X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Prospect Starters that Could be Impact Relievers

Last year around this time I wrote some words about Dakota Hudson and how he could be a stud in 2018 — but as a reliever, not a starter, which had been his role in the minors to that point.

From last March at Rotographs: “And for me, Dakota Hudson has immense potential as a high-leverage reliever. He doesn’t miss a ton of bats as a starter but he has a great fastball-slider combo and outstanding ground-ball numbers.”

The goal of today’s piece is to replicate that successful crystal ball moment and look at eight rookie pitchers that could be studs out of the bullpen in 2019 for a low cost and/or snapped off the waiver wire. And it doesn’t mean they can’t return to the starting role down the line, just as Hudson may for the coming season. Here are some starting pitcher prospects that could see success as relievers in the near future.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball draft tools and resources:

 

 

Zac Gallen, RHP, Marlins

I’ve been a fan of Gallen for a while now and he comes from the same organization as Hudson (St. Louis) although a trade landed him in Miami last year. He was a stud at the Triple-A level in 2018, striking out 136 batters in 133.1 innings but his modest stuff will land him in the No. 4/5 slot of a big league rotation. A move to the ‘pen, though, could better match his skillset.

He has above-average control and his cutter is his best pitch. This would allow him to come into games, work quickly with his funky delivery and focus on putting the ball in play. I’m no baseball coach but incorporating his legs more into his delivery could also help him tap into some added velocity.

 

Jesus Tinoco, RHP, Rockies

Tinoco is an imposing man on the mound and has moved from the tall, skinny teenager I remember from the Jays system to looking more like Albert Pujols on the mound. Filling out his body has also robbed the young Rockies starter of athleticism and he struggles to consistently repeat his delivery and doesn’t finish his arm action, leading to balls up in the zone. That, in turn, has resulted in home-run issues. A move to the bullpen could help Tinoco narrow his focus over one to two innings rather than five or six, which could help him realize some of this potential. It would also allow him to trim his four-pitch repertoire and perhaps see improvements on the remaining offerings.

 

Deivi Garcia, RHP, Yankees

Now let’s get really crazy here and pick a 19-year-old hurler. The Yankees have a number of starting pitching prospects and the money to buy veteran replacements at a moment’s notice so the bullpen might be the best way for Garcia to get his feet wet in the Majors. And his smallish frame does create some durability concerns. He already reached Double-A briefly in 2018 so Garcia is not as far away from the Majors as his age might suggest. He has a solid, low-effort delivery and has a curveball with plus-plus potential. Pairing it with his fastball, which can reach the mid-90s as a starter, could keep big league hitters off balance especially with the shorter stints.

 

J.B. Bukauskas, RHP, Astros

Like Garcia, Bukauskas doesn’t have the biggest frame and the effort in his delivery definitely has some scouts projecting him as a future reliever. His ugly short-arm action is both a benefit and a detriment.  Bukauskas generates outstanding spin rates and can be difficult to pick up but it could also lead to injury and it’s hard to envision him having anything better than average command/control. Still, his fastball/slider combo could be downright dominant out of the bullpen as a high-leverage reliever with the ability to generate both strikeouts and ground-ball outs.

 

Kyle Funkhouser, RHP, Tigers

It’s been a frustrating time for Funkhouser who, at one point, had the potential to go near the top of the 2015 draft but inconsistencies in his junior year cost him a few million dollars when he gambled on a return to college for his senior year. He didn’t rebound as hoped and ended up signing as a fourth-round pick. He’s battled injury and inconsistencies as a pro, too, but he’s also shown flashes of promise.

The Tigers are building up a solid stable of arms so Funkhouser’s best option might be to open his career in the ‘pen while he irons out his issues. He can get a lot of ground balls with a good downward plane on his fastball but he lacks a reliable strikeout pitch and modest athleticism leads to command/control issues.

 

Michel Baez, RHP, Padres

The Padres’ pitching prospect ranks are absolutely stacked so some hurlers are going to have to look to the bullpen for big league roles. As a big, tall hurler, this young Cuban struggles to repeat his delivery over the course of five or six innings so, like Tinoco above, shorter stints could allow him some relief. Baez, 23, can already hit the upper-90s as a starter so triple-digits could be easily in his reach as a reliever. And the one- or two-inning stints would allow him to put a pitch or two in his back pocket and focus on his fastball and slider.

