Julian Merryweather

Julian Merryweather

33-Year-Old PitcherRP
Chicago Cubs
Out
Injury Knee
Est. Return 2/1/2025
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Injuries have marred Merryweather's career, but he finally stayed healthy after he was claimed off waivers by the Cubs last January. The out-of-options right-hander won a bullpen role out of spring training and with prevailing health, he went on to pitch a career-high 72 innings for Chicago. This was more than his previous three seasons combined. Merryweather was a pleasant surprise for the Cubs, demonstrating increased velocity on his 4-seam fastball (98.1 mph on average), while throwing more sliders (49.3% usage) with great success (45.3% whiff percentage). Merryweather's numbers (2 saves, 17 holds, 1.31 WHP) weren't overwhelming for fantasy purposes, but he racked up 5 wins and was 6th among qualified relievers with a career-high 98 strikeouts. Banking on a repeat of last year's numbers might be a mistake given his health history, but Merryweather is still a solid target for those speculating on saves in 2024. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#423
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $1.225 million contract with the Cubs in November of 2024.
Avoids arbitration
PChicago Cubs
Knee
November 22, 2024
Merryweather (knee) agreed to a one-year, $1.225 million contract with the Cubs on Friday to avoid arbitration, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Merryweather missed the majority of last season due rib and knee injuries, though he wasn't very effective when healthy, logging a 6.60 ERA and 1.80 WHIP in 15 innings. He'll officially stick around for another year in Chicago, though there is still no word on if he'll be ready for spring training after undergoing surgery on his right knee in late September.
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Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2024 MLB Game Log
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2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
18
Last 10 Games
18
Last 5 Games
16
How many pitches does Julian Merryweather generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Julian Merryweather generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-4%
BAA vs LHP
2024
 
 
-1%
BAA vs RHP
2023
Even Split
2022
 
 
-13%
BAA vs LHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .242 213 58 26 44 9 0 6
Since 2022vs Right .252 283 77 26 63 14 1 6
2024vs Left .296 32 6 5 8 4 0 0
2024vs Right .294 42 8 4 10 4 1 0
2023vs Left .219 133 43 18 25 2 0 4
2023vs Right .219 170 55 18 33 4 0 4
2022vs Left .268 48 9 3 11 3 0 2
2022vs Right .308 71 14 4 20 6 0 2
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-26%
ERA on Road
2024
 
 
-73%
ERA at Home
2023
 
 
-74%
ERA on Road
2022
 
 
-5%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 5.22 1.52 60.1 2 4 2 12.4 4.0 1.3
Since 2022Away 3.88 1.26 53.1 4 1 0 8.8 4.2 0.5
2024Home 3.12 1.27 8.2 0 0 0 11.4 5.2 0.0
2024Away 11.37 2.53 6.1 1 1 0 4.3 5.7 0.0
2023Home 5.12 1.53 38.2 2 1 2 13.5 4.7 1.9
2023Away 1.35 1.05 33.1 3 0 0 10.8 4.3 0.0
2022Home 6.92 1.69 13.0 0 3 0 9.7 1.4 0.7
2022Away 6.59 1.17 13.2 0 0 0 5.9 3.3 2.0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Julian Merryweather compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
1.56
 
