Austin Adams

Adams faced a lengthy recovery after suffering a torn ACL in 2019, but he returned in September of 2020. The right-hander's limited sample over the past two years has skewed his numbers, but he's pitched quite well when healthy. He posted a 4.00 ERA and 1.14 WHIP across 33 appearances during the past two seasons, and his 2.68 xFIP in 2019 and 2.64 xFIP in 2020 suggest that he may have been somewhat unlucky. Adams has just two pitches in his arsenal, but he's had a strikeout rate just above 40% and a swinging-strike rate above 16% in each of the past two seasons while relying more on his slider than his fastball. The 29-year-old has presented upside over a limited sample, but the Padres have several elite closing options in the bullpen. As a result, Adams' path to closing opportunities looks somewhat slim. His talent offers solid fantasy value, but his likely lack of save chances limits his potential.

Adams was acquired from Washington in early May and provided a much-needed jolt to the Mariners' bullpen. The 28-year-old appeared in 30 games overall and registered a 2.68 xFIP while collecting 10 holds. Adams throws a four-seam fastball and a sinker that both clock in at around 95 mph, but his best pitch is a devastating slider that he tossed nearly two-thirds of the time last season. Per Statcast, Adams generated an average spin rate of 2,829 rpm on the pitch in 2019 and held opponents to a .129 average while racking up an impressive 51.1 K%. Overall, Adams had a 40.8 K% that ranked fourth in the majors among pitchers who threw 30 or more innings. The right-hander suffered an ACL injury in September that will sideline him for much of 2020, but he's worth keeping tabs on as he has the stuff to be a dominant closer down the line.

Aside from a brief April cameo, Adams spent the bulk of 2018 with Triple-A Syracuse. He threw 46.1 innings with a 3.50 ERA, though that figure was inflated by a .434 BABIP. Positive regression towards his 1.93 FIP should be expected. He had a stellar 37.0% strikeout rate to go with a palatable 9.5% walk rate. Those strikeouts come on the back of a fastball which averaged 95.7 mph and a slider which came in at 89.5 mph and has been graded as plus-plus. With reasonable control, which Adams seems to possess, that's the profile of a high-leverage reliever, though Adams is already 27 and has thrown just six big-league innings. He should spend more time in the majors this season than he did in 2018.