 

Kyle Muller, LHP, Braves

Like the Padres, the Braves have a lot of near-ready pitching prospects so there isn’t room for everyone in the starting rotation. Muller has moved more methodically through the minor leagues than a lot of their pitchers but he’s finally closing some ground and reached Double-A in 2018. He rushes his delivery at times so the shorter stints may benefit him and allow him to focus more on his mechanics.

Muller threw a lot of curveballs to both right-handed and left-handed hitters in the Arizona Fall League but he also struggled to find the strike zone with the pitch. Focusing on just two pitches could help the fastball -- which can touch 95 mph as a starter -- and slider improve more quickly.

 

Trent Thornton, RHP, Blue Jays

A bit of an enigma, Thornton has good stuff, including a mid-90s fastball and high-spin curveball but he gives up a lot of hits because of below-average command. He struggles to repeat his delivery so, like many of the arms above, shorter stints could allow him to tap into the unrealized potential. If he can find his niche in the bullpen, his stuff is of the high-leverage variety.

More MLB Prospects Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Alex Bowman42 mins ago

Earns First Non-Drafting Superspeedway Pole Since 2016
Denny Hamlin44 mins ago

Poor Las Vegas Run Suggests He Might Be Overvalued for Homestead
Joey Logano44 mins ago

Recent Homestead Record Misleading Due to Past Playoff Situations
Josh Berry47 mins ago

Probably Needs to Lead to Have DFS Value
Daniel Suarez48 mins ago

Poor Qualifying Makes Him a Strong DFS Option
Shane Van Gisbergen50 mins ago

Likely Too Inexperienced to Gain Many Positions at Homestead
Austin Cindric51 mins ago

Increased Staying Power in Races May Make Him More Valuable in DFS Than He Appears
Ricky Stenhouse Jr53 mins ago

Unlikely to Gain Enough Positions for DFS Value
NASCAR54 mins ago

John H. Nemechek Delivers His Second-Best Qualifying Run on the Site of His First
Cole Custer56 mins ago

Despite Cole Custer's Strong Xfinity Series Record at Homestead, He's Been Hapless There in the Cup Series
JJ Yeley57 mins ago

Needs Attrition to Gain Positions at Homestead and That Likely Won't Happen
Christopher Bell1 hour ago

Is One Of The Better All-Around DFS Options For Homestead
William Byron1 hour ago

Look For William Byron To Continue His Strong 2025 Season At Homestead
NASCAR2 hours ago

Could Bubba Wallace Be A Sneaky Tournament Play For Homestead?
Kyle Busch2 hours ago

Could Be A Favorable Pivot Option At Homestead
Ty Gibbs2 hours ago

Should Ty Gibbs Be Rostered For Homestead DFS Lineups?
Brad Keselowski2 hours ago

Will Be Worth Rostering This Week At Homestead
Chris Buescher2 hours ago

Is A Contrarian Tournament Option For Homestead Lineups
Noah Gragson2 hours ago

May Pay Off For Tournament DFS Lineups At Homestead
Erik Jones2 hours ago

Is Erik Jones Worth Rostering At Homestead For This Week?
Carson Hocevar3 hours ago