K/9
8.4
 
BB/9
5.4
 
HR/9
0.0
 
Fastball
96.0 mph
 
ERA
6.60
 
WHIP
1.80
 
BABIP
.389
 
GB/FB
1.27
 
Left On Base
59.3%
 
Exit Velocity
84.2 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
2.1%
 
Spin Rate
2078 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
28.4%
 
Swinging Strike
10.1%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Julian Merryweather See More
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232 days ago
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246 days ago
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Closer Encounters: 2024 Closer Rankings 3.0
249 days ago
Injuries and trades have shaken up the closer market, with Edwin Diaz claiming the top spot in Ryan Rufe's updated closer rankings.
Mound Musings: A Look at Pitching in the NL Central
260 days ago
Brad Johnson has moved to the NL Central, and in Cincinnati, Hunter Greene, with one of the biggest arms in baseball, clearly has considerable potential.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2018
The 30-year-old nabbed two saves early in 2021 and was in the mix at closer with Jordan Romano, but Merryweather then went down with an oblique injury and was sidelined until September. Romano took a firm hold of the closer's role in his absence, while Merryweather surrendered seven runs over 8.2 frames after returning from the injury. The right-hander still offers plenty of velocity and has some upside, but he has only 26 big-league innings under his belt. Merryweather could work in a high-leverage role for Toronto if he can stay healthy, but he's unlikely to be a factor for saves if Romano remains available and productive.
Toronto thought enough of Merryweather to trade from him in 2018 while he was in the midst of recovering from Tommy John surgery, and they doubled down on their investment by promoting him to the big leagues last season despite the fact that he had thrown only six innings in 2019. The right-hander excelled after the promotion, registering a 2.27 FIP and 27.3 K% over 13 innings while functioning as both a reliever and an opener before going down with right elbow tendinitis late in the campaign. Merryweather proved that the TJS did not take the zip off his fastball, as he averaged 96.7 mph while holding hitters to a .188 BA on the offering. He also did well with his changeup, perhaps previewing the combination that can help him find success in the majors. Merryweather's age (29) makes him much older than most prospects, so he should get a shot to perform -- either as a starter or reliever -- in 2021.
We are taught to ignore 26-year-old prospects, and that is typically wise. But inevitably that will lead to missing on guys like Mike Clevinger and Zack Godley. Merryweather has a chance to fall into that same bucket of late-blooming mid-rotation starters. The athletic 6-foot-4 righty operates with a deceptive delivery, hiding the ball well until it is released. This allows his low-90s fastball to play up slightly. Merryweather has two average pitches in his curveball and changeup, but both secondaries can flash plus. He dominated at Double-A, which should be expected given his age and stuff. But while he posted a 3.89 xFIP over 16 starts at Triple-A, he was hit pretty hard (.327 AVG, 1.5 HR/9). Some of that can be attributed to bad luck. He had the second worst BABIP (.388) and fifth worst HR/FB (15.7) in the International League. The Indians have enviable rotation depth, so Merryweather may not get a lengthy look in the big-league rotation in 2018, but if the injury bug bites, he will be ready.
More Fantasy News
Shifted to 60-day injured list
PChicago Cubs
Knee
September 30, 2024
The Cubs transferred Merryweather (knee) to the 60-day injured list Sunday.
ANALYSIS
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Surgery scheduled
PChicago Cubs
Knee
September 19, 2024
Merryweather will undergo surgery on his right knee Friday, Mike McGraw of the Chicago Daily Herald reports.
ANALYSIS
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Rehabbing at Triple-A
PChicago Cubs
Knee
September 18, 2024
Merryweather (knee) made his second rehab appearance at Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, striking out one and giving up no hits and one walk over a scoreless inning.
ANALYSIS
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Out with knee injury
PChicago Cubs
Knee
August 27, 2024
The Cubs placed Merryweather on the 15-day injured list Tuesday due to right knee tendinitis, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.
ANALYSIS
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Struggles badly Sunday
PChicago Cubs
August 25, 2024
Merryweather allowed four runs on five hits and a walk across an inning of relief in Sunday's 7-2 loss to the Marlins.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Receiving trade interest
PChicago Cubs
July 28, 2024
The Cubs are receiving trade interest for Merryweather, reports Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic.
ANALYSIS
The right-hander has spent most of the season on the injured list due to a stress fracture in his ribs, but he's allowed just two runs over 6.1 innings after posting a 3.38 ERA in 69 outings last season. Merryweather's 12.2 K/9 in 2023 should be particularly appealing to contending teams, though that was accompanied by a 4.5 BB/9.
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