Nathan Eovaldi 2024 Outlook: Boring Volume Play Towards the End of Drafts
4 months agoNathan Eovaldi pitched like an ace during the Texas Rangers World Series run, but he's more of an innings eater in the regular season. Eovaldi went 12-5 with a 3.63 ERA and 3.96 xFIP over 144 IP in 2023. His 22.9 K% was especially underwhelming from a fantasy perspective, especially when paired with an 8.1 BB%. That said, the 34-year-old has his uses in fantasy. Eovaldi's arsenal starts with a fastball that averages 2,168 RPM, frequently inducing soft contact. The Rangers played great defense with 33 Outs Above Average as a team last year (third in MLB), so soft contact is usually converted into outs. His heater also gets him ahead in the count with a 56.3 Zone%. Eovaldi's best strikeout pitch is a splitter with a 17.8 SwStr%, 38.7 Zone%, and 41.1% chase rate, so he can put hitters away. Eovaldi rounds out his repertoire with a solid cutter (9.2 SwStr%, 58.5 Zone%) and curve (15.3 SwStr%, 40.5 Zone%, 28.5% chase rate). The package isn't exciting, but in a pitcher's park and backed by one of the league's better teams, it works. Eovaldi's ADP of 202.94 is a great value if you need rotation stability in the latter stages of your draft.