Is An Underrated DFS Option For Homestead Lineups
LeBron James10 hours ago

Returning On Saturday Night
Rui Hachimura11 hours ago

Returning On Saturday
Gary Trent Jr.11 hours ago

Will Play On Saturday
Giannis Antetokounmpo11 hours ago

Available For Saturday
Kevin Huerter11 hours ago

Cleared For Saturday
Malik Monk11 hours ago

Unavailable On Saturday
Tre Jones11 hours ago

To Miss At Least Two Weeks
Connor Norby12 hours ago

Makes Early Exit On Saturday
Tyler Freeman12 hours ago

Heading To Colorado
Nolan Jones12 hours ago

Traded To Guardians
Las Vegas Raiders12 hours ago

Zach Carter Returning To Las Vegas
Caleb Durbin12 hours ago

Heads To Minors
Tyler Black12 hours ago

Optioned To Triple-A
Victor Robles12 hours ago

Exits Early On Saturday
Zack Gelof12 hours ago

To Undergo Further Testing
Vinnie Pasquantino12 hours ago

Exits Saturday's Game
Carolina Panthers13 hours ago

Nick Scott Re-Signs With Panthers
Tanner Bibee13 hours ago

Signs Five-Year Extension
Seth Jarvis13 hours ago

Suffers Injury In Saturday's Defeat
Nick Jensen13 hours ago

Remains Out On Saturday
Jason Dickinson13 hours ago

Exits Early Versus Blues
Alec Martinez13 hours ago

Sustains An Upper-Body Injury Saturday
Nils Hoglander13 hours ago

Hurt In Saturday's Loss
Caris LeVert13 hours ago

Available On Saturday Evening
Elias Pettersson14 hours ago

Exits Saturday's Loss Early
Trae Young14 hours ago

Good To Go Versus The Warriors
Chandler Stephenson14 hours ago

Out Against Oilers
Brandon Clarke15 hours ago

Out For Rest Of The Season
Stephen Curry15 hours ago

Ruled Out On Saturday Night
D'Angelo Russell15 hours ago

Ruled Out Versus Indiana
Tyrese Haliburton15 hours ago

Back On Saturday Night
Ziaire Williams15 hours ago

Out On Saturday Night
Houston Texans16 hours ago

Darrell Taylor Brought In By Houston
Arizona Cardinals16 hours ago

Royce Newman Heading To Arizona
Kansas City Chiefs16 hours ago

Chiefs Sign Robert Rochell
Samuel Girard16 hours ago

Misses Second Consecutive Game
Ondrej Palat16 hours ago

Remains Out Against Senators
Cleveland Browns17 hours ago

Jerome Baker Signs With Browns
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins17 hours ago

To Center First Line Versus Kraken
Stuart Skinner17 hours ago

Starts On Saturday
Pavel Buchnevich17 hours ago

Out On Saturday
Shane McClanahan17 hours ago

Will Undergo Imaging On Sunday
Marcus Hogberg17 hours ago

Starts Against Flames
Connor Thomas17 hours ago

Makes Opening Day Roster
Joel Hofer17 hours ago

In Blues Net Saturday
Brandon Drury17 hours ago

Suffers Fractured Thumb
Drew Thorpe18 hours ago

To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
Kyle Harrison18 hours ago

