Michael Fulmer

Michael Fulmer

31-Year-Old PitcherRP
Boston Red Sox AAA
60-Day IL
Injury Elbow
Est. Return 2/1/2025
2024 Fantasy Outlook
There was no outlook written for Michael Fulmer in 2024. Check out the latest news below for more on his current fantasy value.
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
$Signed a two-year, minor-league contract with the Red Sox in February of 2024.
Throwing off mound
PBoston Red Sox  AAA
Elbow
October 16, 2024
Fulmer (elbow) has begun throwing off a mound, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Fulmer is coming up on the one-year anniversary of his UCL revision surgery and is tracking toward being ready to go for spring training. The right-hander inked a two-year, minor-league contract with the Red Sox in February and could open the 2025 season in the big-league bullpen, barring any setbacks with his recovery.
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Pitching Stats
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2023
2022
2021
2020
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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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2020 MLB Game Log
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2019 MLB Game Log
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Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-36%
BAA vs RHP
2024
No Stats
2023
 
 
-25%
BAA vs RHP
2022
 
 
-44%
BAA vs RHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .310 199 50 19 54 15 1 7
Since 2022vs Right .197 314 76 37 53 12 0 4
2024vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Left .278 90 27 9 22 5 0 5
2023vs Right .208 147 38 19 26 8 0 2
2022vs Left .337 109 23 10 32 10 1 2
2022vs Right .188 167 38 18 27 4 0 2
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Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-41%
ERA at Home
2024
No Stats
2023
 
