow the RotoBaller rankers lead and even reach for him ahead of 200. In leagues that only allow you to benefit from two closers, somewhere in the 200-220 range is appropriate. Expect an ERA in the 3s (lower than his 3.99 ERA last year) with slightly over a strikeout per inning, but not great saves total and a real possibility of not being the closer all season.--Jeff Kahntroff - RotoBaller