Optioned To Triple-A
Shane McClanahan18 hours ago

Exits Saturday's Contest Early
Derek Law18 hours ago

Will Not Be Ready For Opening Day
Jaden Hill18 hours ago

Optioned To Triple-A
Alan Roden18 hours ago

Remains In Mix For Roster Spot
Zach Pascal18 hours ago

Signs With Giants
Janson Junk18 hours ago

Sent To Minor-League Camp
Keaton Winn18 hours ago

Optioned To Triple-A
Ian Hamilton19 hours ago

Starting The Season On The Injured List
Boone Jenner23 hours ago

Scores First Goal Of The Season
Elvis Merzlikins23 hours ago

Stumbles On Friday
Kent Johnson23 hours ago

Snaps Skid On Friday
Rickard Rakell23 hours ago

Scores Goal No. 32
Sidney Crosby23 hours ago

Tallies Goal, Assist On Friday
Alex Nedeljkovic23 hours ago

Stops 44 Shots On Friday
Houston Texans1 day ago

Shavon Revel Visits With Texans On Friday
New England Patriots1 day ago

Patriots Release Curtis Jacobs
New Orleans Saints1 day ago

Saints Waive Camron Peterson
River Cracraft1 day ago

Seahawks Sign River Cracraft
Tyler Conklin1 day ago

Agrees To One-Year Deal With Chargers
Ryan Tannehill1 day ago

Vikings Have Had Talks With Ryan Tannehill
Jameis Winston1 day ago

Giants, Jameis Winston Finalizing A Two-Year Deal
Tre Jones1 day ago

Tagged As Questionable For Saturday
Josh Giddey1 day ago

Cleared For Saturday
Jordan Clarkson1 day ago

Unavailable On Friday
Anfernee Simons1 day ago

Uncertain For Friday
Grayson Allen1 day ago

Remains Out On Friday
Jerami Grant1 day ago

Downgraded To Out On Friday
Donovan Clingan1 day ago

Won't Play Friday
Detroit Lions2 days ago

Avonte Maddox Signs One-Year Deal With Lions
Stuart Skinner2 days ago

Available On Saturday
Cincinnati Bengals2 days ago

Cincinnati Signs Lucas Patrick To A One-Year Deal
Deebo Samuel Sr.2 days ago

"Motivated" For 2025
Houston Texans2 days ago

Trent Brown Signs With Houston
Brandin Cooks2 days ago

Returns To The Big Easy
Sean Brady2 days ago

Looks For His Eighth UFC Win
Leon Edwards2 days ago

Set For Main Event
Carlos Ulberg2 days ago

Looks To Extend His Win Streak At UFC London
Jan Blachowicz2 days ago

Set For Light-Heavyweight Clash
Gunnar Nelson2 days ago

Ends Long Layoff
Kevin Holland2 days ago

Set For Welterweight Bout
Alexia Thainara2 days ago

Set For Her UFC Debut
Molly McCann2 days ago

Aims To Get Back In The Win Column
Chris Duncan2 days ago

Looks For His Second Consecutive Win
Jordan Vucenic2 days ago

Looks For His First UFC Win
Morgan Charrière2 days ago

Morgan Charriere Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
Aaron Rodgers2 days ago

Visits Steelers On Friday
Nathaniel Wood2 days ago

Set To Open Up UFC London Main Card
Lil'Jordan Humphrey2 days ago

Giants Sign Big Wideout Lil'Jordan Humphrey To One-Year Deal
Jake Knapp4 days ago

Looks To Stay Hot At Valspar Championship
Adam Hadwin4 days ago

Looking To Bounce Back At Valspar Championship
Cam Davis4 days ago

Avoid Cam Davis At Valspar Championship
Sepp Straka4 days ago

Eyeing Victory At Valspar Championship
Sam Stevens4 days ago

Looking To Get Back Into Form At Valspar Championship
Jordan Spieth4 days ago

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate At Valspar Championship
Alex Smalley4 days ago

Aims To Continue Strong Form At Valspar Championship
Adam Scott4 days ago

A Risky Play At Valspar Championship
Shane Lowry4 days ago

A Home Run Pick At Valspar Championship
Stephan Jaeger4 days ago

Looks To Continue Momentum At Valspar Championship
Thomas Detry4 days ago

Aims To Regain Form At Valspar Championship
Justin Thomas5 days ago

Continues To Spark But Hopes To Keep It Lit At Innisbrook
Michael Kim5 days ago

Looks To Rebound At Valspar Championship
Tom Kim5 days ago

Looking For Putter Form At Valspar Championship
Rasmus Hojgaard5 days ago

Looking For Form At Valspar Championship
Ben Griffin5 days ago

Needs To Find Ball-Striking Form Ahead Of Valspar Championship
Tommy Fleetwood5 days ago

Looks To Keep Short But Successful Run Going At Innisbrook
Eric Cole5 days ago

Needs To Find A Spark At Innisbrook
Sam Burns5 days ago

Looks To Rebound At Valspar Championship
Roman Dolidze6 days ago

Extends His Win Streak To Three
Marvin Vettori6 days ago

Suffers Back-To-Back Losses
Will Zalatoris6 days ago

Has Been Consistent At Least In 2025
Carson Young6 days ago

Makes The Cut In Second Straight Tournament
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos6 days ago

Suffers Second-Round TKO
Chidi Njokuani6 days ago

Scores TKO Win At UFC Vegas 104
Kurt Holobaugh6 days ago

Drops Decision At UFC Vegas 104
Alexander Hernandez6 days ago

Wins Decision At UFC Vegas 104
Cody Gibson6 days ago

Submitted At UFC Vegas 104
Da'Mon Blackshear6 days ago

Wins Back-To-Back Fights
Brendson Ribeiro6 days ago

Gets Submission Win At UFC Vegas 104
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Jaxson Dart - College Football Rankings, NCAA CFB DFS Lineup Picks

2025 NFL Mock Draft (Post Opening Round of Free Agency): Rounds 1 And 2

With free agency news slowing down, the initial wave has now passed and NFL management has turned its attention to the draft in hopes of improving their teams for the upcoming 2025 season. Some of the moves made in free agency help to give a clearer picture of where some clubs may be looking in […]


J.J. McCarthy - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Draft Sleepers

Dynasty Fantasy Football Risers and Fallers - March 2025 Market Report

Dynasty never rests, and neither do we. This month, we are starting to see some correction in the rookie market, which is, in turn, starting to stabilize the market. Once the season ended, rookies were the talk of the town, and their values inflated. The Senior Bowl and the combine have come and gone, but […]


