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Nathan Eovaldi 2024 Outlook: Boring Volume Play Towards the End of Drafts
Nathan 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.
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