December 23, 2022

Los Angeles Angels starter Reid Detmers came into 2022 on the heels of posting a 7.40 ERA during his rookie season. He improved his numbers exponentially, producing a 3.77 ERA with seven wins and a 1.21 WHIP over 25 starts. Detmers' 3.79 FIP supports his gains after improving his strikeout rate (18.8% to 22.6%) and walk rate (10.9% to 8.5%). The 23-year-old owned an excellent 29.1% chase rate, and after feeble whiff rates before July, he got whiffs at a 26% clip over the final three months. Considering Detmers' minor league strikeout rate of 43.7%, he should keep progressing in that department. The lefty's arsenal contains four pitches; four-seamer, slider, curveball, and changeup. Detmers kept using his slider more and more this season, reaching a usage rate of 33% in September, and it posted a .204 xBA and 28.7% whiff rate. His most used pitch, the fastball, got better as the year went on, generating more whiffs, especially in July (31.0%) and August (29.9%). It's hard to ignore Detmers' release point change that might be responsible for his growth. In 2021, his average horizontal release point was 2.26 feet, and it kept declining throughout '22, reaching 1.64 feet by the season's end. It's been difficult for Detmers to avoid hard contact, and his 0.91 HR/9 and .231 batting average this year didn't match his 36th-percentile barrel rate and 28th-percentile average exit velocity. However, his potential strikeout numbers and high ceiling outweigh a possibly inflated ERA and WHIP. Fantasy managers should be confident drafting Detmers at his ADP of 221 and hope he can deliver similar numbers to his second half; 3.36 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and 25.3% strikeout rate.--Spencer Seguin