 
-18%
ERA at Home
2022
 
 
-61%
ERA at Home
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 2.90 1.11 62.0 7 3 1 10.6 3.6 0.7
Since 2022Away 4.91 1.60 58.2 1 8 4 8.1 4.8 0.9
2024Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Home 3.99 1.30 29.1 3 2 1 12.0 4.3 1.2
2023Away 4.88 1.37 27.2 0 3 1 8.5 4.6 1.0
2022Home 1.93 0.95 32.2 4 1 0 9.4 3.0 0.3
2022Away 4.94 1.81 31.0 1 5 3 7.8 4.9 0.9
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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 Michael Fulmer See More
The Z Files: Projecting Pitcher's BABIP
297 days ago
Todd Zola considers a new approach to regressing a pitcher's BABIP, which suggests better days should be ahead for Hunter Greene.
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September 21, 2023
Brad Johnson offers up his annual list of award winners for pitching, starting with the Newcomer Award, given to the Mets Kodai Senga.
NL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
September 17, 2023
Dan Marcus is providing his top NL adds, including a former 21-game winner.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
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2020
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2016
2013
After a forgettable 10 starts with Detroit in 2020, Fulmer opened last season as a reliever. He quickly returned to the Tigers' rotation in mid-April to replace an injured starter, but only four of his career-high 52 appearances ended up being starts. Fulmer proved to be much better in relief anyway, logging a 2.53 ERA versus 4.97 otherwise. From the bullpen, he regained his mid-90s velocity and was Detroit's highest-leveraged reliever with a 1.72 gmLI. His 24.6% strikeout rate was merely around league average, but it was a career high for Fulmer. He finished second on the team with 14 saves behind Gregory Soto. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch already named Soto the closer heading into 2022, so Fulmer appears ticketed for the seventh and eighth innings. He will be arbitration eligible for the final time before becoming a free agent in 2023, so he could become a trade candidate as the year progresses.
Fulmer had a rough go of it in 2020, closing out the year with an 8.78 ERA and 2.06 WHIP with a 20:12 K:BB over 27.2 innings. He failed to secure a victory over 10 starts, finishing with an 0-2 record. The 27-year-old was understandably handled with caution throughout the 2020 season, coming off 2019 Tommy John surgery. As a result, the Tigers didn't allow him to hurl more than three frames in any of his 10 appearances. Fulmer's fastball velocity was also noticeably down during the 60-game sprint, averaging 93.1mph compared to 95.8mph in 2018. With a disappointing return now in the rearview mirror, Fulmer will now set his sights on building up his arm strength for the 2021 season, with the hope of regaining some of his velocity and working deeper into ballgames. He'll be considered a risky selection by fantasy owners until he proves otherwise.
Fulmer signed a contract on Feb. 15, 2019 to avoid arbitration with Detroit, and that is essentially the last thing his right arm did in 2019. He came up with elbow pain in a late bullpen session in Lakeland, and by the end of March, had Tommy John surgery. It is not worth the roster spot to add the reclamation project to your roster in 2020. Even if Fulmer pitches this season, it will not be until late summer, and his statistics will almost certainly be unrosterable. If you are in a keeper league with a deep reserve bench, consider this: are the Tigers going to be any better in 2021?
Fulmer could have been moved at the deadline as part of the Tigers' rebuild had he not hurt his oblique before his first start after the All-Star break. Though, at that point, he was sporting a subpar 4.50 ERA and 1.32 WHIP with just 93 whiffs in 112 innings. He returned during the last week in August, starting five games before being shut down and undergoing surgery for a torn meniscus. After dipping in 2017, Fulmer's swinging-strike rate rebounded, buoying a 19.7 K%, in line with his rookie campaign but still below average. His walk rate was a career worst along with a bloated 14.5% HR/FB in tandem with a 5% increase in flyballs, explaining the high ratios. Fulmer's fastball was its usual 96 mph, though his slider dropped three mph. If he can fix his command and control, Fulmer will again be a candidate to be dealt to a contender. He's worth a speculative pick as a reserve/streamer but realize his strikeout rate and low wins potential limit his upside.
After a visit to Dr. James Andrews, Fulmer underwent ulnar transposition surgery on his throwing elbow in September. Barring setbacks, the right-hander is expected to be ready for spring training. The Tigers hope the procedure will correct the finger numbness and hand weakness Fulmer experienced, which probably hindered his shortened sophomore season. Following his 2016 Rookie of the Year win, he endured notable dips in ERA (3.06 to 3.83), K/9 (6.2, after 7.5 in his first season) and left-on-base percentage (79.0 to 65.6 percent). Fulmer, who turns 25 in March, owns an alluring combination of top-end velocity and a career 2.3 BB/9, which could become even more valuable if health brings back at least his 2016 K/9 (7.5) and possibly pushes it higher. Still, if he impresses in March, his price might climb to where the reward won’t match the risk. Fulmer may not round into peak form until later in the season.
Fulmer won the AL Rookie of the Year award after an impressive season where he would have finished second in the AL in ERA (3.09) had he enough innings to qualify. The big righty exceeded expectations with a top-30 SP finish. It's more impressive when one considers he was facing a potential demotion after four starts (6.52 ERA). His fifth start was when the team's catchers and pitching coach told him to start throwing his changeup more. It was a total game-changer. He had a 2.58 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 3.3 K/BB ratio in 139.2 frames from that point on while using his changeup 19 percent of the time. His ceiling has been raised, and while he could fall back a little bit in 2017, the future is bright.
Fulmer began 2015 as something of an afterthought among Mets pitching prospects. However, after a stellar 16-start run his value had risen to the point where he was worthy of being the top returning piece for Detroit in the Mets’ fortuitous deadline acquisition of Yoenis Cespedes. All told, the 22-year-old righty put up a 2.24 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with 125 strikeouts in 124.2 innings, primarily with the two organization’s Double-A affiliates. Now, while those numbers are fairly eye-popping, Fulmer is still more of mid-rotation starter than a frontline arm, but his polish and pitchability are clearly evident. It would not be surprising to see him begin his age-23 season at Triple-A Toledo with a chance to join the big league rotation sometime this summer. While he probably won’t ever be a top-20 fantasy starter, this is the profile of a pitcher whose combination of stuff and command could transition fairly seamlessly against big league hitters.
Fulmer, drafted 44th overall in 2011 from an Oklahoma high school, had an excellent first full professional season, posting a 2.58 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 101:38 K:BB 138 innings for Low-A Savannah. He mixes a late-moving, mid-90s fastball with mid-80s hard slider and is working on a changeup. Fulmer should open 2012 at High-A St. Lucie and projects to be a No. 2 starter in the majors.
More Fantasy News
Agrees to deal with Boston
PBoston Red Sox  AAA
Elbow
February 8, 2024
Fulmer (elbow) signed a two-year, minor-league contract with the Red Sox on Feb. 2.
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Undergoes UCL revision surgery
PChicago Cubs  AAA
Elbow
October 19, 2023
Fulmer underwent UCL revision surgery Thursday on his right elbow and is expected to miss the 2024 season, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Sent to 60-day IL
PChicago Cubs  AAA
Forearm
October 3, 2023
The Cubs transferred Fulmer (forearm) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Sunday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
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Back on injured list
PChicago Cubs  AAA
Forearm
September 16, 2023
Fulmer was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a right forearm strain.
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Notches save in return
PChicago Cubs  AAA
September 12, 2023
Fulmer earned a save against the Rockies on Monday, issuing one walk and striking out two batters over two-thirds of an inning.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Aiming for CHC closer role
PChicago Cubs  AAA
March 14, 2023
Fulmer told Patrick Mooney of The Athletic that he "absolutely" wants to win the Cubs' closer job.
ANALYSIS
Fulmer inked a one-year, $4 million deal with Chicago in February and told Mooney that there were "conversations about [closing]" during those contract negotiations. "Would I love to be back there? Absolutely," said Fulmer. "That's just kind of the way I'm wired. When the game's on the line, I want to be pitching." He'll have to contend with a range of other options for that ninth-inning role on the North Side, including Brandon Hughes, Brad Boxberger, Rowan Wick and Adbert Alzolay.
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