George Pickens - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Dynasty Fantasy Football Risers and Fallers - 2025 Free Agency

The majority of free-agent signings have already happened after just the first few days of free agency ahead of the 2025 NFL season, and with most of the dust settled, there have emerged plenty of clear winners and losers. While most teams won't have all their position groups fully addressed until after the 2025 NFL […]


Tetairoa McMillan - College Football DFS Lineup Picks, NCAA CFB, NFL Draft Prospect

Three-Round Post Free Agency 2025 NFL Mock Draft

NFL Free Agency has been up for more than a week, and very few impact players are left available. Because of that, any player a team signs from now until the NFL Draft is unlikely to alter their draft-day plans significantly. However, the early portion of free agency can substantially impact which players and which […]


Amari Cooper - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Best Fantasy Football Fits for the Remaining Wide Receivers

Free Agency has been going on for over a week now. The best free agents have already been signed, making the pickings a little slim if teams are looking for any immediate impact players. That doesn't mean there aren't some quality players left available who could be fantasy-relevant in the right situation. In this article, […]


Brock Bowers - Fantasy Football Rankings, TE, NFL Rookies, Draft Sleepers

2025 Fantasy Football Best Ball Draft Stacks To Target

Combining several players on one team -- stacking -- is an increasingly advantageous way to boost your fantasy football teams and, in this case, your best ball teams. Selecting two or more players consolidates the scoring within an offense and if you hit on an offense that many predict to be middle-of-the-pack and they become […]


DK Metcalf - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS and Betting Picks

Dynasty Price Check - DK Metcalf

After spending six seasons in Seattle, wide receiver DK Metcalf has landed in Pittsburgh as their new stud WR1. Metcalf was a solid fantasy player during his time with the Seahawks. He finished as the WR21 or higher in four of his six seasons. He enjoyed a peak of WR7 in 2020. Metcalf is a […]


Brock Bowers - Fantasy Football Rankings, TE, NFL Rookies, Draft Sleepers

Fantasy Football Tight Ends Rankings Analysis For 2025

We are in the thick of the NFL offseason, and it has been a wild few weeks. Sam Darnold signed a massive $100.5 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks, Davante Adams signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Rams, and Deebo Samuel Sr. was traded to the Washington Commanders for a fifth-round pick.  With […]


Jaxson Dart - College Football Rankings, NCAA CFB DFS Lineup Picks

2025 NFL Mock Draft: Quarterback Only Edition

The 2025 NFL Draft isn't really the deepest as far as quarterbacks go. There are two obvious names at the top of the draft in Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, but things dry up rather quickly past that. That's not to say there isn't quarterback talent here. There might not be a ton of players […]


Tez Johnson - NFL Draft Prospects, Dynasty Fantasy Football, Rookie Rankings

2025 Fantasy Football Dynasty Rookie Draft WR Sleepers - Tre Harris, Tez Johnson, Jayden Higgins

There are sleepers every year, at every position, in every NFL Draft class because there's simply no way the NFL will ever identify every good player and exactly how good they are. Luckily for us, we can exploit biases in their scouting processes and draft capital's heavy influence on rankings and be the ones who […]


Elijah Arroyo - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Draft Sleepers- NFL Injury News

2025 Fantasy Football Dynasty Rookie Draft TE Sleepers - Gunnar Helm, Elijah Arroyo, Terrance Ferguson

Finding tight-end sleepers who end up being good for fantasy football is remarkably difficult. As the position is easily the lowest-scoring (on average) of all the positions in fantasy football, especially outside of TE-premium leagues, the bar is already pretty low. Adjusting for the few elite tight ends who heavily drag up that average, the […]


Saquon Barkley - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Dynasty Fantasy Football Sell-High Candidates: Five Players To Trade Away

The dynasty fantasy football market is very similar to Wall Street. Player values change by the minute depending on the slightest bit of news that breaks on a particular day. If you can identify players who are incorrectly valued, it can give you an advantage over the rest of your league. Today, we will discuss […]


Trevor Lawrence - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Fantasy Football Dynasty Price Check - Trevor Lawrence 2025 Outlook

Coming out of high school, Trevor Lawrence was regarded as one of the greatest QB prospects of all time, and the hype for him only intensified after three great seasons at Clemson. Picked first overall by the Jaguars, he had a tough rookie year, but made the Pro Bowl in his second year and even […]