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Trevor Rosenthal 2021 Fantasy Outlook: Mix Of Velocity And Command Give Him High-End Closing Upside
4 years agoNot only did right-handed relief pitcher Trevor Rosenthal bounce back in 2020 as a top-tier reliever in just 23 innings with the Royals and Padres, but his fantasy stock is on the rise heading into the 2021 season after he signed a one-year, $11 million deal with the Oakland Athletics to supplant Liam Hendriks in the closer role. The hard-throwing 30-year-old was great with the Cardinals from 2012-17, but he missed all of 2018 after having Tommy John surgery and could not find the strike zone in 2019, walking 30.9 percent of the batters he faced in the majors. Last year, he posted a 1.90 ERA and 4.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio while recovering his elite four-seam fastball -- only eight pitchers had a higher average than Rosenthal's 98 mph. There is obvious risk in putting too much stock into his small sample size of 2020, but if Rosenthal can transfer those gains into 2021, he could be a top-10 fantasy closer for Oakland.
