5 years agoIn 2019, Yankees' pitcher Tommy Kahnle rebounded from an injury-plagued 2018 season. Kahnle posted a 3.67 ERA and a 1.060 WHIP to go with 88 strikeouts, 27 holds and a .201 xAVG in 61.1 innings. Kahnle’s excellent numbers were supported by several factors. Kahnle had an overall SwStr rate of 17.9% as well as an elite four-seam fastball velocity of 96.4 MPH. Kahnle also threw an almost unhittable changeup, which he relied on more than half the time (51.9% of his pitches thrown), producing a 49% whiff rate and a 30.9% put away rate. In addition, Kahnle induced an elite ground-ball rate of 50.4% in 2019, a great skill-set to have pitching half of his games in Yankee Stadium. It can be argued that if not for wrist tendinitis suffered in September, which likely caused his ERA to increase from 3.09 to 3.67, his final numbers may have been better. Assuming the wrist injury is behind him, owners in holds leagues should target Kahnle on draft day with the expectation that he will post similar elite counting stats, with potential for improvement in ERA and WHIP. Owners in deep leagues without holds as category, seeking help in ERA and WHIP should target Kahnle toward the last round of their drafts where his ADP is roughly 700. Those owners should understand, however, that since Kahnle is third in the Yankees’ closer pecking order, he will get few-to-no save opportunities in 2020.--Nick Ritrivi - RotoBaller